INSTRUCTIONS AND PROPHECIES OF THE Blessed MOTHER ALIPIA GOLOSEEVSKY, Kyiv...
Hard drive problems on your computers always appear spontaneously. Main indicator possible problems with HDD - time! Yes, time is not only a “doctor”, but also an absolute destroyer!
The signs indicating the occurrence of problems with the "tin" are very commonplace.
Firstly, these are strange sounds that occur during the operation of your hard drive: squeaks, clanks and other sound effects.
Secondly, this is the heating of the surface of the hard disk case: as you know, a normal HDD does not heat up at all (well, at most its surface is slightly warm).
Thirdly, frequent "meetings" of the operating system: this indicates great amount bad sectors of your hard disk (clusters).
As you can see, friends, there are quite a few reasons. How to solve a problem? There are two solutions:
- buy a new hard drive;
- try to "cure" the old one.
Recovery of bad sectors of the hard disk
To begin with, you should know the reasons that are the catalyst for the occurrence of bad sectors on the HDD:
- improper shutdown of the computer;
- viruses and Trojans;
- incorrect removal of programs and games.
How to do it? There is nothing complicated in the procedure, because it is as simple as three pennies. We go to "Start - My Computer". Hover over any local drive and right-click. A menu will pop up in which you select the last line "Properties". By clicking on "Properties", you open the "Properties: system drive (drive letter)" window. In the same place, in this window, you see several active tabs - click on the "Service" tab. See: there are three sections and there are active buttons in each section? In the "Check disk (Check volume for errors)" section, click on the "Check" button, and then check the boxes in the "Check and repair bad sectors" and "Automatically fix system errors" items.
Next, click on "Start" and wait for the end of the process. Warning: troubleshooting process hard drive can take a very long time! This directly depends on the condition and "age" of your hard drive. Therefore, do not panic if your disk is “healed” for several hours in a row: this is normal for old or badly “broken” HDDs. Attention: if your broken disk (for example, C) in this moment busy with work, the OS will prompt you to check the sectors the next time you boot the system. We agree, click "OK" and restart the system. That's it: now your disk has begun to "treat". You just have to wait for the end of the process. After that, we check the disk for adequacy: we try to run programs and applications, and monitor the speed and quality of performance. But still, it should be taken into account that the old hard drive, sooner or later, will definitely be covered with a "copper basin"! Therefore, if your HDD is old, be prepared to replace it. Good luck!
Process hard checks disk for bad sectors, is a search for erroneous records and bad sectors located on the drive.
Some of these problems can cause information to be lost - in most cases, beyond recovery.
Therefore, every user should be aware of their appearance - both in order to try to fix errors on the disk, and for backup. important information to another place.
The principle of the formation of broken sectors
Over time, the owner of almost every HDD has to face problem sectors.
The principle of their appearance is as follows:
- During the production of disks, sectors are created, with the help of the magnetization of which information can be written to the drive.
- Reading and writing information on (especially if the disk is hit or dropped), and sometimes also the influence of computer viruses, lead to a gradual deterioration of its structure.
- On the surface of magnetic disks, bad sectors begin to appear - areas in which information is stored incorrectly or is not recorded at all.
You can fix bad sectors, but the system does not automatically perform such actions - the user will have to manually run the check and fix.
If there are few bad sectors, they are replaced by spare areas.
When bad HDD blocks appear, their addresses are reassigned to sectors from the reserve, and no data loss occurs.
Signs of a Problem
Among the main signs that problem sectors have appeared on the disk and their recovery is required, it is worth noting the following:
- computer freezes during the loading of the operating system;
- failure to start the OS - in most cases, the download only reaches a certain point (for example, to the Windows logo or the inscription "Welcome") and stops;
- unreasonable and frequent reboots of the computer;
- errors in the system, expressed in the impossibility of launching applications, closing windows and slowing down the response to user actions.
The list of utilities that can be used to solve the problem is quite large.
They are divided into two main groups- those that are already built into operating system(for example, in Windows), and applications from other manufacturers.
The latter can also be conditionally divided into paid programs and free versions that are more popular among domestic users.
Using Windows Tools
To fix errors and bad sectors, Windows already contains .
The advantages of using it include the ability to restore areas damaged during operation or as a result of system infection with viruses.
Another plus- the ability to start in two ways, in normal mode or.
The utility is able to check any physical and logical drives, however, there are slight differences in working with inactive and system areas.
So, the steps for checking and restoring a regular partition (which does not contain system control files and the OS itself) will be as follows:
1 Goes to the window "My computer".
2 Right-click to open properties of the selected disk.
3 The tab is selected "Service".
4 Pressed check disk button.
5 Put a check mark next to the item for checking bad sectors.
Checking system volumes on which Windows is installed is performed differently.
The beginning of the utility launch coincides with the actions for a regular partition, but when you try to check the disk, an inscription about the impossibility and a suggestion to do this after reboot will appear on the screen.
After the reboot, the system does not boot - instead, the HDD system partition is checked, the progress of which can be found from the information displayed on the screen.
And you can run Hitachi Drive Fitness Test not only from Windows, but also in mode if problems with the drive have already led to the inability to boot the system.
Seagate Seatools
Seatools is a free application that whose capabilities include:
- detection of violations of the HDD structure, including bad sectors and write or read errors;
- fixing bad sectors or overwriting them with zeros so that the system ignores damaged areas in the future;
- Windows OS problems;
- damage to the system bootloader;
The application works most effectively with Seagate drives.
The average time to fix detected errors (together with the verification process), depending on the size of the partition, can be up to 4 hours.
The advantages of the program include its free distribution and the provision of a detailed report.
HDD Health
The free HDD Health program is distinguished by the possibility of obtaining while checking bad sectors the following information:
- HDD manufacturer and firmware;
- current storage temperature;
- general condition device structure, including whole and bad sectors;
- a number of other useful features.
The utility is distributed free of charge by Panterasoft.
At the same time, the evaluation of the disk condition is carried out only by S.M.A.R.T indicators and is less effective than checking the disk with other applications.
Victoria
in a good way is free program"Victoria".
During the verification process, the user can obtain information not only about disk sectors, but also about all partitions (volumes) of the computer and the connectors to which they are connected.
The utility does not require installation, but should only be run on behalf of administrator.
Rice. 9. Program for finding problems with HDDScan disks.
Among the additional information– temperature control of all disks that are connected to the PC. In addition, the test results are generated as a report and can be saved to a separate file.
In this article, we will talk about recovering bad sectors of a hard drive and the reasons for their appearance. Step by step instructions will help you prepare for this procedure and cope with it yourself.
What are bad sectors
Let's take a quick look at the structure of the hard drive. It consists of several separate disks, above which there are magnetic heads designed for reading and writing information. When storing data, the heads magnetize certain areas of the disk, divided into tracks and smaller components - sectors. It is in them that units of information are stored. If the sector becomes unreadable, it is called "broken".
There are several signs of this problem:
- squeaks, rattle, tapping during disk operation;
- heating of the HDD surface (in the normal state, this should not happen);
- frequent errors during operation and startup of the operating system.
Typical Causes
The main reasons for the appearance of broken hard drive segments are:
Also, failures in the hard drive may appear due to mechanical damage. They are often caused by dropping the hard drive or computer, resulting in damage to the magnetic surface (for example, during transportation). Non-working parts also appear due to factory defects. AT this case they may not appear immediately, but “crumble” over time, quickly increasing their number to a critical level.
Important! If you suspect mechanical damage or marriage, you should immediately contact a specialist or exchange the hard drive under warranty.
Recovery of bad HDD sectors using Victoria
If the appearance of broken segments is associated with software failures, then they can be restored using specialized software. One of such programs for recovering bad sectors of hdd is Victoria. The utility is available in two versions - for Windows and DOS. Recovery through DOS will be the most effective, since when the OS is running, some sectors may be occupied, which means they are not available for scanning.
Scanning
To get started, we need to do a little preparation. First, you will need a disk with the program image recorded on it or a bootable USB flash drive. If everyone can handle recording an image, then creating a flash drive can be difficult.
Let's take a closer look at this step:
Note! The program takes up very little space, so after installing it, the drive can be used to store other information. In order not to accidentally delete the files necessary for the utility to work, it is recommended to allocate a separate folder for them.
Let's start the scanning process:
Here we need an item "Reallocated sector count", which displays the number of fragments in the reserve zone, as well as "Current pending sectors", where parts that cannot be read are displayed. If their number is not very high, then the disk is recoverable.
Hard drive recovery
Let's take a look at exactly how this process happens. Problem segments can be divided into two types. The first ones are not readable due to a mismatch between the information stored in them and its checksums.
This error occurs during power outages, when new data has already been written, but the checksums remain old. They simply cease to be recognized and are restored quite easily - by formatting them and recording the correct amounts.
The second type occurs as a result of mechanical damage. In this case, recovery is more difficult, but still possible. The resumption of operability of such parts is carried out through the use of spare areas that are on each hard drive.
Let's start recovering each of these types of errors.
Video: HDD - "treat" bad sectors
First, let's try to fix bad sectors by erasing the information stored in them:
- press F4 and get into the check menu;
- in the menu for selecting operations with unreadable sectors, specify "BB: Erase 256 sect" and press "Enter".
A long process of scanning and repairing bad sectors of the HDD will start. If the program finds a bad sector, it will try to erase it, thereby correcting the error. If a mechanical defect is present, an error will be reported. In any case, it is necessary to wait for the complete completion of the check and then separately fix the sectors with physical malfunctions.
For this:
Now the recovery operation will work according to a different principle, trying not to erase bad sectors, but to replace them with space from the spare area.
Important! If there are a lot of such sectors, then the reserve space may run out. This will be reported by a special message, and further recovery will become impossible.
After successfully recovering bad sectors on the hard drive, it is recommended to full check file system for errors.
This can be done using the CHKDSK utility or in the following way:
Attention! So that the system not only finds, but also fixes problems, before starting the scan, select "Automatically fix system errors."
The methods described above will help you easily deal with non-critical cases of problem sectors, find and fix them. By strictly following our instructions, any user will be able to do it on their own, even without a computer education. We hope that this information was helpful to you.
>No matter how good your HDD, sooner or later problems may arise with him. Incorrect removal of programs, viruses and harmful applications, wear and tear - all this can lead to a breakdown of the “hard drive” and the appearance of so-called. The latter do not make themselves felt instantly, most likely months will pass before you notice the problem.
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What are bad sectors?
For a more understandable definition of a broken sector, it will not be superfluous to understand the design of your hard drive. In general, it consists of rotating magnetic disks, which are divided into tracks, and these same tracks, in turn, are divided into sectors. They contain any information that you copy to your hard drive. Disk sectors have one unpleasant property - they deteriorate over time and you lose access to them. And this process is accelerated by incorrect work with the computer.
about the existence of several bad sectors without application special programs you most likely won't know. They practically do not affect the operation of the computer and become a real problem only in large numbers.
Computer freezes when trying to access any files, long copying from one partition to another, errors and PC restarts - all this may be the result of a large number bad blocks on your “screw”. Some of them can be corrected, and some cannot be treated. According to this feature and the nature of the damage, all broken sectors can be divided into two types: physical and logical.
- Physical bads are the result of damage (for example,), dust ingress into the hard drive and normal wear equipment. The main thing is to understand that in such cases, which is no longer subject to recovery. Even the usual data recovery from such sectors will be a miracle;
- Logical bads, on the other hand, appear under the influence of viruses, file system errors, and incorrect writing of information to the disk (for example, a sudden shutdown of the computer while copying files or other active work). In such cases, it is not the magnetic coating of the sector that is damaged, but its data. Such broken sectors are subject to treatment and can be corrected using a variety of programs in normal home conditions.
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Programs for recovering bad sectors of a hard disk
Microsoft provides a built-in utility chkdsk to work with hard drives. By default, the utility checks only for file system errors, but if you add the key /f, then chkdsk will check the disk for bad blocks and try to fix them automatically. Of course, there are many alternative third-party solutions for checking your hard drive and fixing bad sectors that can be easily found on the Internet. Let's talk about the most popular of them in a little more detail:
- - probably the most popular program for testing hard drives and repairing bad sectors on a hard drive. It can be used not only for treatment, but also for equipment testing. As the developers themselves note, when interacting with the hard drive, it ignores the file system and works at the level of I / O ports. This property provides the most efficient and quality work. In addition, there are two versions of the program, one of which works directly from under Windows, and the other from under DOS. The latter is more versatile, but is also recommended for advanced users.
- - Another popular program that works with equipment through the controller ports. It also has two versions (Windows and DOS), both of which are completely free. It has a very fast speed of work, which does not affect its quality in any way. In addition, it gives complete statistics on your device: the number of on and off cycles, the number of spindle revolutions, etc. The unfriendly interface of the program can be considered a minus, which will become a problem for inexperienced users.
- - a unique program that, according to the developers, can restore even physical damage. The point is that often physically damaged sectors have the wrong magnetization, which this program eliminates. The rest of the set of characteristics and capabilities is similar to the above utilities.
Good hour everyone!
I think that many users have encountered suspicious hard drive operation: long copying / reading of files, brakes, loading up to 100%, clicking, inability to read any files, etc.
This disk behavior may indicate serious problems with it. In order to determine what is wrong with him, you have to resort to specialized service utilities.
In this article, I want to focus on a few of the best utilities that can view S.M.A.R.T. (special hard drive self-monitoring technology, ), check the disk surface for bad blocks and try to restore its performance (that is, try to reassign bad sectors to backup ones, more about this at the link below).
What is a bad block, how to check the disk with the Victoria utility (detailed for beginners, with examples and screenshots), see this article -
6 best utilities for checking a disk for bad blocks
Victoria
Developer site: http://hdd-911.com/
One of the best utilities for checking and treating bad blocks on a hard drive. The program performs testing, diagnostics, and treatment of the disk at a low level. In addition to HDD, Victoria also supports other types of media: FDD, CD / DVD, USB / Flash / SCSI, it also "sees" drives under Windows through APIs and ports.
Note: I told how to work with Victoria in one of my previous articles, the link to it is presented just above.
Key features:
- support for IDE/SATA controllers;
- the ability to view S.M.A.R.T. disk;
- the ability to control acoustic noise;
- tests to check the mechanics and surface of the disc;
- obtaining a complete technical disk information;
- the ability to work from under Windows and DOS;
- work on laptops is supported;
- support for low-level HDD formatting;
- Benchmark functions.
HDDScan
One of the best programs to check hard drives from under Windows. Allows you to quickly assess the state of the hard drive, check the drive for bad sectors, view S.M.A.R.T. attributes.
In addition, the program allows you to manage power, adjust the acoustic mode, control the temperature of the drive (data can be displayed on the taskbar).
Key features:
- Support for SSD drives;
- HDD support with interfaces: ATA/SATA, SCSI, USB, FireWire or IEEE 1394;
- Drive test in linear verification, linear reading and linear writing modes;
- Reading and analysis of identification information from hard drives with ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire/SCSI interface;
- Changing AAM, APM, PM parameters on drives with ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire interface (useful for those who have a hard drive that makes a lot of noise during operation);
- Works in all popular OC Windows: XP, 7, 8, 10.
HDTA2
HDAT2 is a system utility needed to diagnose and "treat" hard drives. One of the main differences between this utility and Victoria (presented above) is the support for a much larger type of disk (note: supported interfaces: ATA / ATAPI / SATA, SSD, SCSI and USB).
HDAT2 can work in 2 modes:
- disk level: diagnostics and "treatment" of bad sectors on identified drives. By the way, in addition to diagnostics, you can get any information about the disk (which can only be obtained programmatically);
- file level: searching, reading and checking entries in FAT 12, 16, 32 file systems. Ability to check, delete and restore records of bad sectors, flags in the FAT table.
Important!
I recommend using HDAT2 from a boot disk or flash drive. work from under Windows program will most likely be incorrect. On the developer site, use the version "CD/DVD Boot ISO Image"- it must be correctly written to a USB flash drive / disk, like any bootable media. You can read about this in one of my articles:.
MHDD
Developer site: http://mhddsoftware.com/
MHDD is a service utility for accurate diagnostics and repair of hard drives (HDD). The utility allows you to work with disks at a low level, through the ports of the IDE controller. The program has a fairly high speed of scanning and "healing" the disk from "soft"-bad sectors.
Main functions:
- accurate and very fast diagnostics of the hard disk condition, the optimal algorithm for correcting bad sectors;
- the ability to adjust the noise from the drive (AAM);
- view S.M.A.R.T. readings;
- error logs;
- the ability to delete all information on the disk without the possibility of its recovery;
- an attempt to warm up the drive and its test in extreme conditions;
- the ability to test several hard drives at once.
Macrorit Disk Scanner
Macrorit Disk Scanner is a good and working tool for checking your hard drive for bad sectors. By the way, I want to emphasize that the utility scans disk very fast- 1.5-2 times faster than, say, the famous Victoria! True, it will not help to "cure" the disk - it simply does not have the functionality that Victoria has.
You can scan the entire disk as well as a specific range of sectors (useful on large disks when scanning can take too long).
The utility allows you to work with all popular types of drives: IDE, HDD, SSD, SCSI, FireWire, RAID, SD cards, etc.
Macrorit Disk Scanner main window
In general, a good alternative to previous programs, especially when you need to quickly and easily find out the status of the disk.
Ashampoo HDD Control
Developer website: https://www.ashampoo.com/ru/rub/pin/0365/system-software/hdd-control-3
A multifunctional program for monitoring the status of all your drives in the system. Thanks to the minute-by-minute monitoring of the state of your disks, the program will prevent the loss of information, warning you in time about all problems.
By the way, those who have used products from Ashampoo know that their programs are designed so that any novice user can simply and easily work with the program. HDD Control is no exception to this rule, anyone who wants to deal with it...
Main functions:
- monitoring the status of drives online;
- the ability to test the drive (there are several tests to get a "full picture" of the state of the drive);
- notification of a dangerous disk condition, leading to a failure or possible loss of information;
- the ability to defragment the disk;
- support for drives with an interface: IDE, ATA, hard drives connected via USB and Firewire;
- supports drives connected via RAID controllers;
- view disk information: registration number, cache size, number of partitions, etc.;
- it is possible to quickly clean the disk from junk files;
- the ability to export disk status data and tests performed.
PS
Whatever were good indications after testing and diagnosing the disk, do not forget to backup important documents and files. As they say, once a year the stick shoots...
It is better to spend 5 extra minutes on a backup than days and weeks of wasted work.
