Windows 7: what is the best maintenance/repair/etc software for hard drive

what is the best software for fixing errors, fixing bad sectors, maintenance, defragging, analysis and etc
for maintenace and detecting if theres something wrong

just the best software for hard drive maintenance

The built-in tools work fine---Windows Defrag, Windows Disk Cleanup, Checkdisk, for ordinary maintenance.

If you suspect hard drive problems, you can also use the drive manufacturer's downloadable utility. The SMART values can indicate impending problems.

The more obsessive you are, the less likely you are to be satisfied with the built-in tools---regardless of whether they provide any measurable improvement.

no im not really satisfied with the built in tools
is there any software that is better than these which has almost complete maintenance ,tuning, etc for hard drive

What is wrong with the built-in tools? They do the job that they were designed for, they can be set to run on a schedule as well as on demand and since they are included with Windows they are able to do so without causing problems with the OS. In fact, some (but not all) of the 3rd party programs actually use the Windows routines to do the work, whilst merely providing a different graphical interface.

If setup properly, i.e. set to run on a weekly schedule (or less/more often if required), they can generally be left to their own devices and will carry out their jobs according to the schedule. If you schedule them to run when you are not using the computer (say overnight), then this might be more beneficial.

I dont know of any all in one tools.

certianly for checking bad sectors, filesystem etc. I would trust the built in chkdsk the most as its made by the people who made the OS microsoft.

for defrag thats open for debate, the defrag in this evrsion of windows seems much improved over previous windows versions tho and its the one that will probably work the most well on prefetch files.

Other defrag tools I have tried which on paper sound good, like the gaps made to catch new files, reordering of types of files, dirs etc. But ultimately the system didnt feel any faster over the default defrag.

for the error-checking i got a problem, it says: disk check could not perform because disk check utility needs acces to some windows files on the disk. these files can be accessed only by restarting windows.

then i restarted it then nothing happens, i also check it again then that message appears again

how do i schedule for error-checking and i only want it to run for one time not everyday

You can install free Partition Wizard to right click on each partition to Check File System and choose HD Surface Scan with both boxes checked.

However you want to know why Disk Check wont' run, so try it from Elevated Command Prompt or System Recovery Options Command line.

I would also run SFC -SCANNOW Command as you may have damaged System files.

Other Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 include some other tools that are popular here, too including all of the HD maker's specialized HD Diagnostics bootable scans.

Spinrite.

**Home of Gibson Research Corporation**

My recommendation: Hard Disk Sentinel Pro Hard Disk Sentinel - HDD health and temperature monitoring

"Hard Disk Sentinel (HDSentinel) is a multi-OS SSD and HDD monitoring and analysis software. Its goal is to find, test, diagnose and repair hard disk drive problems, report and display SSD and HDD health, performance degradations and failures. Hard Disk Sentinel gives complete textual description, tips and displays/reports the most comprehensive information about the hard disks and solid state disks inside the computer and in external enclosures (USB hard disks / e-SATA hard disks). Many different alerts and report options are available to ensure maximum safety of your valuable data.
No need to use separate tools to verify internal hard disks, external hard disks, SSDs, disks in RAID arrays as these are all included in a single software.
Hard Disk Sentinel monitors hard disk drive / HDD status including health, temperature and all S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) values for all hard disks. Also it measures the disk transfer speed in real time which can be used as a benchmark or to detect possible hard disk failures, performance degradations.
HDSentinel is the perfect data protection solution: it can be effectively used to prevent HDD failure and SSD / HDD data loss because it has the most sensitive disk health rating system which is extremely sensitive to disk problems. This way even a small HDD problem can't be missed. The Professional version has scheduled and automatic (on-problem) disk backup options to prevent data loss caused by not only failure but by malware or accidental delete also."

It is on day-one on my Zotac Mini-PC and I am impressed.( Regular price USD 35; currently available at 40% discount with coupon code. I paid INR 1267 as against 2112)

A screenshot:




(When I tried to image it (new HDD) after a fresh install of Windows7 Home premium with Paragon, it refused saying the HDD had errors and I should run the manufacturer's utility to diagnose/repair - by contrast Shadowprotect Desktop indicated that there were "non-fatal" errors but all the same imaged it. Jolted, I ran SeaTools for DOS and it indeed found countless errors and repaired it. Paragon then imaged the HDD without any problem. Now two years on the HDD is still going strong with periodical imaging with Paragon. I am impressed because HDSentinel brought out a problem report on its first run. Health 83% but not a concern as long as the HDD continues to maintain it.)


Two screenshots plugged out from two users:






A complete run-through on this software Hard Disk Sentinel Professional can Monitor, Inspect, Fix Errors in HDD and SSD: Review & Giveaway - Insights in Technology
(I really like Sujoy's reviews which deals with all the features of any software and his own personal conceptions on these.)


Note:The software may not work with its full potential with RAID. The author says that most RAID controllers/drivers hide the information. If you intend to use it with your RAID, download the trial software and check before putting your money on it. I think a compatibility list is also available on the author's website.