[gentoo-user] {OT} smartctl: read failure

[Grant]

I get this on my laptop's internal HDD:

# smartctl -l selftest /dev/sda
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining
LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Extended offline    Completed: read failure       60%     12400
      149547192

after some Googling, it sounds like it's bad sectors and not
necessarily cause for alarm.  Does anyone have experience with this
type of error?  Can you suggest other tests to run, or comment on the
severity of the error?

- Grant