How to Check a Hard Drive for Bad Sectors
As you use your computer, its hard drive may eventually develop bad sectors. Bad sectors are sections of the drive that can no longer be used reliably and must be "worked around." When a bad sector is discovered, the hard drive will no longer write data to that area of the drive, helping to protect your data. Use the Windows Disk Checking utility to scan your hard drive for bad sectors and help prevent data loss.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Click "Start," and then click "Computer" in Windows Vista and 7 or "My Computer" in Windows XP.
-
2
Right-click your hard drive, and select "Properties."
-
-
3
Click the "Tools" tab, and then click the "Check Now" button in the top section of the window, under "Error-Checking." This will launch the Windows Disk Checking utility.
-
4
Select the checkbox options "Automatically Fix File System Errors" and "Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors."
-
5
Click "Start." You may receive a warning explaining that Windows needs direct access to your disk in order to perform the scan and asking if you would like to run the scan the next time you restart your computer. Click "Yes." The scan will proceed after you restart your computer. The entire process is automatic; no input is necessary for the scan to proceed.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Many hard drive manufacturers publish utilities that you can run from a floppy disk or CD-ROM to check your hard drive for errors and bad sectors. Visit your hard drive manufacturer's website to see if a utility is available. These utilities are generally able to run extended diagnostics on the drive to provide additional clues as to whether the drive may be about to fail.
