Why You Must Monitor Your
Hard Drive Temperature

Hard drive temperature monitoring is a way to prevent loss of data. As the hard disk operating temperature becomes hotter there is an increasing chance of drive failure and data loss.

A software hard drive temperature monitor can be configured to save all open files and shutdown the computer when the hard drive becomes too hot. Shutting down the computer in this instance might be inconvenient, but it is better than losing data.

Overheating your hard drive is more likely if you have a high performance system which contains additional sources of heat such as a fast video adapter. The cumulative effect of the hot video adapter, the hot CPU, and the high RPM hard drive is certain to lead to heating problems.

S.M.A.R.T. Hard Drive Monitoring

Almost all newer SATA or Parallel EIDE hard drives have a hard drive temperature sensing diode to monitor the operating temperature of the hard drive. The hard drive temperature can be examined by reading the S.M.A.R.T. data. This data also includes the average and maximum operating temperatures of the drive since it was manufactured. This piece of information will let you know if the drive has ever overheated. An overheated drive may have incurred damage.

Unfortunately, not all USB controllers support S.M.A.R.T. monitoring. If this is true on your sytem, it means that you won't be able to monitor the hdd temperature of your external USB hard drives.

Maximum HDD Temperatures

Each drive can have a different safe maximum temperature, but a reasonable operating temperature range is 30C to 50C (86F to 122F).

If your hard drive exceeds temperatures of 50C (122F), you should add additional cooling to your case or directly to the hard drive.

You don't want your hard drive to stay near the maximum levels for long periods because the higher temperatures will shorten the life of your hard disk drive.

Here is a quote from the Seagate/Maxtor site about hard drive temperatures:

All Maxtor ATA, SATA, and SCSI drives can operate with or without a fan, providing the hard disk temperature does not exceed 131°F (55°C) as measured from the top cover of the drive. Reliability will be compromised when the drive is exposed to temperatures above 55°C or 131°F. When in doubt of your system's ventilation capabilities, or ambient environment of your hard disk, add an extra cooling fan to the drive bay or system case to force air across the drive.

Cooling Your Hard Drive

A hot drive can be cooled in a couple of different ways. Firstly, you can add an extra fan to your computer case to increase airflow through the case. Secondly, you can mount the disk inside of a hard drive cooler. In either case, make sure all the fans in your case are free of accumulated dust to insure maximum airflow.

A hard drive temperature monitor is cheap insurance for your valuable data. But if your drive is normally running on the hot side, consider adding a hard drive cooler to your system.

Recommendations From Maxtor On Cooling Your Hard Drive

• The minimum specified airflow for all Maxtor hard disks is 150 LFM (Linear Feet per Minute). Most case designs and drive bay fans produce more than 150 LFM of airflow.

• A 2,500 RPM, 80mm case fan moves about 482 LFM of air.

• Fan flow ratings apply to ideal conditions. After mounting, typical fan flow is usually 20-30% less than the specified CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute).

• Air cooling is not affected dramatically by elevation and the air density changes associated with increased elevation.

• Air cooling is directly affected by the temperature of the incoming air.

• Obstructions near a fan can decrease flow rate significantly.

• It's better to over-pressurize rather than under-pressurize your system case.

• Airflow overkill is your safest bet, since dust buildup over time reduces the systems cooling capabilities.

• There is no benefit to stacking fans.

• Choose the shortest path between air intake or exhaust, minimizing travel length of heated air from the hard disk, and other system components.

• Don't mount your fans to push air against each other, cross flow through the case is best. (Fans pushing air in from the rear, and pulling air out the front or, vice versa) Newer case designs have provisions for mounting fans at the top of the case. This design allows the front and rear fans to pull air in, and the upper fan to push the heated air out through the roof.

• Airflow for fans are usually rated in CFM and airflow for drives are usually rated in LFM.

CFM to LFM Conversion Table
05 CFM = 73.0 LFM
10 CFM = 146 LFM
15 CFM = 219 LFM
20 CFM = 292 LFM
25 CFM = 365 LFM
30 CFM = 438 LFM
35 CFM = 511 LFM
40 CFM = 584 LFM
45 CFM = 657 LFM
50 CFM = 730 LFM 

The Surest Way to Keep Your Data Safe

A hard drive temperature monitor is a good warning system but it's not a subsitute for a backup. It's hard for most of us to remember to do regular backups if we even do them at all. But even if you have all your data backed up to an external hard drive enclosure, your data could still be at risk from theft and fire. That's why I like to take advantage of the free online backup offered by Mozy. They give me 2GB free and I've set it up to automatically backup my most important files every day so I don't have to think about regular backups anymore.

Free. Automatic. Secure. Mozy Online Backup

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