Does Windows have a similar program like OS X's DiskTester?

[0pTicaL]

I would like to fill my 4TB with data then format it and repeat it again to make sure there are no defects with the drive or is there a better way to stress test a new HDD for defects?

 

[DUAStacy]

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic

This program should do it for you however chkdsk should also work

ChkDsk will search for broken sectors and repair it to run it press start and type in the search cmd hit enter

Then type chkdsk (followed by the drive letter i.e. C):/r

Hope this helps

 

[boogieboy]

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic

This program should do it for you however chkdsk should also work

ChkDsk will search for broken sectors and repair it to run it press start and type in the search cmd hit enter

Then type chkdsk (followed by the drive letter i.e. C):/r

Hope this helps

Memtest86 is to Check RAM's not HDD if im not wrong

 

[boogieboy]

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic

This program should do it for you however chkdsk should also work

ChkDsk will search for broken sectors and repair it to run it press start and type in the search cmd hit enter

Then type chkdsk (followed by the drive letter i.e. C):/r

Hope this helps

Memtest86 is to Check RAM's not HDD if im not wrong

I would like to fill my 4TB with data then format it and repeat it again to make sure there are no defects with the drive or is there a better way to stress test a new HDD for defects?

If you want to Test your 4TB HDD so it's not necessary to fill the HDD first and then format it. Also Quick formating the drive wont show anything even if there's something wrong with the drive. What you can do is to completely wipe-out the data by formatting through Windows Diskpart and write zero to the sectors.

 

[bobafetthotmail]

H2testw is the program you are looking for. It simply writes its own files to the memory device until it is completely full and then reads back that data again to see if stuff got lost, and can be looped and keep reading data forever if you want to keep running it for a while. If stuff does not get lost your drive is ok. (if stuff gets lost the program gives you a warning, also tells you write and read speeds)

It's the most common software used to test for USB flash drive scams (pendrives that lie to the OS about their capacity so they can be sold for more money), but it's pretty simple and works on any drive really.

If that's an internal drive it should be relatively fast, but 4 TB is a pretty hefty quantity of space to test. Likely doable if you run it overnight.

 

[TVeblen]

For Windows we use Chkdsk (CheckDisk). One of the tests it can do is a "full surface scan" which checks every sector for read/write capability. Run a chkdsk /r and it will scan, repair, and report any errors found on the drive.

You can't use software for testing flash drives and RAM on a spinning hard drive, as boogieboy correctly pointed out.

 

[bobafetthotmail]

You can't use software for testing flash drives and RAM on a spinning hard drive, as boogieboy correctly pointed out.

it is just a program that fills the hdd with stuff and reads it back. It isn't flash-drive specific.

 

[TVeblen]

Ah! You see, I got lazy. I didn't read the whole description!

bobbafetthotmail is correct:

"Although, it is mainly aimed at USB devices, H2testw can also be used to scan hard disks (internal or external), network volumes or memory cards. So, as you can see, the program is quite versatile when it comes to the number of storage devices it can check for errors."
​

 

[DeaconFrost]

Each drive manufacturer comes with a testing utility, so for the best results, that's what I would use.

 

[Britton30]

You can find a HDD testing utility here: 7 Free Hard Drive Testing Software Tools

 

[Layback Bear]

Could someone give us a idea how long a check disk on 4 Tigs would take at 7400 rpm.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Could someone give us a idea how long a check disk on 4 Tigs would take at 7400 rpm.

The figures I have seen are about an hour for each 300 GB--so roughly 13 hours.

But I'd be interested in an exact figure on a drive that large as well.

 

[bobafetthotmail]

Does a good CPU/RAM influence checkdisk speed? I think it should.

Still, even if it's at best an eyeballed estimate for other hardware, I'd like to know how it goes as well.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Does a good CPU/RAM influence checkdisk speed? I think it should.

I'm sure it plays some part in the overall time, but probably not as much as interface and controller speed. I'm sure a new Ivy Bridge system would check a disk faster than an older Celeron system, but I don't think the times would vary more than 25% or so, though.

 

[Layback Bear]

I also wonder if running a hard drive constantly for that long would cause a heat problem. In normal use a hard drive is accessed as needed.

 

[Britton30]

A spinner drive will spin 24/7 unless the power options are set to turn it off after a period or the PC is powered off. In my own experience my HDDs never rose above 40C which is good, 50C is max for most.

 

[0pTicaL]

H2testw is the program you are looking for. It simply writes its own files to the memory device until it is completely full and then reads back that data again to see if stuff got lost, and can be looped and keep reading data forever if you want to keep running it for a while. If stuff does not get lost your drive is ok. (if stuff gets lost the program gives you a warning, also tells you write and read speeds)

It's the most common software used to test for USB flash drive scams (pendrives that lie to the OS about their capacity so they can be sold for more money), but it's pretty simple and works on any drive really.

If that's an internal drive it should be relatively fast, but 4 TB is a pretty hefty quantity of space to test. Likely doable if you run it overnight.

Thanks bobafetthotmail, that's exactly what I'm looking for.

Each drive manufacturer comes with a testing utility, so for the best results, that's what I would use.

Yeah, Hitachi has their Drive Fitness Test but their test can only be run during boot.

A spinner drive will spin 24/7 unless the power options are set to turn it off after a period or the PC is powered off. In my own experience my HDDs never rose above 40C which is good, 50C is max for most.

I have the Hitachi 7K4000, it gets pretty hot without active cooling, I used a thermometer to measure the external temperature when I was transferring a TB over and temps rose to around ~41C. Under active cooling temps never went above 32C.

Could someone give us a idea how long a check disk on 4 Tigs would take at 7400 rpm.

I recorded the time when I started the full format to the time it ended and it came out to be 11hrs 17mins, I think that will give you a rough estimate on how long chkdsk will take to finish on a 4TB drive.

Does chkdsk run slower or faster than a full format?

 

[bobafetthotmail]

Thanks bobafetthotmail, that's exactly what I'm looking for.

Just a little detail, when you are done with it the drive is still filled of its test files. Those can be deleted without any fear.