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I've been getting the SMART Hard Disk Error 301 for a month now on every boot up. It asks me to replace hard drive but I want to know if there's any software fixes I can proceed with instead of replacing. I have a 512GB SSD as my primary and 1TB HDD as secondary. It says error on HardDisk 1, so I'm not sure if it's referring to my SSD. I've tried the standard troubleshooting methods like chkdsk, sfc /scannow and dism to check for bad sectors or corrupt system files/image (on C:) no issues found as such. My system ran into a blue screen error a while back "Unexpected Store Exception" said boot device not found when restarting after the error. Said the same thing for a while even when I tried restarting but later booted fine.

I tried to find the system log that refers to the error:

Log Name: System 
Source: disk 
Date: 29/06/2025 7:49:14 PM 
Event ID: 52 
Task Category: None 
Level: Warning 
Keywords: Classic 
User: N/A 
Computer: **** 
Description: The driver has detected that device \Device\Harddisk1\DR1 has predicted that it will fail. Immediately back up your data and replace your hard disk drive. A failure may be imminent. 
Event Xml:

    <Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
      <System>
        <Provider Name="disk" />
        <EventID Qualifiers="32772">52</EventID>
        <Version>0</Version>
        <Level>3</Level>
        <Task>0</Task>
        <Opcode>0</Opcode>
        <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
        <TimeCreated SystemTime="2025-06-29T14:19:14.1427393Z" />
        <EventRecordID>128648</EventRecordID>
        <Correlation />
        <Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="9488" />
        <Channel>System</Channel>
        <Computer>****</Computer>
        <Security />
      </System>
      <EventData>
        <Data>\Device\Harddisk1\DR1</Data>
        <Binary>0E00030001000000000000003400048002000000000000000000000000112D000000000000000000000000</Binary>
      </EventData>
    </Event>
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    The driver has detected that device \Device\Harddisk1\DR1 has predicted that it will fail. Immediately back up your data and replace your hard disk drive. A failure may be imminent. Seems pretty clear. In your case the "software solutions" are a full backup followed by the hardware solution of replacing the failing drive. Commented Jun 29, 2025 at 21:04
  • One of your drives is going to stop working. Would you like to copy your data onto a new drive, before your drive stops working, or would you like it to just stop working suddenly (maybe tomorrow or next week) and then have no chance of getting any of your files back? "Has predicted it will fail" is one thing, but you started getting blue screens and boot errors, so it's not just a prediction any more, it's a certainty. Commented Jul 1, 2025 at 16:08
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    You have a hardware fault. There is no amount of software that solve a hardware fault. Commented Jul 1, 2025 at 17:07

2 Answers 2

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The message is clear: "The device \Device\Harddisk1\DR1 [your PC's drive] has predicted that it will fail. Immediately back up your data and replace your hard disk drive."

This is not a software issue. It is the physical hardware, the SSD, letting you know it will soon cease to work.

If it's not too late,

  • Make a complete drive image. Use dd in Linux, or another tool, such as Macrium Reflect Free, or an alternative. In either case, you'll need to make boot media, such as on USB flash drive.
  • Replace the failing drive.
  • Restore the image using bootable media.
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    thank you for the clarification! I ran a hardware diagnostics software. It indicated an error on my secondary drive, so I think that should give me some time before I replace. Either ways, I've backed up my files. Commented Jun 29, 2025 at 17:55
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    You will want to duplicate the drive as quickly as possible. I typically clone (using a disk cloner) unhealthy drives and fully retire them. Commented Jun 29, 2025 at 18:08
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    As @Ramhound states, there is some urgency. An HDD may fail little by little, or more abruptly. An SSD is more likely to croak with no warning; you're lucky to have gotten notices. Commented Jun 29, 2025 at 21:57
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    @Suurya This isn't a wait and see sort of thing; it's a "do it now before it's too late." Unlike with physical machinery, computers generally don't fail gradually; they either work or they don't. Commented Jun 30, 2025 at 12:47
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    I can see it is irritating - because the drive works without any problems, but the "check-engine" light is blinking. Imagine it like the low-battery warning of your laptop, but with a non-rechargeable battery. Yes you can still use it, but it will fail suddenly very soon if you don't replace the hardware. Commented Jun 30, 2025 at 14:43
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First you should confirm which drive is affected. You can also use CrystalDiskInfo or GSmartControl to get the full SMART data.

Please note that the \Device\HardDisk# nodes start at 0 so it's unclear if this error is referring to your SSD or HDD. Before you go replacing devices make sure you're replacing the right one! It is not a given that your OS drive is any particular number, as hardware may be enumerated in any order.

After that, yes, you should immediately back up and replace the affected drive. You are lucky to have some warning this time; don't waste it.

You should also try to maintain backups more generally. At the very least make sure any irreplaceable data (family photos, tax documents, etc.) exist in two or more places, whether cloud service (OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.) or otherwise.

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