[GTALUG] easy access to S.M.A.R.T disk status [was: Ubuntu 20.04.2 is groaning]

[Chris Aitken]

On 2021-06-08 10:01 a.m., D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
> | From: Chris Aitken via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
>
> | So, sudo apt-get install smartmontools ?
>
> Yes, but that is very technical.  If you don't wish to go there, there is
> a GUI way.  Not as clear to an experienced user, but friendlier
>
> Run "gnome-disk-utility".  The easiest way is to hit the Windows key,
> type "disks", and select the icon "Disks".
OK, it doesn't come up after entering it at command line, but did come 
up with your "easiest way".
>
> Select the drive of interest.
> It will show you a picture of the paritioning of that drive.  And some
> interesting technical stats.
Yes, I see.
>
> Click on the three dots in a vertical formation to get a menu of choices.
> Pick "SMART data and self tests.
>
> That will show you more statistics than you can make sense of.
> The right column of each entry should be "OK".
Yes, everything is 'OK'.
>
> You can decide to run a drive self test.
> "short" takes a few minutes.
> "extended" takes hours.
> You should still be able to use the computer while a test is going on.
OK, even though it shows 'Overall assessment: Disk is OK', I ran the 
'short' test, and was able to keep working on the computer.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Thanks for how-to for this utility.

Chris
>
> (For some reason that I've never understood, some things I do seem to
> abort a self test.  No harm is done but the test is incomplete.)
>
> (gnome-disk-utility is a useful for other disk tasks too.  gparted is
> another gem.)
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