E Drive Protection System (DPS)
The Drive Protection System (DPS) is a diagnostic tool built into the hard drives installed in some computers. DPS is designed to help diagnose problems that might result in unwarranted hard drive replacement.
When these systems are built, each installed hard drive is tested using DPS, and a permanent record of key information is written onto the drive. Each time DPS is run, test results are written to the hard drive. Your service provider can use this information to help diagnose conditions that caused you to run the DPS software.
Running DPS will not affect any programs or data stored on the hard drive. The test resides in the hard drive firmware and can be executed even if the computer will not boot to an operating system. The time required to execute the test depends on the manufacturer and size of the hard drive; in most cases, the test will take approximately two minutes per gigabyte.
Use DPS when you suspect a hard drive problem. If the computer reports a SMART Hard Drive Detect Imminent Failure message, there is no need to run DPS; instead, back up the information on the hard drive and contact a service provider for a replacement hard drive.
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