Handling disk failures
Read disk health indicators, tell a dying disk from a cabling problem, and replace the right disk safely.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 35 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Interpret key SMART attributes
- Tell a failing disk from a cable/backplane problem
- Identify the correct physical disk before removing anything
- Verify the rebuild and close the loop
Course outline
- 1.Handling a failing disk safelyVideo · 2 min
- 2.Reading disk health and replacing safelyLesson · 15 min
- 3.Reading SMART and NVMe health in practiceLesson · 15 min
- 4.Sourcing replacements and handling failed drivesLesson · 15 min
- 5.Handling disk failures: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 18 questions
- 6.Handling disk failures: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.Final exam7 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- SMART attributes: reallocated sectors, pending sectors, UDMA CRC errors
- Hot-swap disk replacement practice
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.