Question HDD health utility recommendation?

[rcald2000]

I have a few used HDD's that I wish to sell on Ebay. However, I'd like to confirm their health before listing. What utility would you recommend for that?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Seatools for Windows or Western Digital lifeguard tools.

Run both the Short drive self test (DST)(Quick test for WD lifeguard) and the Long generic (Extended for WD lifeguard). If the drive passes both those tests, it is in usable condition. If it fails either test, no matter if it's only ONE error, then try a different cable. If it still fails, try a different SATA header. If it still fails, throw the drive in the trash.

 

[fzabkar]

Buyers want to see a clean SMART report. Neither SeaTools nor Data LifeGuard will provide this. Use something like CrystalDiskInfo instead. (Use Sea Tools if you want to hide reallocated sectors from your buyers. Do you?)

A surface scan with a tool such as Victoria or HddScan should also be clean. These tools identify "slow" sectors whereas the HDD manufacturers' tools do not.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Plenty, PLENTY of drives that pass SMART but can't pass a long or extended test. Not sure where you think that is good advice. I'd rather sell somebody a drive I know is ok than one that can simply fool them into believing it's ok because of a SMART report.

 

[fzabkar]

Please don't cherry-pick. If you reread my response, you will note that I
recommended a SMART report and a surface scan.

A drive with 2000 reallocated sectors, say, can still produce an error-free
surface scan (SMART extended/long test), but would you want to buy it?
Neither SeaTools nor Data LifeGuard report the actual number of bad sectors
(Seagate's SeaChest does). SeaTools simply awards PASS or FAIL.

A drive that "stutters" when reading difficult sectors, or which has a
"weak" head, may still pass the scan test, but its performance will suffer.
Would you want to buy such a drive? Third party scan software will identify
these sectors, but the manufacturers' tools will not.

Seagate's SeaTools is really only useful when you need a "test code" for
warranty purposes. The test code is an encrypted number which is generated
from the drive's serial number and the number of the failing test. Even if
Seagate is unable to reproduce the failure, the test code is your proof
that a failure did occur in the past.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I don't know where you think I was cherry picking anything, but I can tell you for certain that I was merely responding to the content of your post. Your tone is not warranted or appreciated. If you disagree with something, that's fine, in some cases maybe even warranted, but snarky toxic responses are not necessary. Perhaps I mistook what you were saying, and if so, I appologize, but it's certainly not necessary to make those kinds of accusations.