Summary
- Jul 05, 2018 But, time of complete failure is something that you should estimate based on the scan results. Presence of bad sectors is the beginning of the end of a hard disk drive. Bad sectors are hardware related and can’t be fixed. You can only monitor it and make your OS to not use the bad sectors.
- Sep 12, 2019 Method 1. Remove bad sectors from hard disk via CMD. You can use the Windows built-in tool to remove bad sectors from hard disk. CHKDKS command prompt is a free built-in tool, and it can be used to check the integrity of a file system and bad sectors of a disk. And find and fix bad sectors, errors, or any other disk problems. Here are the.
Bad sectors on you hard disk prevent you from smoothly accessing your device and using the files. Luckily, you have the chance to repair bad sectors using CHKDSK command. If there is data loss on your disk after removing bad sectors from your hard disk using CMD, you can try EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover your lost files.
Quick navigation on how to repair and remove bad sectors from hard disk:
Mar 28, 2018 Bad Sector: A bad sector is an unusable part or subdivision within a track on a magnetic or optical disc located on a computer's hard disk or flash drive. It typically forms as a result of physical damage or, rarely, the operating system's (OS) inability to access the information. The physical damage occurs to the disk surface or as a result.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
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Fix 1. Repair Bad Sectors Using CMD | Press the 'Windows' key and type cmd. Right-click 'Command Prompt' and choose 'Run as administrator'. In Command Prompt, enter the following command: chkdsk E: /f /r /x. If you don't want to perform the disk checking and repairing process in CMD...Full steps |
Fix 2. Recover Data from Hard Disk | Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, hover on the partition, external hard drive, USB, or memory card where you want to perform erased data recovery, and then click 'Scan'. Select the files you want to recover. After choosing the data, click 'Recover'...Full steps |
All About Bad Sectors
A sector is a subdivision of a track (a circular path on the surface of a disk) on your hard disk that stores a fixed amount of data. A bad sector is a sector that appears to be defective and it won't respond to read or write operations. There are two types of bad sectors:
Physical Bad Sector (Hard Bad Sectors)
As the name indicates, physical bad sectors are caused by physical damage on the hard disk. This type of bad sectors cannot be repaired using CHKDSK or any other tools. If you want to continue using a hard disk with physical bad sectors, what you can do is to use some third-party tool to block these sectors on the hard disk and prevent the system and programs from visiting them.
Logical Bad Sector (Soft Bad Sectors)
Unlike physical bad sectors, logical bad sectors generally result from software errors like a sudden shutdown of your computer and virus attacks. In most of the cases, the operating system will mark a sector as bad when they try to read data from the sector and find the error-correcting code doesn't match the contents of it. Fortunately, logical bad sectors can be repaired using CHKDSK.
How to Repair Bad Sectors on Hard Disk Permanently Using CMD
If there are logical bad sectors on your hard disk, you can repair them using the CHKDSK command. CHKDSK is a Windows built-in utility used to check the integrity of the disk and fix the logical errors found, including bad sectors. Being able to repair hard disk bad sectors, it is your first choice to repair a corrupted hard drive.
To permanently remove bad sector from hard disk using cmd:
Step 1. Press the 'Windows' key and type cmd.
Step 2. Right-click 'Command Prompt' and choose 'Run as administrator'.
Step 3. In Command Prompt, enter the following command:
Notes: 'E' is the drive letter of the disk you want to repair bad sectors from. The '/f' parameter tells CHKDSK to fix any errors it finds; '/r' tells it to locate the bad sectors on the drive and recover readable information; '/x' forces the drive to dismount before the process starts.
If you don't want to perform the disk checking and repairing process in CMD, you can choose to use the disk check feature, which works the same as CHKDSK.
Step 1. Open 'This PC', right-click the drive that has bad sectors and choose 'Properties'.
Step 2. Go to the 'Tools' tab.
Step 3. Click 'Check' to check and repair the bad sectors on your hard disk.
If you don't have any technical know-how and want to minimize data risks, using third-party software could be a better choice. The Command line is suitable for computer professionals since wrong commands can cause severe problems. Therefore, we strongly recommend you try an automatic command line alternative.
EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It's a perfect alternative to CHKDSK command. Use this one-click tool to solve your computer issues.
To fix file system error or disk error:
Step 1: DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for Free and install it.
Step 2: Open the software and select the 'File showing' option.
Step 3: Choose the drive and wait for repairing. After the operation completes, click the 'View' button to check the drive.
Recover Data from the Hard Disk After Repairing Bad Sectors
If CHKDSK stuck and failed to remove any bad sector from the hard disk, or it deleted your data on the hard disk, you may need to perform data recovery from your storage medium. In such a case, the hard drive recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can help.
- Notice:
- It's almost impossible to recover data from the bad sectors since they are inaccessible. However, data recovery software may be helpful if your device becomes inaccessible because of bad sectors.
Step 1. Select a location and start scanning.
Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, hover on the partition, external hard drive, USB, or memory card where you want to perform erased data recovery, and then click 'Scan'.
Step 2. Select the files you want to recover.
When the scanning has finished, select the deleted files you want to recover. Double-click the file to preview its content if you need to.
Step 3. Recover lost data.
After choosing the data, click 'Recover' and choose a location on another drive to save the deleted data.
The Bottom Line
Bad sectors are sections of your computer's hard drive that have been damaged and have lost the ability to save and store your data. And any data stored in a bad sector is likely to be lost. If you cannot open your files or programs properly, it is most possible that the hard disk might have filled with bad sectors which make your data unreadable or corrupt. To make your hard disk usable, you should remove bad sectors from hard disk using CHKDSK, which will repair the logical bad sectors and tell the system to jump over physical bad sectors.
Summary :
Bad sector refers to a disk sector on a disk storage unit that is permanently damaged. What can you do if your hard disk has a bad block and how to repair bad sectors on hard drive? This post will show you what bad sector is and how to repair bad sector on hard drive.
Quick Navigation :
What Is Bad Sector?
A bad sector, also called a bad block, is an area of the storage device that is permanently damaged. If the sector is damaged, all data on this bad sector may lose and it will be no longer reliable for storing data and files. When there are more bad sectors than the mount stated that is allowed by the manufacturer, the hard drive will stop working.
There are two types of bad sectors – physical bad sector and logical bad sector. A physical bad sector is a cluster of storage on the hard drive that’s physically damaged. A logical bad sector is a cluster of storage on the hard drive that appears to not be working properly.
In general, bad sectors will lead to many problems, such as data loss, scanning and repairing drive stuck and so on.
Then what can you do if your hard disk has a bad block or do you know how to fix bad sectors on hard drive?
If no, please go on your reading and we will show you some bad sector repair suggestions.
How to Check the Disk and Mark the Bad Sector?
Before going on bad sectors repair solutions, you need to mark the bad sectors as unusable on hard drive first. However, if you don’t know whether your hard disk has bad sectors, you need to check the hard disk first and then mark the bad sectors later.
And now, we will show you how to check the disk and mark the bad sectors step by step.
Step 1: Type the cmd the search box of Windows and right-click the Command Prompt to choose Run as administrator.
![Disk Disk](/uploads/1/3/3/2/133278876/103325731.jpg)
Step 2: In the popup command line window, type the command chkdsk c:/f /r and hit Enter to continue.
Tip: If you want to check other partitions, you need to replace the C with other drive letters.
Step 3: Then you will receive a message which tells you that Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Then you need to type Y to continue. During the restarting process, the check disk process will be performed.
Step 4: When the check disk process is finished, the bad sectors on hdd will be marked as unusable and the operating system will skip the bad sectors in the future.
As we have mentioned in the above part, bad sectors on hard drive may lead to data loss or some worse problems. Therefore, after you have marked the bad blocks as unusable, you had better back up the files to avoid data loss.
Then do you know how to keep data safe if there are bad blocks on hard drive? We will show you.
How to Keep Data Safe When Bad Sectors on Hard Drive?
To back up files, MiniTool ShadowMaker is recommended. It is a piece of professional files backup software which enables you to back up the file, folder, disk, and partition. It can also back up the operating system.
Before we go on to the next steps, please download MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial from the following button firstly and we will show you the instructions of backing up the files step by step.
Step 1: Install the program, launch it, and click Keep Trial to continue. Choose Connect in This Computer to enter its main interface.
Step 2: After entering its main interface, please go to the Backup page and click Source module to continue. Then choose Folders and Files to choose which files you want to back up.
Step 3: Returning to Backup page, choose Destination module to decide where you want to save the backup image. It is recommended to choose an external hard drive.
In order to provide better protection for data, there are three important things you need to know.
- MiniTool ShadowMaker enables you to create an automatic backup through the Schedule
- In order to manage the disk space, you can change the backup scheme through Scheme The Incremental backup scheme is chosen by default.
- MiniTool ShadowMaker enables you to set some advanced backup parameters through Options.
Step 4: After you have selected the backup source and destination, you can click Back up Now to perform this action immediately so as to provide protection for your data.
When the process is finished, you can successfully keep your data safe.
Hard Disk Bad Sector Repair Suggestion
Now, it’s time for hard disk bad sector repair solutions. As a matter of fact, the bad sectors can’t be repaired directly if it is physical damaged. However, in order to keep data safe, you can choose to clone your disk to another one.
For example, if there are too many bad blocks on hard drive, more and more bad sectors on Windows 10 will be marked as unusable and the available space on the hard drive will become less and less. Thus, the advice is to clone your hard drive to another one.
And here, we will show you how to clone a hard drive with two different ways and will show the instructions with pictures step by step.
Use MiniTool ShadowMaker
First of all, we will introduce how to clone a hard drive with MiniTool ShadowMaker. Besides the backup feature, it is also a disk clone tool. Then we will show you how to clone a hard drive step by step with pictures.
Thus, you can download MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial from the following button or choose to purchase an advanced edition.
Step 1: Launch MiniTool ShadowMaker and enter its main interface with the same method we have introduced in the above part.
Step 2: After that, please go to the Tools tab and click Clone Disk feature to continue.
Step 3: In the popup window, click Source module to choose which disk you want to clone. Then click Finish to continue.
Step 4: Next, click Destination module to select a target disk which should be large enough to save all files of the source disk. Then click Finish to go on.
Step 5: Then you will receive a warning message which tells you that all data on the target disk will be destroyed. So please back up important files in advance.
Step 6: Next, the disk cloning process will begin and you need to wait patiently.
Step 7: When the disk cloning process is finished, you will receive the following message.
It means that both the source disk and the target disk have the same signature, thus you need to disconnect or remove either of them.
At here, since your source hard disk has a bad block, you need to remove the original one and connect the target disk to your computer. In addition, if you want to boot your computer from the target disk, you need to change the BIOS settings.
This is one way to clone a hard drive. If you have met the issue bad sectors on hard drive, you can choose to clone it to another one.
Use MiniTool Partition Wizard
Now, in this part, we will show you how to clone a hard drive with another way so as to protect your data.
Fortunately, to clone a hard drive, MiniTool has provided another program – MiniTool Partition Wizard. It is a professional partition manager which is designed to optimize partition and disk use.
It can help you to extend partition or migrate OS to SSD without data loss. It can also help you to check disk whether there are bad sectors on hard drive with the Surface Test feature. Thus, with so many powerful features, you can download one from the following button.
And we will show you how to clone a hard drive with MiniTool Partition Wizard so as to avoid data loss when there are bad blocks on hard drive.
Step 1: Download the software and install and launch it to enter its main interface.
Step 2: Select the disk that you want to clone and choose Copy from the context menu. Here, we take the system disk as the example.
Step 3: In the next popup window, you are required to choose a target disk. And click Next to continue.
Step 4: Then you can see four options. Read them carefully and choose an available one according to your own needs and click Next to continue.
Note: If you check the option Use GUID Partition Table for the target disk, the target disk will be turned to GPT partition style. In addition, this feature is a paid one.
Step 5: Then you will be told that if you want to boot from the target disk, you need to change the BIOS settings and click Finish to continue.
Step 6: Returning to the main interface, you can preview that the target disk has a copy of the source disk. Then click Apply to confirm these changes. MiniTool Partition Wizard requires restarting the computer and you just need to click Restart Now to continue.
When the disk clone process is finished, you need to remove the original hard drive which has a bad block and connect the new hard drive to your computer. Then change the BIOS settings.
As for repairing bad sector on hard drive, there is no direct way. And the check disk command can only mark the bad sectors on hard drive as unusable and the operating system will skip the bad blocks in the future.
Even though there is no direct way to repair bad sectors on hard drive, you can choose to clone your hard drive to another way so as to avoid data loss.
By the way, if you have suffered data loss due to the hard drive bad sector issue, MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro Ultimate can also help you to recover lost data.
Bottom Line
In this post, we have introduced what the bad sector is and how to mark the bad blocks as unusable. If you don’t whether there are bad sectors on hard drive, you can try to utilize the check disk command and try to mark them.
And as for data protection, it is recommended to clone your hard drive to another one. However, if you have any better solution to repair bad blocks on hard drive, you can share it on the comment zone.
For disk clone, we have introduced two ways and you can have a try. Meanwhile, if you have any problem of the MiniTool products, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the email [email protected].
Bad Sectors on Hard Drive FAQ
- Overheating
- File System error.
- Over-aging.
- Virus or malware attack.
- Shut off computer improperly.
- Shacking or knocking.
- Static electricity.
- Dust.
Here are 3 ways to check bad sectors on hard drive.
- Type chkdsk x: in the Command Prompt.
- Check bad sectors on hard drive with third-party partition manager, such as MiniTool Partition Wizard. Its Disk Surface Test feature enables you to check for bad sectors on hard drive.
- Check bad sector in Partition Properties.
A bad sector, also called a bad block, it is an area of the storage device that is permanently damaged. The bad sector on the hard drive is an unusable part. If the sector is damaged, all data on this bad sector may lose and it will be no longer reliable for storing data and files.
Check Disk Windows 7
The bad sectors include two types: physical bad sector and logical bad sector. The physical bad sectors can’t be repaired and they can only be marked as unusable. The logical bad sectors may be caused by the working improperly, which can be fixed by the low-level formatting or the Windows disk check tools.