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View Full Version : Bad Sectors



thesameguy
January 5th, 2016, 11:10 AM
Does anyone have a good tool to scan an entire physical drive and reallocate bad sectors? It has been so long since I've needed to do this none of the tools I have are doing the job. I cannot use Windows since the damaged sectors on this particular drive are not on Windows-recognized partitions. I can set up a Linux box and do it that way, but man that's just not something I want to do right now. I am looking for a Windows solution.

Kchrpm
January 5th, 2016, 12:08 PM
So you need a Windows-based tool for checking a partition that Windows doesn't recognize?

*inserts non-suggestive picture of a large pickle*

Kchrpm
January 5th, 2016, 12:13 PM
A former forum regular says SpinRite

https://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

With one caveat.


$90, though. heh. I never knew that it was that expensive.

But also a vote of confidence


Yeah. That program could cure cancer if you could figure out where to attach the cable.

thesameguy
January 5th, 2016, 12:22 PM
Man, I had no idea SpinRite was still even in existence. That was the first HDD tool I ever used back in the '90s. Definitely on the table, $90 ain't so bad. Thinking about SpinRite causes me to remember Ontrack's Disk Manager, which it seems still exists but has turned into bullshit. :down:

Since I don't need to access data, the fact it's analyzing unrecognized filesystems doesn't matter, it's just direct disk access which Windows supports. Unfortunately, chkdsk's "recover bad sectors" only works on Windows-recognized partitions so I can't actually fix the broken areas. That's why I need an additional tool.

Not that long ago, you could use IBM's DFT or Western Digital's I Don't Remember What It's Called to do this, but like DiskManager those tools now suck as well. I get that it's really tough to monetize small-scale, limited-audience tools but why mess with a good thing?

Kchrpm
January 5th, 2016, 12:44 PM
Western Digital's I Don't Remember What It's Called

That makes me hungry for a https://bestofthe80s.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/whatchamacallit_candy_bar.jpg

thesameguy
January 5th, 2016, 12:54 PM
I could dig that. Might have to swing by a gas station at lunch. :up:

thesameguy
January 5th, 2016, 03:25 PM
Spinrite didn't work. Won't ID the drive on one machine, FreeDOS won't even boot on another. FreeDOS doesn't know about USB, so using an adapter isn't an option. I wonder if I have a really old computer at home I can try?

Yw-slayer
January 6th, 2016, 02:46 AM
Then you may have to set up a Linux box. Or use a Ubuntu dvd?

thesameguy
January 6th, 2016, 09:09 AM
Yeah, it looks like it's coming to that, A Linux Live CD is sufficient.

My last-ditch effort is a copy of SeaTools I've kept for the last ten years. It's runs on DR-DOS and is a hacked-up OEM version of OnTrack's Disk Manager. I know it will scan a drive for bad sectors, I just don't know what it does with them. It's been running since 3am, hopefully I will know soon.

I did some more research on SpinRite, and it looks like the issue with it may not be itself, but rather the version of FreeDOS that comes with it. I am debating whether it's a bigger pain to make an MS-DOS 6.22 bootable USB drive or do Linux.

Yw-slayer
January 7th, 2016, 05:50 AM
Choose the more h4tdc0r331!!1!!1!1 route. Choose DOS.

mk
January 7th, 2016, 10:57 PM
MHDD

Controller must be in 1st or 2nd addr, if memory serves.

thesameguy
January 8th, 2016, 11:12 AM
That's awesome - thanks for the tip!