10.10.3 Disk Utility and S.M.A.R.T. status

[milleron]

I've not been able to understand this feature from Google or KB searches.

1. My Macintosh HD has no "S.M.A.R.T. Status" in Disk utility
2. The HD does show as "S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified" in the System Information report
3. My Thunderbolt-connected external drives do show "S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified" for both hard drives in Disk Utility.

Is the absence of "S.M.A.R.T. status:" for the internal drive in Disk Utility a feature or a flaw?

 

[Weaselboy]

That is normal. SMART is read form the hardware, and Macintosh HD is just a partition and not a hardware device, so there is no SMART status to be read.

 

[chrfr]

Is the absence of "S.M.A.R.T. status:" for the internal drive in Disk Utility a feature or a flaw?

As Weaselboy said, this is normal. For instance, a Fusion Drive, which is really two devices, shows as one device in Disk Utility, so you aren't shown SMART status for those. Also remember that SMART status is pretty much only useful to confirm that a device has already failed.

 

[milleron]

Well, "Macintosh HD" is also the name of the disk as well as the name of a partition, but neither shows S.M.A.R.T. status in Device Manager. I guess that System Info can do it because it differentiates between the components of the Fusion Drive.
Thanks for the replies

 

[steve62388]

I use a little app called SMARTReporter to monitor my disks. You can install an icon into your menu bar which gives you an indication of any problems. Probably not strictly necessary but it gives me peace of mind.

 

[milleron]

I use a little app called SMARTReporter to monitor my disks. You can install an icon into your menu bar which gives you an indication of any problems. Probably not strictly necessary but it gives me peace of mind.

I looked up SMARTReporter and its companion app, SSDReporter. Neither on the App Store nor on their Web site do they ever offer to tell customers if their products will work with Apple Fusion drives. If Disk Utility does not report SMART status on Fusion drives then it's entirely conceivable that their products do not either, yet they're keeping completely silent on this critical question. Do you, perhaps, have a Fusion drive???

 

[steve62388]

I looked up SMARTReporter and its companion app, SSDReporter. Neither on the App Store nor on their Web site do they ever offer to tell customers if their products will work with Apple Fusion drives. If Disk Utility does not report SMART status on Fusion drives then it's entirely conceivable that their products do not either, yet they're keeping completely silent on this critical question. Do you, perhaps, have a Fusion drive???

Yes I do. But it's one I made myself, not direct from Apple.

 

[milleron]

Yes I do. But it's one I made myself, not direct from Apple.

Sorry not to be clearer. The implied question is whether SMARTReporter can then see the HD within the "Fusion" drive.

 

[steve62388]

Sorry not to be clearer. The implied question is whether SMARTReporter can then see the HD within the "Fusion" drive.

On my system, yes it can. Whether that's because it's a roll your own (external) Fusion drive I can't tell you. I don't have an internal Apple Fusion drive to test it on.

 

[milleron]

On my system, yes it can. Whether that's because it's a roll your own (external) Fusion drive I can't tell you. I don't have an internal Apple Fusion drive to test it on.

I think that's helpful. It means that SMARTReporter will most likely fulfill this function, so it's worth risking the $6 they're asking for it.