Looking for a tool...

[Crusader2010]

Hello. This is my current situation: i got a Samsung 1TB hdd,with 2 partitions(NTFS). The first one (with the windows 7 operating system) has some bad sectors somewhere in the middle of it and only there. Everything seems to work fine but it sometimes locks up and stuff like that. So basically i need a tool that can do any of the following:

- format the partition in such a way as to try and "clear" the bad sectors (like the old "format /u" command did). I know not all bads can be cleared this way but at least i'd like to try something.

- most importantly, a tool that would allow me to repartition the drive the way i want to. In other words, i want to format that partition, create a new partition between sectors 74000000 and 87000000, hide it, and the rest of the space to belong to the partition like before.

- a tool that could actually repair the sectors if possible (i've tried hdd regenerator and spinrite but both of them stop at a certain point as if the hdd was turned off, and needs a computer restart to start working again; hdd regenerator also stops working at certain sectors). Or,if it cannot repair them, i want it to create a "dead" area between certain sectors that will always be skipped by any software that tries to read/write in it, even if not specifically being part of another partition.

Also, i do not care about data loss or other issues. My main goal is to isolate the bad sectors of the hard drive with some "buffer" zones of my choosing before and after, so that no application will ever access this area.

I have run chkdsk and some other partition checkers and they seemed to be working for a bit, but without those buffer zones the operating system most certainly tries to access some of the bad sectors and creates even more issues.

Thanks

[northwind]

I am not sure about this, but Partition Magic does what you want.
Again, not sure.

On the other hand, your disk seems degraded to me. Why would you go into all this instead of buying a new disk and RMA this one (if under warranty). The disk *will* fail eventually and you *will have to* replace it.

[Crusader2010]

I've tried partition magic, gparted and other similar tools but to no avail. I can only resize partitions, but not create one in the range i want - this is my biggest issue with these programs. I remember it was possible like 8-10 years ago with fdisk (i think) but i believe there should be something available now with similar functionality.

I know the drive will eventually fail but the chances are slim since there are only a total of ~7500 bad sectors very tightly localized(out of 130+ millions of that partition, while the other partition has no problems at all). Right now i cannot afford to wait 2 weeks or more for my hdd to get replaced by the manufacturer and such. If it fails, it will fail in around a year or so (since i "use" it quite a lot) and i will still have the possibility to replace it for free(warranty), or at least it's going to give some signs of impending failure by that time.

But since nothing is certain when it comes to software-hardware "links", it might as well last another 10 years without any problems. I want to try and take advantage of that if possible and still use it to its almost full potential (since 6-7 GB out of ~1000 don't really matter). I know from past experience that when bad sectors are localized there is also a good chance they can even be repaired(usually after several formats or such), thus i'm asking for a tool for advanced partitioning(i've searched google for over 2 weeks now and couldn't find anything even remotely explained about isolating bad sectors with buffer zones).

Thank you for the reply

[Vulcan]

I've tried partition magic, gparted and other similar tools but to no avail. I can only resize partitions, but not create one in the range i want - this is my biggest issue with these programs.

Using fdisk on Linux, it is possible to achieve what you are describing - although I would not use a disk with this behaviour, to hold anything important. Also, GParted can also create partitions of a user-defined size (not only resize them) - I know because I have used it to do that.

So you can create a partition for use before the damaged area, create another which "covers" the damage area (which you don't use), then create another containing the rest of the disk which you can use.

Remember that (for historical reasons) partition boundaries usually need to be aligned on the "logical" (i.e. fake) cylinders for that disk's logical C/H/S geometry. Therefore you may be unable to create a partition contaiing only the range that you want, but you can always create one that is slightly larger, to ensure that it contains the range of LBAs that you want (and a little more).

I know the drive will eventually fail but the chances are slim

You don't know that the chances are slim - of course, for your happiness, I hope you are correct

at least it's going to give some signs of impending failure by that time.

You don't know that either - many disk problems start with no visible warning. Please don't confuse hope with proof.

For example, a localised region of unreadable sectors can be due to media damage in that area. Media damage can sometimes have serious side-effects on the behaviour of the whole disk.

i'm asking for a tool for advanced partitioning(i've searched google for over 2 weeks now and couldn't find anything even remotely explained about isolating bad sectors with buffer zones).

As I said, fdisk on Linux can achieve what you describe, if you are unable to "drive" GParted in the necessary way.

Good luck!

[loki]

Hasnt this type of question recently been asked?

Use disk management & delete the partition thus losing the data. Then create a partition the size you want, dont give it a drive letter & dont format it.


Loki

[Vulcan]

@loki:

Hasnt this type of question recently been asked?

Yes, it has but I couldn't find it in a quick search, to include a link in my previous reply.

However this time, the OP is claiming that the usual technique (as you mentioned, which I think I described in one of my replies to that previous thread) doesn't work - but I'm not getting a clear picture as to why it doesn't work for the OP here... :shrug:

[loki]

@loki:

Hasnt this type of question recently been asked?

Yes, it has but I couldn't find it in a quick search, to include a link in my previous reply.

However this time, the OP is claiming that the usual technique (as you mentioned, which I think I described in one of my replies to that previous thread) doesn't work - but I'm not getting a clear picture as to why it doesn't work for the OP here... :shrug:

Here's the link:
cut-disable-some-sectors-the-beginning-t20452.html?hilit=hide%20sectors#p137250


The user mentions that it has 2 partitions first one being Windows 7 actually this should be 3 partitions as Windows 7 will create a 100mb partition on install. If the user deletes the 100mb partition as well as the Windows 7 partition then I'm sure it wont boot up to an OS.

I might try this at some point to confirm it.

Loki

[Crusader2010]

The user mentions that it has 2 partitions first one being Windows 7 actually this should be 3 partitions as Windows 7 will create a 100mb partition on install. If the user deletes the 100mb partition as well as the Windows 7 partition then I'm sure it wont boot up to an OS.

I believe the 100mB partition retains the information about repairing your computer and some boot info so it won't boot the OS sorry i didn't include that 100mB partition in my explanation above but didn't think it was necessary since that one worked fine (basically i was talking about the "usable" partitions).

However this time, the OP is claiming that the usual technique (as you mentioned, which I think I described in one of my replies to that previous thread) doesn't work - but I'm not getting a clear picture as to why it doesn't work for the OP here... :shrug:

Sorry i couldn't find the question answered before (i've been searching on google for about two weeks for something that could help me until i stumbled across these forums). The problem with all the tools i've tried and such was that either they only allowed me to resize a partition's maximum size (and not the position), or, if i could establish a range it would split my current one in 3 parts: free space + damaged partition + free space, thus forcing me to create 2 more and not being allowed to "join" them somehow.

Remember that (for historical reasons) partition boundaries usually need to be aligned on the "logical" (i.e. fake) cylinders for that disk's logical C/H/S geometry. Therefore you may be unable to create a partition containing only the range that you want, but you can always create one that is slightly larger, to ensure that it contains the range of LBAs that you want (and a little more).

Exactly that i was my problem. I couldn't find how to create a partition between a range of LBAs. I'm going to try the linux thingy again, reposition the partition where i want it and then recheck the remaining space so that it doesn't have any more issues. This way i'll know for sure the damaged area is included.

You don't know that the chances are slim - of course, for your happiness, I hope you are correct

My logic says that the chances are slim but of course there is no way to actually prove it. Yea, I'm an optimist

[Vulcan]

The problem with all the tools i've tried and such was that [...snip...] if i could establish a range it would split my current one in 3 parts: free space + damaged partition + free space, thus forcing me to create 2 more and not being allowed to "join" them somehow.

Now that you have explained the full details of your "problem", I can tell you that this is normal. Re-reading your earlier coments, I think you were trying to explain this before, but unfortunately there wasn't enough info until now, for me to understand the necessary details.

Using a partition as a workaround to "protect" (or "avoid", or "hide", or whatever term you like), a defective area of disk will always end up splitting your "user area" into multiple partitions (i.e. good partitions before & after that "defective" partition - assuming that the "defective" area is somewhow in the middle of the disk, and not at the extreme start or end of the disk).

If multiple user partitions is what you've been trying to avoid, then you've been trying to do the impossible - that is why you haven't succeeded. By definition, partitions cannot overlap, and a single partition is a contiguous area of disk.

Some OS can be configured to treat those 2 "user areas" (partitions) as if they were one logical volume (e.g. Linux/Unix LVM). I think this applies to Windows Dynamic Disks too (i.e. create a RAID 0 or concat of those 2 partitions, into one filesystem), but as I no longer actively use Windows, my knowledge is rusty in that area. You can investigate further if you want to.

There are, of course, other options for avoiding "usual" unreadable sectors at the filesystem (not partition) level, but you said:

I have run chkdsk and some other partition checkers and they seemed to be working for a bit, but without those buffer zones the operating system most certainly tries to access some of the bad sectors and creates even more issues.

So using bad block detection within an OS seems to be a problem for you. although you didn't explain the "even more issues" that apply, so I can't comment further.

I've spent more time on my replies than the cost of a new 1TB disk, therefore I'll stop here. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.