# alert for shaking computer to protect hard drive

## paradigm-X

I have seen programs that show an alert when the computer is jarred abruptly in order to help protect the hard drive from damage. Is there a package like this for Gentoo systems?

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## krinn

You need ready up hardware to handle that : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_hard-drive_protection

So mostly laptop and some disks category.

But if you have HP laptop : https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/HPfall

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## paradigm-X

Hi, krinn. The particular machine prompting my question is made by Toshiba, and it has a Windows program that provides such alerts. From the link you gave, I read that the Toshiba must be using "HDD Protection by Toshiba" to implement this technology. I'll have to ask at the Toshiba support site to see whethet any Linux programs can be used with it, but I strongly doubt that anyone there would have information along these lines. Although Toshiba products are excellent, and mostly Linux compatible from what I have seen, the support team has been dismally lacking in my experience with it.

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## creaker

If running such a program on a permanent basis is not a precondition, you can check G-Sense parameter on-demand by smartctl utility.

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## paradigm-X

This is a similar product to what I have in mind, and I may take a look at using it now as well. Actually, this may even be a better utility than the one I was talking about because it is more preemptive in purpose.

https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Smartmontools

bye.

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## creaker

smartctl is a main part of Smartmontools. But I didn't know it can be run as daemon, so it seems as a tool you need.

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## paradigm-X

Thanks a lot for the great pointer, creaker. Having read the man page now, I can see that this is really a better way to keep alert to faulty disk conditions than what I was expecting. Take care.

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