How to Fix Bad Sectors on an HDD

Windows has several utilities to help fix bad sectors on hard drives. While the bad sectors can never be truly recovered if they are fully unusable, most hard drives come with additional unused sectors that can be used as a replacement in case certain sectors fail. Using the ChkDisk utility that comes with Windows makes this process very easy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Backup Device

Running ChkDisk

1. Make a backup of all of your necessary data. There is a possibility that after the ChkDisk utility runs that you will be unable to access your data because it will become corrupted.

2. Double-click on My Computer and Right-Click on your hard drive.

3. Select the "Properties" option and change to the "Tools" tab when the dialog comes up.

4. Select "Error-Checking" and a new dialog will appear.

5. Select the option "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors."

Tips & Warnings

• If ChkDisk reports a lot of bad sectors on your hard drive, visit the manufacturer's website and get a drive integrity tool. The tool will tell you if your drive is about to fail entirely or not and whether you should look into purchasing a new drive now.

References

• How To Repair Damaged Sectors