How-To Geek

Since 6 months ago randomly Windows 7 prompts a message regarding the hard disk imminent failure.

Since then I always backed up all my data on my wife's laptop and on other storages. I honestly don't care, I can reinstall everything when it will happen, but as 6 months have passed, the hard disc has been checked in the meanwhile several times with check disk and with other software, hence I start doubting of the reliability of this message. Also because this message saying that a problem has been found appears randomly in the middle of something important stating that there is a problem that only Windows 7 can detected but all the other software programs on the market can't.

The hard disk is 18 months old, in perfect health, fast, silent; and Windows 7 in spite of the fact that supposedly knows that there is a problem, it doesn't even bother to tell me which problem it is. Even if you click on the 'Don't bother me again with this stupid message' the message will prompt again. And again. And again.... ad infinitum.

Does anybody know how to disable this annoying messages forever, maybe with a registry hack, please?

Many thanks Mike, I tried sfc and it did something more than scanning because it seems from the log that also repaired something. However, it's too long to paste everything here.

I tried then to perform a S.M.A.R.T. test with the Seagate program, and it came out as "passed".

Does this mean that possibly whatever was wrong has gone?

But in the event the message will appear again I honestly would like to disable it: I understood there is a problem, prompting it 3 times a day won't solve it.

Well, thanks, but after I performed these two scans I'd rather leave it like that for the moment, to see if the message prompts again. Security Center wants me to perform a back up which I have been doing it already since many moons ago, and so I muted it: I didn't want to use tons of DVDs and needed instead the information in my hard drive scattered amongst my storages for an easy recovery.

See my last post.
Set it to never.

If you start typing security center in the Start Search box, it will show on the list.
I am on Vista, but I think it's the same in 7.

@Lighthouse, it's different in Windows 7: if I type "Security Center" in the search box it comes out just one result from Control Panel, "Check Security Status". It's where I went to previously but no happiness there.

@Santo that makes sense. I will try to do a firmware update I remember I searched for it last time but I was already running the latest one. I will check now.

If it doesn't work I will check the BIOS.

The hard drive, a Samsung Spinpoint, would be in warranty but when I bought it I opted for the OEM version for the lower cost: thing is that that the 36 month warranty is given only to regularly imported hard drives and I didn't know (nor ebuyer.com wrote on the description) that an OEM version isn't just something without a box but something automatically losing any warranty rights.

Thanks all!

@LH, the option to enable or disable SMART option in BIOS differs from manufacturer to manufacturer and also depends on the BIOS version of the manufacturer.

@ElStellino, "Security Center" in Vista was replaced by "Action Center" in Windows 7.

Hello,
10 days have passed since Windows 8 has been installed in a second partition of the same "failing" hard drive, and for W8 this hd is healthy. Never saw the message again, hence it was (actually it still is) a bug of W7. I had already the latest HD firmware update already but I actually haven't checked in the bios yet.
Thanks guys.

Have you run a full scan with Malwarebytes Antimalware?

well if it's still of any use to you here we go.... I had the same problem few weeks ago and after a long search I found out that this guy here "Microsoft-Windows-Disk-Failure-Diagnostic-Module" (which by the way also reads the S.M.A.R.T. info from HDD) gives you the frustrating message.
so in win 7 go in regedit (registry editor u can type regedit in windows search from start menu) and look for: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DiskDiagnostics\FallbackPolicy there you will find "EnabledScenarioExecutionLevel" with a value of 2 just change that value to 1 and your message error should go away (to change the value right click on the name and then modify) . you can also open regedit and go EDIT>> FIND and type in EnabledScenarioExecutionLevel but make shure when it finds the value is in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DiskDiagnostics\FallbackPolicy (for windows7 in other windows versions is in other places)... for me at works for now I applied the method a few days now and the message has gone away so far :)

hope it helps.

P.S. for the worried "experts" .... yes I backed my data, yes I checked my drive for errors and so on... if the hdd shows no problems and the message is frustrating IT MUST BE STOPPED!!! :)

G'day!