Hard drive testing

[ComputerPro]

Just wondering what you guys are using for HDD testing these days?
Is spinrite still considered a standard or am I still living a decade ago lol.

 

[lcoughey]

SpinRite has never been a standard, but I'm not going to get into that. I recommend using the free DOS program, MHDD.

 

[Megacannon]

The program Speedfan has a good hdd testing ability. It can also report temperatures and other hardware measurements.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Gsmart control, included with Parted Magic. Quick and easy, open source, usually can tell you in about two minutes the status on a drive. There is an extended test also, but I usually just run the short test and most of the time that seems to at least give an idea.

 

[DocGreen]

+1 for gSmartControl & Parted Magic!

I always use it as well, but I prefer to do the extended test every time. It takes longer, but I've had the short test miss things that the extended test caught. I also always ALWAYS check the S.M.A.R.T. data for red flags, which gSmartControl is nice enough to highlight for ya.

 

[cypress]

gSmartcontrol, I run the short and than extended. It has defintely help out alot in the past. Crystal Disk Info is nice to just glance at SMART levels but not my first choice.

 

[wavey]

Another vote for GSmartControl. I keep a USB flash drive with Slacko Puppy Linux in my pocket, boots in 1 min, GSmart short test 2 mins. Super fast quick check.

 

[Kitten Kong]

And another +1 for gs smart control.

I built a box, with 3 hot swap sata bays, which allows me to utilise a max of 7 sata drives (3 each laptop and desktop, and one onboard for either dk or lp).

Each and every machine which comes in, gets its hard drive removed, backed up using fabs, and tested with gs. Having the box, makes it all super easy and fast for testing purposes.

 

[drjones]

HDDScan
CrystalDisk
PartedMagic
UltimateBootCD has a ton of diags, including PMagic.

 

[mason]

no 1 use Hard Drive sentinal or Seatools no more?

 

[SilverLeaf]

no 1 use Hard Drive sentinal or Seatools no more?

I have a few of the manufacturer's tools on my PXE menu (WD, Hitachi, and Seatools). I am going to see if I can get MHDD to boot this way as well when I get some time.

 

[Krynn72]

I recommend using the free DOS program, MHDD.

Seconded. Takes a good amount of time, but the info it gives can be essential to understanding certain issues.

 

[lcoughey]

There is also a new linux project to replicate MHDD with added cloning functionality, WHDD. I haven't played with it yet, mostly because it is too much work to get it compiled for any of my linux distros.

 

[gunslinger]

CrystalDiskInfo

 

[redmon]

We test every computer's hard drive with gsmartcontrol using short and extended test, unless it's is a simple virus removal. When I have a bit more time I will start experimenting with mhdd.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

I don't bother with manufacturers test unless I suspect a bad drive that gsmart does not show. I feel like gsmart is quick, easy and pretty universal. Why change what works?

 

[lcoughey]

I don't bother with manufacturers test unless I suspect a bad drive that gsmart does not show. I feel like gsmart is quick, easy and pretty universal. Why change what works?

If you aren't testing a 4,000,000,000 sectors on a 2TB drive, you cannot say that it passed the test. The only way to achieve a fast test is to test random sectors throughout the drive.

 

[FremontPC]

I use Crystal Disk Info for a quick readout on the SMART report, as it gives you a quick graphical summary of all drives. Doesn't handle the short or long test, just checks the SMART report and gives the drive a grade (Good, Caution, Bad). Takes less than a minute.

HDDScan is great for "outing" drives that don't give a bad SMART report, and pass a SMART self-test, yet have blocks that are slow to respond.

 

[codegreen]

There is also a new linux project to replicate MHDD with added cloning functionality, WHDD. I haven't played with it yet, mostly because it is too much work to get it compiled for any of my linux distros.

I hadn't heard of that one. There's an Ubuntu PPA available that seems up to date, and it's been added to the latest SystemRescueCD beta. I think I'll give it a spin.

 

[Boston Pro Comp Serv LLC]

Everyone should know Smart status is useless... you need to be able to understand the attributes and what they mean. Which is often different for each manufacturer. If you really want to know if a HDD is good or not you need to know the condition of the entire platter (some one above said that too in different words) that means testing the whole thing.. than you have to have a basic understanding of the smart attributes so you can translate the values into meanful info and make an educated decision if the drive is good or not.

This is one of a hundred pictures I have of HDD's that smart status calls good that clearly are not, do yourself a favor (and your clients) don't use the smart status.