How to find out the status of your hard drive. Checking the condition of the hard drive How to assess the condition of the hard drive
Hello.
Forewarned is forearmed! This rule comes in handy when working with hard drives. If you know in advance that such and such hard drive is likely to fail - then the risk of data loss will be minimal.
Of course, no one will give a 100% guarantee, but with a high degree of probability, some programs can analyze S.M.A.R.T. readings. (a set of software and hardware that monitors the condition of the hard drive) and draw conclusions on how long it will last.
In general, there are dozens of programs for performing such a hard drive check, but in this article I wanted to focus on some of the most visual and easy to use. So…
How to find out the status of your hard drive
HDDlife
(By the way, in addition to HDD, it also supports SSD drives)
One of best programs for continuous monitoring of the hard drive condition. It will help you recognize the threat in time and replace the hard drive. Most of all, it captivates with its clarity: after launch and analysis, HDDlife presents the report in a very convenient form: you are shown the percentage of the “health” of the disk and its performance (the best indicator, of course, is 100%).
If your performance is above 70%, this indicates the good condition of your disks. For example, after a couple of years of work (quite active by the way), the program analyzed and concluded: that given hard the disk is approximately 92% healthy (which means that it should last, unless force majeure occurs, at least as much).
After launch, the program minimizes to the tray next to the clock and you can always monitor the status of your hard drive. If any problem is detected (for example, the disk temperature is high, or there is too little space left on the hard drive), the program will notify you with a pop-up window. Example below.
HDDLIFE alerts you when your hard drive is running out of space. Windows 8.1.
If the program analyzes and gives you a window like the one in the screenshot below, I advise you not to delay making a backup copy (and replacing the HDD).
HDDLIFE - the data on your hard drive is in danger, the faster you copy it to other media, the better!
Hard Disk Sentinel
This utility can compete with HDDlife - it monitors the disk status just as well. What captivates us most about this program is how informative it is and how easy it is to work with. Those. it will be useful for both a novice user and an already experienced one.
After launching Hard Disk Sentinel and analyzing the system, you will see the main window of the program: on the left you will see hard drives(including external HDDs), and their status will be displayed on the right in the window.
By the way, there is a rather interesting function for predicting the performance of the disk, according to how long it will serve you: for example, in the screenshot below the forecast is more than 1000 days (that’s about 3 years!).
The condition of the hard drive is EXCELLENT. No problematic or weak sectors were found. No speed or data transmission errors were detected.
No action needs to be taken.
By the way, the program implements enough useful feature: you can set the threshold for the critical temperature of the hard drive, upon reaching which Hard Disk Sentinel will notify you that it has been exceeded!
Hard Disk Sentinel: disk temperature (including the maximum for the entire time the disk was used).
Ashampoo HDD Control
An excellent utility for monitoring the status of hard drives. The monitor built into the program allows you to find out in advance about the first problems with the disk (by the way, the program can even notify you about this by e-mail).
Also, in addition to the main functions, a number of auxiliary ones are built into the program:
Disk defragmentation;
Testing;
Cleaning the disk from garbage and temporary files (always relevant);
Deleting the history of visiting sites on the Internet (useful if you are not alone at the computer and do not want anyone to know what you are doing);
There are also built-in utilities for reducing disk noise, adjusting power, etc.
Screenshot of the Ashampoo HDD Control 2 window: everything is fine with the hard drive, condition 99%, performance 100%, temperature 41 degrees. (it is desirable that the temperature be less than 40 degrees, but the program believes that for this disk model everything is in order).
By the way, the program is completely in Russian, intuitively thought out - even a novice PC user can figure it out. Pay special attention to the temperature and status indicators in the main program window. If the program produces errors or the condition is assessed as extremely low (+ in addition there is a grinding or noise coming from the HDD), I recommend that you first copy all the data to other media, and then start dealing with the disk.
Hard Drive Inspector
A distinctive feature of this program is:
1. Minimalism and simplicity: there is nothing superfluous in the program. It gives three indicators in percentage terms: reliability, performance and absence of errors;
Hard Drive Inspector - monitoring the condition of the hard drive.
СrystalDiskInfo
A simple but reliable utility for monitoring the status of hard drives. Moreover, it works even in cases where many other utilities refuse, crashing with errors.
The program supports several languages, is not full of settings, and is designed in a minimalist style. At the same time, it has quite rare functions, for example, reducing the disk noise level, temperature control, etc.
What is also very convenient is a graphical display of the situation:
Blue color (as in the screenshot below): everything is ok;
Yellow color: alarm, measures need to be taken;
Red: you need to take immediate action (if you still have time);
Gray: the program was unable to determine the readings.
CrystalDiskInfo 2.7.0 - screenshot of the main program window.
HD Tune
This program will be useful to more experienced users: who, in addition to a graphical display of the “health” of the disk, also need high-quality disk tests, in which they can familiarize themselves in detail with all the characteristics and parameters. It should also be noted that the program, in addition to HDD, also supports new-fangled SSD drives.
HD Tune offers a rather interesting feature to quickly check a disk for errors: a 500 GB disk is checked in about 2-3 minutes!
HD TUNE: quick search disk errors. Red squares are not allowed on a new disk.
Also very necessary information- This is a test of disk read and write speed.
HD Tune - checking disk speed.
Well, we can’t help but note the tab with detailed information about HDD. This is useful when you need to know, for example, supported functions, buffer/cluster size or disk rotation speed, etc.
HD Tune - detailed information about the hard drive.
In general, there are at least as many similar utilities that can be cited. I think that these will be more than enough for most...
And lastly: do not forget to make backup copies, even if the disk condition is rated as 100% excellent (at least the most important and valuable data)!
Good luck...
Many users do not even monitor the condition of the hard drive, but in vain. HDD is a device on which all your information is stored. When this device dies, you lose all the data that was on the media.
In this article I will tell you how to check the status of your hard drive using powerful, but at the same time simple programs. Decide for yourself which program to use after viewing the review. But in my opinion, one program complements the other well and I recommend using them all to get complete information about the state of your hard drive.
Perhaps the simplest and convenient program to check HDD/SSD – CrystalDiskInfo. All you need to check the status of your hard drive is simply run the program and view the SMART indicators.
If any of the criteria is unstable, the program will indicate the error categories and highlight it in yellow or red. Let me briefly explain the meanings.
- In the interface header there are tabs for selecting hard drives. By clicking on one or another tab, you can see the status of each. If you have several HDDs connected, you can distinguish them by looking at the model or capacity.
- Under the header there is a button Technical condition and Temperature. This value indicates the general condition of the hard drive and may be blue - Fine, yellow – Anxiety!, red – Badly!. The temperature should ideally not exceed 45°C.
- Indication of an error in a specific SMART category.
In the header under the hard drive model you can find detailed information about your drive: for HDD this is data buffer, rotation speed of magnetic disks, number of starts, total operating time; for SSD it is host reads, host writes, NAND writes, number of starts, total operating time.
You can also view the firmware version and serial number, may be useful to those who are looking for a donor, but this information is not enough.
The program supports connections via USB, SATA, RAID. Can be installed on all current Windows platforms starting from XP and ending with 10.
I couldn't help but tell about Hard Disk Sentinel, it complements any other hard drive testing program and gives a more detailed assessment of the technical condition.
Launch the program, select your drive and view the information in the tab Review. It is worth paying attention to health, temperature, performance and the message that is indicated in the box. To make it clear, I indicated these values with arrows in the bottom screenshot.
Functional Hard programs Disk Sentinel is large, but in this article we only consider what concerns hard drive diagnostics.
How to check sectors on a hard drive
Perhaps the most popular program for checking sectors on a hard drive is Victoria. In it you can view the SMART status, check blocks for integrity and reading delay. As I already described.
This is what a scanned hard drive looks like in Victoria Is the HDD in bad condition? Extract data!
If a hard drive test shows that the condition is critical, urgently copy all information to another medium. Very often, users do not attach much importance to freezes and spontaneous reboots of the computer. As a rule, they begin to wonder only when Windows stops loading. Sometimes it happens that it is too late to pull out the information on your own. If you do not need hardware repairs and replacement of components with the help of a donor, then you can try.
If there are bad sectors on the HDD, you can try to remove them by reassigning them to another area using . The ideal program for this task would be HDD Low Level Format. Attention! This procedure will delete all your information without the possibility of recovery. First transfer your data to another medium.
In case of problems in the mechanical part of the HDD, read the article. I hope the article helped many readers. If you have any questions, ask in the comments.
The best "Thank you" is your repostThere are many free hard drive testing tools that can help you determine what's going on with your hard drive when you suspect there's a problem with it.
IN operating system Windows type already included are tools such as checking the disk for errors and the command chkdsk, but there are other tools below that are available for free from hard drive manufacturers and other developers.
Important: Depending on the problem found, you may need to replace the hard drive if it fails any of the given hard drive tests. To do this, you need to follow the tips given in the program.
Seagate SeaTools is a free program for testing hard drives, available to users in one of two options:
- SeaTools for DOS Supports Seagate or Maxtor drives and works regardless of your operating system, running directly from a CD or USB drive, making this program very reliable.
- SeaTools for Windows is a program that needs to be installed on the Windows operating system. With its help, you can perform basic and advanced testing of any drives from any manufacturers - both internal and external.
Those users accessing SeaTools Desktop, SeaTools Online, or PowerMax from Maxtor should note that the above program replaces all three specified programs. Today Seagate is the owner trademark Maxtor.
SeaTools from Seagate are the best in their segment. They are used to check hard drives in professional computer services, but any user can easily use them.
The Windows version of SeaTools runs on operating systems from Windows 10 to Windows XP.
HDDScan is a free program for checking all types of disks, regardless of their manufacturer.
HDDScan includes several tools, including SMART testing and surface inspection.
The program is very easy to use, does not require installation, supports almost all drive interfaces, and seems to be updated regularly.
HDDScan can be used on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP, as well as Windows Server 2003.
DiskCheckup is a free hard drive checker that works with most drives.
The program displays SMART information such as the number of read errors, the time it takes to spin up the wafer pack from rest to operating speed, the frequency of errors when positioning the magnetic head unit, and temperature. In addition, it can perform a quick and advanced disk scan.
You can configure the program so that SMART section information is sent by email or displayed when the disk parameters exceed the threshold values recommended by the manufacturer.
Hard drives that have a SCSI connection or implement hardware RAID are not supported by DiskCheckup.
DiskCheckup runs on Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP and Windows Server 2008/2003 operating systems.
GSmartControl can perform a variety of hard drive tests, providing detailed results and an overall assessment of the drive's health.
GSmartControl can perform three self-tests to troubleshoot a drive:
- Quick check: takes about 2 minutes and is used to identify a seriously damaged hard drive.
- Extended check: Takes about 70 minutes and will scan the entire surface of the hard drive to detect failures.
- Transportation check: This test takes 5 minutes and is designed to look for damage that may have occurred while the drive was in transit.
GSmartControl can be downloaded for Windows either as a portable version or as an installable program. It works on system versions from Windows 10 to Windows XP. You can also get a version of the program for operating rooms Linux systems and Mac and programs in LiveCD/LiveUSB format.
Windows Drive Fitness Test is a free hard drive diagnostic software that can work on most drives available today.
Unfortunately, when Windows Help Drive Fitness Test can only be checked USB drives and other internal drives.
WinDFT can be installed on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP operating systems.
Samsung HUTIL is a free utility for diagnosing Samsung hard drives. Sometimes HUTIL is called ES-Tool.
The Samsung HUTIL program is available as an ISO image for subsequent recording on a CD or USB flash drive. This approach makes HUTIL independent of the operating system and, in general, a more convenient tool for testing than programs developed for the Windows operating system. You can also run HUTIL from boot floppy.
Comment: The HUTIL program will only check Samsung hard drives. It will boot and find non-Samsung discs, but no diagnostics can be performed on such discs.
Since Samsung program HUTIL works with boot disk, then for it to work you will need a functioning hard drive and an operating system to burn it to a CD or USB flash drive.
Free Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic(DLGDIAG) is designed to test only Western Digital branded hard drives.
Western Digital Program Data Lifeguard Diagnostic can be downloaded as a portable version for Windows, or as an ISO file with an image for burning to a bootable disk, and performs a number of tests on the hard drive. Detailed instructions Installation instructions from Western Digital can be found at the link below.
Comment: The DOS version of DLGDIAG diagnoses only Western Digital drives, while the Windows version of this program also works with drives from other manufacturers.
The Windows version of the program works on operating systems from Windows 10 to Windows XP
Bart's Stuff Test
Bart's Stuff Test is a free program for Windows that performs stress tests on hard drives.
The program does not provide as many features and does not conduct as thorough testing of the hard drive as other programs on this list.
All things considered, Bart's Stuff Test is a good addition to your disk testing arsenal, especially if you have difficulty testing with ISO image-based tools and want to take advantage of something other than the default tools provided Windows.
Bart's Stuff Test, as stated, only works on operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 95. However, we tested its performance on the most latest versions systems (Windows 10 and Windows 8) and did not find any problems.
Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool is a free hard drive diagnostic tool designed specifically for Fujitsu hard drives.
The Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool (FJDT) is available in a Windows version and a DOS version using a boot diskette. Unfortunately, the DOS version is focused on using floppy disks - images that will run from CD or USB are not available.
Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool provides two tests: a “quick test” (lasting about 3 minutes) and an “all third party test”, the execution time of which will depend on the size of the hard drive).
Comment: Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool performs hard drive testing only for drives manufactured by Fujitsu. If you have a disk from another manufacturer, then you should try to use the manufacturer-independent programs listed at the beginning of the list.
Version for Windows programs Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool should work on all operating systems, from Windows 10 to Windows 2000.
HD Tune performs hard drive checks while running under Windows control. It can work with any internal or external drives, SSD drives or memory cards.
With HD Tune you can perform a performance test, check the health of the drive using Self-Monitoring Analysis mode and Drive Reporting Technology (SMART). In addition, the program can scan the disk for errors.
It supports Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000, although HD Tune has been tested to work correctly on Windows 10 and Windows 8.
The Free EASIS Drive Check program, designed to check hard drives, has two built-in checking utilities - checking sectors and reading SMART attribute values.
The SMART attribute check allows you to create a list of more than 40 parameters that describe the operation of the hard drive, and the sector check will check the surface of the media for read errors.
A report on the execution of any of these tests can be seen directly in the program after its completion. In addition, you can configure the program so that the report is sent to email or printed.
According to the description, EASIS Drive Check works on operating systems from Windows 2000 to Windows 7, but its performance has also been tested on Windows 8 and 10.
The error checking program is sometimes called the scandisk program. This is a hard drive test tool included with the operating system. Windows systems, and allows you to search for various errors on your hard drive.
This tool may also try to fix a number of hard drive-related problems.
Macrorit Disk Scanner is a very simple program that checks for bad sectors on your hard drive. It is easy to use, installs quickly, and is also available in a portable version.
The main part of its window is used to visually represent the scanning process and clearly indicate the location of damage.
Especially well implemented in Macrorit Disk Scanner is the visual display of how much time is left until the end of the scan, because Some hard drive checking programs do not show this. In addition, you can select the option to automatically turn off the computer when the scan is completed.
Operating systems in which Macrorit Disk Scanner can work are: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, Windows Home Server, and Windows Server 2012/2008/2003.
Ariolic Disk Scanner is very similar to Macrorit Disk Scanner in that it uses read-only to find bad disk sectors. This program has a minimal interface with a single button, and using it, it is easy to understand which parts of the disk contain “bad” sectors.
The program only has portable version, and its size is slightly more than 1 MB.
The only thing that distinguishes this program from Macrorit Disk Scanner is that Ariolic Disk Scanner shows files that have read errors.
We only tested Ariolic Disk Scanner on Windows 10 and XP, but it should work on other versions of Windows as well.
A modern computer is made to withstand more than one year permanent job. You probably have friends (or you yourself are a user) whose PC has been working for almost ten years and, with the exception of not the best performance, does not show any signs of “illness” or imminent death. Unfortunately, not all computer components are as durable as RAM, processor or motherboard. Just like in a car, a modern PC has components classified as “consumables” that need to be replaced over time. This primarily concerns the storage system or hard drive / SSD.
You don't have to wait until the operating system stops turning on or your files suddenly disappear. You can detect the approaching need to replace a disk using special applications that monitor the state of the “health” of the disk and can promptly advise you to do so. backup copy and prepare money for a new drive.
Checking disk health without programs
Windows 10 is a complex and comprehensive system, but it still does not have a full-fledged utility for checking the status of disks. It may indicate that the disk is either working normally or is in need of replacement. The latter often means that the drive has actually come to an end. Unfortunately, there are no intermediate values here. However, let's consider a method that allows you to find out the health of a disk in Windows 10 without third party programs.
For condition analysis Windows disk takes information from S.M.A.R.T self-diagnosis data. The disadvantage of this approach is that if the drive is on the verge of death, and the self-diagnostic systems report that "all is well", the Control Panel will indicate that the drive is working normally. This does not give the user the opportunity to notice disk degradation in time and transfer important information to a new drive. To do this you need to use third party applications. Fortunately, there are plenty of them on the Internet. Below we have compiled a list of applications that we ourselves use and which we consider the most convenient.
Program for checking disk status
It is worth noting that the program cannot 100% accurately predict how long the disk will last. Still, third-party applications will provide you with a more accurate picture of the status of your drives and help you avoid sudden troubles.
One of the most popular applications of its kind is called CrystalDisk Info from the creators of the popular CrystalDisk Mark benchmark, with which you can. It is small, does not require installation, is translated into Russian and displays a large number of useful information. Download CrystalDisk Info from the official website and launch the application. At the top you will see a panel that displays all your physical disks (if you have one HDD installed, divided into 4 partitions, the application will display one disk) with brief information about their condition. Click on the disk you need, after which you will see details about its operation.
Pay attention to large blocks first Technical condition And Temperature. The first indicator is “health”. Its value is calculated based on a large amount of data about the operation of the disk, such as operating hours, number of starts, rewrites, errors, temperature, and so on. Each of these parameters can be found in separate windows.
The screenshot, for example, shows that a Kingston SSD with a 95% “health” state worked for 6620 hours, which equals 275 days of continuous operation. The longer an SSD operates and the more rewrite cycles it has, the more its “health” deteriorates. The health of a hard drive depends on the number of so-called “BAD blocks” and unstable sectors, as well as the ability of the disk firmware to correct them. All this information can be found at CrystalDisk Info. If any of the drive parameters deviate from the norm, the application will notify you about this with the appropriate color designation. If the parameter is colored blue, then everything is fine with the disk. Yellow is already an alarm. Red means it's really bad, and gray means the application was unable to detect the value. Please note that a health value below 100% does not mean that it is time for you to change the disk now. Replacement is recommended for values below 50% or for attributes highlighted in yellow or red.
Another good program for determining the health of a disk is Hard Disk Sentinel. It is also localized into Russian and offers a slightly more convenient interface for checking a large number of indicators of your drives. In addition, unlike CrystalDisk Info, Har Disk Sentinel is better suited for continuous disk monitoring. For example, in it you can set a threshold for the temperature of the disks, upon reaching which the application will notify you of the need to cool the air inside the case to avoid overheating. Hard Disk Sentinel more clearly demonstrates the condition of disks, their performance and operating time, and can also predict the remaining life cycle based on the current state of the disk. In addition, various tests are built into it, with which you can find out about “BAD blocks” and other problems. If problems are detected, HDS will give you recommendations that will help you decide what to do with the drive and whether to buy a new one.
HDS is a complex and very large application that can take a long time to describe. In this article we will only focus your attention on the main thing. You just need to install and run the program, after which you will receive a sufficient amount of information about the health of the disk. If you have the time and desire, the application can be studied and flexibly customized for yourself, but this is a topic for a separate article. The only downsides that can be noted are poor optimization for high-resolution screens, as well as downright ugly icons not only inside the application, but also in Explorer.
You can also mention diagnostic utilities from the drive manufacturers themselves, such as Seagate, Western Digital or Toshiba, but they all often lag far behind the applications mentioned in this article in terms of convenience and capabilities, so we will not recommend using them.
Having applications for diagnosing hard drives, you will always be aware of their status and at the right time you will be able to quickly and painlessly move your files to new disk, if the existing one begins to show signs of imminent demise. If you use other utilities that you consider better than CrystalDisk Info or Hard Disk Sentinel, please tell us about them in the comments.
If the HDD makes strange sounds or there are problems with writing and reading information, you should use one of the programs to check the hard drive for errors. Depending on the task (checking the disk surface for damage, searching for bad sectors, correcting errors, etc.), different software may be useful.
You can quickly check the disk for errors using standard system tools, but to restore the hard drive you will need special third-party programs. Having learned how to check the health of a hard drive using various utilities, a user of any level will be able to cope with any problems that may arise.
The CheckDisk system service is the simplest program for diagnosing a hard drive, which is not able to find complex errors and fix them bad sectors, but is useful for fixing basic problems. It is available on all versions of Windows OS and can be used to check drives of any type. All users need to know how to check a hard drive for errors with this tool.
The graphical interface version of the utility is most convenient for novice users. You can launch it through the disk management menu, which can be accessed in two ways:
- in Windows XP/Vista/7 - select “Management” in context menu“My computer”, then go to the desired menu;
- in Windows 8/10 - press the Win+X combination and select the appropriate item.
In the window that opens, select the device that needs analysis, right-click on it and select “Properties” from the drop-down menu. By going to the “Service” tab, you need to run the hard drive diagnostic program.
The system will check and automatically correct errors if the disk is not currently busy with read or write processes. Otherwise, the program will offer to test after rebooting the PC. If necessary, in the scan results window you can see detailed information about the status of the HDD.
The GUI version does not always help, since it is sometimes necessary to check the status of the hard disk safe mode or without starting the operating system at all. In such cases, the console comes to the rescue; you can launch it before the system starts using a boot disk.
Once you open the recovery console, you need to run the chkdsk /f command, which will check all connected drives. In some cases, this will help fix the error. However, in most situations, if a HDD failure has made it impossible to start the system, a more in-depth check of the hard drive’s condition will be required.
To take advantage console command from inside the system you need:
- run command line(via Win+X or by entering cmd in the Run window);
- enter the chkdsk command indicating the letter of the partition being checked and additional flags;
- Confirm the operation by pressing Y.
Checking the HDD via the command line will be a little faster than when using the GUI version of the program; the results will be shown here in the console.
The Linux system also has standard tools - hdparm and smartctl, launched from the console.
Simple programs for quickly checking HDD
If standard utilities are not suitable, hard drive diagnostics can be carried out using simple third-party programs. They allow you to get more information about the health status of the HDD, but in case of serious problems they will not be suitable, since they cannot be used to fix the damage.
HDDScan is a free program that performs analysis in two modes:
- according to S.M.A.R.T. indicators;
- linear processing.
The tool evaluates the read and write speed of various sectors, marking the “slow” cells. During the analysis, the program ensures that the tested hard drives do not overheat; at the end of processing, the user is presented with a full report.
HDDScan good versatility. The utility allows you to check disks for errors regardless of the type of device: it can either check an external hard drive or analyze a RAID array, SSD drive or memory card.
Crystal Disk Mark has only one function - it evaluates the read and write speed. Despite this, it is often used, since it is still possible to check the hard drive for serviceability using just two indicators.
Used for the test different algorithms, one of which is sequential recording mode. The program gradually fills all the space on the drive with blocks of a size specified by the user, after which it cleans the HDD. The same technique is used by hard drive manufacturers to check product quality. Its disadvantage is that it accelerates the wear of SSD drives.
CrystalDiskInfo And DiskCheckup They are similar in their set of functions, differing only in the interface. They check the status of the hard drive using S.M.A.R.T. algorithms and compile a history of checks, which allows you to track the dynamics of changes. CrystalDiskInfo has more options for visualizing history. For example, you can create a graph, not just get a written report.
Another feature of these programs is convenient system notifications. In-depth hard drive tests usually take a long time. If the user needs to step away from the computer, he can enable notifications of critical HDD errors via E-Mail.
Programs from hard drive manufacturers
Some HDD manufacturers have developed their own utilities for analyzing the status of the hard drive. They are intended for use with devices of the same name; diagnosing a hard drive from another company is possible with their help, but this must be done carefully. Unlike simpler programs, these utilities have versions in different languages, including Russian. Which program is better to analyze the HDD status?
The proprietary program from Seagate exists in two versions: a standard version for running under Windows and a DOS version in ISO image format, from which you can make bootable USB flash drive. It is recommended to use the second option, since the check in this case will be more accurate and efficient.
SeaTools uses part of the S.M.A.R.T indicators. to test the hard drive without giving away details about each item. Three tests can be performed:
- short self-test of HDD;
- short rapid test;
- a long-term check in which all sectors are read sequentially.
As the scan progresses, the program automatically corrects any errors found.
Owners of hard drives from WD should know how to check the performance of hard drives using proprietary software from this manufacturer. The range of its capabilities is similar to that of the program from Seagate, but is somewhat expanded and allows for more in-depth work with the affected device.
There are two additional functions:
- deep disk formatting - the program writes zeros to all sectors, irreversibly destroying information;
- blocking access to bad sectors - the program marks bad blocks, preventing the writing of new information to them.
Unlike SeaTools, this program for diagnostics, the HDD can be freely used with devices from any manufacturer to check the hard drive for errors - no problems were identified with this.
Deep testing software
If you need not only checking your hard drive for errors, but also correcting bad sectors, you cannot do without a complex software, which carries out the most in-depth analysis of the HDD state.
Victoria HDD
According to many users, Victoria HDD is the best software for detecting hard drive problems. The program gained this reputation due to its wide range of functions.
Victoria exists in two versions:
- with a graphical shell for use from inside Windows;
- with a DOS shell to create a boot disk.
It's better to use the second version. Diagnostics of the HDD outside the system allows you to achieve better results, so it is always recommended to follow the principle “if possible, test the disk from the boot disk.” As a last resort, you can use a LiveCD of another OS, for example, a Linux distribution like Ubuntu.
Victoria HDD has a variety of functions:
- quick and complete disk scan;
- reassignment of bad sectors and their restoration;
- checking the status of contacts in the IDE or SATA cable;
- equipment performance analysis;
- viewing S.M.A.R.T. indicators.
When checking, you need to pay attention to the access time to sectors. It should not exceed 200-600 ms. You can also see the temperature of the disk during operation, but this is not so important.
HDD Regenerator
HDD Regenerator is a program for professional hard recovery disk. It not only marks bad sectors as unused, but also tries to revive them. For this purpose it is not used standard method deep formatting, but its own algorithm based on transmitting signals of different levels to the sector. Despite the professional level, this software can also be used by inexperienced users, since testing a hard drive with its help is easy thanks to its convenient Russian-language interface.
Program features:
- ensuring data safety - it works only in read mode;
- support for different file systems;
- the ability to scan the disk surface;
- real-time monitoring.
The program is not suitable for everyone, since you can check your hard drive for functionality for free, but you will have to pay $90 for the sector recovery function.
If you don’t want to pay, you can use TestDisk, a free program that can restore the partition table, boot sectors and MFT. It also detects bad sectors, can recover deleted information and fix errors file system. The only drawback is the lack GUI, you have to work from the console.
If, after checking the HDD and correcting all problems, the computer does not stop working incorrectly, it is worth checking the registry. Perhaps the failures are caused not by hardware failure, but by internal system errors.
