For any drive consider several software tests.
They may perform different tests.
Or they may have different algorithms.
Run HD Tune (free version) (all drives)
HD Tune website
Post images into the thread for results on these tabs:
a) Health
b) Benchmark
c) Full error scan
Run Sea Tools for Windows
long generic test
Post an image of the test result into the thread
SeaTools for Windows |
Seagate
How to use SeaTools for Windows | Seagate Support US
You can also download HD Tune in my signature, not Pro. Select the correct drive from the top drop down arrow. Go to the Error Scan tab. Do a full Error Scan, not Quick. This will take a long time. If all the blocks are Green the drive is healthy. If any of the blocks are RED that drive is beginning to fail. It's best to replace it ASAP. If only 1 or 2 Red block there is a little life left in it.
I am running these tests and will post back images. I'm running the full error scan on the two hard drives I think are dying and will post images. These tools are so helpful :)
I ran the Full Scan for drives C and V because Quick Scan didn't show any errors. To me this supports that the two suspected drives are on their way out, but please let me know if this provides any more valuable information I don't know to look for.
The drives displaying long generic fail need to have their important files backed up.
These failures are equivalent to hardware testing for warranty replacement.
The drives with reallocated sectors are SMART warning signs.
For any drive that has not displayed a long generic fail you can follow the trend.
For rising reallocations or for new SMART problems its best to replace.
Some end users with important files will replace drives when any problem is found.
Others with backed up images may use drives until the terminal event.
The problems related to slow performance, unexpected shutdowns, boot, chkdsk problems are also indications to replace the drive when there are problems found with SMART testing.
Thank you again so much! I have one more quick question that arose from running the SeaTools scan. The directions said to make sure the pc wasn't set to sleep or hibernate mode. I checked and years ago I must have already set my pc to "never" but my monitor always went to sleep so I didn't pay it much attention.
I only restart when necessary, and this got me wondering if there is a preferred Windows way?
Hibernation and windows fast startup are personal preferences unless there are performance and errors in the log files.
Run the Crucial scanner to view some options for drive replacement:
Crucial System Scanner | Crucial.com
Turn On or Off Fast Startup in Windows 10
Enable or Disable Hibernate in Windows 10
Oh boy! You're right to back up everything you can from that drive, especially before allowing the system to do a CHKDSK. I had a BSOD several months ago on a windows XP machine and foolishly let it do a CHKDSK. sadly the most recent working clone I had of the drive was a year old (a mistake I won't repeat!). Several weeks spent with some good recovery software I finally recovered almost everything important from the CHKDSK "fixed" drive. CHKDSK had moved everything to a folder called "found" in the root of the drive, so i could recover all the files. But what a PAIN!
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