Checking hard drive for errors

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  1. Posts : 91
    Windows 10
       #1

    Checking hard drive for errors


    Hello,

    I have a 3 yr old Samsung laptop which I thought was behaving properly. Today, Outlook froze and then as I tried to open other programs, each thing froze as well. I left it alone and things eventually sorted themselves out and the computer became functional again.

    I looked in Event Viewer and I am seeing a LOT of disk warnings and errors, going all the way back to March. That's as far back as it goes, to the date when I installed Windows 10. (Laptop came with Windows 8 installed, I upgraded to 8.1 and then to 10.) This is in Hard Disk 0, which contains Drive C and several recovery drives.

    The errors are mentioning ominous things such as "bad block", so the first thing I would like to do is actually see if the physical hard drive itself is failing. In looking at Settings, I see no indication that it is, it says the drive is healthy.

    I've seen reference to software called CrystalDisk, but I would like to be assured of a safe download site for that, or is there other software someone here can recommend?

    Thanks.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #2

    Smiley1 said:
    Hello,

    I have a 3 yr old Samsung laptop which I thought was behaving properly. Today, Outlook froze and then as I tried to open other programs, each thing froze as well. I left it alone and things eventually sorted themselves out and the computer became functional again.

    I looked in Event Viewer and I am seeing a LOT of disk warnings and errors, going all the way back to March. That's as far back as it goes, to the date when I installed Windows 10. (Laptop came with Windows 8 installed, I upgraded to 8.1 and then to 10.) This is in Hard Disk 0, which contains Drive C and several recovery drives.

    The errors are mentioning ominous things such as "bad block", so the first thing I would like to do is actually see if the physical hard drive itself is failing. In looking at Settings, I see no indication that it is, it says the drive is healthy.

    I've seen reference to software called CrystalDisk, but I would like to be assured of a safe download site for that, or is there other software someone here can recommend?

    Thanks.
    Hi.
    The first thing you should do is run CHKDSK on your drive.
    Drive Error Checking in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

    Then you can download and install PassMark DiskCheckup, to see the values of the SMART attributes. Let it run for a bit so the numbers can settle in.

    I've used Crystal Disk Info, and it's good, but it tends to install other garbage, so you have to be cautious.

    Finally, SeaTools is good for testing drives. Use the long test.
    SeaTools | Seagate
    http://www.seagate.com/files/staticf...-dos-guide.pdf

    Hope that helps.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 91
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thank you.

    The first two options--Security and Maintenance and the Properties Drive Tools don't show any errors.

    I don't want to do anything other than look and report right now. Would doing Chkdsk from a command prompt just look and report only?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #4

    Smiley1 said:
    Thank you.

    The first two options--Security and Maintenance and the Properties Drive Tools don't show any errors.

    I don't want to do anything other than look and report right now. Would doing Chkdsk from a command prompt just look and report only?
    I would move on to DiskCheckup at this point.
    Let the program run for a while - at least 20 minutes, and "refresh" to see settled-in values. If any of the SMART attributes are moving, DiskCheckup will show them in red, with an estimated TEC (Threshold Exceed Date) listed. Then you can see if anything is failing, but not failed yet.

    EDIT: Is this a spinner or SSD?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 91
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I don't know if it's a spinner or SSD. How can I find that out?

    Edit:

    I went to the Optimize Drive setting and it lists all the drives as being "Hard Disk" drives. Does that mean SSD? Sorry if that's a silly question, I really know very little about hardware.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #6

    Smiley1 said:
    I don't know if it's a spinner or SSD. How can I find that out?

    Edit:

    I went to the Optimize Drive setting and it lists all the drives as being "Hard Disk" drives. Does that mean SSD? Sorry if that's a silly question, I really know very little about hardware.
    A "spinner" is a nickname for a mechanical drive - the platters spin and the head reads the data.

    Checking hard drive for errors-drive-mechanical-spinner.png

    A Solid State Drive is like flash memory - no moving parts. It is about the size of a 2.5" spinner that you find in laptops, as opposed to the 3.5" you find in desktops.

    Solid State vs. Hard Disk: Differences Between SSD and HDD
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Checking hard drive for errors-drive-ssd.png  
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #7

    Smiley1 said:
    Thank you.

    The first two options--Security and Maintenance and the Properties Drive Tools don't show any errors.

    I don't want to do anything other than look and report right now. Would doing Chkdsk from a command prompt just look and report only?
    Performing CHKDSK at startup would attempt to repair the drive, unless you omit the switch (/r or /f). Please run DiskCheckup and view the SMART data. Post a screenshot for us if anything is not "OK".
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 91
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I've been running DiskCheckup and everything is showing as "OK". Short test has completed without error. I'll run the long one and see what happens.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #9

    Smiley1 said:
    I've been running DiskCheckup and everything is showing as "OK". Short test has completed without error. I'll run the long one and see what happens.
    This is the tab we're most interested in:


    Checking hard drive for errors-diskcheckup06.png




    The "tests" in DiskCheckup aren't very reliable - especially the long one; you may find it stalls or errors out.

    The "tests" to run are with SeaTools - DOS - long test. That is the best one.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 91
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #10

    You're right about that extended test in DiskCheckup. It got stuck at 10% and wouldn't abort. I shut down the laptop and powered it back up. It now shows that a test was aborted by the host, it seems to be on the short test and still stalled out at 10%. The other short tests run earlier today showed no errors.

    I just have a column of "N/A" 's under 'predicted TEC date'.
      My Computer


 

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