This is a 1TB Western Digital HDD on an eSATA port with a Toshiba A11 laptop running Windows 7 x64 Home Premium. I ran a series of tests with HDDScan 3.3 (Live version--not installed in Windows.) The drive has seen mild use for backups, but I intend to reformat it and use it to replace a Data drive.

When a VERIFY test of the entire drive surface showed a significant drop in transfer speed in one area of the drive, as well as higher block transfer times for a number of blocks (not just one or two, but a bunch all in that same area), I did several retests, including VERIFY, READ and finally ERASE localized to only the area of the drive in question. The VERIFY done locally did not confirm the area to be slow. It looked fine.

But further testing resulted in test FAILURE, first with the READ test--it was showing ALL bad blocks--(so I stopped test, closed program, and changed HDDScan startup to compatibility mode.) After changing to Compatibility Mode and restarting, the READ test showed the same section of blocks as good.

I then tried the ERASE test on only that same section of blocks (about 2/3 way into the drive). HDDScan once again started showing ALL blocks as BAD in this test section. I stopped the test and closed the program, checking to make sure startup was still in compatibility mode. (The Drive went dark in Windows, but I re-scanned it in Storage Management, and drive appeared again. I was then able to access the disk and data looks intact. However, the portion of the disk that I was attempting to do the ERASE test on probably does not have any data on it.)

I restarted the program and tried again, and again it showed ALL BAD blocks as I started testing only this section of the drive. Plus, it crashed the computer this time. Blue screen citing a Protection Violation.

Before trying further, I thought I would check here. I could go into more details, if needed, which I recorded, but before doing that, I wanted to check if there is anyone familiar with HDDScan who is willing to respond. Perhaps this is known behavior and enough to explain why the program indicated bad blocks. Checking the drive again, it can still be read, and SMART does not indicate any problem with the drive.

Thanks,
Michael

Connect the drive to a desktop PC through SATA. If data on the drive isn't backed up, run READ test only.
If you have a copy, then launch ERASE. Once it's done, run READ on the same area.

Check the SMART before and after tests (HDDScan can save .html or .mht file with SMART parameters).

_________________
• Remote RAID, NAS, SAN, VMware, DVR (CCTV), flash and tape recovery. Data recovery support.

Okay, thanks.

Dimitri: "...launch ERASE. Once it's done, run READ on the same area."

Are you saying to do the ERASE on the whole drive, or can I do it just on the area of the drive where I detected possible problem?

I thought maybe that was my problem, or it's not allowed--trying to use ERASE on only a Section of the drive.

SMART still showed good after running ERASE only on the Section in question, despite "all BAD Blocks," and data looks intact in Explorer. But I will try with a Desktop PC connection, and report back.

I thought eSATA should run exactly the same as SATA, so long as there is good power (and this is with external power). But it being a laptop--sometimes things work funny on laptops. Attaching to a desktop makes sense.

Thanks again,
Michael

I meant you need to launch ERASE and READ on the same area. ERASE first.

"Area" can be anything - from single LBA to whole drive (default).
As above, ERASE wipes data irreversibly, so be sure to have a backup.

_________________
• Remote RAID, NAS, SAN, VMware, DVR (CCTV), flash and tape recovery. Data recovery support.

My apologies for taking so long to get back to this. I started the thread in August, and was unable to complete the process then. This issue using HDD Scan still exists, and I am hoping Dimitri or someone else can help me sort out what this is about. I will provide more detailed history this time.

It's a WD 1 TB Sata HDD--WD10EZEX (Blue), not used much, but I now wanted to use for a Data Drive. I've finally had a chance to do what Dimitri asked me to do above. I plugged the drive into a SATA port on a Desktop Windows machine (not laptop eSata) and ran HDD Scan 3.3 again, on the same part of the drive that had shown performance issues in earlier tests with HDD Scan. I got the same "bad blocks" result when I ran the Erase test on a section of the drive, and I don't know why or what this means.

HISTORY: Concern started (in August) when I ran HDD Scan Verify test (on laptop eSata) on the entire disk, which appeared to show a small drop in transfer rates in one area. While there were the usual blips, area around block 1330600000 seemed to show a consistent "drag" and very noticeable change on the graph in an otherwise "smooth" curve. (I can attach jpg, if needed.)

Results:

Open Disk
Test : VR-Verify

Executing
Block start at 97676288 time 54ms
Block start at 195352576 time 54ms
Block start at 781933824 time 102ms
Block start at 976762624 time 52ms
Block start at 1250224640 time 119ms
Block start at 1330629888 time 50ms
Block start at 1330630400 time 50ms
Block start at 1330630912 time 50ms
Block start at 1330633216 time 50ms
Block start at 1330633984 time 50ms
Block start at 1330637056 time 51ms
Block start at 1330638592 time 50ms
Block start at 1330639872 time 50ms
Block start at 1330640640 time 50ms
Block start at 1330641408 time 50ms
Block start at 1330642176 time 50ms
Block start at 1330642944 time 50ms
Block start at 1367467776 time 59ms
Block start at 1695002880 time 130ms
Block start at 1893934080 time 167ms


I decided to run the test again, focusing only on this area of the disk that showed so many slowed blocks. I repeated VERIFY test using only blocks 1250000000 to 1370000000. Result this time looked normal--only one block @ 61ms.

I then did READ test on the same blocks. Program Failed here--test result showed ALL blocks bad with READ test of this same section above. I STOPPED the test and closed the program, now worried about my disk. However, restarting HDDScan in XP SP3 Compatibility Mode, READ test worked fine the next time, with normal result.

Then I attempted the ERASE test, again using only blocks 1250000000 to 1370000000--Now program again showed only bad blocks. Stopped test (as I was concerned about letting it run showing only Bad Blocks), closed program, tried again. I tried ERASE on this section two more times. Each time showed all bad blocks and crashed the computer. Last time Windows 7 gave blue screen, citing protection violation. [All this was on the laptop.]

CURRENT: WD10EZEX 1 TB HDD has not been used since August. On desktop machine with Vista x32 & direct Sata connection, I first ran the Read test on blocks 1250000000 to 1370000000 with no problems. Then I tried the Erase test, with same result as before--All Bad Blocks. I stopped the test & program froze. PC did not crash, but I had to use Task Manager to close the program. I then restarted HDD Scan and ran Read test again on these same blocks, with no problems.

Could I have a corrupted copy of HDD Scan? Or some other incompatibility? BTW, after first experience on laptop I ran MHDD on the HDD with excellent result: 4 < 150 ms & 12 < 50 ms & nothing worse on entire disk. All SMART results look similar before & after tests. Raw Read Error Rate, Reallocation Sector Count, #s 196-199 all remain at "0" in Raw.

Any ideas? Is there another program I should try running to verify disk is okay?

Thanks again--sorry for length!
Michael

...Just so this thread doesn't get lost,...I was hoping to hear back from Dmitri or anyone who can advise me on:

1) Any thoughts about why HDDScan might have given me the described result?
2) Since MHDD showed an excellent result, and there is no evidence of problems in the SMART data, and the 1 TB HDD has not otherwise shown any problems, is it reasonable to assume it is reliable, and that this was just a problem with HDDScan? If so, suggestions why I would have that problem--on two different machines. (NOTE: Install WAS from the same download file--actually, HDDScan was not installed. This is starting the program from a folder.)

Thanks again,
Michael

Anyone...? For anyone reading this thread, I may have to assume that my drive is good, and that this was just a glitch in my own copy of HDDScan. I expect I will install the drive and use it as a Data drive.

Also, I just downloaded again HDDScan 3.3, from the HDDScan web site. I noticed after unzipping, the dates on files are different than in the folder I've been using. Dates on newly downloaded files are much earlier--2009 & 2010 vs. 2013. Perhaps I downloaded the program from another site the first time. I am running out of time, but I will try to find time to test again with the newly downloaded and unzipped files. It appears this program is no longer supported by the Author. Last post on HDDScan site's Forum responded to by Author is over 2 years old.

But any comments would be welcome. I've noticed it is much, much harder to get a response on almost any Forum these days, vs. earlier Internet days! I guess this medium is aging. But thanks to Dmitri for earlier assistance.

Michael

It is hard to guess without the drive on hands, but I'd suggest trying to switch the drive to SATA 1 (SATA 150) mode. That should be pins 5 and 6, but recheck that, I usually do not remember such things.

To confirm it worked, launch HDDScan, choose the drive in "Select Drive" -> New Task (big square button) -> Identity Info -> Features Support -> "SATA Gen2 3.0 Gb/s" should be "Not Supported".

After that perform the same tests again.
Should Verify and Read return different results, rely on the Read ones.


These days the only hard drives worth repairing are SCSI / SAS ones, so a single questionable SATA drive is unlikely to produce much of an interest.
Generally the correct answer nowadays is "if you're in doubt regarding any medium, replace it; otherwise your spending may grow considerably".

P.S.
Official HDDScan site is http://hddscan.com/

_________________
• Remote RAID, NAS, SAN, VMware, DVR (CCTV), flash and tape recovery. Data recovery support.

5 years later, but maybe this will help someone so here goes:

I got this too. HDDScan shows every block is 'bad' when you don't launch it as Administrator. Yes, even if you're logged in as a user with Admin rights. You have to right-click HDDSCAN, then select 'Run as Administrator', then it will run properly.

It seems like HDDScan could check for this and prompt the user accordingly?

Half a year later:
It seems HDDScan cannot determine the end of the disk and places a continuous bunch of bad sectors beyound its end (during Verify test only, Read and Erase are OK)
Tested on two different computers, cables etc (both XP SP2 X64). No bad or suspected or relocated blocks according to S.M.A.R.T.