What tools read SMART data and can run on USB bootable media?

Question

I'm looking for a bootable tool that provide SMART values from my HDD if there is such a thing.

So far I'm only able to get into the recovery mode of my MacBook Pro and I need to confirm a malfunctioning HDD.

As far as I know I can't install any software in Recovery Mode? I have SMART utility but I can't think of any way on how to use it like this.

Any good recommendations for a USB or CD bootable solution to check my HDD SMART values?

OS X boots on any media and you can thin an install greatly if you use a tool to delocalize and look at folder sizes. Are you open to any tool that reads SMART data so you can cook up your own OS X minimal installation if you can't live with the ~8 GB needed for a full OS install? Sadly, my recent Mac's don't show SMART data in Disk Utility. — bmike, Commented Jun 9, 2015 at 13:16

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-13 12:45:11Z

The process to make your own test rig is quite easy:

Install OS X onto a USB hard drive. A partition with 20 GB should be just fine.
Use the Startup Disk preference pane to reboot to that new OS and create an admin user.
Install homebrew - https://brew.sh
Install smartmontools - brew install smartmontools
Get a USB drive or SD card if you don't want to boot from the hard drive/partition.
Thin out files if your image won't fit on the chosen media (or buy larger media)
Use Disk Utility to Restore the OS from the partition to the media chosen

Now you have a UDB/SD card that can boot your Mac and run one of the best free SMART tools.

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