Hi!

Let me sum up my story. I've got this disk, link below.

http://www.trekstor.de/en/products/deta ... =30&page=1

Lately, it's been running a bit coo-coo. Read errors from sectors, etc. Been running CHKDSK /F lots, but the issues remain/reoccur. A typical CHKDSK /F /R feedback may look like this:

File record segment 43268 is unreadable.
File record segment 43269 is unreadable.
File record segment 43270 is unreadable.
File record segment 43271 is unreadable.
File record segment 43276 is unreadable.
File record segment 43277 is unreadable.
File record segment 43278 is unreadable.
File record segment 43279 is unreadable.
File record segment 43280 is unreadable.
File record segment 43281 is unreadable.
File record segment 43282 is unreadable.
File record segment 43283 is unreadable.
File record segment 43288 is unreadable.
File record segment 43289 is unreadable.
File record segment 43290 is unreadable.
File record segment 43291 is unreadable.
File record segment 43296 is unreadable.
File record segment 43297 is unreadable.
File record segment 43298 is unreadable.
File record segment 43299 is unreadable.
File record segment 43304 is unreadable.

Thing is, I'm also having the whole drive TrueCrypt-encrypted.

I'm really scared, that one day this issues, which appears more/less random, will occur on the TrueCrypt header section, which will cause me real trouble. I won't be able to mount it, simply said. So now I'm thinking about "starting over".

First, I thought I'd just simply do the TrueCrypt "encrypt disk/drive" process once again, thus re-format new headers etc. Then I thought, perhaps this is not such a great idea. I mean, say some sectors are severely damaged, maybe the new TC-header will act up just in that area, and the problems will remain. This is where I started looking on / reading about "low level format".

At first I looked on the "dd.exe" (dd Win32 port), which seems like a "all-around-util" for zerofills/low-level formats. Since I'm novice in the area, it seems a bit complicated, I don't know what command to do, etc. Then, next off, I found your utility, HDDGURU: HDD Low Level Format Tool, which seems really great. Sort of like a "one click does it all"-thingie, good for us not-so-advanced people.

So, I'm thinking I'd do your utility before I re-start the process of TrueCrypting the drive.

However, I'm a bit scared. Since my manufacturer is not listed among "compatibility" for the util, I'm not sure if I may be foolish. So, what do you guys think? What's are my odds? Is there a big chance that I will cause severe damage to my disk by running HDDGURU: HDD Low Level Format Tool on it? Rumor has it that Trekstor drives has actually got WD-drives "inside" the cover. This is a good thing, if that is really the case, this is!

Please, give me some advice.

In short.
Should I feel safe in running HDDGURU: HDD Low Level Format Tool?


Ty in advance people~
Thankful for all responses~

For dd the syntax (in linux) to zero a drive is
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda
or sdb, sdc, etc.... depending on what drive you want to write zeros on.
dd uses an input file (if=FILE) and an output file (of=/dev/HARD-DRIVE).
I believe it works the same in windows with /dev/sda replaced by C:
Sorry I can't be of more help.

Lowlevel formatting your drive will erase all data, so be sure you've copied all your data to a safe place before you do a low level formatting.
I suspect your drive is having bad sectors.
You can run a scan using mhdd to check that.
Therefore you'll need to take the drive out of the enclosure and attach it directly to the motherboard of your pc.

Truecrypt is good to store your data safely, but if you use it on a failing drive, your data could end up beeing inaccessable for good, also for you.

Dobre

_________________
Murphy was an optimist

Datarecovery in Belgium, Holland, France and Germany
Datarecoverytools http://www.drtools.eu

What will happen when a part of a TrueCrypt volume becomes corrupted?

In encrypted data, one corrupted bit usually corrupts the whole ciphertext block in which it occurred. The ciphertext block size used by TrueCrypt is 16 bytes (i.e., 128 bits). The mode of operation used by TrueCrypt ensures that if data corruption occurs within a block, the remaining blocks are not affected. See also the question 'What do I do when the encrypted filesystem on my TrueCrypt volume is corrupted?


What do I do when the encrypted filesystem on my TrueCrypt volume is corrupted?

File system within a TrueCrypt volume may become corrupted in the same way as any normal unencrypted file system. When that happens, you can use filesystem repair tools supplied with your operating system to fix it. In Windows, it is the 'chkdsk' tool. TrueCrypt provides an easy way to use this tool on a TrueCrypt volume: Right-click the mounted volume in the main TrueCrypt window (in the drive list) and from the context menu select 'Repair Filesystem'.


some other problems are bad as people have lost there information forever





Lost 300GB of data due to my volume header becoming corrupted by Windows. I had my entire system encrypted (boot partition and drives) and attempted to use the various repair features and decryption to no avail. I would recommend only creating a TruCrypted partition and storing data there you wouldn't mind losing for the benefit of the security it provides.



Encrypted backups do have their drawbacks, in case the the backup media becomes corrupted you may lose everything whereas chances are much better to retrieve unencrypted backups (at least partially) from a damaged disk.

In any case, only one set of backups is insufficient. And if applicable, maintain an unencrypted backup in a safe location (e.g. a bank vault). Security comes at a price.