Recommended Posts

Hello everyone!

 

I recently tried to format one of my HDD's. I did it with the manager in windows. Using fast format option it went thou, but while I selected full format, the drive started to scratch around 1%-2%. Since previously I had corrupted or more so unacceptable files on the drive. I did a S.M.A.R.T check and the drive failed it. Now I removed the drive, but I would like to use the drive, coz it's a 1.5GB drive and only about 30GB on the drive is bad/unacceptable. Is there any option to fix this error? Or how can I "reserve" these sectors so the drive doesn't goes there any more?

 

Thanks for helping.

You could run an error check, using Windows.

 

Check the box to 'repair' bad sectors.

 

You could try using Spinrite.

 

But a drive that damaged, I would just rescue what data you can, then toss it.

 

If the heads are scratching the disks, it is toast.

post-37120-0-75380000-1390032760.png

If it is truly scratching, then it is toast.  I assume by 1.5GB you meant 1.5TB
 

If it is scratching, then the control arm is digging grooves and spreading shrapnel all over the platters.

Why do you want to keep this thing ?   t.


Hardware errors are usually the thing that kills a drive.  You can get the drive rebuilt possibly by a data recovery place.

There they take the drive apart in a clean room, dip the platters in a liquid that brings out the tiny grooves, then use good hardware to rebuild it.  It cost about $1000 - since you are sweating a $65 drive, I think $1000 is probably out of your budget.

 

Hum is correct in suggesting CHKDSK/R and SpinRite 6.0 - they are very good at what they do.  But they cant do anything for failing hardware.

  On 18/01/2014 at 08:14, He said:

I had some damage to sectors on an old 30Gb drive, I successfully used the tool, HDD regenerator to "repair" the damage, and got a few months extra use from it.

But once its scratching its prolly best to acquire a new HDD

 

But I'm definitely going to try this. I hope it will do something.

 

  On 18/01/2014 at 08:17, Hum said:

^ Windows Tools -- right click on the bad drive, Properties, Tools, Error checking ... see picture above. ^

 

Oh, sry, didn't see the picture. Well, now it's completely blank drive, so no error's are found.

 

Btw, it only scratches when I try to access those bad sectors. Not generaly.

post-121358-0-29629100-1390034467.png

Are hard drives more expensive than gold in Hungary ?  I simply dont understand why you are wasting 5 seconds on this.  You know its failing, you cant trust anything you put on there - why mess with it ?

If you say "well Im only 14 and too young to work, and my parents wont help" then I understand.

  On 18/01/2014 at 08:00, Class said:

Hello everyone!

 

I recently tried to format one of my HDD's. I did it with the manager in windows. Using fast format option it went thou, but while I selected full format, the drive started to scratch around 1%-2%. Since previously I had corrupted or more so unacceptable files on the drive. I did a S.M.A.R.T check and the drive failed it.

 

 

Don't fiddle with it, get a new drive and trash this one as it is a goner. S.M.A.R.T. error are meant to tell you the drive is dying and needs to be replaced. Trying to fix it will only increase usage a lot and expedite the pending failure.

Copy the data to another HDD before trying to fix this! You are after all trying to use it while the platters are getting scratched constantly. The only reason it's still running and you're able to access the data is because it is a 1.5 TB HDD; your stuff is all over those platters.

 

Just get a new HDD.

So the drive has been having issues for 3 years? How come you didn't run the makers diag tools the day it started doing it.. If the drive had problems while under warranty you could of gotten replacement.

What specific disk is this, Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, etc. And we can point you to where to get the makers tools to test the drive.

Example here is seagate tools

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-dos-master/

Dos version you can boot from a CD and test, etc.

If you would of run this test before the warranty was up and it fails, you could of replaced. Make sure you run the long version of the test, etc. What specific smart info is reporting bad?

If the drive is showing signs of failure "clicking for example" Yeah get your data off you can that you need if any, and get a new disk..

Smart failed and makes noise... I'd throw it away.  

 

There was a person I worked with who would bring home all the "smart failed" drives that didn't make bad noises or were "repaired' by manufacturer tools.  He used them in an unraid server (nearly 15 drives in all) and they've been going strong for a few years now.  He keeps adding failed drives to it and he has never had any issues.  Not sure how he bypasses the SMART Failure warning, but he does.  Not sure you can disable it on the drive, might be able to disable it in bios on the computer you're using.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Zen Browser 1.13b by Razvan Serea Zen Browser is a privacy-focused, open-source web browser built on Mozilla Firefox, offering users a secure and customizable browsing experience. It emphasizes privacy by blocking trackers, ads, and ensuring your data isn't collected. With Zen Mods, users can enhance their browser experience with various customization options, including features like split views and vertical tabs. The browser is designed for efficiency, providing fast browsing speeds and a lightweight interface. Zen Browser prioritizes user control over the browsing experience, offering a minimal yet powerful alternative to traditional web browsers while keeping your online activity private. Zen Browser’s DRM limitation Zen Browser currently lacks support for DRM-protected content, meaning streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max are inaccessible. This is due to the absence of a Widevine license, which requires significant costs and is financially unfeasible for the developer. Additionally, applying for this license would require Zen to be part of a larger company, similar to Mozilla or Brave. Therefore, DRM-protected media won't be supported in Zen Browser for the foreseeable future. Zen Browser offers features that improve user experience, privacy, and customization: Privacy-Focused: Blocks trackers and minimizes data collection. Automatic Updates: Keeps the browser updated with security patches. Zen Mods: Customizable themes and layouts. Workspaces: Organize tabs into different workspaces. Compact Mode: Maximizes screen space by minimizing UI elements. Zen Glance: Quick website previews. Split Views: View multiple tabs in the same window. Sidebar: Access bookmarks and tools quickly. Vertical Tabs: Manage tabs vertically. Container Tabs: Separate browsing sessions. Fast Profile Switcher: Switch between profiles easily. Tab Folders: Organize tabs into folders. Customizable UI: Personalize browser interface. Security Features: Inherits Firefox’s robust security. Fast Performance: Lightweight and optimized for speed. Zen Mods Customization: Deep customization with mods. Quick Access: Easy access to favorite websites. Open Source: Built on Mozilla Firefox with community collaboration. Community-Driven: Active development and feedback from users. GitHub Repository: Contribute and review the source code. Zen Browser 1.13b changes: New Features There's a new way to manage spaces, which brings a more intuitive and user-friendly experience Updated to firefox 139.0.4 Added support for Google safebrowsing for better security Collapsed toolbarr gets a slight UI redesign Fixes Fixed issues related to glance and split view Fixed performance issues and high GPU usage for some users Other small fixes and improvements Breaking Changes Customizable UI buttons at the bottom has been reset to a new default state Download: Zen Browser | 73.6 MB (Open Source) Download: Zen Browser ARM64 | Other Operating Systems View: Zen Browser Home Page | Screenshots 1 | 2 | Reddit Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • TBF, it has had PST support for quite a while now. But I still want them to add the ability to drag & drop between accounts / PSTs.
    • LibreOffice closes in on Microsoft Office, leaves Windows 7/8 behind in 25.8 Beta 1 by David Uzondu The Document Foundation has released LibreOffice 25.8 Beta 1 for public testing on Linux, macOS, and Windows. This is the second pre-release for the 25.8 cycle and the foundation says that the final, stable version of LibreOffice 25.8 is expected to land at the end of August 2025. Starting off with Writer, LibreOffice's Word, the developers have finally addressed some long-standing annoyances, including a new command to easily insert a paragraph break right before a table. This beta also introduces a useful privacy feature in its Auto-Redact tool, letting you strip all images from a document with a single option. To use it, go to Tools and select the Auto-Redact option: The application has improved its ability to handle different languages for punctuation, preventing mix-ups in multilingual documents. Other notable improvements have also been made. A new hyphenation rule lets you choose to prevent a word from splitting at the end of a page, moving the whole line to the next page instead. Microsoft Word has had this feature for years now. The Navigator now displays a handy tooltip with word and character counts for headings and their sub-outlines. Scrolling behavior when selecting text has been improved, making it less erratic. A new command with a keyboard shortcut was added for converting fields into plain text. Calc gets a lot of new functions that bring it closer to its competitors like Excel, including TEXTSPLIT, VSTACK, and WRAPROWS. Impress now properly supports embedded fonts in PPTX files, which should reduce headaches when sharing presentations with PowerPoint users. Alongside these additions, the project is also cleaning house; support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 has been completely dropped. There are also smaller UI tweaks across the suite, like allowing a single click to enter rotation mode for objects in Writer and Calc. macOS users get better integration, with proper support for native full screen mode and new window management features from the Sequoia update. In terms of performance, the team has optimized everything from loading huge DOC files and XLSX spreadsheets with tons of conditional formatting to simply switching between sheets in Calc. These improvements should be noticeable, especially when working with complex documents. A new application-wide "Viewer mode" has also been implemented, which opens all files in a read-only state for quick, safe viewing. On a related note, The Document Foundation has joined efforts by the likes of KDE to encourage Windows 10 users to switch to Linux. Also, you might have heard that Denmark, in a bid to lessen its reliance on Microsoft, has decided to make a full switch to LibreOffice, with plans to begin phasing out Office 365 in certain ministries as early as next month. If you're interested in this release, you can read the full release notes and download the binaries for your platform: Windows, macOS (Intel | Apple Silicon), or Linux (DEB | RPM). You can also get the latest stable version from our software stories page.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      julien02 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      Drewidian1 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Explorer
      Case_f went up a rank
      Explorer
    • Conversation Starter
      Jamie Smith earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      NeoToad777 earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      544
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      227
    3. 3
      +FloatingFatMan
      160
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      113
    5. 5
      +Edouard
      104
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!