What command shows recent SMART error logs?

• A. sudo smartctl -l error /dev/sdX
• B. sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdX
• C. smartctl -t long /dev/sdX
• D. sudo smartctl -l selftest /dev/sdX

Answer: (A)

SMART error logs record recent drive errors reported by the disk, which helps you diagnose failing hardware. To view that specific history, you use the command that reads the SMART error log from the device. Running it with elevated privileges is typical because accessing /dev/sdX requires root permissions. The command sudo smartctl -l error /dev/sdX fetches and displays the recent error entries, including when they happened and details about the errors.

The other options serve different purposes: -a shows all SMART information, -t long starts a self-test, and -l selftest shows the self-test results. So for the exact purpose of seeing recent SMART error logs, the -l error form is the best choice.