Despite the fact that recently solid-state drives have increasingly conquered the niche of the main memory module of computers and laptops, their market share is not so large. Good old mechanical hard drives have a much lower cost, which is why they are still popular. However, they have the ability to fail, like any other equipment. This article is devoted to the question of how to check a hard drive for serviceability at home, without resorting to the help of service centers. Moreover, here we will provide options that will help you restore the functionality of a partially damaged hard drive.
A little about the hard drive itself
The classic hard drive of a laptop or computer consists of several so-called “pancakes” with a ferrimagnetic coating, onto which information is written using heads, and with their help it is read. These discs rotate at high speeds, ranging from 5400 to 10,000 rpm. For comparison, the same rotation speed is found in an industrial cutting tool, commonly referred to as a “grinder.” Impressive?
It is during rotation that reading or writing occurs. But if you hit or push the hard drive during operation, the heads can make an almost imperceptible scratch on the surface. And although it is small, the clusters in this area become unreadable, and the computer tries to access them again and again. As a result, after unsuccessful attempts to read information, it freezes. How can I check my disk for such areas?
Testing software Victoria
One of the popular utilities for testing hard drives is Victoria. Although it can be run from under the operating system, today we will learn how to check the hard drive for serviceability through the BIOS. The website of the manufacturer of this utility contains information on how to make a boot disk or flash drive with it. In the BIOS of a laptop or computer, you need to set it to boot from removable media, after which, when you turn on your device with the bootable media connected, you will see the interface of this program. Select your hard drive by pressing the "P" key on your keyboard and start scanning it using the "F5" key.
Now you can go and do your business. Depending on the disk size, scanning will take from 1 to 3 hours. As a result, on the right side you will see a legend of the disk map, which will indicate the number of sectors of each type. If there are sectors that take more than 1.5 seconds to read, or bad sectors in the frame below, it means that the hard drive is faulty and needs to be repaired or replaced. So, you already have one way in your arsenal on how to check the health of the hard drive on a laptop or computer.
Testing via HDD Regenerator
You will have to prepare bootable media in the same way by downloading the utility from the developers’ website. This utility is easier to use, but takes a little longer to work. It is believed that this is the best method, since it is easier to check the hard drive for serviceability; moreover, it provides more information.
To start checking, select your disk by entering its number from the list. After this, you will need a menu item called Normal Scan. In the next submenu, select Scan, but do not repair. Then everything follows the standard pattern: you can go about your business. After a period of time, you will receive a hard drive map on which you can see exactly which areas are damaged. If the drive is good, the entire card should be white, with no "D" or "B" letters. What other test can you use to check if your hard drive is working properly?
One of the difficult options is MHDD
Working with this utility is very similar to the previous option. As in other cases, you should first prepare bootable media to launch it without starting the operating system.
After starting, you will need to select the desired hard drive, if you have more than one. The selection is made by entering the desired number from the list. After this, initialize the disk using the “F2” key and enter the SCAN command. It starts scanning the surface of the hard drive. If necessary, you can scan not the entire surface, but a specific area of clusters.
The program interface is reminiscent of the Victoria we already know. As is the case with it, the result should not be any sectors that could not be considered a program or take too long to read.
Now you know all the common ways to check the health of your hard drive. There is no point in installing these programs on your computer; a bootable USB flash drive is enough.
Recovering a hard drive using Victoria
Of course, knowledge about the malfunction alone is not enough; you need to fix it. But it is physically impossible to cure problem sectors. The programs simply block the hard drive's access to problem areas, so they are completely erased from the map, and it does not access them.
In the case of the Victoria program, before starting the scan after pressing the “F5” key, you simply need to specify one of the recovery options in the fourth line of the window. As a result, not only scanning will occur, but also problem sectors will be re-partitioned, and you will put your disk in order if it has not completely failed. Now you know not only how to check your hard drive for serviceability, but also how to restore it.
Recovery using HDD Regenerator
The very name of this program says that it is designed to treat problematic disks, and this is actually true. In order for sectors to be re-partitioned during scanning. When starting, in the last menu, instead of Scan, but do not repair, select Scan and repair. This operation will take a little longer, but all problem areas of the surface will be erased.
It is worth noting that if the recovery lasts more than 5-6 hours, then most likely the disk has completely failed and cannot be restored. This applies to all recovery programs.
Scanning using BIOS without utilities
Some laptops and computers can check the hard drive and RAM without additional utilities. Therefore, in the question of how to check a hard drive for serviceability through BIOS, you can not complicate your life by preparing bootable media, but use standard tools.
However, they may not always be intended for recovery. To be fair, it is worth noting that they will still allow you to make an initial diagnosis without unnecessary problems, which means you definitely shouldn’t neglect them.
What about removable hard drives?
Drives of this type are also mostly mechanical devices packaged in a special pocket. So how can you check if your external hard drive is working properly? All the same methods apply to them, except for the Victoria program, since it will not be able to detect it. The main thing is to connect it to the USB connector of your computer or laptop before turning it on, so that it can correctly recognize it. After this, the procedure does not change, you can simply check it. Or run a script to restore damaged clusters.
Now you know all the ways to check your hard drive for serviceability without the help of professionals. This information will help you save a lot of money on trips to service centers, because hard drive failures are one of the most common in computer technology.