How to check Hard Drive health and for problems!!!

Hello, guys how are you? I just bought a second hand Hard Drive and i want to check it for any errors and any problem it might have. I have 3 days checking warranty so guys please please reply fast. I downloaded the Crystal Disk Info and it didn't give me any error so far but i trust you guys and will run any software to check this hard drive. Thanks in advance and thanks for reading!!!
 
Hi
Both WD and Seagate produce windows diagnostics programs
WD data life guard for windows and Seagate equivalent will test other brands

H2testw. Is designed to test USB memory sticks but will fill hard disk with 1 GB files then read files back and check checksum on file

First programs check whole hard disk
H2testw tests partition area only

Regards
Mike Barnes
 
I'm gathering you bought a WD drive unit and have downloaded and used their Data LifeGuard utility package. That's a very good way to test it thoroughly if you use the Long Test.

Assuming that you are satisfied that the drive is good and you will keep it, I suggest one other step before loading data on it. In Data Lifeguard, look for a tool to Zero Fill the HDD. Be VERY CAREFUL with this - you MUST use it ONLY on your new drive because it will destroy all data on the drive it works on. What it does if fill every Sector of the unit with zeroes. But that also triggers an internal self-checking routine that makes sure every sector is working perfectly, and replaces any weak ones with good one from a hidden stock of spares. When it is finished the drive is just like new (well, very close) with no flaws and no old data on it. The process will take MANY hours, so be patient. When it's done you can Partition and Format, of Initialize, or Create a New Simple Volume, or whatever your Disk Management system call it.
 
So i have ran the Extended Test and it has passed and showed no error. The problem is i can't run Zero Fill option cause now i have installed the windows in it and don't to re-install the windows cause i have already installed it three times on my previous corrupted HDD.
 
Can someone explain me this?
AourtqI.png
Why Active SMART (software) is showing me that error when i ran both the Quick and Extended test from WS Tool. Usually i thought that it was a program error but when i try to install Batman Arkham City and Origins the whole Windows completely hang.
 
Every modern HDD has a group of self-checking processes it uses on itself all the time, called S.M.A.R.T., which stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. For an explanation, see this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

If you use your WD Data LifeGuard test utilities it has a place to examine and display the S.M.A.R.T. error messages stored on the HDD and you can start to understand which message caused this warning.

Apparently Active SMART did not give you the detailed explanation, so I can't tell you exactly what the problem is. One of the more common ones is SMART Error 05, "Reallocated Sectors Count". In case that happens to be your situation, here's what that means. When a HDD is manufactured about the last operation is a true "Low-Level Format" that you cannot re-do at home. The result of this operation is two-fold: all the of the disk surface is written to so that magnetic signals are on all the tracks to establish Sectors for use in storing data. There are actually a small excess number of Sectors created beyond what's needed for the rated capacity of the HDD. All the Sectors are tested, and any poor ones are marked off never to be used. The vast majority are designated for use right away as the area that provides the rated storage space. The remaining excess ones are held aside in a semi-hidden collection of known-good spare Sectors.

As the HDD is used, one of its background tasks is to check every Sector as it is used and verify its performance. If any is found weak or faulty, the system attempts to recover the data from that Sector and then writes it to one of the good spares, which becomes its permanent replacement. The weak Sector that was detected is added to the list of known-bad one to never use. Each time this happens, the system keeps track of how many Sectors have been Reallocated. Note that this all happens inside the HDD, and normally the OS (Windows or whichever) is completely unaware that this has happened.

At some point, the stock of remaining good spares gets reduced to a trigger level, and the S.M.A.R.T. system creates the type 05 error message. There are utilities (like Data LifeGurad) that can read out the S.M.A.R.T. data, and many BIOS's can be set to check them for you and display warnings as part of the start-up routine. It is up to you to respond to it. This message does NOT say that your HDD has failed. It is possible, although not likely, that in fact one or more Sectors failed so badly that its data could not be recovered and a file is corrupt. It is much more likely that all the data recovery efforts have succeeded, and all the data on your drive is OK. BUT you still need to take action. The message really implies two things: (a) many bad Sectors have been replaced, and this probably indicates that more will occur, possibly more quickly; and, (b) there is only a small stock of known-good Sectors left to continue this automatic-fix process, so the process will fail at some time in the future. The proper action on your part is to buy a new HDD and clone all your data from the failing one to the new one as soon as possible, while the drive is still operating OK and all your data are still uncorrupted.

NOTE that, because this particular process usually succeeds in recovering data and copying it to a replacement good Sector, almost all processes for TESTING your HDD will NOT show an error! All the Sectors in use are good ones, and all the bad ones have already been retired and replaced. That is why your Short and Long tests, and Windows CHKDSK, will not tell you the HDD has failed. It has not. But it probably will in future.

Now, that is only one of the S.M.A.R.T. messages. Many of the others have a similar implication: this is a serious warning of future failure, but for now your data are safe, so replace this drive while you can.
 
OK thanks for explaining that. I installed the latest chipset drivers from the Intel and now these messages are not shown at the start of the windows. Could be the reallocated sector problem but there is no indication whether it was sectors problem or it was the driver problem. But is there any way i can test the HDD for the reallocated sector problem i still have 2 day checking warranty left and like you said if those sectors become bad or corrupt slowly than i have a problem in my hand. Now another problem is that when i will return the HDD to shop keeper he will first test it in his shop to determine whether i am right or am just fooling for another HDD. Can you tell me a reason or something to tell him that the HDD is failing and i don't want this one. Thanks for all the help so far. You are great.
 
There are three main tests you can run to check the health of a HDD. You have run one of these - the WD Quick Test from their Data LifeGuard diagnostic suite - and said you were planning to tun the second, the WD Extended Test.

The third item is not a "test" exactly. It is to examine the S.M.A.R.T. status of the unit. This means just using some utility to display the S.M.A.R.T. messages already stored on the HDD. I know you can do this from the main menu of the WD Data LifeGuard suite. You may also get it via your Active SMART Utility: I see in your screen image posted above that, on the left side, the menu lists a page for SMART Information. Click that and see what status it shows you. If you find it confusing, try posting an image here for comments.