Software to test hard drive

[Leon Goldstein]

Michael Hipp wrote:

> Thanks. I've had a paid copy of Spinrite for several years now. It's a 
> great tool for data recovery.
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>  
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> My problem with it for testing drives is that I can't figure out how 
> to coax it into giving me a definitive "go/no-go" answer on whether a 
> drive is good. It will spit out lots of data about raw error rates and 
> such, but I didn't want to know how to build a watch...
>
>  
>
> Am I missing something obvious?
>
>  
>
> Good article, BTW.
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>  
>
> Michael
>
>  
>
> (Sorry for top posting. Web 2.0 evidently isn't Burger King - you 
> don't get to have it your way, you get it our way, whether or not it 
> actually works and whether or not it works like you want it to; we 
> know what's best for you and you will learn to love it.)
>
AFAIAC data stored on magnetic media is on loan and not owned.  I run a 
Spinrite level 4 test on a new drive overnight before installing 
anything on it.  Like you, I have to infer the reliability of the drive 
from the log.  I think there was an earlier thread on SMART, but I 
prefer a periodic Spinrite run.  One advantage of this is refreshing 
data that is not often accessed.

It wouldn't hurt to post a note to Steve Gibson suggesting what you want 
be included in the next (if ever) Spinrite update.
However, I suspect all it would be is a warning: "The drive you have 
tested has X% read/write error rate.  Make sure you back up your data 
regularly if storing critical data." 

BTW I now use Seagate's rather than WD, although my 80 GB Jumbo's have 
proven to be reliable.

-- 
Leon A. Goldstein

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