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    How do i partition bad sectors so i can keep HD??

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by t61jaws, Nov 28, 2011.

  1. t61jaws

    t61jaws Notebook Consultant

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    I wanna keep harddrive as prices have gone up the roof since the floods..

    Anyone tell me how to partition the bad sectors? i have a seagate which has now passed the short test and long test...since running seagate tools in dos..

    Thanks!
     
    t61jaws, Nov 28, 2011
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  2. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    Do a chkdsk, any bad sector should be marked as unusable by windows. However, bad sectors usually mean bad drive health, I suggest you backup ASAP if you have bad sectors in case something goes wrong. From what you wrote though, it seems your drive passed the seatools tests so i don't see why you are asking about bad sectors.
     
    tijo, Nov 28, 2011
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  3. t61jaws

    t61jaws Notebook Consultant

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    the HD didn't pass the tests first time in windows using seatools...so was advised to download and run seatools for dos instead...and after repair it passed...but as i understand it does not mean the bad sectors have gone..
    I was hoping to full format and use as a storage rather than for OS...is this advisable? Yes i have backed up! Thanks : ))
     
    t61jaws, Nov 28, 2011
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  4. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    once a HDD bad sector reallocation table is full, you're at the end of the useful life of a disk drive......

    An HDD is a mechanical device. It will fail. Sometimes with warning/signs, sometimes all at once.

    'formatting' a drive doesn't do mich these days. The sector formatting and allocations are all taken care of in the drives firmware. All external utilities do is to try repeated read/writes and if the drive firmware doesn't detect errors, then things pass.

    No way to bypass the drives firmware to extend the life of an HDD.
     
    newsposter, Nov 28, 2011
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  5. woofer00

    woofer00 Wanderer

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    Bad sectors multiply like bunnies. Unless the sector went bad by random change (somewhat rare), it will keep happening. Whether you use it for storage or your OS, I wouldn't rely on it too heavily.
     
    woofer00, Nov 29, 2011
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  6. t61jaws

    t61jaws Notebook Consultant

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    hmmm not good then..

    I got to say all that freezing and constant spinning has stopped since i ran test and repaired via Seagates own tools.. It is whats recommended 'they' advise. They also say many ppl send back drives that are still functioning well. Anyway maybe its still a red herring. Thanks for your advice guys,
     
    t61jaws, Nov 30, 2011
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  7. woofer00

    woofer00 Wanderer

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    Keep using it for a bit, but keep an eye out and re-run the scans after a while (maybe a week, maybe a month, depending on your usage). If there are no new bad sectors, it was a fluke. If they keep popping up, there's a more serious issue. There's no way to know either way unless you keep using it. In the meantime, I wouldn't store much that you can't afford to lose on the drive. Generally speaking, the most important stuff will fit on a flash drive anyway (financial- & life-related documents. pictures and movies can generally be replaced)
     
    woofer00, Nov 30, 2011
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  8. t61jaws

    t61jaws Notebook Consultant

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    good advice...already on a nice 1TB drive...a seagate one...yikes!
     
    t61jaws, Nov 30, 2011
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