Hard disk checking and repair methods
There are three main methods of testing and fixing the integrity of your drives and your data. We will look at some applications that perform these tests a little later in the guide.
Error checking is the process of scanning the files and folders present on your drive, searching for corrupt files and inconsistencies. For example, deleted files which the file system still contains entries for, or files which are referenced more than once. This can clean up basic file problems which might be causing data issues on your disk. If you constantly experience errors while performing error checking it could be a sign that your drive is dying, and bad sectors are proliferating. Error checking takes very little time to carry out.
A surface scan examines each sector of the disk in detail in order to identify and mark bad sectors. These areas of the disk can then be marked off-limits to the file system, and spare sectors used to replace them. Surface scans typically take a large amount of time to perform, but are the only non-destructive way to map out any bad sectors on your drive that have developed since you last formatted it.
SMART diagnostics test: A SMART test queries the internal SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) information of your drive for its current status. This serves as a test of your drive's current physical well being. We'll get into the benefits of using SMART next, but first, what are the warning signs of a failing hard drive?