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How Do You Test Your HDDs?

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When you get a new hard drive, what do you put it through to ensure its integrity before trusting it with your data? Any specific software or tests? What are the thresholds it must stay within for you to not send it back, and what (other than strange noises) do you consider symptoms of a dying drive, the things that make you start backing up your data and contacting the manufacturer about an RMA?

Just curious. :toast:
 
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I always do a full format..... found several bad drives that way.

Good question though.... I am interested to see what everyone post-
 

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full format and deep disk checker + use the western digital prog to check the S.M.A.R.T diagnostics
 

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Format only here although not the quick format as that dont scan for errors. Only had one HDD go wrong on me and that was a WD 800MB some years ago were the PCB came loose.

Had bad blocks on all seagate drives i have own which is about 6 but i have 3 of them still and working good still today and there old 15\20\30GB HDDS. Other 3 i left with my mother when i moved.

No failed HDDs yet :).
 
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Bo$$, is Deep Disk Checker a specific program? Do you have any particular thresholds you go by for the S.M.A.R.T. values?
 

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Full format is about it.
 

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Format and good to go. No recent failures, but if some were to pop up I would surely try some of the things mentioned here.
 

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you can't find errors with this method :D

a full format will black out bad blocks. and if you run chkdsk for the next boot it ill tel you if there is any bad blocks.
 

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a full format will black out bad blocks. and if you run chkdsk for the next boot it ill tel you if there is any bad blocks.

well i do that look up ^.^ just seeing what newtechie's follow up steps are :rolleyes:
 

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lol man i do, look further up, i check them twice before i even think about using them :cool:

What a waste of time...

I've dealt with thousands of new drives, either in brand new builds or replacements for clients, and I've yet to have one come with a bad sector. Either the drive is completely fubar'd and won't format or be detected, or it works perfectly. Doing a full scan on a new drive is pointless.
 

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I just throw a bunch of data on it and use it. (Keeping the data stored and unused on the original media as well in the meantime.) Once I've had it running good for a couple of weeks, I move to a normal usage.
 
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Do formats/full error scans in any way wear down or shorten the lifespan of hard drives?
 

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if its brand new with the seal still on (anti-static package no signs of tampering or being opened, yet), i just do a full format, no point in running diagnostics on it when they already did that from factory but if the store claims brand new but the package looks to be already opened, checkdisk (chkdsk /r).
 
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What a waste of time...

I've dealt with thousands of new drives, either in brand new builds or replacements for clients, and I've yet to have one come with a bad sector. Either the drive is completely fubar'd and won't format or be detected, or it works perfectly. Doing a full scan on a new drive is pointless.

If they ship UPS it's not a waste of time :laugh:

I have had a good stack recently from Seagate and WD of hard drives right out of the bag with bad sectors..

I generally don't check but for my own stuff I run a quick smart test through speedfan generally because I always have it installed, and then a benchmark to make sure it's performing where it should.

When I'm testing I do a smart test, followed by a full surface test and benchmark if I have any doubts.
 
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Do formats/full error scans in any way wear down or shorten the lifespan of hard drives?

Sure, but so little it's not going to affect it very much unless you do it weekly.
 
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I havent got a bad HDD in years. I remember back when we were buying 3.2GB Fujitsu HDD's for builds, over half of them were RMA'ed brand new out of the box. That's why to this day I will not own a Fujitsu HDD. I do a full format on all my drives, thats about it.
 

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I havent got a bad HDD in years. I remember back when we were buying 3.2GB Fujitsu HDD's for builds, over half of them were RMA'ed brand new out of the box. That's why to this day I will not own a Fujitsu HDD. I do a full format on all my drives, thats about it.

fujitsu were bought by seagate if memory serves...
 
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