How to check the power of the hard disk to the computer. Check hard disk on broken sectors

- The most unreliable component of the modern computer. As a rule, modern models work up to 3 years, after which they have to be replaced. The worst thing in this situation is what to predict when it breaks hDD very difficult. Because of this, inexperienced users often lose important data. In this material, we will tell about how to check the hard drive for health and correctly assess its condition.

Profitability checks based on data from "S.M.A.R.T."

If you want to check the hard drive for goodness, then the first thing to do is to install the program. This free program collects all available information about the drive and based on its assessment of its technical condition. If the drive is fully working, then its "technical stand" will be indicated as "good." If it has some problems, you will receive an "anxiety" rating, but in cases where the HDD is on the verge of death, the program issues a "bad" rating.

Also in the CrystalDiskinfo program you can view the source data of the S.M.A.R.T. system. (Their program uses to assess those status). To deal with the fact that you can use one or another. There is a table with detailed description All parameters of the system "S.M.A.R.T.". In addition, in the CrystalDiskInfo program, you can see the number of inclusions, the number of hours worked, the exact name of the model and even serial number drive

Checking the hard disk service under load

If the system "s.m.a.r.t." Does not show any problems, then the hard disk can be checked in good condition by creating large load. For this, just try to record on the drive a large number of Small files (steamed megabyte size). For example, you can try to copy a large folder on it with photos.

If the disk is good, the copying process must pass without any incident. At the same time, the copying speed should be more or less stable throughout the copy (except for a small drop in speed immediately after starting copying).
If the hard drive is faultyThe copying speed will be very much to fluctuate (from normal to very low). In some cases, the copy process may freeze or interrupt. Part of the files may not be copied, the system will report errors. In particularly running cases, a cracking can be heard or crushing, the drive may turn off ().

If the file entry test passed normally, then try to test how data read works. To do this, try copying data from a tested disk.

Check for errors in the HD Tune program

The next step is to check the help of hard disk using specialized programs. Such programs allow you to check the hard disk on errors and identify the existing problems, even if they are not manifested in normal use. Let's start checking from a free program (or its paid version of HD Tune Pro).

In order to check the hard disk on errors, run the HD TUNE program, go to the tab and click on the Start button.

After that, the HD TUNE program will start checking the hard disk in good condition. During the inspection you can watch this process. Normal portions of the hard drive will be marked with green, and damaged red.

On a fully suitable hard disk of damaged (red) blocks should not be altogether, the entire surface must be marked with green.

Check for errors using Victoria 3.5

To get the most accurate check, you must use the program, you can download it as an ISO file, for example, (here version 3.5, which is best suited for checking outside the operating system). The downloaded ISO file must be recorded on the CD (or USB) and download the computer from it. After downloading the computer from this CD, you will need to select one of the versions of the Victoria program. For desktop computers You need to choose the version of "Victoria for Desktop", and for laptops, respectively, "Victoria for Notebook". Other options in this menu are started. operating system DOS and Volkov Commander.

To start checking the entire surface of the hard disk, press the F4 key. After that, the menu should appear with the settings. Here you need to choose "Ignore Bad Blocks" and "Linear reading". It should be noted that using the Victoria program is very careful, since the use of some of its functions can delete data on the drive. For example, it can happen when you turn on the option "Record (Erase)", "Record from File", as well as "BB \u003d ERASE 256 SECT".

To start the scan, you need to press the F4 key again. After that, it remains only to wait until the check is over. At the end, if the hard disk is fully working, you should see such a screen.

If the hard disk has some problem areas, orange and red blocks will appear on the scanning screen. The more such blocks, the worse the condition of the HDD surface. If the number of red blocks is large, this means that the hard drive is faulty and it's time to replace it. Detailed information About problems found can be viewed on the right side of the screen, in the "Defects" window.

Check for errors in Victoria 4.46

If you do not want to record an ISO image and download from a computer from a disk, you can use the Victoria 4.46 program that works from the operating room windows systems. You can download this version of the program, for example.

After downloading, you will receive an archive that will need to unpack any folder. To launch the Victoria 4.46 program, open the archive content folder and run the VCR446F.exe program. After starting, you will see the main window of Victoria, it will look something like in the picture below.

Studying the program is worth starting from the "Standart" tab. Here on the right side of the screen is a list hard disksThat Victoria was able to determine if information about the current selected drive is displayed on the left (if you wish, you can choose another), and the log of events, errors and other information is located below.

To check the hard disk on errors, you need to open the tab "Tests". Here you need to first press the "PASSP" button (to obtain information about the drive), and then on the "Start" button (to start the check).

After that, you just need to wait until the program finishes checking the hard disk.

During the verification process, the Victoria program will find failed and problem blocks of the drive, the number of which will be displayed in the batch on the right, as well as at the bottom of the screen.

Results of the verification of the hard disk

A fully working hard disk should easily undergo all the above tests. The CrystalDiskinfo program should stand the rating "good", manual testing and reading should take place without difficulty, and HD TUNE and Victoria programs should not detect any problems. If you all like that, then, most likely, your hard disk is fully fulfilled and will work for a long time.

But, naturally, there is no guarantee here and can not be. Therefore, the only way to reliably protect your data is backing up. The most important data (personal photos, video, documents) should always be stored on several drives.

Letter. A difficult question to the site administrator site and please answer by simple language, so that it would be clear simple user.

How to check hard disk for performance, and most importantly is it possible to remove failure sectors with hard disk Or as they are still name-bad blocks, which, as it turned out, there are several species:
- physical (sweeping magnetic layer of operating plates, chips, etc.),
- logic (sector logic errors), to logical Bad blocks, can also be attributed software Badi., that is, Soft Bad (errors file System).
Before you write, I understood quite a long time in this matter and realized that the usual user knows superficial and inaccurate information, namely, many believe that all failure sectors or bade blocks are removed by normal formatting, but this is not the case. It turns out that physical badges are not removed at all, and the logical only with the help of special programs and only software bad blocks or software or software (file system errors) can be removed by conventional windows toolsFor example, with or ordinary formatting. What am I all this.

I recently had to contact the service center about the strange work of my computer. First, periodic hangs were observed, a duration of several seconds, and sometimes coming to the computer, I had to restart the computer with the RESET button. Occasionally, strange clicks and creak were heard from the hard disk. The system showed strange folders without names. A simple file copying process, from one section of the hard drive to another, lasted terribly long. Also, the operating system often checked a hard disk on errors when the computer is turned on, and last time Issued bootmgr is missing in the black screen, this error Restored using the seminal installation disk, but in a day, when loading, the computer gave just a black screen, I thought it would be enough and addressed to the service center.

IN service center Technical specialist checked my hard drive with a free HDDScan program.

Unfortunately, the master checking did not explain anything, showed me only after checking 12 Bad Blocks (English Bad Sector, Bad Block, Fablement Sectors damaged)marked with a program in blue. Another 90 sectors were labeled in red, they were not yet bad blocks, but the response time they had no good, more than 500 MS.

Also, the master showed me Smart of my hard disk and admitted it not very good, since the most important parameter of the reallocated sector count is a substantive number of reassigned sectors (when the disk / write disk is detected, the sector is marked "reassigned", and data from the damaged sector or In other words, the physical band block is transferred to the backup area), is almost critical, it is responsible for the physical defects of the hard disk, which is no longer corrected.

Another parameter of the Current Pending Errors Count is aventive by the number of sectors, the reading is difficult and is very different from reading the normal sector, also marked with a yellow color, which spoke about its poor condition. The Council of the Specialist was to transfer all the important data from the hard disk and "to pay" it in this HDDScan program, but since the Bad blocks are very much, most likely, all of them will not be able to be able to install them and the operating system will not be installed on it, in The subsequent use of this hard drive is needed as a file storage or how else to say the file garbage, only so, it will live any time.

I listened to the master and left the Winchester in the service for "treatment" until the evening, and in the evening I was shown the result.

Not a single failure sector (BAD block), and was 12. The number of sectors with a response time more than 500 MS was less (it was 90, and it became 23),

one of the critical indicators of S.M.A.R.T - 197 CURRENT PENDING ERRORS COUNT-conventing as I said for the number of sectors, the reading of which is difficult, has become normal, parameter 198 Uncorrectable Errors Count"Contused uncorrected errors when accessing the sector also became within the normal range, but the most, according to him, an important indicator of the reallocated Sector Count did not change and remained unsatisfactory, so the output is: the operating system cannot be installed on this hard disk.

And here I have a question for you, explain in detail how to check the hard drive On professionality independently, how to determine how many failed sectors and what are they? How to use programs like HDDScan, and most importantly, how to get rid of it from the Bad blocks. What exactly does the program do the program with the Winchester, eliminating it from the Bad blocks and will such a treatment for a hard disk for a long time? Is it still possible to install the operating system on this hard disk or not? And the last question, the incorrigible parameter s.m.a.r.t - the reallocated Sector Count can still be corrected and the physical bads actually are increquently incorrigible, on many forums on the Internet they say that there are branded utilities of hard drive manufacturers that are capable of producing low-level formatting At home. Alexander Anatolyevich. Tomsk.

How to check the hard drive

Friends, say brevity - sister Talent, one of my buddy, reading this question, answered him like this:- "The scratch will not get anything, and the software BAD is treated with zero."

The topic is not easy, but relevant, the article is long, but I tried it to be accessible to understanding the simple user. What would be easier to understand everything, I offer in the course of the article step by step to check the free program HDDScan Hard disk Maxtor STM3250310AS, installed in the computer, which brought to our service to repair. The operating system installed on the hard disk, it hangs from time to time, refuses to load, issuing different errors or just a black screen. Hard disk shakes and clicks, (I will explain below why). Reinstalling Windows The case did not help and the owners of the computer do not know what to do.

so how to check the condition of the hard disk? You can do this by various tests in the HDDScan program, for a start we will check the indicators of S.m.a.r.t of this hard drive, then test the surface of the hard drive, you will find a lot of 63 failure sectors and our program will fix them, another question for a long time (we read further).

But first, very brief information about how the hard disk is still arranged, if this retreat is not done, you simply do not understand the principle of operation of the HDDScan program and other similar programs, the more I do not understand what SMART is, as well as failed sectors (Bad blocks) and why some of them are impossible to fix.

The hard disk is made of aluminum or glass plates coated with a layer of ferromagnetic material. Hard disk is primarily a device working on the principle of magnetic record. Magnetic heads, reading, recording or erasing information from a hard disk, hover over its surface at an altitude of 10-12 nm and never touch the surface of a magnetic disk that is easy to damage.

At the final stage of the production of winechester, held low-level formatting, That is, tracks are applied on the working plates of the hard disk, each track is divided into sectors. Also, special magnetic servometers are applied on the magnetic surface of the hard disk, they are needed to accurately enter the magnetic head of the hard drive on the tracks of the hard disk. The minimum information on the hard disk is a sector, the amount available to the user is 512 bytes of data. Low-level formatting in the life of a hard disk occurs only once, friends and only on a special and very expensive factory equipment - called the servoiter. Information recorded using such formatting will never be overwritten. None in any other friends, such formatting will not be able to do. Therefore, my answer to the question is whether low-level formatting of the operating system can be carried out, there will be an answer - no. Low-level formatting can be made only at the factory, it destroys even the tracks, sectors and magnetic servometers. For example, in the program, Victoria rubs all the information on the hard disk by filling out all sectors with zeros, it cannot be called low-level formatting, but it is impossible to call formatting, this is something average. After the WRITE mode, all sectors of the hard disk are filled with zeros and do not contain any errors and it can be formatted in the Windows file system.
Only official information is recorded at the factory in the sectors. servo servo service, For example, the physical address of the sector and the address marker, which determines the beginning of the sector), this information can be called markup, it is necessary for the normal operation of the hard disk, these are information about the numbers of the tracks and sectors, which are necessary for error-free headings on these tracks and sectors when reading information recorded in them.
Already after buying a hard disk, user data will also be written in this area (for example, the first sector of the hard disk will contain the main boot record MBR), but user data can be recorded and washed., unlike service information, which possesses much greater magnetizationThat's why the head read-write heads can not be lost.

All service information about the number of tracks and sectors will be stored in a special table located in a closed and inaccessible to the OS and BIOS of the service area representing the mini-operative system, along with the firmware firmware, they control the work of the hard disk. Sometimes you ask a question - whether it is necessary to refresh the firmware of the hard disk, the answer is negative, modern hard drives in the update do not need. Also, in this service area, the disk passport will be stored, the values \u200b\u200bof the attributes of the Smart, as well as a defect table with information about unrecoverable or reassigned failure sectors (BED blocks).
So we got with you to physical, logical and program failed sectors.

The point is that if the operating system is experiencing problems with reading data from any sector, the Winchester controller takes some more additional attempts to read the data if they are also unsuccessful, this sector is failed, in the future information is written in the Normal Sector , located on a backup track, and the problem sector is confined failed and is derived from circulation, it is called (Remapping, in common remap).

Friends, to carry out Remap or not, solves only the controller of the hard disk in the process of work, and not any programs for working with the Winchester (Victoria, MHDD). Program data can only hint with their tests (for example, Advanced Remap in the Victoria program - an improved flaven blocking block algorithm) Winchester controller that Remap needs to be done.

The fact of recognition of the sector fails is submitted to the defect table with information on unrecoverable or reassigned failure sectors located in the service area.

By the way, there are two defect tables, one initial P-List (Primary-List) is created after the final factory tests, any hard drive Friends already when leaving the plant has several reassigned Bad blocks. Well, the growing table of defects G-List (GROWN-LIST) is filled with a hard disk with us.

What are the failed sectors and how to fix them?

Physical failure sectors They are mechanical defects of the magnetic coating of the surface of the hard disk (sweeping magnetic layer of operating plates, chips, etc.). That is, the structure of the sector itself is physically faulty, undoubtedly such a BAD unit is subject to reassignment with the normal sector from the backup path. Very often, this is due to the strike caused by a drop of hard disk to the floor, formed mechanical damage Magnetic coating of a hard disk, damage to the magnetic heads, the same can occur due to overheating. The vibration of a hard disk is also dangerous if it is unreliable. Dusty room, smoking, despite the filter installed in the hard disk, also play a huge role in the formation of Bad blocks, tobacco resins and dust stick to the surface of the hard disk and interfere with reading information.
Physical Bad blocks are impossible It is possible to fix any formatting, you can only reassign the spare sectors from backup tracks, naturally because of this slightly falls the speed, since the magnetic head of the Winchester will have to do a lot of additional movements, looking for information on reassigned sectors from backup tracks.

Why the hard disk creaks and clicks sometimes when working

When the operating system meets the failure sector, the controller of the hard disk, takes several attempts to read the information from it, and the click and the creak can make the positioner of the head of the hard drive.

Also the reason for clicking and the syringe of the hard disk may be the following reason. With the reassignment of the failure sector, the normal from the backup track (is not always near), the magnetic head naturally has to change the direction, as they say many ride from side to side.

The third reason is that I have already spoken above, in the manufacture of a hard disk, a special markup of the magnetic surface of the hard drives with special servosers is performed, these servometers are served for accurate positioning of the magnetic head on the Winchestera tracks, it is using the Magnetic Head of Winchester that moves correctly. Sometimes the servometers are destroyed for the same reasons for which physical bad blocks are formed and the magnetic head can not occupy and keep the position right to it, while some of the hard disk, clicks and creak.

Logic Bad blocks (sector logic errors), in turn are divided into corrected and incorrigible. In which case logical Bad unit is impossible to fix? As I said above, each sector carries in itself in addition to user information still service (servo information, such as the physical address of the sector and the address marker, which determines the beginning of the sector), simple words Marking, with which the magnetic head of the hard drive hits the desired tracks of the sectors, such a markup is applied by low-level formatting at the factory when making a hard disk. This information It is almost impossible to remove since it is very namagnichene, but under certain circumstances, similar to the reasons for the appearance of physical band blocks (blow, vibration, backlash, and so on), there is a violation of this information and it is possible to restore it only in factory conditions. Yes, there are special branded utilities overwriting official information, but due to the complexity of their application, this issue is complicated even for narrow specialists and we will not consider it.
Logic Bad blocksthat can be fixed. When writing to the Custom Information Sector, the service information is additionally recorded, the so-called checksum of the ECC sector (error correction code), this code Allows you to restore the data if they have been read with an error. But this code is not recorded, and accordingly, the amount of user data in the sector does not coincide with the ECC checksum. One of the simple examples, why this happens, you can bring a sudden disconnection of the computer due to electricity failures, because of this, the information in the sector of the rigid disk was recorded, and the checksum is not. Next time, the operating system will turn to this sector and tries to count the data from it, but they will not correspond to the ECC checksum, an attempt will be made to read the data again and again unsuccessfully (here you have freezing and Fallen Bad Block).
Software Bad Blocks (File System Errors- For example, incorrectly marked sector, belonging to two files), you can remove the use of the operating system -, reliable to normal formatting.

You say that all this is good and understandable, but how to get rid of the Bad blocks, can the data from the hard drive and format in the operating system installation program?

When formatting by all methods available to the operating system, the same attempt will take place information from the failure in the failure sector, then compare them with the ECC checksum, and it does not coincide and it means to rewrite incorrect information will not occur and the failure sector will remain failure even after formatting. So it turns out what a special program is needed, for example, MHDD or HDDSCAN, which will not read anything, but simply will force to rewrite, usually fill the failure sector with zeros, but then read the recorded and compare control sumAfter that, the sector will return to work.

For example, in the HDDScan program, there is an Erase function - in line record mode (sectoral data erasing) Caution All your data is deleted. Unfortunately, without deleting data, nothing will happen, so therefore, they must be transferred to another carrier of information.

And it is best to completely remove your hard disk and connect it to another computer with HDDScan program, then run the Erase test and check your entire hard drive. You can and do not remove anything, burn boot discs with MHDD or Victoria programs, boot from them and run program data with the Advanced Remap function, but we will do it in other articles.

Now our friends go directly to work with the HDDScan program, with the help of this program, we will see a complete picture of what is happening to our hard disk, namely, we learn S.m.a.r.t of our hard drive and decipher it, also establish the number of failed sectors and of course try to correct them.
We read further an article

The process of checking the hard disk for the presence of broken sectors is the search for erroneous records located on the drive and the BAD sectors.

Some of these problems may cause information loss - in most cases, without the possibility of recovery.

Therefore, every user should know about their appearance - and in order to try to correct disk errors, and for reserve copy Important information to another place.

The principle of education of broken sectors

Faced with problem sectors over time accounts for the owner of almost every HDD.

The principle of their appearance is as follows:

In the manufacture of disks, sectors are created using the magnetization of which information can be recorded on the drive.

Reading and writing information on (especially if the disk hit or drop), and sometimes also influence computer viruses lead to a gradual deterioration of the state of its structure.
On a surface magnetic disks Bad sectors begin to appear - areas, information in which is preserved incorrectly or not recorded at all.

You can eliminate spoiled sectors, but automatically system such actions do not perform - the user will have to manually start checking and correction.

If the BAD sectors are a bit, they are replaced with backup areas.

When spoiled HDD blocks appear, their addresses are reassigned to sectors from the reserve, and data loss does not occur.

Signs of the emergence of the problem

Among the main signs that problem sectors appeared on the disk and their restoration is required, It is worth noting the following:

computer hang in the process of loading the operating system;
oS start failure - In most cases, the download comes only to a certain point (for example, before the Windows emblem or the inscription "Welcome") and stops;
digestible and frequent reboots of the computer;
errors in the operation of the system, expressed in the impossibility of launching applications, closing windows and slowing the reaction to user actions.

The list of utilities that can be used to solve the problem is quite large.

Divide them into two main groups - those that are already built into the operating system (for example, in Windows), and applications from other manufacturers.

The latter can also be divided into paid programs And more popular among domestic users free versions.

Use of Windows tools

To correct errors and Windows BAD sectors, it contains already.

The advantages of it can be attributed to the possibility of restoring areas spoiled during operation or as a result of the infection of the system with viruses.

Another plus - The ability to start in two ways, as usual or.

The utility is capable of checking any physical and logic discsHowever, there are small differences in working with inactive and systemic regions.

So, the steps of checking and restoring the usual partition (which does not contain control files of the system and OS itself) will be as follows:

1 takes place in the window "My computer".

2 right mouse button opens properties of the selected disk.

3 Selects tab "Service".

4 clicks disk check button.

5 put Tick \u200b\u200bin front of checking the BAD sectors.

Checking system volumes on which Windows installed is performed differently.

The starting start utility coincides with the actions for the usual partition, but when trying to check the disk on the screen, an inscription will appear on the impossibility and the offer to do this after rebooting.

After rebooting the system does not load - instead of checking system partition HDD, learn about the progress of which can be displayed on the screen.

And you can start the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test not only from Windows, but also in mode, if the disk problems have already led to the inability to load the system.

Seagate Seatools.

SEATOOLS utility is free app, which is included:

detection of disorders of the HDD structure, including spoiled sectors and write or read errors;
correction of BAD sectors or rewrite them with zeros, in order for the system further, the system has ignored damaged areas;
windows OS problems;
damage to the system loader;

Efficiently, the application works with Seagate discs.

The average rectification time of detected errors (along with the verification process), depending on the size of the section, can reach 4 hours.

The advantages of the program include its free distribution and the provision of a detailed report.

HDD Health

Free HDD Health program has the ability to receive during the test of the BAD sectors of the following information:

manufacturer and firmware HDD;
current accumulator temperature;
the overall state of the structure of the device, including integers and spoiled sectors;
a number of other useful attributes.

The utility is distributed free by Panterasoft.

At the same time, the evaluation of the disk state is carried out only by S.M.A.R.T-indicators and is less efficient than checking the disk by other applications.

IN modern computerThe hard disk is the most unreliable device. Since the number of failures of this component is very large, and all the danger is that you cannot predict the time when it breaks, but you can periodically check the hard disk for good disk due to untimely diagnostics and prevention, many users lose important information. Therefore, I recommend paying attention to how your computer works.

If, it is necessary to check the hard disk in good condition. How to do this I will tell you this article.

Let's first look at how hard drive works and what it consists of.

HDD consists of glass and aluminum plates, which are covered with a special layer of ferromagnetic material. If you say simple words, the hard drive is a magnetic recording device.

For clarity, I attach an image, HDD insides.

When producing hard drives at the final stage, low-level formatting is carried out, which forms a "disc card", placing it on the tracks and sectors. Special labels are also performed, so that the head falls into the desired sector. The sector is the unit for measuring the hard disk that is equal to 512 bytes.

To check the hard disk in good condition, we will use special programs.

HDD temperature check

It is important to keep track of the temperature of the hard disk, since overheating can lead to its breakdown. To check the temperature of the hard drive, you can use such utilities as AIDA or HDD LIFE.

You can download these programs on official sites, to do this, enter the names of the programs.

After installing the HDDLIFE program, start it, and you will clearly see the status of your hard disk, as well as its temperature.

Also, at will, you can spend a disc test.

In the AIDA program, you can also see the disk temperature parameters.

To do this, run the program, open the "Computer" item - "Sensors"

All information as on the palm. If you see that the temperature of the hard drives is high enough, it is necessary to set the active cooling. Special cooling systems for hard drives are sold in stores.

Check the CrystalDiskInfo hard disk state.

CrystalDiskInfo you can download from the official site, it is distributed free of charge, but has a fairly rich functionality and can provide all necessary information The user about the state of the disk. If the program after the diagnosis determines that the disk is fully working, it will give an assessment of a state as "good." If there are any problems, the program will give an "alarm" or "bad" estimate if the disk in the death condition.

Also in CrystalDiskInfo, you can view information S.M.A.R.T - these are the source data for which the program estimates the state of the disk.

Check the hard disk state of the Victoria program.

To prevent problems with hard disk I recommend using the Victoria program under Windows. With it, you can get a large number of important information about the disk, as well as test the disk for the presence of broken sectors and prophylaxis. The program has a free and paid version, to determine the state of the disk, it will be enough to use free version. The program will be suitable even to beginners, since it has an intuitive interface, and when scanning HDD, the user visually sees the state of the sectors.

Since we are interested only for the state of the disk, we will not deepen into the process of deep check and restore the problem sectors, if any, but for a complete understanding, I will describe the basic functions. To begin with, you download the program, it is light enough and weighs less than 1 MB, so after you download, run the application - icon with a green cross. In the main window of the program you will see horizontal menu With switchable tabs. Consider the most important.

During the test, the program will scan the disc on the readability of the sectors, as you see the quality of the sectors is highlighted in different colors. Let's figure it out what each of the colors mean.

Gray sectors are the fastest sectors, we have no questions for them.
Green - sectors who work more slowly, they are also in good condition.
Orange - slow sectors, if a disk got many such sectors, then you need to think about his health, since because of them, the disc is starting to work slower, and as a rule, such sectors fail.
Red - sectors have damage and cannot be read. If the program detects them, you need to think about a new disk.
Blue sectors with a cross are those that when reading has caused a failure. You cannot restore information from them, but you can make the replacement of this sector to the workers, and it is possible that the disc will work slightly, but it is better not to pull with replacement.

If you pay attention, then there are four buttons on the tab panel: Ignore, Erase, Remap, Restore, they will also be useful for us, consider their appointment.

Ignore is a function at which only the surface test is carried out and not what actions to bad sectors do not apply.
Erase - when you enable this feature, poor sectors will be raised.
Remap - If this function is enabled, the program will try to replace the failure sectors of the workers. That is, when scanning, the program finds a failed sector, marks it that he is not working and replaces it with a good, worker sector.
Restore - This feature is available only in the paid version of the program. When it is turned on, the program will try to restore the non-working sector.

I described the basic functions of the program, you will only remain to select the desired and start checking. It can be long enough, depends on the tank capacity, as well as from its condition. Therefore, be patient. If there are many problem sectors on your disk, do not pull with the acquisition of a new one, and take care to transfer all important information to another as soon as possible, and in the future I do not regret its loss.

On this, I have everything, now you know how to check the hard disk in good condition, and you can take the way to replace it in advance.

If HDD makes strange sounds or problems with records and reading information, you should use one of the programs for checking the hard disk for errors. Depending on the task (checking the surface of the disk to damage, search for broken sectors, error correction, etc.) can be useful to different software.

Quickly check the disk on errors can be standard system tools, special third-party programs will be needed to restore the same hard drive. Having learned how to check the health of the hard disk with the help of various utilities, the user of any level will be able to cope with the problems arising.

The CheckDisk System Service is the most simple program for diagnosing a hard disk that is not able to find complex errors and correct broken sectors, but useful for fixing the basic problems. It is available on all versions of Windows OS and can be used to check the drives of any type. All users need to know how to check the hard disk on errors by this tool.

The version of the utility with the graphical interface is most convenient for novice users. You can run it through the disk management menu, to get into which in two ways:

in Windows XP / Vista / 7 - select the "Management" item in context menu "My computer", then go to the desired menu;
in Windows 8/10 - Press the combination of Win + X and select the appropriate item.

In the window that opens, select the device to which the analysis is needed, click on it with the right mouse button and select the "Properties" item in the drop-down menu. Turning to the "Service" tab, you need to run the hard disk diagnostics program.

The system will check and automatically correct the error if the disk is currently not engaged in reading or writing processes. Otherwise, the program will suggest testing after rebooting the PC. If necessary, in the Check Results window, you can see detailed information about the HDD state.

The GUI version does not always save, since checking the hard disk state is sometimes required from safe mode or not at all launching the operating system. In such cases, the console comes to the rescue, to start which can be started to start the system using boot disk.

Opening the Recovery Console, you need to execute the CHKDSK / F command, which will check all connected drives. In some cases, this will help correct the error. However, in most situations, if the HDD breakdown led to the inability to start the system, it will take a deeper test of the hard disk state.

To use the console command from within the system you need:

run command line (via Win + X or entering CMD into the "Run" window);
enter the chkdsk command indicating the letter of the verified section and additional flags;
confirm the operation by pressing Y.

Check the HDD through the command line it will turn out 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 SmartTL, started from the console.

Simple programs for quick check HDD

If standard utilities are not suitable, the diagnosis of the hard disk can be carried out using simple third-party programs. They allow you to get more information about the health status of HDD, but in serious problems they will not fit, as it is impossible to correct breakdowns with their help.

HDDScan is a free program that conducts analysis in two modes:

according to S.M.A.R.T.;
linear processing.

The tool estimates the speed of reading and writing in different sectors, marking the "slow" cells. In the course of the analysis, the program is monitored so that the w drives did not overheat, at the end of the processing the user seems to be a full report.

HDDScan. Good versatility. The utility allows you to check the disks on errors regardless of the type of devices: it can be checked outdoor hard disk and analyze the RAID array, SSD drive or memory card.

Crystal Disk Mark. It has only one function - it estimates the speed of reading and writing. Despite this, it is often used, as it is possible to check the hard disk for health with only two indicators.

For test, different algorithms are used, one of which is a sequential recording mode. The program gradually fills all the space on the drive of the block specified by the size of the size, after which it clears the HDD. The same technique is used by the manufacturers of hard drives to verify product quality. The lack of her is that it speeds up the wear of SSD drives.

Crystaldiskinfo. and Diskcheckup. Similar to the set of functions, differ only to the interface. They check the condition of the hard drive by S.M.A.R.T.-algorithms and make up the check history, which allows you to track the dynamics of changes. Crystaldiskinfo has the ability to visualize history more. For example, you can build a chart, and not just get a written report.

Another feature of these programs is a convenient notification system. Deep hard disk tests usually take a long time. If the user needs to move away from the computer, it may include notifications about critical errors HDD by e-mail.

Programs from hard drive manufacturers

Some HDD manufacturers have developed their utilities for analyzing the state of the hard drive. They are intended for use with the same devices, diagnostics of a hard disk from another company with their help is possible, but it is necessary to do it carefully. In contrast to more simple programsThese utilities have versions in different languages, including and in Russian. What program is better to make an HDD status analysis?

The SEAGATE brand program exists in two versions: a standard version for running from under Windows and the DOS version in the ISO image format from which you can make a loading 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 s.m.a.r.t indicators. To test the hard disk, without issuing the details about each item. You can spend three tests:

short self-test HDD;
short express test;
long checks at which all sectors are consistently read.

In the course of the check, the program automatically corrects the errors found.

Winchester owners from WD should be aware of how to check the performance of hard drives using branded software from this manufacturer. The set of its capabilities is similar to those from the program from Seagate, but somewhat expanded and allows you to carry out deeper work with the affected device.

Additional functions are two:

deep disk formatting - the program writes zeros into all sectors, irrevocably destroying information;
blocking access to sectors - program marks BAD blocks, excluding entry new information in them.

Unlike SeaTools, this program To diagnose the HDD, it can be freely used with devices from any manufacturers to check the hard disk for errors - there were no problems with this.

In for deep testing

If not only checking the hard disk on errors, but also the correction of broken sectors is not to do without complicated softwarewhich carries out the most profound analysis of the HDD state.

Victoria HDD.

According to many users of Victoria HDD, this is the best software for detecting hard disk. Such a reputation program received due to its wide range of functions.

Victoria exists in two versions:

with graphic shell for use from within Windows;
with DOS-shell to create a boot disk.

Enjoy the best version. The diagnosis of HDD outside the system allows you to achieve better results, so it is always recommended to follow the principle - "If you can, test the disk from the boot disk." In the extreme case, you can use the LiveCD of another OS, for example, distribution Linux by type ubuntu.

Victoria HDD has a variety of functions:

fast and complete disc check;
reassignment of broken sectors and their recovery;
checking the status of contacts in the IDE or SATA loop;
analysis of equipment performance;
view s.m.a.r.t. indicators.

When checking, you need to pay attention to the time of access to sectors. It should not exceed 200-600 ms. You can also see the disc temperature in the process of work, but it is not so important.

HDD Regenerator.

HDD Regenerator is a program for professional recovery hard disk. It does not just mark the broken sectors as unused, but also try to reanimate them. For this is not used standard method Deep formatting, and its own algorithm based on the transmission sector of signals of different levels. Despite the professional level, inexperienced users can use this software, as it is easy to test the hard disk with its help thanks to a convenient Russian-speaking interface.

Features:

ensuring data security - it works only in read mode;
support for different file systems;
the ability to scan the surface of the disk;
real-time monitoring.

The program is not suitable for all, since it is possible to check the hard disk for working free, but for the restoration function of the sectors will have to pay $ 90.

If you do not want to pay, you can use a test type - a free program that can restore partition table, boot sectors and MFT. It also detects broken sectors, can restore remote information and correct file system errors. The only drawback is the lack of a graphical interface, it comes from the console.

If, after checking the HDD and fix all problems, the computer did not stop working incorrectly, it is worth checking the registry. Perhaps the failures are not caused by a breakdown of equipment, but internal system errors.