Good ole chkdsk

Topic

New Reply

This afternoon when I was rebooting from Windows 8 to Windows 7 in my desktop dual boot, chkdsk wanted to check my Windows 8 boot disk. I let it run, and it finished quickly without finding anything amiss. But it did remind me that I had not run SeaTools for Windows from Seagate in quite a while.

I fired up SeaTools, and ran the short diagnostic self test on the three 1TB drives in my desktop. One of them failed the DST. I ran the Fix All – Fast tool, and it also failed about half-way through. My next to last resort when it comes to disk problems is chkdsk – slow but powerful. My last resort for disk problems is SpinRite from Gibson Research – more powerful still, but much slower.

That particular drive has 7 partitions. The problem area turned out to be the last partition (wouldn’t you know it?). The problem partition is 127GB, and chkdsk ran on it for over 6 hours, but it succeeded. After chkdsk finished, I ran SeaTools again, and the drive passed. I make drive images when changes in partition contents occur, so I’ll keep using this disk without worries.

33133-Successful-chkdsk

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

Reply | Quote

Replies

I’m not sure if I would have the same confidence as you as the drive is starting to show signs of failure, notably the bad sectors reported.

Reply | Quote

[bbearren]

I’m not sure if I would have the same confidence as you as the drive is starting to show signs of failure, notably the bad sectors reported.

It’s the regular use of drive imaging and the SeaTools test results that give me the confidence. I’ll continue to monitor this drive, and if it remains stable (not continuing to throw errors) it could last for years. If it does continue to throw errors, or if my imaging software starts to have problems reading the drive, then I’ll replace it.

Also, the bad sectors happened to be in the free space on the drive – chkdsk was moving along at a nice clip until it started checking free space, then it slowed to a crawl. It was extremely slow going from 89% to 91%, so that indicates that the bad sectors aren’t scattered, but confined to a small area of the disk.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by bbearren.

Reply | Quote

I seldom underestimate the usefulness of a thorough checkdisk.
SpinRite I have some concerns about, it’s in dire need of a version update.
C’mon Steve, get on it. This should be easy for you.

Reply | Quote

[bbearren]

The drive made it just over two months. A few more bad sectors this past week. The drive is still working just fine, and hasn’t thrown any BSOD’s, but I want to stay ahead of that curve. I bought a replacement (on sale!) and I’m restoring drive images of the 7 partitions to it now.

One point I want to emphasize is the value of drive images, and a habit of making images regularly. One of the reasons that I use multiple partitions is that there are so many types of folders/files that rarely change, and so don’t need to be included in routine backups. That makes it easier (for me, anyway) to keep drive images frequent, since I spend less time at it.

Of the 7 partitions that I’m restoring, only two have recent images, but the older images of the other 5 partitions aren’t really outdated, because those folders/files seldom change, and I only make drive images of them when they do change.

The other point I want to make is that hard drive failure is not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Be prepared.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by bbearren.

Reply | Quote

Funny that you bring this up, as I have just yesterday been through a similar experience. Someone else’s computer stopped booting, no backups existed, so my first decision was to do a TI backup from the boot disk, which didn’t go very well due to disk errors. Bring SpinRite to the rescue, it found just one bad sector and the computer booted normally after SpinRite. I took a full image and now data is backed and it will be possible to deal with any evolution from here, including the lack of reliability of the disk that failed (even if the owner, feeling safe from having a backup now, wants to keep using it, against my own advice).

Anyway, your closing remarks are spot on. Disks will fail, best be prepared with decent backups of, at the very least, your data, although images can really make things much easier. There are some great tools to overcome situations such as this and I have come to to really appreciate them. One of such tools is SpinRite :).

Reply | Quote

[bbearren]

There are some great tools to overcome situations such as this and I have come to to really appreciate them. One of such tools is SpinRite :).

I’ve owned a copy of SpinRite for years, and used it a number of times. I still consider it one of the best purchases I’ve made in software. The drive I’m replacing is going into an eSATA drive dock which will get plugged into my laptop. I’ll boot SpinRite and let it run. I’m also curious as to how long SpinRite will take on a 1TB drive.

I’ve had it run over 30 hours on a 500GB drive of a friend (which it rescued nicely).

But there is just no substitute for a recent drive image.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by bbearren.

Reply | Quote

[bbearren]

I’ve owned a copy of SpinRite for years, and used it a number of times. I still consider it one of the best purchases I’ve made in software. The drive I’m replacing is going into an eSATA drive dock which will get plugged into my laptop. I’ll boot SpinRite and let it run. I’m also curious as to how long SpinRite will take on a 1TB drive.

I’ve had it run over 30 hours on a 500GB drive of a friend (which it rescued nicely).

But there is just no substitute for a recent drive image.

Yes, I am curious to how long SpinRite will take. It does its job, but it’s not fast when there are errors. I guess it can’t be much different, though.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by bbearren.

Reply | Quote

Yes, I am curious to how long SpinRite will take. It does its job, but it’s not fast when there are errors. I guess it can’t be much different, though.

I used SpinRite for many years, but it seems woefully outdated now. The last 2-3 times I used it to test flakey drives (within the last three years), it found no problems. But the drives were BAD, and I did have to replace them.

As a result, I have purchased HD Sentinel Pro, and installed it on ALL my computers. This is a pro-active approach, which I prefer. It gives me advance warning when problems are detected.

Reply | Quote

[bbearren]

I used SpinRite for many years, but it seems woefully outdated now. The last 2-3 times I used it to test flakey drives (within the last three years), it found no problems. But the drives were BAD, and I did have to replace them.

Although I’ve used SpinRite for many years, I’ve never used it to test a disk. I use only drive images for backup, and my first hint of a failing drive is a failed image, or a failure of validation of an image. That always means bad sectors, but bad sectors doesn’t necessarily mean a failing drive. Chkdsk /r is usually adequate in most cases.

The only thing I’ve ever used SpinRite for is to repair a drive for which other methods are inadequate. By the time I get to the SpinRite stage, I don’t even try to test the drive – I already know it has problems, and the only thing I want SpinRite to do is fix those problems if it can. I’ve had a couple that it couldn’t, but by and large it has rescued many. It will probably be able to rescue the disk I’m replacing. I’ll post an update.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by bbearren. Reason: remove html

Reply | Quote

[bbearren]

I’ve finished the changeover from the failing hard drive to the new replacement. It took much longer than it should have, but that was entirely my fault. I posted this thread in the Windows 7 Forum about it. Working with hardware, when something unexpected pops up, I make the assumption that it must be related to me being elbow deep in the works.

It was related to the changeover, and my Windows 7 setup, but it turned out to be very simple and logical, just the registry making a correction in an entry based on the conditions. The Users partition is on that drive, and with the changeover and drive letters getting skewed, Windows couldn’t find the User Profile.

I haven’t put the old drive on SpinRite yet, but I intend to soon. I’ll follow up on that.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by bbearren. Reason: remove html

Reply | Quote