Program for scanning hdd for bad sectors. CHKDSK - checking the hard drive for errors

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.

CheckDisk System Service is the simplest hard drive diagnostic program that can't find complex errors or fix 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:

1. in Windows XP/Vista/7 - select “Manage” in the context menu of “My Computer”, then go to the desired menu;
2. 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 checking the status of the hard drive is sometimes required from 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 use the console command from inside the system you need to:

• launch the 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 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 obtain 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.

The test uses 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 a convenient notification system. 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 a 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:

1. short self-test of HDD;
2. short rapid test;
3. 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:

1. deep disk formatting - the program writes zeros to all sectors, permanently destroying information;
2. blocking access to bad sectors - the program marks bad blocks, preventing the writing of new information to them.

Unlike SeaTools, this HDD diagnostic program 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 the hard drive for errors, but also correcting bad sectors, you cannot do without sophisticated software that 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 view the temperature of the disk during operation, but this is not so important.

HDD Regenerator

HDD Regenerator is a program for professional hard drive recovery. It not only marks bad sectors as unused, but also tries to revive them. For this, not the standard deep formatting method is used, but a proprietary algorithm based on transmitting signals of different levels to the sector. Despite its professional level, inexperienced users can also use this software, since testing a hard drive with its help is not difficult 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 file system errors. The only drawback is the lack of a graphical interface; 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.

It is extremely important to monitor the “health” of hard drives (HDDs) and immediately respond to the appearance of bad sectors and various errors. Failure to follow this recommendation may result in the loss of valuable data. You can check the condition of your hard drive using the HD Tune PRO program (download for free in Russian).

As a rule, the most common problem that happens to hard drives is the appearance of bad sectors. Now we will look at the process of searching for such sectors using HD Tune PRO.

Step 1. Select the drive you want to check from the drop-down list.

In a specific case, a 2 TB Hitachi hard drive will be checked

Step 2. Go to the Error Search tab and click the Start button.

Click the “Start” button

As a matter of fact, now we just have to wait for the test results. Please note that the larger the disk capacity, the longer the scan takes. In this particular case, a complete disk scan took 4 hours and 56 minutes.

Additionally, you should go to the Health tab and make sure that the status of the main HDD parameters is marked as OK.

On the “Health” tab you can check the status of the main parameters of the hard drive

As an example, let's look at what the result of searching for errors on a disk with bad sectors looks like.

CrystalDiskInfo is a free program for servicing computer HDDs and SSDs with ATA (PATA, SATA), USB and IEEE1394 connection interfaces. If something strange happens to your hard drive, do not be lazy to download CrystalDiskInfo in Russian for your computer for free using the link from the site https://site without registration and SMS. The advantages of the utility include: displaying detailed, reliable information about the status, powerful monitoring and verification tools, as well as effective tools for changing hard drive settings. If problems are detected, Crystal Disk Info displays a warning and sends an email to the user.

Before a large number of bad sectors appear, read and write errors, unpleasant noise, the temperature rises, and performance decreases, it makes sense to download the useful CrystalDiskInfo program for free for a computer with the Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 (32- bit and 64-bit). The utility is quickly installed on your computer and uninstalled correctly, without being tracked in the system registry. When you start the program, it checks the status of the hard drive of your computer or laptop; this takes some time.

Checking, monitoring, analysis, graphs and changing settings

When checking, the utility displays detailed information, including information about external HDD USB and IEEE1394. Displayed: firmware version, AAM*/APM** data, interface type, spindle speed, buffer size, operating life, number of bad sectors, temperature and even a graph of temperature dynamics over time, as well as other technical characteristics. S.M.A.R.T*** parameters are monitored, including: number of read errors, overall performance, start-stops and other data. CrystalDiskInfo dynamically tracks changes in a large amount of data from drives in the system, keeps a log and allows you to beautifully display this in the form of graphs. This format allows you to clearly see the overall health picture of the computer’s disk subsystem.

There will be people who want to download CrystalDiskInfo for free without registration and SMS, without leaving the https://site, also because the utility allows you not only to diagnose the hard drive, but also to take care of its health. Changing the AAM and APM settings allows you to control performance parameters and the corresponding amount of acoustic noise produced, as well as power consumption parameters. If necessary, it is possible to reset the bad sector counters. In the "Tools" menu there is a link to the system "Disk Management", where all the necessary transformations are done with them: create a partition, expand or shrink partitions, etc.

Interface and functionality of CrystalDiskInfo

The nice, modern interface supports many localizations, as well as themes (skins), three of which are available immediately after launch. Positive reviews and comments from users are caused by an intuitive display of the status in color: blue (or green) - good, yellow - warning, red - problems/alarm, gray - no information.

This small, free, open-source utility, developed by Japanese programmer Noriyuki Miyazaki (known as Hiyohiyo), is why many in Europe and America find the menus and settings confusing. The Japanese do not share this opinion. Unfortunately, there are no hints or explanations about the importance of parameters unfamiliar to the average computer user, and to figure it out, sometimes you have to refer to the help section.

Rich functionality allows CrystalDiskInfo to compete not only with free, but also with paid programs. According to reviews and comments from many users around the world, it is definitely worth downloading CrystalDiskInfo for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP (32-bit and 64-bit) for free in Russian. Among the competitors, it is worth noting the paid programs HDDlife Professional and Hard Drive Inspector and the free Active@ Hard Disk Monitor with Russian language support, as well as the paid HD Tune Pro in English. As for the functionality of Crystal Disk Info, you definitely need to know about the following advantages of this utility:

• high data reliability,
• correct interaction with S.M.A.R.T technology,
• monitoring of more than 25 parameters,
• data on current operating modes in real time,
• temperature and S.M.A.R.T data control,
• displaying disk temperatures in the system tray,
• prompt e-mail notification of problems,
• ability to change AAM/APM settings,
• control of speed and amount of acoustic noise,
• settings to save energy consumption,
• no conflicts with the latest versions of SSD drives,
• work with external HDDs with USB and IEEE 1394 interfaces,
• compatible with a wide range of equipment****.

reference Information

* Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) - control of the track search time parameter, in this case, the faster the block of magnetic heads moves along the radius during search, the more noise.

**Advanced Power Management (APM) - energy management.

*** Self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (S.M.A.R.T.) - an internal system of self-diagnosis and self-monitoring using equipment built into the disk with the ability to generate reports and predict the breakdown period.

**** A comprehensive list of compatible equipment is located on the official crystalmark website in the info domain.

Download the latest version of CrystalDiskInfo in Russian

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The computer hard drive is a very sensitive component. Errors that appear in its file system, bad sectors on the surface, and mechanical problems sometimes cause a complete failure of the computer system.

The same problems are typical for flash drives, which in essence are practically no different from a hard drive. How to determine the presence of errors and bad sectors and how to correct them if possible?

Just a little bit of theory

Many people simply confuse file system errors and bad sectors. Therefore, we will try to explain the difference between these phenomena and the reason for their occurrence. We will also determine what the symptoms of errors that appear on the surface of the hard drive may be.

File system errors

When people talk about hard drive errors and trying to fix them using the chkdsk utility built into Windows, they most often mean file system errors. Such errors are associated with problems in the metadata that describe the file system itself: errors in the $Bitmap, $BadClus files, the main file table, and various indexes.

For example, errors in the $Bitmap file of the NTFS file system can cause the system to incorrectly recognize the amount of free space on a volume. And problems with the $BadClus file can lead to incorrect identification of bad sectors and an attempt to write data to such sectors, which will cause the computer to completely freeze.

Bad sectors

The nature of bad sectors is somewhat different. The hard drive is “cut” into sectors at the factory during production. It is then that its logical structure is created, then it receives magnetic properties for recording data. These structures become faulty as a result of the gradual degradation of areas of the surface of the hard drive, which become so due to careless handling of the hard drive, which was accidentally dropped on the floor or was hit on the case even with an ordinary screwdriver.

Testing programs that fall on parts of a degrading surface detect so-called faulty or damaged sectors - bad sectors. Sectors that have lost their magnetic properties do not allow data to be read or written to them. It is possible to eliminate faulty hard drive structures. For this purpose, manufacturers create special reserve areas of sectors. When a bad sector appears, diagnosed at a specific address, its address is reassigned to a sector from this reserve area.

Symptoms of errors and bad sectors

We have already talked a little about the symptoms of file system errors above. However, the symptoms are sometimes very varied. Here are some manifestations of errors and bad sectors that have arisen in the hard drive.

• Noticeable freezing of the operating system when performing read and write operations.
• Failure to load the operating system. For example, downloading continues only until the download notification and Windows logo appear.
• Frequent occurrence of errors in the operating environment.
• Extremely slow and unproductive operating system.

Here is a far from complete list of error manifestations associated with file system problems and the presence of degrading areas of the hard drive. What to do in such cases?

Checking errors using Windows

Checking and correcting file system errors in Windows is carried out by a standard utility of this operating environment called chkdsk. It can also be useful in eliminating programmatically generated bad sectors as a result of viruses. It can be launched both in a graphical environment and from the command line. Let's consider the most accessible option for performing it in a graphical environment.

Checking an inactive volume

Checking an inactive volume is the simplest. It can be done entirely in graphical mode. By inactive volume we mean a partition on which the currently running operating system is not installed. This could be another connected hard drive or, for example, drive D.

Click the "Run check" button.

The utility is launched from the “Service” tab of the volume properties. This tab contains the “Run check” button. If you click it, the chkdsk utility window will open. To check bad sectors that appeared as a result of software errors, you need to check the box next to the corresponding option. Next, just click the “Run” button - the utility will check and correct errors.

The chkdsk utility checks volume D, also diagnosing bad sectors.

Checking the system volume

Checking and correcting errors on the system volume, where the operating environment valid at the time of checking is located, is carried out a little differently. The utility identifies such a volume as mounted, and therefore warns that it cannot perform the check, but offers to perform it during the next reboot.

The chkdsk utility reports that it cannot scan the disk.

After restarting the computer, the user will find that during boot, after the Windows logo appears, a black screen appears. This black screen is gradually filled with lines of text. This is the chkdsk utility that checks the system volume of the hard drive. After checking and making the necessary corrections, it will show the result, and then the operating system will continue loading.

The chkdsk utility checks volume C after a reboot.

Programs for checking hard drives for bad sectors

There are a number of applications on the software market that can test the surface of a hard drive. In this case, not just one volume is tested, but the entire surface of the hard drive. Of course, the user can independently set the boundary sectors and test individual areas. To identify bad sectors, a sector read test is usually performed.

Important: the results of the test for the presence of bad sectors must be considered in conjunction with SMART indicators, such as Reallocation Sector Count, Reallocation Event Count.

Data Lifeguard Diagnostic

This utility was created by Western Digital developers. It is available for download on the company's official website. Lifeguard Diagnostic works great with hard drives from almost any manufacturer, and not just native WD hard drives, as one might think. It offers a number of tests: Quick, Advanced, as well as the ability to fill hard drive sectors with zeros.

Interface of the Data Lifeguard Diagnostic utility.

We are most interested in the extended test. This test allows you to detect bad sectors on the surface of disks. When the program finds a bad sector, it informs the user about it, asking him to choose whether he wants to fix the detected error. If it agrees, then the application writes to sector 0, so the sector data will be lost.

A selection of utility tests. We need Extended Test.

This test takes longer than the quick test. Testing time depends on the size of the drive, since the test is carried out on the entire surface, starting from sector 0 and ending with the maximum LBA value.

Extended Test utilities in operation.

HDDScan

The HDDScan application also seems to be an excellent hard drive surface tester. It can often be seen as part of entire software packages such as LiveCD. This application has a graphical interface and offers a number of tests, among which, in our case, the most interesting is “Surface Tests”.

Select the Surface Test from the drop-down list.

Important: when conducting surface tests under Windows, you must close all running programs to avoid random results during the test caused by the action of these programs.

After selecting a test, an additional window will open, which presents the test parameters. Let's leave the “Read” option enabled, which will only allow us to read data from sectors. Thus, we will define sectors from which information cannot be read within a specified time (bad sectors), frozen sectors and normal cells. We will leave the fields of the initial and final sectors unchanged if we want to check the entire surface.

Let's leave the Read test option enabled.

When testing with this program, a number of sectors are identified:

• bad sectors,
• stuck sectors, reading data from which takes more than 500 ms,
• sectors with reading time from 150 to 500 ms,
• sectors with reading time from 50 to 150 ms,
• sectors with reading time from 10 to 20 ms,
• HDDScan considers sectors whose data is read within 5 ms to be normal.

The program test result is available in the form of a line graph, a sector distribution map, and also as a regular text report.

Checking the hard drive surface.

Ashampoo HDD Control

Unlike the programs discussed above, HDD Control is not a free program. This application is a whole set of tools designed to restore the health of your hard drive. This program also offers the ability to test the surface of the hard drive.

Select the "Surface Test" option.

The test is very simple and accessible to the average HDD Control user. To start it, you just need to click the “Surface Testing” button. It lacks additional options that would allow you to customize the type of test. During testing, only two types of sectors are identified: with excellent reading results and bad sectors.

Victoria HDD

Victoria considers the health of the hard drive being tested to be "GOOD".

This application can collect information about the SMART health of your hard drive. It also allows you to test the disk surface, reassign damaged sectors using the Remap operation, and reset bad sectors. It also divides sectors into groups:

• bad sectors (Error),
• stuck sectors with a read time of more than 600 ms,
• freezing sectors with read times from 200 to 600 ms,
• sectors with reading time from 50 to 200 ms,
• sectors with reading time from 20 to 50 ms,
• Victoria diagnoses normal sectors within the framework of data reading up to 5 ms.

To test your hard drive, you can run this program in Windows graphical mode. Next, you will need to select the “Tests” tab. This is where the surface tests are located. There are four options available for working with the hard surface:

• Ignore,
• Remap
• erase,
• Restore.

First of all, you can perform the Ignore test to determine whether there are bad sectors on the surface of the hard drive. If they are, then you need to start the Remap test. This test will allow you to reassign the addresses of damaged sectors to the reserved area, where normal sectors are located.

Types of available tests and sector categories. Victoria checks the surface.

If, after the Remap test, Victoria continues to diagnose bad sectors, then you can still try to restore their functionality by using the Restore test. The Erase option should be used wisely under Windows, as it writes zeros to sectors - erases sector data. It can only be used within a certain selection of sectors, the data of which is not related to the operating system.

Brief summary

It should be noted that there is a difference between errors eliminated by the chkdsk utility of the Windows operating system and bad sectors eliminated by programs such as Victoria HDD. The former are caused by file system problems, and the latter are often the result of the loss of magnetic properties of sectors of the hard drive surface and its gradual degradation. However, chkdsk can also fix some problems with bad sectors.

To eliminate bad sectors, you can use such applications as: Data Lifeguard Diagnostic, Ashampoo HDD Control, HDDScan, Victoria. We highlight the Victoria HDD application as the best for checking and eliminating bad sectors, as it offers a number of tests: Ignore, Remap, Erase and Restore. It allows you not only to detect faulty hard surface structures, but also to treat the HDD.