Smart disk error

[Gaff851]

Receiving smart drive 301 error since this afternoon, laptop only 6 months old

[mdklassen]

> laptop only 6 months old

It's probably still under warranty.

SMART -->  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

is technology on the disk-drive and the motherboard to continuously monitor the "health" of the disk-drive, and to report "imminent failure" of the disk-drive when that is the case.

Your disk-drive is not "dead", but it soon might be.

So, if you have not run the utility program that is installed on your computer to make a "System Recovery Set" (writing to one 16GB USB memory-stick, or burning a few DVD-recordable disks) so that you can reinstall Windows onto an "empty" disk-drive, do it now.

Make a backup of all your personal files & bookmarks & E-mail & pictures & music.

Then, scroll-down towards the bottom-left of this web-page, and click "Contact HP", to start your "warranty" claim.

HP will probably get you to ship your laptop to one of their authorized service depots, for replacement of the disk-drive, and then will ship it back to you.

You may need to use that "System Recovery Set" to reinstall Windows onto the new disk-drive.

Then, restore your personal files, run Windows Update, and install your other programs (such as Microsoft Office), to get your computer back in working order.

OR ...........................

Buy a replacement disk-drive yourself, and connect it to your computer.

There is free "disk-cloning" software, to copy, byte-for-byte, from "old" disk-drive to "new" disk-drive.

[If you buy a SEAGATE or WESTERN DIGITAL disk-drive, that "cloning" software can be downloaded from their (respective) web-sites.  That software requires that the "target" disk-drive be one of "theirs".]

If that "cloning" works, remove the "old" disk-drive, connect the "new" disk-drive, and you're good-to-go.

Advantage: immediate repair (no shipping/waiting).

Disadvantage: you (not HP) pay for the replacement disk-drive.

[Gaff851 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the response, as the device was still under warranty it was left in to a HP service centre yesterday to have the hard drive replaced and picked up today.

[mdklassen]

Welcome to this forum.

The suggested etiquette on this forum is to click the purple/white "Thumbs Up" for each post that was helpful,

and to click on "Accept As Solution" to the post that was the best.

Instead, you clicked that "accept" on your own post, which denies "credit" to the volunteer who helped the most.

You may be able to select your own post, and remove that "Accept" status, and then "accept" some other post.

[Gaff851]

Completed as requested

[mdklassen]

> Completed as requested.

Thanks, but did you try:

You may be able to select your own post, and remove that "Accept" status, and then "accept" some other post.

???