Windows 7: SeaTools for DOS and Windows - How to Use

Isn't that the same as running chkdsk at startup? If so, I've tried that already, didn't seem to fix the bad sectors.

EDIT- I suppose it's possible that they were fixed but other ones appeared shortly after?

How old is the HDD?

If it's old, it may be time to replace it to be safe.

Yes I was thinking the same. TBH I'm not exactly sure how old. I thought I had had it about 3 years but when I looked through my accts paperwork the only entry that could have been the hard disk was over 5 years ago. Seagate Warranty checker seemed to think it had expired but didn't say when. It's a 1.5Tb Sata. I think when I take it out there may be a date marked on it. Also some files that I left as a backup on my previous disk, which became my secondary drive, had a date of April 2010, so it's well possible that it could have been around then so that would be over 5.5 years.

What is the normal lifespan of a HDD? I have gone through quite a few in my time but then I guess they do get a fair bit of use.

Also the (unreliable?) result of that Eassos scan was 24 bad sectors out of 182401 with the vast majority of sectors being in Excellent condition. So it seems a shame to throw it away for just a tiny bit of damage if there is another option.
Did the "electrical failure" message I mentioned earlier mean anything to you? Doesn't sound too good but then in my limited experience SMART messages can be misleading.

The life of a HDD varies to much. They have an average read/write life listed in their specs, but everyone's wear and tear is different, so it can vary. Here's a nice article to help.

How Long Will My Hard Drives Really Last?

I wouldn't throw it away just yet. Once you replace it, format it and see if you may be able to run SeaTools on it afterwards to check the health.

Sometimes a good format is all it needs.

If it checks out ok, it'll make a good data or backup drive.

That's a good idea, I'll get a new replacement one first, then transfer everything over, then format it and use it as a backup. Oh wait a minute, trying to backup was what got me here in the first place. My backups were failing due to bad sectors.

Oh the joys of computing. I'm fairly PC-literate and yet I just seem to get problem after problem.

Anyway that's my next steps - 1 Buy new HDD, 2 Run chkdsk at start up again on old drive just to see if it will fix the bad sectors, 3 Try backup again and swap disk for new one, 4 Format old disk.

Thanks for all your help.

You're welcome. Please let us know how it went.

I will.

I still wonder why Seatools won't work on my drive though?

Did you change the controller to IDE as explained in the tutorial?

I had an issue with a new Seagate HD a while ago.
Running tests I got an error that i couldn't figure out.
I contacted Seagate support (via email), they explained the problem and solution.
I was happy they quickly responded (within 1 business day) to me with an explanation/solution.
My error was different than yours.

Being the skeptical type, i confirmed their answer by attaching the HD to a different Windows PC and running the tests.

I suggest asking Seagate support, but the HD i had was new, within warranty, and could be returned.
I don't know if they would support an older out of warranty HD as they did for me.

Oooops!!!, I completely missed that bit and now I feel REALLY stupid.
Even after you said, I had to read it a few times as I thought it didn't apply to me. I thought, no my PC is definitely AHCI, and no my HDD is definitely not IDE as it is SATA.

After changing it I tried again and sure enough it worked this time.

I ran the Short Test and it Passed.
I ran the Long Test and it found 3 bad blocks or sectors (I forget the actual word) so Failed but then offered to repair them after which it then said Passed. So that's brilliant. Objective achieved.

The only minor thing though was that it did mention something about an electrical failure again.
It said it created a log on the C drive but now I have rebooted back to Windows I cant seem to find it.