Forewarned is forearmed! This rule comes in very handy when working with hard drives. If you know in advance that such and such HDD most likely to fail - then the risk of data loss will be minimal.

Of course, no one will give a 100% guarantee, but with a high degree of probability, some programs can analyze the readings of S.M.A.R.T. (a set of software and hardware that monitor the status hard drive) and draw conclusions on how long it will last.

In general, there are dozens of programs for performing such a hard disk check, but in this article I wanted to focus on some of the most visual and easy to use. So...

How to check the status of a hard drive

(By the way, in addition to HDD, it also supports SSD drives)

One of the best programs to constantly monitor the status of the hard drive. It will help to recognize the threat in time and replace the hard drive. Most of all, it captivates with its clarity: after launching and analyzing, HDDlife presents a report in a very convenient form: you are shown the percentage of the "health" of the disk and its performance (the best indicator, of course, is 100%).

If your readings are above 70%, this means that your disks are in good condition. For example, after a couple of years of work (quite active by the way), the program analyzed and concluded: what given hard the disk is healthy at about 92% (which means that it should last, if there is no force majeure, at least the same amount).

After starting, the program minimizes to tray next to the clock and you can always control the status of your hard drive. If any problem is detected (for example, the disk temperature is high, or there is too little space left on the hard drive), the program will notify you with a pop-up window. An example is below.

HDDLIFE notification that the hard drive is running out of space. Windows 8.1.

If the program analyzes and gives you a window as in the screenshot below, I advise you not to hesitate with the backup (and replacing the HDD).

HDDLIFE - data on the hard drive is in danger, the faster you copy it to other media - the better!

hard drive Sentinel

This utility can compete with HDDlife - it monitors the disk status just as well. What is most captivating in this program is its informativeness, at the same time as its simplicity for work. Those. it will be useful for both a novice user and an already experienced enough one.

After starting Hard Disk Sentinel and analyzing the system, you will see the main program window: on the left will be presented hard drives(including external HDD), and their status will be displayed on the right side of the window.

By the way, pretty interesting feature, by predicting the health of the disk, by how long it will serve you: for example, in the screenshot below, the forecast is more than 1000 days (that's about 3 years!).

The condition of the hard drive is EXCELLENT. Problematic or weak sectors were not found. No revving or data transfer errors detected.
No action needs to be taken.

By the way, the program implemented enough useful feature: you can set the threshold for the critical temperature of the hard disk, upon reaching which, Hard Disk Sentinel will notify you of the excess!

Hard Disk Sentinel: disk temperature (including the maximum for the entire time the disk was used).

Excellent utility for monitoring the status hard drives. The monitor built into the program allows you to know in advance about the appearance of the first problems with the disk (by the way, the program can notify you about this even by e-mail).

Also, in addition to the main functions, a number of auxiliary ones are built into the program:

Disk Defragmenter;

Testing;

Cleaning the disk from garbage and temporary files (always up to date);

Deleting the history of visiting sites on the Internet (useful if you are not alone at the computer and do not want anyone to know what you are doing);

There are also built-in utilities for reducing disk noise, power settings, etc.

Screenshot of the Ashampoo HDD Control 2 window: everything is in order with the hard drive, the state is 99%, the performance is 100%, the temperature is 41 degrees. (it is desirable that the temperature be less than 40 degrees, but the program considers that everything is in order for this disk model).

By the way, the program is completely in Russian, intuitively thought out - even a novice PC user will figure it out. Pay special attention to the temperature and status indicators in the main program window. If the program generates errors or the status is assessed as extremely low (+ besides, there is a rattle or noise from the HDD), I recommend that you first copy all the data to other media, and then start dealing with the disk.

Hard Drive Inspector

The salient features of this program are:

1. Minimalism and simplicity: there is nothing superfluous in the program. It gives three indicators in percentage terms: reliability, performance and absence of errors;

Hard Drive Inspector - monitoring the state of the hard drive.

A simple but reliable utility for monitoring the status of hard drives. Moreover, it works even in cases where many other utilities fail, crashing with errors.

The program supports several languages, is not replete with settings, and is made in a minimalist style. At the same time, it has rather rare functions, for example, disk noise reduction, temperature control, etc.

What is also very convenient is the graphical display of the situation:

Blue color (as in the screenshot below): everything is in order;

Yellow color: alarm, action needs to be taken;

Red: urgent action needs to be taken (if you still have time);

Gray: the program was unable to determine the readings.

CrystalDiskInfo 2.7.0 - screenshot of the main program window.

This program will be useful for more experienced users: who, in addition to graphic display"health" of the disk, we also need high-quality tests of the disk, in which you can get acquainted with all the characteristics and parameters in detail. It should also be noted that the program, in addition to HDD, also supports newfangled SSD drives.

HD Tune offers a rather interesting feature to quickly check the disk for errors: a 500 GB disk is checked in about 2-3 minutes!

HD TUNE: quick search for disk errors. Red "squares" are not allowed on the new disk.

In general, at least the same number of such utilities can be cited. I think that most of these will be more than enough ...

And the last thing: do not forget to make backups, even if the condition of the disk is rated as excellent at 100% (at least the most important and valuable data)!

Today we will learn how to check the hard drive of a computer or laptop for serviceability, what methods exist and what programs with utilities are best used to diagnose the condition of a component.

HOW TO CHECK THE HARD DISK OF A COMPUTER OR LAPTOP FOR SERVICE. FEATURES, METHODS, PROGRAMS AND UTILITIES

Good afternoon, today we will learn how to check HDD personal computer or laptop running operating systems Windows 7 , 8 and 10 on the serviceability, as well as which third-party programs it is better use for condition analysis component. Moreover, step by step with help screenshots for clarity, we will demonstrate procedure by careful diagnostics hard drive through various ways and utilities. In conclusion, we will describe what tasks running on a computer or laptop HDD computer and why from time to time you need check Winchester on the damage, which may occur in sectors.

As we know HDD or Winchester is one of the key components personal computer or laptop, which is the main memory block, that is, the part responsible for storage , distribution and moving information. Winchester on a par with physical carrier has its own life time and over time it has a property called sector damage(bad sectors), which is extremely unacceptable in cases where it stored very important or useful information. In this way, examination hard drive on the serviceability or performance- is one of the most important procedures for diagnostics states details that should be able to do any user who owns a personal computer or laptop.

HOW TO DISABLE SLEEP MODE ON A WINDOWS COMPUTER

So, how and with what starts checking the status of the hard drive ? Initially on a computer or laptop is done backup most important files another physical medium, for example on USB flash drive , Flash card , third party HDD (SSD) Winchester or CD . We also note that in the event that our diagnosed HDD format SDD or HDD publishes while working extraneous sounds as clicks or there are certain claims To performance component, then before carrying the part immediately into repair, initially, so to speak at home, it is worth using various methods for his checks with the help of third parties programs. Today, there are many different utilities and applications for detailed diagnostics of hard disk segments on the bad sectors, which compatible with any operating system and accessories computer. About such programs, which help we will talk to users in our article in order to install which one is the best check and restore fragments winchester .

1. WAYS CHECKING THE HARD DISK FOR PERFORMANCE. BUILT-IN UTILITIES FOR ANALYSIS

Development company " Microsoft ” has a wide range opportunities to work with different components operating room systems. One of the most common basic or built-in programs operating system Windows considered application CHKDSK , which serves to checks and fixes bad sectors hard drive . Program CHKDSK helps produce verification winchester without installation third party applications. In case if file system hard drive has one or the other mistakes, then basic application help as well eliminate some or all Problems, depending on their difficulties.

Functions of the built-in CHKDSK program :

– Search and correction of found errors in the NTFS/FAT hard disk file system;

– Identification of physically damaged bad sectors;

– Checking third-party media, using the example of SSD / HDD drives, USB Flash, SD cards for malfunctions.

How to use the CHKDSK program? Initially the user starts file system scan, which is produced using launch standard window " Run “ located in the user menu “ Start ” working toolbar of the operating complex Windows XP, 7 ,8 or 10 . If we don't not found on the menu " Start "command line" Run “, then we use the function “ Conductor “.

The procedure for checking the system using the “Explorer” menu :

- First of all, we find in the explorer a section called “My Computer”;

- Then we right-click on the hard drive or its separate media (volume) that needs to be checked;

– On the “Service” tab, you must click on the “Perform check” button. For reference, we note that the check is performed only if the user has administrator rights;

- After all the above steps, the computer's operating system is restarted. In the process of restarting the computer, the Windows disk / s are automatically checked for problems. In addition, when finding problems on the disk, the program fixes them;

– If the program does not find any problems during the verification process, then the procedure ends without correction. In addition, it is worth saying that if there are errors on the disk, their correction can take quite a long time ( reference: up to several hours);

– At the final stage of the scan, the program scans third-party physical media of the system, without restarting the computer.

TO How to analyze a disk using the built-in command line? Initially, the user must run command line . This can be done with several ways : Firstly , run the command " Run “, then we type in the line the condition “ cmd “; Secondly , can be done launch through the menu Start “, then go to the tab “ All programs ", Further " Standard ” and find the utility “ Command line “.

After launch line command, write a condition in the window, for example: “ chkdsk C: /f “, which means check one or the other disk systems. To produce full hard drive scan, after the standard steps, it is necessary reload computer, then you need to wait until the system will be checked on the bad sectors. For reference, we note that in order to receive background information on possible parameters checks winchester, in the command window enter the condition “ chkdsk /? “.

As we can see with the help of simple action can be fast enough determine serviceability, as well as health of hard disk volumes and systems generally. For reference, we note that HDD costs check when we just bought new computer or laptop. Moreover, examination needed when it happened mistakes at installation applications or moving a large amount of information in the form files. In the event that we rarely use with your computer, then recommended from time to time it include, to disperse physical medium, since each Winchester has a certain record resource(overwriting) information and data recording method on the bulk carrier does not provide static.

Embedded programs on identification and troubleshooting, which default run on a particular operating system Windows perform only superficial examination for the presence bad sectors disk. Embedded utilitiesnot allocated high accuracy in discovery malfunctions on the carriers. As recommended by most specialists in the area of computer technology , to spend detailed examination with in-depth analysis hard drive is better take advantage(download and install) third party programs and utilities that are online Internet v free access.

2. PROGRAMS FOR DIAGNOSING THE STATE OF THE HARD DISK

So, as we said earlier, apart from basic or built-in programs for diagnostics states hard drive that go along default in a particular version of the operating system Windows , still big today popularity users deserve third party utilities. third party programs or utilities capable of not only detailed diagnose volumes hard drive but also efficient fix bad sectors and mistakes if available.

Popular third party programs for diagnosing and correcting hard drive errors :

HDD Life : this is the one third party utility, which must be installed each user of a personal computer or laptop. Program controls the health of physical carriers and protects those who do not want suddenly lose important information on the device. Main virtues utility is active indicator states hard drive. HDD Life produces performance measurement computer and determines wear components in online mode.

Everything indicators displayed as colorful stripes. For example, a stripe Green colour means that with components devices all in okay. Strip yellow color means that, HDD worked part term his services and it follows more closer pay attention in the process exploitation. red stripe programs mean what is needed immediate action relatively hard drive or others system components up to their repair or substitutions, since there is a high probability losses important information.

Also, the program, which in translation from English means “ A life or hard drive life “, displays physical media temperature information. Temperature maybe displayed as scales or digital indicator. As we know too high operating temperature of disks quickly leads them to worthlessness, so it is very important to constantly control. Utility HDD Life proposed in free access, as with trial(free) version, and paid, in which significantly expanded functionality.

Seagate Seatools : is also at least popular utility, which is very useful for any user modern computer. However, in difference from HDD Life , Seatools - it narrow on profile program, that is universal and is only compatible with hard drives trademark Seagate (reference: 70% market share of hard drives today), and as for the others physical media models, then their analysis may pass fragmentarily or with mistakes. In order to to begin enjoy program its just enough install, run and select necessary points for diagnostics. Utility working completely in automatic mode. On the first stage going on error testing and then them elimination, in the presence of. In case if examination ends successfully, then at the end of the procedure dialog box a sign appears PASS ” – no errors found, and if available problems, the inscription “ FAIL “, that is, found mistakes.

What problems are identified by the program Seagate Seatools :

– Search for bad sectors and hard drive file system errors HDD format or SDD;

– Problems in the disk loader of the Windows operating system;

– Incompatibility of hardware and drivers of the Windows operating system;

- Elimination of broken hard disk;

– Search for viruses of various complexity and other applications that disrupt the functioning of the hard drive.

Often the program Seagate Tools find and fix mistakes and malfunctions systems on one's own, however, sometimes there are cases when it is required participation user in the procedure. From myself, we note that the first time you use utilities with the aim of checks and bug fixes systems worth stocking up patience, because this process very painstaking. For reference, we note that duration process can increase proportionately volume and occupied place information on hard drive .

In conclusion, we note that even if the verifiable HDD is in full technical correctness, as recommended specialists, still worth it always saveimportant information , which stored on the hard drive. Backups important files best done on third party carrier. For reference, we note that today there are a large number of programs who are capable restore lost or corrupted files or fragments hard drive. However, we must understand that Not allutilities fully capable recover lost files, especially if they erased With physically damaged carrier. So backup is the only and correct way saving important information, which stored on the hard drive.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION. LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS, SHARE WITH FRIENDS. WAITING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS.

HDDScan

The program is designed to check hard drives and SSDs for bad sectors, view S.M.A.R.T. attributes, changes special settings, such as: power management, spindle start/stop, acoustic mode adjustment, etc. It is possible to output the temperature value of the drive to the taskbar.

Opportunities and Requirements

• HDD with ATA/SATA interface.
• HDD with SCSI interface.
• HDD with USB interface(See Appendix A).
• HDD with FireWire or IEEE 1394 interface (see Appendix A).
• RAID arrays with ATA/SATA/SCSI interface (only tests).
• Flash drives with USB interface (only tests).
• SSD with ATA/SATA interface.

• Test in linear verification mode.
• Test in linear reading mode.
• Test in linear recording mode.
• Butterfly reading mode test (artificial random reading test)

• Reading and analyzing S.M.A.R.T. parameters from ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire drives.
• Reading and analysis of log tables from disks with SCSI interface.
• Launching S.M.A.R.T. tests on drives with ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire interface.
• Temperature monitor on drives with ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire/SCSI interface.

• Reading and analysis of identification information from drives with ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire/SCSI interface.
• Changing AAM, APM, PM parameters on drives with ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire interface.
• View information about defects on a SCSI drive.
• Spindle start/stop on drives with ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire/SCSI interface.
• Save reports in MHT format.
• Print reports.
• Skins support.
• Command line support.
• Support for SSD drives.

• Operating system: Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10(NEW).
• The program must not be run from a drive that is in read-only mode.

User interface

The main view of the program at startup

Rice. 1 Main view of the program

Main window controls:

• Select Drive is a dropdown list that contains all supported drives in the system. The drive model is displayed and serial number. Nearby is an icon that determines the expected type of drive.
• S.M.A.R.T button – allows you to get a drive status report based on S.M.A.R.T attributes.
• TESTS button - shows a pop-up menu with a choice of read and write tests (see Fig. 2).
• TOOLS Button - Shows a pop-up menu for selecting available dial controls and functions (see Figure 3).
• More button - shows a drop-down menu with program controls.

When you press the TESTS button, a pop-up menu will offer you one of the tests. If you select any test, the test dialog will open (see Figure 4).

Rice. 2 Test menu

When you press the TOOLS button, a pop-up menu will prompt you to select one of the following options:

Rice. 3 Function menu

• DRIVE ID - Generates an identification information report.
• FEATURES - opens a window additional features programs.
• S.M.A.R.T. TEST - opens the S.M.A.R.T. tests: Short, Extended, Conveyance.
• TEMP MON - starts the temperature monitoring task.
• COMMAND - opens the command line build window.

Test Dialog Box

Rice. 4 Test dialog box

Controls:

• The FIRST SECTOR field is the initial logical sector number for testing.
• The SIZE field is the number of logical sector numbers for testing.
• The BLOCK SIZE field is the block size in sectors for testing.
• Button Previous - returns to the main window of the program.
• Next button - adds the test to the task queue.

• Only one surface test can be run at a time. This is due to the fact that the author of the program has not yet been able to obtain stable qualitative results when running 2 or more tests simultaneously (on different drives).
• A test in Verify mode can have a block size limit of 256, 16384, or 65536 sectors. This is due to the peculiarities of Windows.
• Test in Verify mode may not work properly on USB/Flash drives.
• When testing in the Verify mode, the drive reads a block of data into the internal buffer and checks their integrity; no data is transmitted through the interface. The program measures the drive readiness time after performing this operation after each block and displays the results. Blocks are tested sequentially - from the minimum to the maximum.
• When tested in Read mode the drive reads data into the internal buffer, after which the data is transmitted through the interface and stored in the program's temporary buffer. The program measures the total drive readiness and data transfer time after each block and displays the results. Blocks are tested sequentially - from the minimum to the maximum.
• When testing in the Erase mode, the program prepares a data block filled with a special pattern with a sector number and transfers the data to the drive, the drive writes the received block ( information in the block is irretrievably lost!). The program measures the total time of transferring and writing a block and the readiness of the drive after each block and displays the results. Blocks are tested sequentially - from the minimum to the maximum.
• Testing in Butterfly Read mode is similar to testing in Read mode. The difference lies in the order in which the blocks are tested. Blocks are processed in pairs. The first block in the first pair will be Block 0. The second block in the first pair will be Block N, where N is the last block of the given section. The next pair will be Block 1, Block N-1, and so on. Testing ends in the middle of a given section. This test measures reading and positioning time.

Task management window

Rice. 5 Task manager

This window contains the task queue. This includes all the tests that the program runs, as well as the temperature monitor. The manager allows you to remove tests from the queue. Some tasks can be paused or stopped.

Double clicking on an entry in the queue brings up a window with information about the current task.

Test Information Window

The window contains information about the test, allows you to pause or stop the test, and also generates a report.

Graph tab:

Contains information about the dependence of the testing speed on the block number, which is presented in the form of a graph.

Rice. 6 Graph tab

Map tab:

Contains information about the dependence of the testing time on the block number, which is presented as a map.

Rice. 7 Map tab

You can select "Block Processing Time" in milliseconds. Each tested block that took longer than the "Block Processing Time" will be logged in the "Report" tab.

Report tab:

Contains information about the test and all blocks whose testing time is greater than "Block Processing Time".

Rice. 8 Report tab

Identification Information

The report contains information about the main physical and logical parameters of the drive.

The report can be printed and saved to an MHT file.

Rice. 9 Example of an identification information window

S.M.A.R.T. report

The report contains information about the performance and "health" of the drive in the form of attributes. If, according to the program, the attribute is normal, then next to it is a green icon. Yellow indicates attributes that you should pay special attention to, as a rule, they indicate some kind of drive malfunction. Red indicates attributes that are outside the norm.

Reports can be printed or saved to an MHT file.

Rice. 10 Sample S.M.A.R.T.

Temperature monitor

Allows you to estimate the temperature of the drive. Information is displayed in the taskbar, as well as in a special test information window. Rice. 11 contains readings for two drives.

Rice. 11 Temperature monitor in the taskbar

For ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire drives, the information window contains 2 values. The second value is displayed in the taskbar.

The first value is taken from the Airflow Temperature attribute, the second value is taken from the HDA Temperature attribute.

Rice. 12 Temperature monitor for ATA/SATA drive

For SCSI drives, the information window contains 2 values. The second value is displayed in the taskbar.

The first value contains the maximum allowable temperature for the drive, the second shows the current temperature.

Rice. 13 Temperature monitor for SCSI disk

S.M.A.R.T. tests

The program allows you to run three types of S.M.A.R.T. tests:

1. Short test - usually lasts 1-2 minutes. It checks the main components of the drive, and also scans a small area of ​​the drive surface and sectors in the Pending-List (sectors that may contain read errors). The test is recommended for a quick assessment of the condition of the drive.
2. Extended test - usually lasts from 0.5 to 60 hours. Checks the main components of the drive, and also completely scans the surface of the drive.
3. Conveyance test - usually lasts a few minutes. Checks drive nodes and logs that may indicate that the drive has been stored or shipped incorrectly.

A SMART test can be selected from the SMART Tests dialog, accessed by pressing the SMART TESTS button.

Rice. 14 SMART Tests dialog box

Once selected, the test will be added to the Tasks queue. Information window S.M.A.R.T. test can display the progress and completion status of a task.

Rice. 15 Information window S.M.A.R.T. test

Additional features

For ATA/SATA/USB/FireWire drives, the program allows you to change some parameters.

1. AAM - the function controls the noise of the drive. Enabling this feature allows you to reduce the noise of the drive due to smoother positioning of the heads. In this case, the drive loses a little in performance during random access.
2. APM - the function allows you to save drive power by temporarily reducing the speed of rotation (or completely stopping) of the drive spindle during idle time.
3. PM - the function allows you to set the spindle stop timer to certain time. When this time is reached, the spindle will be stopped provided that the drive is idle. Accessing the drive by any program causes the spindle to be forced to spin up and the timer to reset to zero.
4. The program also allows you to stop or start the drive spindle forcibly. Access to the drive by any program causes forced spinning of the spindle.

Rice. 16 Information window for additional features of the ATA/SATA drive

For SCSI drives, the program allows you to view defect lists and start/stop the spindle.

Rice. 17 SCSI drive advanced features information window

Using the command line

The program can build a command line to control some of the drive's settings and save this line to a .bat or .cmd file. When such a file is run, the program is called in background, changes the drive settings according to the settings and closes automatically.

Rice. 18 Command line build window

Appendix A: USB/FireWire Drives

If the drive is supported by the program, then tests are available for it, S.M.A.R.T. features and additional features.

If the drive is not supported by the program, then only tests are available for it.

USB/FireWire drives supported by the program:

USB / FireWire drives that the program may support:

USB / FireWire drives that the program does not support:

Appendix B: SSD Drives

Support for a particular drive largely depends on the controller installed on it.

SSD drives supported by the program:

SSD drives that the program may support:

Additional Information

HDDScan version 3.3 can be downloaded version 2.8

Many PC users hardly think about checking the status of their HDD. Checking the hard drive, first of all, is needed for early detection of errors.
If you manage to identify problems with the hard drive in advance, then you can save all the important information stored on it until it finally fails.
In this article, we will describe, using specific examples, the procedure for checking the status of the HDD, and also tell you what to do in a situation if your hard drive is faulty.

How to check the status of a hard drive

You can check the status of your hard drive using various utilities that read the status of your hard drive from its self-diagnosis system. SMART. SMART technology is now installed on every manufactured hard drive. SMART technology was developed back in 1992 and is still being improved to this day. The main task of SMART is logging of the hard drive aging process. That is, information such as the number of HDD activations, the number of spindle rotations and many others is being collected. More SMART looking for errors"screws", both software and mechanical, and as far as possible corrects them. During the monitoring process, SMART performs various tests such as short and long to identify those same faults. In this article, we will consider such programs that can read information from SMART:

• Ashampoo HDD Control 3;
• Defraggler;
• HD Life;
• Victoria.

Each program from the list, in addition to reading SMART readings, offers a number of functions, tests, which in one way or another extend the life of the hard drive. But the most interesting is the program Victoria. Victoria program in addition to determining the state of the HDD, it also knows how to produce REMAP bad sectors. That is, she can hide bad sectors by replacing them with spare ones if they exist. In essence, the REMAP procedure can restore hard drive. It is also worth noting the possibility of fixing the hard drive thanks to the console application " chkdsk". The console program "chkdsk" can fix file system errors, which will allow you not to reinstall Windows.

Ashampoo HDD Control 3

We will first look at the program Ashampoo HDD Control 3. Let's run this utility on the computer under Windows control 10.

The Ashampoo HDD Control 3 window shows the message " ✓ OK", as well as the inscription " This hard drive has no problems". This information means that the hard drive in question is in perfect order. If you see the message " Error", as well as the inscription " This hard drive has a problem”, then this means that it has bad sectors or overheats. To view full information about the health of the "screw" taken from smart, you need to click on the footnote "" located in the central block.

In addition to viewing information from smart, Ashampoo HDD Control 3 can run self-test test S.M.A.R.T. and surface check test. You can test these tests in the "" block.

By performing these tests, you can also identify problems with the HDD. In addition to taking readings from smart and tests, Ashampoo HDD Control 3 can:

• Perform defragmentation;
• Clean up the system of debris;
• Find and remove duplicate files;
• Securely overwrite files from the HDD, without the possibility of recovery.

The presence of such functionality of Ashampoo HDD Control 3 in monitoring the health of the screw and additional functions puts the utility in the first place.

Defraggler

Utility Defraggler primarily intended for defragmentation, but besides that, she can read SMART readings. The utility is free and any user can download it from www.piriform.com. After starting the utility, you need to go to the tab " State».

The window shows that the utility displays a message about the state of the screw, as " GOOD' means he's fine. If you see the message " Error” in the status, this will mean that there are bad sectors on the hard drive and it is time to change it. The utility is quite simple and is suitable, first of all, for novice PC users who want to monitor the health of the HDD and defragment it. I would also like to note that the utility supports all current operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10.

How to check your hard drive with HDDlife

Utility HDD life has a nice interface and immediately gives us the information we need, which is responsible for the serviceability and breakage of the screw.

From the image above, you can see that in the block health is " OK!", which means that everything is in order with the HDD. To see the details of smart, you just need to click on the link " click to view S.M.A.R.T. attributes».

If you see a message in the health block " DANGER!”, then this means that your HDD will soon become unusable.

In this case, you need to replace the old hard drive with a new one. The HDDlife utility, first of all, is suitable for novice PC users, as its simplicity will make it easy to monitor the health of the “screw”. In addition to the standard utility, the developer also releases HDDlife for Notebooks which is designed for laptops. The laptop version has the same functionality as the standard version, but can also HDD noise control. It is also worth noting that the program supports all current operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10.

Victoria

Program Victoria is being developed under DOS and by Windows. For our example, we will use the Windows version of Victoria, which can be downloaded from http://hdd-911.com. On the this moment Victoria is available in version 4.47. By running the Victoria utility, we will get into such a window.

Victoria does not have a beautiful interface, as in previous utilities, and is written in such old languages ​​as Delphi and assembler.

In the first tab of Victoria " Standard» is all information about installed hard drives into the computer.

Second tab " SMART» needed for smart reading. To display smart results, you must click the Get SMART button and the results will be displayed.

In the hard drive under consideration, Victoria found 1212 bad sectors. Such a number of BAD sectors is critical, so in this case it is necessary to carry out full backup all data from the HDD. To repair the hard drive with the REMAP test in Victoria, go to the tab " Tests» and select the mode « Remap". After these steps, you can start the procedure for reassigning bad sectors to backup ones with the Start button.

The REMAP test at Victoria can take a very long time. The test time depends on the number of bad sectors. This test of the Victoria utility does not always help, since there might not be any spare sectors left in the "screw".

Please note that using Victoria tests, you can damage the health of the HDD and the information on it.

How to check the disk for health using "chkdsk"

It may happen that by checking the S.M.A.R.T. using the utilities described above, you did not find any problems, but the system still behaves unstable. Instability may appear blue screens death, freezes in programs. This behavior of the Windows operating system is caused by file system errors. In this case, it will help us console command « chkdsk". By running the "chkdsk" command, you can fully restore functionality Windows OS. For this example, we will take a computer with a new operating system. Windows system 10. First of all, let's open the console in Windows 10 as an administrator. This can be easily done by clicking right click mouse icon " Start” and selecting the item we need.

In the running console, execute the following command CHKDSK F: / F / R After checking using the “chkdsk” command application, the result of the check will be displayed in the console.

Now consider the command " CHKDSK F: /F /R» more. Immediately after the "chkdsk" command comes the letter " F"- this letter local disk where we correct errors. Keys " /F" and " /R» fix errors in the file system, as well as fix bad sectors. These keys are used almost always, unlike the others. You can view the rest of the keys with the chkdsk /?

It is also worth noting that in Windows 10, the capabilities of the “chkdsk” application have been significantly expanded thanks to new keys.

How to test a hard drive for health using DST

Abbreviation DST stands for Disk Self Test, that is self-test disk. Manufacturers specifically build this method into the HDD, so that later, using special software, they can perform DST self-diagnosis, which will identify problems. By testing the “screw” using DST, you can get information about the likely failure of the hard drive. It is especially convenient to use DST on servers and computers of enterprises, where reliable storage of information plays a big role. Now consider the use of DST on the example of HP laptops. For new HP notebooks with support UEFI BIOS there is a special diagnostic menu " Startup Menu". is running this menu via power key and key combinations ESC.

To run system tests, press the F2 button.

In the window that appears, DST is called Hard Disk Test. After selecting it, a self-test will start.

Other manufacturers also have a DST method, only running on a PC from other manufacturers is different from the above.

Checking a hard drive in Linux

For example, let's take a computer based on the Ubuntu 16.04 operating system. To do this, launch the terminal in Ubuntu. In the terminal, type the following command sudo apt-get install smartmontools This command should install

If you don't like working in console mode, you can install a graphical utility gnome-disk-utility. In it you can see everything you need about the HDD and its status.

Summing up

In the reviewed article, we described how you can monitor the status of the HDD, as well as how to fix its sectors and file system, if possible. From the material it becomes clear that monitoring the status of hard drives is very important, as it allows predict HDD failure.

If you find that your hard drive is problematic, then do not postpone its replacement for later. A problematic "screw" can fail at any time, and you will lose all the information stored on your computer.

We hope that our material will be useful to our readers, and will fully help to solve the problem of checking the hard drive.

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