# Do i need a new hard drive? Uncorrectable sector count



## magnumtrooper (Apr 3, 2016)

I have had a WD 1tb hard drive for more than 3 years. Recently my computer crashed and i reset it to factory settings after wiping the hard drive with DBAN (i had backed up my files very recently). I tried using my windows 7 disk to launch startup repair, it said there was no version of windows installed. It couldn't even reformat the drive. It seemed like something happened to the hard drive. After running CrystalDisk it looks like there is an error.

Should i replace this hard drive?


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## dorsetknob (Apr 3, 2016)

Yes
while it may work and run it is on the path to hardware failure ( time to failure unknown)
replace the drive and use that drive for NON IMPORTANT STORAGE


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## Kursah (Apr 3, 2016)

Yes you should, especially if you intended to continue using it for OS and vital data usage.


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## R-T-B (Apr 3, 2016)

That's far from the worst smart assesment I have seen, but it is indicating 4 bad reads.  Yes, I'd say unless you plan on using it on very low importance (ie, you can lose them and not care) documents, replace it.


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## little cat (Apr 3, 2016)

Unless the boot sector/s are uncorrectable , it could be used . i would format it and install OS .


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## R-T-B (Apr 3, 2016)

little cat said:


> Unless the boot sector/s are uncorrectable , it could be used . i would format it and install OS .



Like I said, this is advisable only if impending failure and sudden data loss doesn't frighten you.  I guess if you have a good backup, sure, go for it.

And because of the way the modern HD remaps sectors, it will never really let the boot sectors become uncorrectable until everything else in the spare area fails.  That's old drives that had issues like that.


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## little cat (Apr 3, 2016)

R-T-B said:


> Like I said, this is advisable only if impending failure and sudden data loss doesn't frighten you.  I guess if you have a good backup, sure, go for it.
> 
> And because of the way the modern HD remaps sectors, it will never really let the boot sectors become uncorrectable until everything else in the spare area fails.  That's old drives that had issues like that.


1TB could not be very old . games and photos are not a big deal .


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## magnumtrooper (Apr 3, 2016)

little cat said:


> Unless the boot sector/s are uncorrectable , it could be used . i would format it and install OS .


what do you mean "install OS"? is it a program? 

I thought after using Darek's boot and Nuke it was already reformatted. Do you mean i could reformat it with a program and fix it?


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## little cat (Apr 3, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> what do you mean "install OS"? is it a program?
> 
> I thought after using Darek's boot and Nuke it was already reformatted. Do you mean i could reformat it with a program and fix it?


OS - Windows 10/8.1/7
I dont think the amount of sectors which are affected is big but on the contrary . So i would use the disk under the condition Windows can be installed


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## magnumtrooper (Apr 3, 2016)

R-T-B said:


> That's far from the worst smart assesment I have seen, but it is indicating 4 bad reads.  Yes, I'd say unless you plan on using it on very low importance (ie, you can lose them and not care) documents, replace it.


i only see one bad read, "c6", am i misreading the results? 
Also is there a way to correct bad sectors? My intuition says there isn't...


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## Caring1 (Apr 4, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> ...after wiping the hard drive with DBAN. I tried using my windows 7 disk to launch startup repair


Repair what exactly? You formatted the disc so it is empty, there is nothing to repair!


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## dorsetknob (Apr 4, 2016)

Reformatting the disk Removes the bad sectors by removing them from the allocation table
so windows can no longer see or write to them
they are STILL THERE


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## magnumtrooper (Apr 4, 2016)

Caring1 said:


> Repair what exactly? You formatted the disc so it is empty, there is nothing to repair!


sorry i was unclear, i used DBAN after i tried to repair it with the windows 7 disk. It was weird because the "repair your computer" didn't think i had windows 7 installed.


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## little cat (Apr 4, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> i only see one bad read, "c6", am i misreading the results?
> Also is there a way to correct bad sectors? My intuition says there isn't...


As RTB said - remapping , when a sector fails to be read many times it is marked as unusable . it readable , the content can be copied to a new sector  .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_sector


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## magnumtrooper (Apr 4, 2016)

little cat said:


> As RTB said - remapping , when a sector fails to be read many times it is marked as unusable . it readable , the content can be copied to a new sector  .


Is there a program that does this?


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## dorsetknob (Apr 4, 2016)

Windows recovers what it can and moves it to new good sectors before it rewrites the allocation table to say DO NOT USE THIS SECTOR


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## qubit (Apr 4, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> It couldn't even reformat the drive.


There's your answer right there. Not only does it have uncorrectable sectors, but it doesn't even function, hence it's dead and therefore useless to you. Even if it partially functioned, you should still not use it.

If there's any warranty left on it then RMA it, else just buy another drive.

Great to see that you had a recent backup and didn't lose data.  These are priceless for just these occasions and I make two backups of all my data, very frequently.


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## little cat (Apr 4, 2016)

qubit said:


> There's your answer right there. Not only does it have uncorrectable sectors, but it doesn't even function, hence it's dead and therefore useless to you. Even if it partially functioned, you should still not use it.
> 
> If there's any warranty left on it then RMA it, else just buy another drive.
> 
> Great to see that you had a recent backup and didn't lose data.  These are priceless for just these occasions and I make two backups of all my data, very frequently.



I think he didnt try a clean install of Windows just the repair attempt failed


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## magnumtrooper (Apr 4, 2016)

qubit said:


> There's your answer right there. Not only does it have uncorrectable sectors, but it doesn't even function, hence it's dead and therefore useless to you. Even if it partially functioned, you should still not use it.
> 
> If there's any warranty left on it then RMA it, else just buy another drive.
> 
> Great to see that you had a recent backup and didn't lose data.  These are priceless for just these occasions and I make two backups of all my data, very frequently.


That's the weird thing, I used DBAN and then installed a clean copy of windows 7 after that. I am using that computer right now, so it seems like the hard drive isn't completely dead. I wasn't sure if it was a freak accident or my hard drive is about to give out. Right now i am trying to figure out if i should buy a new one or not


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## Jetster (Apr 4, 2016)

Its done. Any attempt to fix or use it for anything is a waste of time


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## little cat (Apr 4, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> That's the weird thing, I used DBAN and then installed a clean copy of windows 7 after that. I am using that computer right now, so it seems like the hard drive isn't completely dead. I wasn't sure if it was a freak accident or my hard drive is about to give out. Right now i am trying to figure out if i should buy a new one or not



I think it will last years . Keep temps low


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## qubit (Apr 4, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> That's the weird thing, I used DBAN and then installed a clean copy of windows 7 after that. I am using that computer right now, so it seems like the hard drive isn't completely dead. I wasn't sure if it was a freak accident or my hard drive is about to give out. *Right now i am trying to figure out if i should buy a new one or not*


Well, I've covered that - get a new one or RMA it, it's knackered. Have it as a plaything only.



little cat said:


> I think he didnt try a clean install of Windows just the repair attempt failed


His OP says that it wouldn't reformat. On top of that there's hundreds of uncorrectable sectors. It should definitely be replaced.


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## dorsetknob (Apr 4, 2016)

Re read the Thread your find you are advised to get a new drive  ( use this one for non important stuff ) as the life clock of this drive is telling you i will die sometime


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## magnumtrooper (Apr 4, 2016)

Thank you for all the replies, i think i will get a replacement to be on the safe side, it seems like that is the consensus. Plus they aren't very expensive. 
Thanks!


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## Jetster (Apr 4, 2016)

Use DATA LIFEGUARD and test the drive

http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?lang=en


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## R-T-B (Apr 4, 2016)

qubit said:


> His OP says that it wouldn't reformat. On top of that there's hundreds of uncorrectable sectors. It should definitely be replaced.



The raw data field is what you read, not the other fields...  There actually aren't any uncorrectable or pending sectors, only 4 failed read attempts for some reason.


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## qubit (Apr 4, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> Thank you for all the replies, *i think i will get a replacement to be on the safe side*, it seems like that is the consensus. Plus they aren't very expensive.
> Thanks!


Great choice and you're welcome. 



R-T-B said:


> The raw data field is what you read, not the other fields...  There actually aren't any uncorrectable or pending sectors, only 4 failed read attempts for some reason.


The screenshot shows a yellow warning and 4 uncorrectable sectors. Put that together with the difficulty in formatting it makes the drive toast.


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## magnumtrooper (Apr 4, 2016)

Jetster said:


> Use DATA LIFEGUARD and test the drive
> 
> http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?lang=en



I ran that test and oddly it says my hard drive is fine.


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## cdawall (Apr 4, 2016)

Smart says the drive is going bad.  Heed the warning and replace it you can get 1tb drives for $40 now anyway.


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## Jetster (Apr 4, 2016)

magnumtrooper said:


> I ran that test and oddly it says my hard drive is fine.



Well they made the drive so run it. Test it later if you  decide to use it. once sectors start to go it usually accelerates the failure


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## R-T-B (Apr 4, 2016)

qubit said:


> The screenshot shows a yellow warning and 4 uncorrectable sectors. Put that together with the difficulty in formatting it makes the drive toast.



Agreed.  I just found it odd that the drive hasn't attempted to remap those sectors (that count is 0).  But either way the conclusion is the same.


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## RejZoR (Apr 4, 2016)

You could try testing with: https://rejzor.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/how-to-spot-fake-memory-cards-or-usb-drives/

This should reveal if stored data is returned bad.


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## SuperSoph_WD (Apr 4, 2016)

Welcome to the TPU community, @magnumtrooper! 

Unfortunately, it does seem like your WD Black needs to be replaced!  
I'd strongly recommend you to *check its warranty* on our website. If it's still covered, you should be able to* send an RMA request *to our *Customer Support *and get a replacement*. *You can get in touch with them either by phone or e-mail and they will provide you with more information about the product replacement procedure. 

Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD


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## RejZoR (Apr 4, 2016)

@SuperSoph_WD
Nice to have official company representatives here.


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## cdawall (Apr 4, 2016)

As a person who hates rmas,  Western digital is painless and one of the best rmas I have yet to deal with. Had me a new 1tb vraptor in under a week and a prepaid shipping label to Send the old one back


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## rtwjunkie (Apr 4, 2016)

^^I can double-confirm how easy the WD RMA process is!


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## Kursah (Apr 4, 2016)

+1 

Its been years since I needed to bit it was totally painless to RMA my 1.5TB WD Black.


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## qubit (Apr 4, 2016)

rtwjunkie said:


> ^^I can double-confirm how easy the WD RMA process is!


+1 mine was painless too and I got an upgraded drive in return: broken 750GB to WD, 1TB Black to me.


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