'Repairing'? HDD's

[AANDYY]

Is it possible with software?
I've got 2 Seagate SATA HDD's 300 & 500 GB, Windows scan disk and Seagate tools reports erros on them both, they are only about 3-4 years old! Seems a shame to bin them.
I know there are some computer boffins on here so can they be sorted with a software fix.

Ta very much in advance.

 

[Ted]

Worth about a tenner each.

How much do you value your data?

 

[AANDYY]

Data already off them, OK to delete everything.

 

[Sp!ke]

If you have got your data off already then permanently destroy them (I find the quickest way is to punch a chisel through them) and then bin them.

3-4 years use is a long time for a HDD.

 

[AANDYY]

I would like to re use them.

 

[e class coupe]

Frankly I would not trust any data on a 3-4 year old hdd

 

[npuk]

Windows scandisk has a repair option. Seagate tools also should. SeaTools | Seagate

 

[BTB 500]

As above, trash and chuck them.

Simply not worth the time and hassle when they fail (which they will - and next time you might not be able to get everything off).

 

[Wully]

Have you tried zero'ing them out?

 

[Spinal]

Put it this way...

A new 500gb HD will cost you about £40... and should last you about 3 years. 3 years is considered a good life for a home-spec hard drive.

If you "repair" these drives and re-use them, what data will you be storing on them? Will that data be worth £40? Will the time you take repairing them, then rebuilding the data on another drive when they fail be worth £40? The hassle?

HDs wear out; on average 3-5 years will kill most drives that are actively used.

Bin them, get a TB drive (going down to about £60 now) and you'll have another 3 years... just make sure you always back up

If you do want to repair them, look at the drive manufacturer's website. They will usually let you download tools to scan & fix minor drive problems.

M.

 

[johny5_uk]

FWIW you cant actually repair hard drives (unless you change the platters in an airlocked room!), the "repair" software finds bad tracks/sectors and simply flags them as bad. The software could also try rewriting data to that sector a number of times to test it and then mark it as reusable if it passes the test, but be warned the drive didnt flag it as bad for a reason.
The more times you have to "repair" a drive then the higher the risk of data loss.

As Ted pointed out, drives are so cheap now so purchase new ones if you value your data.

 

[AANDYY]

Have you tried zero'ing them out?

What is this?

 

[wemorgan]

Have you tried zero'ing them out?

What is this?

It's a method of writing scrap data on your HD to over-write your personal data.

There's freeware software that can do this.

 

[npuk]

Also known as low level format. The seagate software should have the option to do it.

 

[markmifsud]

Once I have a drive with even 1 bad block, its destroyed. Its a false economy to try and keep a drive going once its started to get bad blocks. Its much easier to get your system running on a new HD when you still have your old drive working, but wait till the drive has gone too far, and see how much you will have wished you did not wait