The program for recovering hard disk (bad sectors)

Restoring a hard drive means several different operations: recovering data, removing bad sectors, and more. If you want to restore bad sectors on the hard drive, I wrote an interesting utility for this - Disk Revival. Of course, they physically restore nothing, they simply mask the sectors, allowing them to use the disk further. I must say right away - the method differs from the generally accepted REMAP.

How to recover a hard drive with a program (video)

How Disk Revival is different from Victoria

  A completely different principle of operation. Victoria uses REMAP, and my program blocks sectors by writing lock files to them. Since sectors are busy, user data is written to good sectors and everyone is happy. True, the lock is obtained at the file system level, which is why it is impossible to format such a HDD, otherwise the sector lock will be reset. But in general, a working option, when the remap is no longer helping, but at least some kind of hard drive is vital. Installing Windows on such a disk is also possible, the main thing in the process is not to format the HDD.

Download program

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Previous reviews.  I had to save as a picture, due to a change in the structure of the site.

No matter how high-quality your hard drive is, sooner or later problems can arise with it. Incorrect removal of programs, viruses and malicious applications, wear and tear - all this can lead to damage to the “hard drive” and the appearance of the so-called. The latter do not make themselves felt immediately, most likely months will pass before you notice the problem.

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What are bad sectors?

For a more understandable definition of a broken sector, it will not be superfluous to understand the design of your hard drive. In general, it consists of rotating magnetic disks, which are divided into tracks, and these same tracks, in turn, are divided into sectors. They enter any information that you copy to your hard drive. Disk sectors have one unpleasant property - they deteriorate over time and you lose access to them. And this process is accelerated by incorrect work with the computer.

Most likely you will not know about the existence of several bad sectors without the use of special programs. They practically do not affect the operation of the computer and become a real problem only in large numbers.

Computer crashes when trying to access any files, long copying from one partition to another, errors and PC reboots - all this can be the result of a large number of bad blocks on your “screw”. Some of them can be corrected, and some can not be treated. According to this criterion and the nature of the damage, all bad sectors can be divided into two types: physical and logical.

• Physical problems are the result of damage (for example,), dust entering the hard drive, and normal equipment wear. The main thing to understand is that in such cases, which can no longer be restored. Even ordinary data recovery from such sectors will become a miracle;
• Logical bads also appear under the influence of viruses, file system errors, and incorrect writing of information to disk (for example, a sudden shutdown of a computer during file copying or other active work). In such cases, it is not the magnetic coating of the sector that is damaged, but its data. Such bad sectors are subject to treatment and can be corrected using a variety of programs in ordinary home conditions.

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Programs for recovering bad hard drive sectors

Microsoft provides a built-in utility chkdsk  for working with hard drives. By default, the utility only checks for file system errors, but if you add a key / fthen chkdsk will check the drive for bad blocks and try to fix them automatically. Of course, there are many alternative solutions from third-party manufacturers for checking the hard drive and fixing bad sectors, which can easily be found on the Internet. Let's talk about the most popular of them in a bit more detail:

•   - Probably the most popular program for testing hard drives and recovering bad sectors on the hard drive. It can be used not only for treatment, but also for testing equipment. As the developers themselves note, when interacting with the hard drive, it ignores the file system and works at the level of input-output ports. This property provides the most effective and high-quality work. In addition, there are two versions of the program, one of which works directly from under Windows, and the other from under DOS. The latter is more universal, but also recommended for experienced users.
•   - Another popular program that works with equipment through the controller ports. It also has two versions (Windows and DOS), both of which are completely free. It has a very fast speed, which does not affect its quality. In addition, it gives full statistics on your device: the number of on and off cycles, the number of spindle revolutions, etc. For a minus, you can count the unfriendly interface of the program, which will become a problem for inexperienced users.
•   - A unique program that, according to developers, can even restore physical damage. The point is that often physically damaged sectors have irregular magnetization, which this program eliminates. The rest of the set of features and capabilities is similar to the above utilities.

In this article we will talk about restoring bad sectors of the hard drive and the reasons for their appearance. Step-by-step instructions will help you prepare for this procedure and cope with it yourself.

What are bad sectors

Let's briefly look at the structure of the hard drive. It consists of several separate disks, above which there are magnetic heads, designed to read and write information. When saving data, the heads magnetize certain areas of the disk, divided into tracks and smaller components - sectors. It is in them that information units are stored. If the sector becomes inaccessible for reading, it is called “beaten”.

The appearance of such a problem is indicated by several signs:

• squeaks, rattle, tapping during disk work;
• heating the surface of the HDD (in the normal state this should not happen);
• frequent errors when operating and starting the operating system.

Typical causes

The main reasons for the appearance of broken segments of the hard drive are:

Also, malfunctions in the hard drive may appear due to mechanical damage. They are often caused by the fall of a hard drive or computer, leading to damage to the magnetic surface (for example, during transportation). Non-working parts also appear due to factory defects. In this case, they may not appear immediately, but “crumble” over time, quickly increasing their number to a critical level.

Important! If you suspect a mechanical damage or marriage, you should immediately contact a specialist or exchange the hard drive for warranty.

Recovery of bad sectors of HDD with Victoria

If the appearance of broken segments is associated with software failures, then they can be restored using specialized software. One of such programs for recovering bad sectors of hdd is Victoria. The utility is available in two versions - for Windows and DOS. Recovery through DOS will be most effective, since during the operation of the OS some sectors may be busy, which means they are inaccessible for scanning.

Victoria HDD - diagnostic program

Scanning

To get started, we need a little preparation. Firstly, you will need a disk with the program image recorded on it or a bootable USB flash drive. If everyone can cope with recording an image, then creating a flash drive can be difficult.

Let us dwell in more detail on this step:

Note! The program takes up very little space, so after installing it, the drive can be used to store other information. In order not to accidentally delete the files necessary for the utility to work, it is recommended to select a separate folder for them.

Getting to the scanning process:

Here we need an item "Reallocated sector count", which displays the number of fragments in the reserve zone, as well as "Current pending sectors"where parts that cannot be read are displayed. If their number is not very high, then the disk must be restored.

Hard drive recovery

Let's see how exactly this process occurs. Problem segments can be divided into two types. The former are not readable due to the mismatch of the information stored in them and its checksums.

This error occurs during power outages, when new data has already been recorded and the checksums remain old. They simply cease to be recognized and are restored quite easily - by formatting them and recording the correct amounts.

The second type arises as a result of mechanical damage. In this case, recovery is more difficult, but still possible. The resumption of operability of such parts is carried out through the use of reserve areas, which are on each hard drive.

We begin the recovery of each of these types of errors.

Video: HDD - “treating” bad sectors

First, let's try to fix bad sectors by erasing the information stored in them:

• press F4 and get into the test menu;
• in the menu for selecting operations with unreadable sectors, specify “BB: Erase 256 sect” and press “Enter”.

The long process of scanning and recovering bad sectors of the HDD will start. If the program finds a bad sector, it will try to erase it, thereby correcting the error. If a mechanical defect is present, an error will be reported. In any case, it is necessary to wait until the check is complete and then separately correct sectors with physical malfunctions.

For this:

Now the recovery operation will work on a different principle, trying not to erase the damaged sectors, but to replace them with space from the backup area.

Important! If there are a lot of such sectors, then the reserve space may end. This will be reported by a special message, and further recovery will become impossible.

After successful recovery of bad sectors on the hard drive, it is recommended to conduct a full check of the file system for errors.

You can do this using the CHKDSK utility or in the following way:

Photo: checking the disk for errors

Attention! So that the system not only finds, but also fixes the problems, before starting the scan, select "Automatically fix system errors."

The methods described above will help you easily cope with non-critical cases of the emergence of problem sectors, find and fix them. By following our instructions exactly, any user will be able to do this on their own, without even having a computer education. We hope that this information was useful to you.

If the hard drive has decreased reading or writing speed of files, there is an error accessing files, then before contacting a service center, you can try to fix the problem with the help of special programs. Utilities will help diagnose the hard drive and eliminate errors, for example, reassign bad sectors, etc.

Attention!  Before recovery, you need to backup all data from your hard drive.

All hard drive recovery programs in the list below have the following features:

• recovery sectors;
• recovery unreadable data;
• work with the NTFS, FAT  and other file systems;
• work on operating systems  Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10;
• work with the unlabeled  and not formatted  disks.

The hard drive recovery program allows you to quickly detect problems, such as bad sectors. At the same time, you can turn to the monitoring function at any time and get detailed information on the medium in real time. Also, the product’s functionality will allow you to create a bootable USB flash drive for disk recovery.

Benefits:

• opportunity pause and continue  recovery process if running on an operating system.

Disadvantages:

• high cost;
• in trial version available only fix  sectors;
• lack of  Russian localization;
• major updates  are delivered free of charge during the first year from the date of purchase, then discounts are provided.

Price: $ 99.99.

As key features, it is worth highlighting the ability to work both on local machines and on remote ones. A built-in text hex editor allows you to make changes to files manually. It is also possible to create a backup copy of the disk and, if necessary, make changes to it, while the image can be saved on another medium.

Benefits:

• work on the operating systems Windows, Mac, Linux;
• view content  drive.

Disadvantages:

• license key strictly attached to device;
• high price;
• trial version does not restore  Files larger than 256 KB.

Price: $ 79.99.

The HDD Starus repair program will allow you to conduct not only a deep analysis of media damage, but also a fast one that takes a short period of time. This function is extremely useful when the speed of work, for example, a flash drive, has fallen dramatically and you need to find out why it happened. A built-in HEX editor allows advanced users to make changes to the hexadecimal file structure. And thanks to the support of data transfer via network channels, a disk image can be transferred directly from the program to the server.

Benefits:

• recovery file and folder structures, i.e. with protection of all metadata;
• supportFTPprotocols;
• support for older versions  Windows (from 95).

Disadvantages:

• Available only paid version.

Price: 2400 rubles.

Among the functionality, it is worth highlighting the possibility of managing (managing) data - creating, copying, converting, splitting, combining volumes and files, that is, everything that Windows Explorer is usually used for. Acronis also allows you to create a boot disk or flash drive and edit data through the built-in HEX editor.

Benefits:

• view sections;
• optimization  hard drive;
• preview  changes made to the structure of the section;
• detailed monitoring  information about disks and files.

Disadvantages:

• tough device binding;
• in the trial version, all operations can only be performed on files size no more than 100 mb.

Price: 1600 rubles - 1 pc.

The most important features of Victoria include the ability to adjust the speed of rotation of the head of the hard drive. And the presence of a wide range of tools for detailed diagnostics allows you to get detailed information about the media of any manufacturers. It is also worth mentioning the ability to delete data without the ability to recover and set passwords of different levels (administrator, user, etc.) on the media.

Benefits:

• does not require  installation;
• s. supportM.A.R.T.  SSD attributes
• the possibility of creating bootable flash drive;
• support  AHCI.

Disadvantages:

• lack of  Russian language;
   to iron when you run some versions of the program.

Price: free.

Mhdd

Since the latest version of the program was released in 2005 and has not been updated since then, the MHDD functionality is far behind the more modern counterparts. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish from the features that the program will allow you to work with all the main connection interfaces (IDE, USB, SATA, SCSI) and run several tests in parallel.

Benefits:

• adjustment noise level  drive;
• deletion bad sectors;
• opportunity set passwords.

Disadvantages:

• program is not updated  since 2005;
• supports only Windows XP, other versions in compatibility mode, and even then not always. Depends on the "iron".

Price: free.

HD LLF (common abbreviation) will allow the user to work with a wide range of connection interfaces, such as IDE, USB, SATA, SCSI, SAS, FIREWARE. The program also supports working with the LBA-48 mechanism. Work on the Ultra-DMA mode will provide high speed access to the hard disk during tasks. It is also worth mentioning that it is possible to delete data without the possibility of recovery, partitioning and resizing of the drive. Able to recover external hard drives and flash drives after damage.

Benefits:

• lifetime license  with free updates;
• the choice operating modes.

Disadvantages:

• lack of  Russian localization;
• restriction  in the free version for speed (up to 50 MB \\ s).

Against the background of many others, it stands out with the ability to restore the Boot.ini boot file in automatic or manual mode, which will make it possible to adjust the launch of the operating system if it starts with errors. It is also worth noting the important functions of creating a disk image and smart search, greatly facilitating navigation.

Benefits:

• work with carriers volumes over 1 tb;
• creature backups  MBR tables
• highlighting primary and secondary  sections.

Disadvantages:

• lack of  Russian localization;
• in the trial version cannot restore partitions, adjust the startup file;
• trial version  does not return to its original state after an unsuccessful operation.

• for home use - $ 49.99;
• for commercial use - $ 59.99.

It will provide automatic disk scanning, which will allow the user to quickly identify a media malfunction. The features of the software include the ability to not only create a disk image, but also transfer it to the server. And thanks to the manual tuning function, you can independently set all the ways to save test results and images.

Benefits:

• parallel export multiple files;
• search  by keywords;
• support  all operating systems of the Windows family;
• russian-speaking  support and forum.

Disadvantages:

• in the trial version cannot be restored  sections

Price: 2999 rubles.

Using the program for checking and restoring storage media, the user can create an image and transfer it via FTP to the server. Support for working with RAID arrays is facilitated by the ability to specify multi-character values \u200b\u200bas a search query. And using the automatic photo recovery mode allows you to restore photos without losing data.

Benefits:

• support  Linux EXT XFS;
• work  with arrays RAID0 and RAID5;
• search  by keywords;
• preservation

Disadvantages:

• lack of  Russian language;
• can be restored to trial only four  section;
• it is impossible to trial upload filewith the results.

HDAT2

HDAT2 makes it possible to reanimate a hard drive and create bootable media, whether it be a USB drive or a CD \\ DVD drive. The program supports all modern media connection interfaces about which detailed information can be obtained. At the same time, there is also RAID support, which strongly distinguishes this free and portable program from other competitors.

Benefits:

• support  RAID
• does not require  installation;
• preservation  recovered data to additional media.

Disadvantages:

• lack of  Russian language;
• interaction  with an interface only through the keyboard;
• low speed  verification and recovery;
• as a result of a recovery error can lose data.

Price: free.

Summary table

In the table, we compare and determine which program can be considered better for recovering a hard disk.

Program Name (version / year)	Cost	Russian language support	Features	Benefits	disadvantages
HDD Regenerator (2011)	$ 99.99 there is a trial	—	create bootable media	pause and resume recovery	in the trial you can only restore sectors
R-Studio (8.8. / 2018)	$ 79.99 there is a trial	+	work with remote PCs	work on Mac and Linux	trial version limits the size of recoverable files to 256 Kb
Starus Partition Recovery (2.8. / 2018)	2400 rubles;	+	creation and transfer of the image to the server	file metadata recovery	no trial data
Acronis Disk Director (12.0. / 2018)	1600 rubles there is a trial	+	complete data management	preview of changes	in the trial version, you can perform operations with files not exceeding 100 MB
Victoria HDD (4.68b. / 2018)	is free	—	hard disk speed adjustment	s.M.A.R.T. support on SSDs	several working copies of the program heavily load the PC
Acronis Recovery Expert (12.0. / 2018)	1600 rubles there is a trial	+	See point 4
MHDD (4.6. / 2005)	is free	—	the ability to run multiple tests at the same time	drive noise control	Runs only on Windows XP
HDD Low Level Format Tool (4.40. / 2014)	no limit - $ 3.30 there is a trial	—	support for LBA-48; ultra-DMA mode	lifetime license with free updates	limited maximum trial speed
Active Partition Recovery Pro (18/2018)	$ 49.99 there is a trial	—	boot.ini recovery	work with carriers over 1 tb	trial functionality is extremely limited
Hetman Partition Recovery (2.8. / 2018)	2999 rubles	+	transferring the image to the server	simultaneous export of multiple files	prohibition of restoring partitions in the trial version
Zero Assumption Recovery (X / 2018)	$ 69.95 there is a trial	—	transferring the image to the server	saving data to additional media; work with RAID	in the trial, you cannot restore more than four sections and load the file with the results.
HDAT2 (6.4. / 2018)	is free	—	display detailed media information from any connection interface	rAID support	the interface does not support a mouse; slow scan and unsafe file recovery

Important things depend on the state of the hard disk - the operation of the operating system and the safety of user files. Problems such as file system errors and bad sectors can lead to loss of personal information, crashes when loading the OS, and a complete drive failure.

The ability to recover HDDs depends on the type of bad blocks. Physical damage cannot be repaired, while logical errors must be repaired. This will require a special program that works with bad sectors.

Before starting the healing utility, it is necessary to carry out diagnostics. It will let you know if there are problem areas and whether you need to work with them. In more detail about what bad sectors are, where they come from, and what program scans the hard drive for their presence, we already wrote in another article:

You can use scanners for the built-in and external HDD, as well as a flash drive.

If after checking the presence of errors and bad sectors was found, and you want to eliminate them, then again special software will come to the rescue.

Method 1: Using Third-Party Programs

Often, users decide to resort to using programs that would perform the treatment of errors and bad blocks at a logical level. We have already compiled a selection of such utilities, and you can familiarize yourself with them at the link below. There you will also find a link to a lesson on disk recovery.

When choosing a program for HDD treatment, approach this wisely: with inept use, you can not only harm the device, but also lose important data stored on it.

Method 2: Using the Embedded Utility

An alternative way to resolve errors is to use the chkdsk program built into Windows. She can scan all drives connected to a computer and fix the problems found. If you are going to fix the partition where the OS is installed, then chkdsk will start its work only at the next computer start-up, or after a manual reboot.

To work with the program, it is best to use the command line.

Please note that none of the programs can fix bad sectors at the physical level, even if this is stated by the manufacturer. No software is able to repair the surface of a disk. Therefore, in the case of physical damage, it is necessary to replace the old HDD with a new one as soon as possible before it ceases to function.