Question test hdd

[igor_kavinski]

My experience with SSDs is that if it's used, it's probably already good as dead. They are more volatile and self-obsolescent. Heavy use or lack of use results in the same: useless SSD even if they power on.

That's based on bad experience and lack of knowledge. Buy Micron, WD or Intel used SSD, check their life remaining counter in CrystalDiskInfo and that's it. You should be good until the writes get exhausted. It's not unusual to even now get 1TB Intel enterprise SSDs for dirt cheap prices on eBay that will have more than 90% life remaining. Intel used to test their SSDs in a frickin' particle accelerator for reliability. You just have to know what you are buying. Intel Sandforce controller based SSDs, for example, are more likely to fail because that controller was buggy as heck. I myself had a Corsair Sandforce SSD stop working. Left it on after a year or two connected to my PC and next reboot, I saw the drives appear in Windows Explorer with all data intact (though it was old data so I didn't verify 100% integrity. Winrar archives tested OK with no CRC32 errors).

Buy cheap low quality brand SSD and you will get what you pay for. Next time you are looking to buy some cheap SSD, ask the seller to share CrystalDiskInfo screenshots and then you can post here to ask advice on whether you should buy it.

 

[tcsenter]

SMART is better for HDDs than SSDs. SSDs can fail before writes are used up or SMART reports errors

So, too, can HDDs. Lots of folks including me had HDD fail with no SMART irregularity (even when we used a SMART monitoring tool). Lots of discussion going back years that SMART is deceptive in this way. Partly because it permits manufacturers too much leeway to report whatever they want via SMART or to deem what is significant enough to define what is the statistical threshold. There is no compliance enforcement. And partly because there are failure modes that just aren't going to give a prognostic lead or signature. Some folks mistakenly assumed Windows (XP through 7) came with built-in SMART monitoring and would notify. No versions of prior to Windows 7 did, and even newer versions, is disabled by default, must be enabled specifically via registry edit or Group Policy.

It's like check engine lights on cars. Something is going on, but the nitty gritty requires a deeper dive to determine the actual thing that failed.

Indeed, it can be just like those check engine lights. i.e. by the time you get a check engine light, it might be your engine is moribund and nothing you can do to save it.

I once bought an SSD strictly for pagefile use. Used Toshiba 128GB off Ebay in the MLC era. Needless say, instability was introduced, with simple browsing sessions resulting in unexpected systems crashes or shutdowns. Never happened before with the RAM I used or the HDD pagefile. Removing the used SSD removed the crashes. The only thing noticeable was the number of hours and amount of data written, but nothing reported as problematic in SMART.

Did you previously use a HDD as dedicated pagefile volume without problem? Because there are potential issues doing this no matter what. Windows does not like it.

 

[gamerfan]

what software free is best for test hdd? smart not 100% reliable?

 

[igor_kavinski]

what software free is best for test hdd? smart not 100% reliable?

You keep asking questions without answering ours.

Why is HDD test so important and necessary for you? Buy two HDDs. Keep data in one. Keep backup in other. Simple.

 

[gamerfan]

If crystal disk info or seatools or Hard disk sentinel says that the hdd health is good is there still a need for a full and deep scan?

 

[igor_kavinski]

If crystal disk info or seatools or Hard disk sentinel says that the hdd health is good is there still a need for a full and deep scan?

Usually no. These days it would take too long anyway due to large hdd sizes. This is something people used to do when HDDs were less than 100GB. I had to use HDD regenerator to keep a Hitachi 1TB HDD working just enough to get a full image of it. It would take around 3 hours. There is also DiskFresh. It's good to run it in a while. Keeps the platter from developing magnetic soft spots that may become harder to read successfully as time goes on.

 

[tcsenter]

what software free is best for test hdd? smart not 100% reliable?

Why you cannot use this Victoria program? Have you tried running it?

 

[gamerfan]

EU doubt It IS necessary Scan Full em HDD found erros Crystal not found

 

[gamerfan]

what better software free for full Surface Test in HDD?

 

[tcsenter]

OMG. I think we may have discovered the real life person that gave rise to Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man".

 

[igor_kavinski]

OMG. I think we may have discovered the real life person that gave rise to Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man".

Worse. Rain Man didn't get stuck in a loop asking the same questions over and over again. Apparently inward information processing is broken with this specimen/prototype whatever.

 

[Torn Mind]

Just use as many as possible and see if anything reports a bad sector. If all passes, just roll with it.

I'm not sure there is a real difference in software scanning sectors....

The free version of HDD tune from 2008 is yet another scanner.

 

[gamerfan]

i use hd tune 5.60 my new hdd 1 block red in 170gb verified now

 

[gamerfan]

Is it a myth or truth that the best software to test the surface area and bad blocks on a Seagate HDD is Seatools?

I use a Seagate 2.5" 500GB HDD + a Sata to USB 3.0 adapter plugged into the USB 3.0 port on the back of the motherboard. The HD Tune test found a few red blocks, but the Seatools Detailed Generic Test showed the HDD passed the test.

The different results are very strange. Which one is more reliable?

 

[igor_kavinski]

The different results are very strange. Which one is more reliable?

In general, Seagate drives are crap. Don't trust them too much. Seagate Enterprise drives are better, from what I've heard.

 

[gamerfan]

Is it a myth or truth that the best software to test the surface area and bad blocks on a Seagate HDD is Seatools?

I use a Seagate 2.5" 500GB HDD + a Sata to USB 3.0 adapter plugged into the USB 3.0 port on the back of the motherboard. The HD Tune test found a few red blocks, but the Seatools Detailed Generic Test showed the HDD passed the test.

The different results are very strange. Which one is more reliable?

 

[igor_kavinski]

The HD Tune test found a few red blocks

Forget about reliability. If one tool shows RED blocks and other shows nothing wrong, find a third tool. Something that reads the HDD surface more exhaustively.

Try:

Check Hard Disk for Bad Sectors | Scan Disk on Windows

Macrorit Disk Scanner is a free and smart disk scanner helps you fast check bad sectors, scan disk, surface test and mark the location of bad sectors when disk failure happens to Windows

macrorit.com

Disk Scanner - Ariolic Software - file recovery and hard drive utilities

www.ariolic.com

 

[gamerfan]

Is it really necessary? Seatools is the manufacturer's software and carrying out constant tests stresses the useful life of the hdd

 

[igor_kavinski]

Is it really necessary? Seatools is the manufacturer's software and carrying out constant tests stresses the useful life of the hdd

That's for you to decide. I don't think we have an HDD technician here who can tell you about the nitty gritty details of platter surface science and stuff.

 

[gamerfan]

Does all software have different block readings? Seatools is reliable

 

[igor_kavinski]

Does all software have different block readings? Seatools is reliable

OK

I haven't done a thorough analysis of all software. No one here is an expert in HDD surface analysis, as far as I know.

 

[mikeymikec]

If one system reports bad blocks/sectors, then what might have happened is that the drive stopped those sectors from being used in future and used ones from its reserve. The SMART data would confirm if that happened.

 

[gamerfan]

The HDD appears to be new I scan 50% on HD Tune 1 red block, on Seatools generic long test complete found no error test passed

 

[igor_kavinski]

on Seatools generic long test complete found no error test passed

That long test may be something else. Not really a surface scan.

Use CrystalDiskInfo to check the re-allocated sectors count value. If it's more than zero then your HDD is on borrowed time. Translation: it's gonna die. Not sure when. But it will. It's only a matter of time.

 

[gamerfan]

That long test may be something else. Not really a surface scan.

Use CrystalDiskInfo to check the re-allocated sectors count value. If it's more than zero then your HDD is on borrowed time. Translation: it's gonna die. Not sure when. But it will. It's only a matter of time.

in crystal diskinfo not scan this software
my hdd