What is a good software to check drive health & errors?

Forums › Microsoft Windows › What is a good software to check drive health & errors?

Batman

Mad Scientist
30012 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6217

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#172039 9-May-2015 13:10

One of my USB 3 2.5" HDD may have "errors" despite from the beginning of time the option for "quick removal" under the policy under device manager is ticked.

It seems to work fine.

Is there a software (free) that tells me the health of my drives - eg impending failure.

Is there a software that can scan my drive and tell me what the errors are - i could use windows i suppose but sometimes they only have very basic functionality.

Is there a software that does both?

Thanks

shrub

790 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 272

ID Verified

#1301173 9-May-2015 14:39

http://rh-software.com/ Have a go with SIV the UI is quite bad but has so much information

timmmay

20858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1301174 9-May-2015 14:59

I've always used Crystal Disk Info, but the later version have OpenCandy advertising built in, so I don't use it any more. The portable version (direct download link) is ad free, so is probably fine for running occasionally. UI is good.

Sideface

9649 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15596

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1301258 9-May-2015 19:31

joker97: One of my USB 3 2.5" HDD may have "errors" ...

If its a Seagate HDD, use SeaTools (free) for testing.

Sideface

Batman

Mad Scientist
30012 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6217

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1301260 9-May-2015 19:43

It's a Toshiba external usb drive. I just went ahead with chkdsk and it fixed the errors ... Weren't lost clusters hopefully ok

lxsw20

3689 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2174

Subscriber

#1301270 9-May-2015 20:20

Sideface:
joker97: One of my USB 3 2.5" HDD may have "errors" ...

If its a Seagate HDD, use SeaTools (free) for testing.

Unless things have changed, SeaTools works on any drive.

Batman

Mad Scientist
30012 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6217

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1301292 9-May-2015 21:19

Ok will give it a go ... A crystal ball into the future eh

Lego

Shop now for Lego sets and other gifts (affiliate link).

Lias

5655 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3978

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1301295 9-May-2015 21:29

HDSentinel and CrystalDiskInfo have always worked for me.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

tommywd

15 posts

Geek

#1302782 12-May-2015 13:50

Hi @joker97, below is a listing of a software programs available that are designed to test your computer's hard drive for errors.

1) Scandisk - Users running Microsoft Windows who're still able to get into Windows can utilize the already installed disk checking tool Scandisk to find and repair any errors on their hard drive.

2) Chkdsk - Another Windows command line utility to test the hard drive. If you're unable to boot into Windows, boot from the Windows CD enter the recovery console and run: chkdsk /f to fix errors.

3) Crystaldiskinfo - http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

4) HD Tune - http://www.hdtune.com/

5) Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows (DLGDIAG)- http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=nfp2AE

6) Seagate SeaTools - Fantastic and free program that is used to test all computer hard drives. http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/

If the hard drive appears to be bad or is generating SMART errors indicating its bad even after trying the above suggestions, I suggest replacing it. Often hard drives have a several year warranty and if the drive or the computer the drive is in is relatively new may still be under warranty (even if the computer isn't).

On top of that, it's highly recommended that you keep a backup of your important data at all times. Backing up your data protects you in case of a computer virus, data corruption, hardware issues, or electrical problems.

(*Important: Always remember that "backup" means that you have your data stored in at least two (2) locations. Moving data from your system drive to an external hard drive is not a backup, unless there is already a duplicate of the file on a different drive.)

I hope you find the above information useful.

Cheers!

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302806 12-May-2015 14:11

Lias: HDSentinel and CrystalDiskInfo have always worked for me.

+1 for HDSentinel

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree