The missing ingredient
I've been reviewing the vendor-supplied hard drive diagnostic tools, and found one thing that is missing - in all of them. Before each test (the S.M.A.R.T. selfscan, whatever) there should be a clear indication if the test is destructive or not.
Naturally, it is reasonable to assume that there would be a warning before the test if the test is destructive (like zero-filling the drive). However, the gut instinct does not allow most of us to rely on that assumption. Murphy's law reinforced by the past experience suggests that the developers may have forgotten to include the warning, and testing failed to spot that.
So, there is always some concern when starting a test. It would feel much better if there was a message clearly stating that the test is not destructive.
Naturally, it is reasonable to assume that there would be a warning before the test if the test is destructive (like zero-filling the drive). However, the gut instinct does not allow most of us to rely on that assumption. Murphy's law reinforced by the past experience suggests that the developers may have forgotten to include the warning, and testing failed to spot that.
So, there is always some concern when starting a test. It would feel much better if there was a message clearly stating that the test is not destructive.
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