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I've used HDDScan and I found a LOT of bad sectors, but only on a specific portion of my disk. Probably the problem is isolated, I hope.

I'd like to 'move' data from this sectors, because I know that a bad sector can be read, but not written. Is there a software that automatically, when found bad sectors will move, preserving, the data in these sectors to a more safest place?

Data preservation is fundamental for me.

realtebo
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  • If you have that many bad sectors, you should probably replace the HDD, especially if the data is valuable. – Slizzered Apr 29 '15 at 15:10
  • @Slizzered: yes, of course, I'll do it soon. But actually my question is still valid because I'd like to move data today before buy a new HDD the next week (I'm waiting for next wage day) – realtebo Apr 29 '15 at 15:14
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    This isn't something you should worry about. You should allow the firmware to handle it. You should also replace the HDD before you lose data. if a sector is bad, then it is very likely it will fail to even be read, evne if it does the data likely is corrupt. – Ramhound Apr 29 '15 at 15:17
  • But I can move data before I'm sure to lost that datas, I wan to make a try. I thinks that exists a software who test the surface and move data from bad sectors (or sectors very slow when reading, half-bad sectors I can say) – realtebo Apr 29 '15 at 15:26
  • The HDD does that automatically when it discovers a bad sector (until it runs out of spares). If you want to force it to scan for (and handle), bad sectors rather than wait for them to be discovered, chkdsk /r will do that. – fixer1234 Apr 29 '15 at 15:35
  • @fixer1234, that should be an answer. – Julian Knight Apr 29 '15 at 16:02
  • possible duplicate of [How to isolate bad sectors on a hard disk in Windows 7?](http://superuser.com/questions/655082/how-to-isolate-bad-sectors-on-a-hard-disk-in-windows-7), [Fixing bad sectors](http://superuser.com/questions/332618/fixing-bad-sectors) – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 Apr 29 '15 at 16:57

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If data preservation is your aim, get a new disk as soon as possible. You will, of course, already have at least 2 separate backups of the data anyway!

There is software that is aimed at preserving data on drives with problems. Unfortunately, the majority of it is not free. Spinrite from grc.com will do very thorough scans of your drive resetting data issues from drifting heads and ensuring that damaged sectors are recovered. However, it is around USD90.

Julian Knight
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    It's probably important to note that there are several different causes of bad sectors. One is "drift", which Spinrite could try to repair. This does not involve physical deterioration of the media. If the media is deteriorating, there is no way to fix that, and that process is progressive. If the cause is in question, it is important to periodically repeat the testing. Spinrite repairs should be good long-term. If new bad sectors start showing up, the drive is on borrowed time. – fixer1234 Apr 29 '15 at 16:28
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The HDD does what you are describing automatically when it discovers a bad sector (until it runs out of spares). If you want to force it to scan for (and handle), bad sectors rather than wait for them to be discovered, chkdsk /r will do that.

After you run chkdsk /r, additional bad sectors should be extremely rare on a drive that is not in the process of failing. If you are doing this because you are aware of bad sectors, repeat the process periodically (say at least once per week for at least a month). If you see any additional bad sectors, that is a pretty good indication that the drive is dying.

fixer1234
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