How To Scan & Fix HDD Bad Sectors

Not so long ago, I used to be quite an active user on hardware forums and helped lots of users with advice on how to scan & fix HDD bad sectors. As a rule, I used to ask those details like how long has it been from a full hard disk drive scan (if any) or if they have ever used such tools. Most of them replied that they use Disk Cleanup from time to time, which lead me to think that it was the right time for them to meet a hard drive scan & fix application.

Remembering the issue, I thought that a guide on how to scan & fix HDD bad sectors and talk a little bit on the subject. I don’t remember all the software that I used to work with, but Windows Surface Scanner was a pretty decent one. The application allows you to scan your hard disk drive for bad sectors and then it will display a report with what errors it found.

You can download Windows Surface Scanner using the link that we provide at the end of this guide. When you install and run the application, it will prompt you to agree with the terms; click on accept. In a few seconds you should be able to see the Windows Surface Scanner interface, where you have the mount your HDD that you’d like to scan and fix for bad sectors. Next, to start scanning your HDD, click on the ‘Scan’ button.

If you are asking what do the results of the scan mean, here is a brief description:

-       Block shows the block number on the HDD where the read error occurred.
-       Error is actually the default message that it is likely to be displayed during the scann
-       Relationship is the column which details what were the unreadable blocks and where exactly are they located on the hard disk drive.

How to fix HDD bad sectors?

Once the Windows Surface Scanner displays the results, you may wonder how to solve the bad sectors issue. Well, this part of the guide will explain you how to fix them but I would like to say that it would be wise to back-up all of your data in case something goes wrong. Your first and best option would be to return it back to the vendor if it is still under warranty but if not, you can use specific tools to at least try and fix the bad sectors.

Here are two software, which in my opinion are going to help you fix HDD bad sectors if you use them correctly. The first one is HDD Bad Sectors Repair if your current HDD is a Maxtor unit. If not, you can use Ultimate Boot CD, where you can find a couple of extra HDD bad sector tools, which should be able to fix and recover as much as possible of your unit.

The last resort that you should use to fix HDD bad sectors would be a low level format but you should do this only if anything else does not work.

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