Discard the string 39d megaraid n 39 extra quality . It is gibberish caused by transcription errors. Use the corrected command syntax provided above.
Open the file /etc/smartd.conf using a terminal text editor: sudo nano /etc/smartd.conf Use code with caution.
If you manage servers with hardware RAID controllers—especially Dell PowerEdge servers with PERC (PowerEdge RAID Controller) or any system using a Broadcom (formerly LSI) MegaRAID controller—you have likely encountered a frustrating error when trying to check disk health with smartctl : Discard the string 39d megaraid n 39 extra quality
Here’s a bash one-liner to check all physical disks on the first controller:
The error message gives a hint: "please try adding -d megaraid,N". This tells smartctl to pass through the RAID controller's management interface to reach the physical disks. 1. Identify the Controller and Devices Open the file /etc/smartd
: The /dev/sdX device passed to smartctl does not need to be the exact physical disk you are targeting—it is merely a handle to access the RAID controller. The -d megaraid,N parameter tells the controller which physical disk to query.
The "smartctl open device dev sda failed dell or megaraid controller" error can be frustrating, but it can be resolved by adding the -d megaraid,N option to the smartctl command. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to successfully monitor your disk's health using smartctl, even when using a Dell or MegaRAID controller. Remember to replace N with the correct disk number within the MegaRAID controller. attempt appropriate access methods
Thus, the error message is actually : it tells you exactly what to do—add the -d megaraid,N option.
(Note: You can usually use /dev/sda or /dev/bus/0 as the device path when using the -d megaraid,N flag, as the flag overrides the path to target the specific disk via the controller.)
Many modern servers use hardware RAID controllers (e.g., Dell PERC / LSI MegaRAID) that present physical drives behind the controller, preventing smartctl from accessing raw device paths like /dev/sda. This feature outlines a robust implementation to detect such controllers, attempt appropriate access methods, and provide actionable fallback steps — including adding support for MegaRAID controllers (e.g., using the megaraid plugin/option) — to surface SMART data where possible.