I was getting unusual drive shutdowns so I ran data lifeguard and seatools on my drives. Data lifeguard showed long test fail 08-too many bad sectors on one drive.
But I just found the HSS addin and have installed that but it shows all drives ok.

So my questions: is data lifeguard more through? Should I be replacing this drive now?

Not sure what ADD-IN you found but if its HomeServerSmart its the best way obtain the SMART information from the drives. There is a version for Windows called WindowSMART2013 which is free to try out but the HomeServerSmart is free.

You can get the software I mentioned from the following link: http://www.dojonorthsoftware.net/

If your concerned with the drive in question then remove it from your storage pool and if there is not enough space then add a new drive to the server and then have WHS remove the drive in question just make sure the drive is connected to the server during the removal process if this is still possible.

Once the drive has been removed then you can connect it to another computer and using the Drive Manufacturers Utilities have it write Zero's to ever sector of the drive which will be a rather long process. Once done then you can reformat the drive and run the diagnostic test again if its a Western Digital Drive then run the Long Test which will take a long time to see if it passes and if not then check the warranty status of the drive and if its under warranty then return it for replacement and if not then toss it. Why muck around with a drive with issues but if its all good then you can use it with your server again or repurpose it for some other task.

Good Luck and always remember to keep a close eye on your hard drives. Alex has discounted his Remote Notification Software which will keep you well informed about issues as they occur with your server. Its a must have for those still running WHS v1 and its one ADD-IN that most miss when they move on to other server solutions.

Check it out: http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2013/04 ... iscounted/

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

Yes that is the addin I'm using.

So writing zeros can fix bad sectors?
I thought bad sectors were a physical problem.

Also, Any correlation with HDD noise and health? I have always in the past just used noise to determine if a drive needed replacement. (sounds like a cement mixer, change it)
So my main drive is a barracuda and it sounds like a rock tumbler but now that I know how to run these fancy new utilities they are saying the drive is good. (seatools, lifeguard and HomeServerSmart) should I worry about this drive too?

Todays drives run fairly quiet and when they start to make noise its an indication of possible or potential failure. If the drive heats up easily compared to other similar drives then you may want to bite the bullet and replace it.

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8