Bad sector on HDD

[GSX]

Hi all,
I have run check disk on my system and it found 4kb in bad sectors. At the end of the test it said the disk was clean and OK. Is this something I need to worry about, my computer works fine.

 

[guest_9323wk]

Could be have you ran the test again to see if it flags up again? You could always download the hard drive testing tool from the makers website for the hard drive and test it again with that.

 

[GSX]

Thanks Wizkid,
I ran another test and got the same results and I have downloaded the makers test tool. That confirmed that there are some bad sectors. The hard drive is under warranty so I'm wondering if I should replace it now with the hassle of a complete reinstall or if 4kb of bad sector on a 500gb disc is not worth worrying about?

 

[guest_9323wk]

Thanks Wizkid,
I ran another test and got the same results and I have downloaded the makers test tool. That confirmed that there are some bad sectors. The hard drive is under warranty so I'm wondering if I should replace it now with the hassle of a complete reinstall or if 4kb of bad sector on a 500gb disc is not worth worrying about?

I would go ahead and replace the drive it could be starting to fail, its a bit of a hassle having to back everything up and reinstall again. But at least you would have a replacement drive without any bad sectors on it.


Regards

 

[floppybootstomp]

Definitely get a replacement as once a disk has developed bad sectors time is ticking away to a complete failure.

 

[GSX]

Thanks guys, computer is working fine at the mo. but I have that seed of doubt in my mind. I went through a period of things like media player hanging which I put down to my internet connection dropping out causing the computer to frantically search for a connection thus causing a freeze. Did a scan of the disk and found bad files and seems to have left me with bad sectors. I'll have a word with the guy who built my system.
Thanks again for the advice.

 

[GSX]

One more thing! If I buy an external hard drive will I be able to back up everything on my system to it, Vista included?
Do I then simply copy it over to the new HDD? Or would I be better off reinstalling from disc where I can and just backup things I don't have discs for?

 

[floppybootstomp]

One more thing! If I buy an external hard drive will I be able to back up everything on my system to it, Vista included?
Do I then simply copy it over to the new HDD? Or would I be better off reinstalling from disc where I can and just backup things I don't have discs for?

No, you can't.

Unless you have software to do the job for you.

I'd recommend Acronis True Image to do that, or Norton Ghost can also do it.

I use Acronis True Image, it works well.

You can d/l latest version from their site (it costs) and also try a month's free trial.

I'm not aware of any free software that will do this task, other members on this forum may do.

 

[Abarbarian]

Sorry flops , Yes you can get free tools to do the job.

You will have to do some reading though.

http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/backupandimage.shtml

 

[GSX]

Thanks again all, great advice as always