I get these daily alerts. First it was for the already old hard drives I am using to learn how TrueNAS works, before I put the new ones in. Now it is the 16-GB SSD that holds the TrueNAS boot environment.
Current alerts:
- Device: /dev/sdc [SAT], 3 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors.
Should I be concerned? The server and the SSD were bought used on eBay.
Do you have your config file (including “secret seed”) safely backed up somewhere? Do you also have your dataset encryption keys safely backed up?
The boot device can always be replaced → TrueNAS installed fresh → import your config file → reboot, and you’re back in business.
You can also run a scrub of the boot-pool in the meantime, which should finish within a few minutes, since it’s so small, and barely anything is stored on it:
Go to System Settings → Boot → start a manual scrub.
Concerned, yes–this is a bad sign for your boot device. Panicked? Definitely not–as Winnie says, make sure you have a good backup of your config file and any encryption keys. At some point in the not-too-distant future[1], you’ll want to think toward replacing the boot device, but there’s no indication this needs to be an immediate thing.
Next Sunday, A.D. ↩︎
Where do I find the options for those tasks? I looked around and did not find anything, specifically not in System Settings.
I am working with the eBay seller to get this worked out.
Oh, if it’s still within a return window I’d definitely return it. But if it weren’t, this doesn’t need immediate attention (once you have the config/key backups).
To export config:
System Settings → General → Manage Configuration (Top Right) → Download File & Tick Export Password Secret Seed
To scrub the boot pool:
System Settings → Boot → Scrub Boot Pool
Edit: Beat you to it @winnielinnie 
Edit 2: You can’t prove anything!
System → General → the “Manage Configuration” button
You’ll also want to export any encryption keys via the “Pools” menu.
EDIT: @essinghigh is cheating. He’s using the power of ChatGPT to write up replies faster than other members of the community.
EDIT 2: Don’t need proof when I can Venmo cash directly to the moderators. Enjoy being perma-banned. 
@dan: It is within the return window. I am not sure, how the seller will respond, as he sold the last one he had, after I purchased mine.
Still, I don’t know what to expect from an SSD that’s a used part, which has been in service for an unknown number of years. I imagine data security of SSDs has improved in the years since they phased in from being rare to being almost ubiquitous. I can’t find anything that would indicate its age, but I imagine it to be at least five years.
This is good competition. If you aren’t cheating then you are not trying. Isn’t that how it goes.
The important thing is that the information is correct. I would not trust ChatGPT or any AI without verifying the answer first. Not sayin’ anyone is using it 
Getting off topic now, but I love sharing my recent experience with AI. I wanted to know how many of my birthdays were not during Lent (I have a March birthday), and I was too lazy to check the date in all those years. So, I asked ChatGPA and Bard, and both gave completely wrong answers, which nonetheless sounded very authoritative.
I got a refund, no additional questions asked. I found another one on eBay, which I should have in hand, because the one with the bad sectors gets out of hand.
Wrong answers? 
That almost never happens with A.I.! [1]
I’m sure you also remember the famed “I have been a good Bing!” that went viral.
Read through the thread if you want a good laugh at the many examples of this “not” happening. 
↩︎
