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Introduction |
| == Guide notes == | | * '''One utility mentioned in this guide is a paid utility. Per the GPL it is legal to redistribute for free but I am not going to help users do this. You are on your own if you go this route to obtain the software!''' | * These testsThe inspection points and testing are not 100% accurate. IntermittentIf your drive has intermittent issues or bad sectors, the issue may not be reported once corrected or be detected at all.
* '''The hard drive used in this guide was specifically saved for this guide, is known bad and has extremely high numbers compared to be badmost failing hard drives.'''. Your drive is likely not as bad as the one I am using.
* '''Every hard drive will have unique problems (if any exist)'''. The failures on the example drive may not be common and are highly unlikely to show up on other hard drives. This hard drive was saved to show what a drive with failures in every area this guide covers will look like. | | | If you are working with an older hard drive and you want to verify it is good for reuse before doing so, this guide is for you. These tests will rule out many of the common issues with hard drives (high POH/POC, SMART errors and drive failures that cannot be corrected) so you know before reusing it. | | | For the purposes of showing what serious failures will look like, I am using a drive that failed my inspection. This drive is being used to show what a bad drive looks like for the purposes of this guide, so the drive you're looking at may be better or worse, depending on the individual issues that specific drive may have. | | In some cases, a failing hard drive does do not give you enough warning that it is failing and often die without any heads up about the condition of the drive. Because of this, it is best to check the health of the hard drive before you trust it, especially if you don't know the history of it. | | === Why is it important to check this data before using a used hard drive? === | | Since you often do not get a lot of warning if a drive is failing and many BIOSes do not warn you of SMART failure, the SMART data should be analyzed BEFORE using the drive. This will give you a chance to check the drive before you end up in a bad situation and can make a judgement call based on what errors SMART has logged (healthy, minor problems or serious problems). | | | Depending on who makes the hard drive (Ex: WD, HGST, Seagate, etc.), some drives are more failure prone then other brands, like Seagate. This does not mean ALL Seagate drives fail early, but a majority of drives DO develop problems that warrant replacement when the drive is relatively new. |
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