Solved Should I scan a new HDD for bad sectors?

[Vista32toWin7]

Is it preferable to do a disk scan on a new HDD, before putting anything on it?

I presume all new drives would be tested to be free of any defects or bad sectors by the disk manufacturer before it gets put in a box and shipped out for sale/purchase?

So I presume there is no need to do a disk scan on a new HDD, before installing a new OS on it? Reading some threads suggests otherwise. So I ask if It is preferable to do a disk scan on a new HDD before installing a new OS on it?

And if so, which one? "chkdsk /r", or disk manufacturers HDD disk scanner?

Thanks, Vista

 

[Alejandro85]

I don't think it's a bad idea to do a preventive scan, just in case, before you put anything important.
Theoretically, all hardware devices are toughly tested before shipping, but reality is that even then they can fail, be it because of poor handling or a mechanical/electronic failure, or anything else. And in case you actually found something bad, you're on time to claim warranty on it (and remember, warrants cover the device, NOT the data you put in there).

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

It's definitely a wise idea to test a drive before putting it into service. I do so with all my drives using the manufacturer's scanning software. I've had only one test bad on me.

 

[kbrady1979]

I do a long read and long write test on all of my drives as soon as I get them out of the box and put them in my computer. The Seagate 4TB drives take about 11.5 hours for the entire process, but I know when it's finished, they are in perfect working order.

 

[jumanji]

IMO, on a new drive a Quick or Short Test with the manufacturer's diagnostic utility should be more than sufficient to assure one that all is good. A time-consuming Long Test is just not necessary if the Short Test passes.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Look at the SMART data, print it out so you have a record. I wouldn't run a bunch of tests. I look at new drives with Hard Drive Sentinel, if the report is good to go, so am I.

 

[Vista32toWin7]

Thanks, good replies. I guess it can't hurt to do a scan using the manufacturer's scanner before installing anything on it. If you found one new HDD that was bad before installing same, then you saved yourself from further headaches after installing a new OS.

11 hour scan, yikes!

I guess the old theory: Its better to be safe than sorry, at a later date makes sense.

Thanks, Vista.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...11 hour scan, yikes!...

Run it overnight.

 

[Vista32toWin7]

Hey back again. I left my upgrade stuff alone for about a year. My laptop was running okay until recently. So back at it. I purchased a new Seagate Momentus XT SSHD 750 GB drive awhile back. I want to run a disk scan on this drive before paying a tech to clean install a new OS on it.

I have MiniTool Partition Wizard 8.1.1 installed on my machine, which has a surface test scanner for bad sectors. I'm not sure how good it is as compared to other free scanners, like Seagate's SeaTools utility tool? Problem there is it requires NetFrameWork 4.0 to run. I have tried to install NFW 4.0 several times in the past to no avail. So that's not going to work.

I also looked at the Sentinel scanner, but I'm not sure if that's a paid version or free trial download?

Also if I do run a disk scan on my new SSHD, I would remove my battery first, push the power button to remove any power in the machine, remove the HDD now in the machine, put the new SSHD in its place, power the unit on to run the test. Once done I disconnect the SSHD and put the original HDD back in....is this correct?

Keep in mind I don't want to install the OS or go into the bios right now, I just want to scan the new disk for bad sectors before the tech gets here to save some time/$$.

Could I also do this disk scan externally with a Sata-USB cable connected to the SSHD?

Thanks, Vista32.

 

[Alejandro85]

Also if I do run a disk scan on my new SSHD, I would remove my battery first, push the power button to remove any power in the machine, remove the HDD now in the machine, put the new SSHD in its place, power the unit on to run the test. Once done I disconnect the SSHD and put the original HDD back in....is this correct?

For a laptop it's fine that way. I would prefer to put both disks at once (with the new as slave) to have my full OS working, but notebooks have physical constraints......... so yes, do as you said!
Just remember beforehand to have a bootable CD/pendrive/whatever with your tools ready for the test, as your OS will not be available at all once you pull the disk.

Could I also do this disk scan externally with a Sata-USB cable connected to the SSHD?

Sure, it's entirely possibly if you have the cable, that way you can use your main OS to perform any tests/installs/data transfer or whatever. I would not buy the cable just for this, but if you plan to use it afterwards it may be worth the money.

Keep in mind I don't want to install the OS or go into the bios right now, I just want to scan the new disk for bad sectors before the tech gets here to save some time/$$.

Don't you want to try yourself? It's not that hard to do the install yourself, it just takes time and some patience. I find it a great learning experience, at least. In a hurry, yes, go for the tech.

 

[Vista32toWin7]

Thanks for your reply.

Just remember beforehand to have a bootable CD/pendrive/whatever with your tools ready for the test, as your OS will not be available at all once you pull the disk.

R. I just found this out . I pulled the HDD out, put the new one in, started and 'No system found'. Put the HDD back in, back here again. At least its still functioning?

Sure, it's entirely possibly if you have the cable, that way you can use your main OS to perform any tests/installs/data transfer or whatever. I would not buy the cable just for this, but if you plan to use it afterwards it may be worth the money.

R. So I can run both the internal HDD and my new SSHD externally connected to the SATA cable which is connected to the USB port, at the same time. And run the scan test with my on board MiniTool Partition Wizard surface scanner? A. It appears yes I can.

As to the SATA/USB cable, I used the SATA/USB cable from my Seagate Backup Plus 1TB external drive. Which has a removable SATA head plug that fits onto my new SSHD and the other end to my laptop USB port. So that's working.

I'm trying to learn stuff, I've read a lot of the tutorials, but in certain areas like disk partitioning, back up imaging, etc., by the time I understand it all Windows 12 will be out an running :shock:?

I just plugged in the SSHD again, and restarted the MiniTool Wizard which is showing both drives listed. I right clicked the SSHD drive and started the surface scan. It says it will take about 6 hours to scan 698GB out of the available 750GB drive. I'll post the results when done.

Results of disk scan: All green, no bad blocks or sectors.

Can't go wrong doing a disk scan on a new drive, even if it takes several hours to complete. Rather know if I got a bad sector before installing everything on it and then have to do it all over again. So its a win-win situation in the long run.

Thanks to those that helped or replied, Vista 32.