A program for checking hard disk resource. Checking the hard drive for bad sectors and errors

You began to hear extraneous creaks in system unit? Has the system performance somehow dropped completely intolerably, although the processor and memory should not allow this to happen? Well, it's time to check hard drive. Find out how to do this in our article.

This is quite an important matter. Besides the performance penalty, although that's certainly important, it's about your data. You don't want to one day be left without all your data simply because your drive decided to fail? Here. Therefore, it is important to check the condition of the disc and its health level more often.

Correcting errors in a timely manner also helps increase the lifespan of the disk. Be it ordinary hard drive or SSD, errors file system wear it out in a forced mode, so it is important to maintain it in good condition. Otherwise, the data will be lost even faster.

If you understand the importance of this event, then let's get started.

Checking using standard Windows tools

This is the simplest method and can give you quite a lot of information about the hard drive and even try to fix some errors.

Read interesting information and reliable advice in the article -

Command line

If the previous scenario of using standard Windows tools is not very effective, then the command line method can try to supplement it. Its essence is that it is launched from the bootable installation media of the system, that is, the system itself is not running and cannot block some of the requirements of the verification program.

Important! This method has one disadvantage: you need installation media, and it is desirable that it comes with the exact version of Windows that is installed on your computer.

1. Create bootable media and insert it into the drive or USB port. In your computer's BIOS, select to boot from this media. Wait for the operating environment to load.

   

   

2. When the program reaches the window labeled “Start installation,” press the Windows key combination + F10.

   

3. Enter the following command in the console window that opens: chkdsk /f. Press Enter.

   

4. The scan will start. The program will display the results right there on the command line. She will immediately try to correct all the errors found.

   

Simple third party software

Let's look at a few programs that will help you identify most problems with your hard drive without going into too much detail about the process.

HDDScan

Using this program, you can understand in which sectors the writing and reading speed is high, and in which - not. The program is completely universal; with its help you can diagnose anything, as long as it is an information storage device.

The principle of working with her is extremely simple: you start scanning and wait for her report on the work done, from which it is quite possible to draw some conclusions.

Crystal Disk Mark

A more narrowly focused utility, although it essentially also monitors speed. More program it can’t do anything, but based on the write and read speeds, you can quite understand what’s happening with the disk and how much longer it will last.

Important! It is strictly forbidden to use this program if you want to check the SSD drive. His death when using this software will be even closer: this program fills the entire space with some data, and although it is weightless and deleted without a trace, for the SSD this is also wear and tear.

More complex software

If neither standard checking tools nor simple programs satisfy you, then you can move on to more complex checking programs. So let's begin.

Victoria HDD

The most common program for troubleshooting hard drive problems.

Its advantages are that there are both quick and deep scans of the disk, and also that it monitors its temperature. This too important indicator, but it doesn’t affect wear that much.

HDD Regenerator

Pro tool in our article. Corrects everything it finds in its path. Its huge competitive advantage is Russification. It is therefore very easy to use, despite the impressive range of functions.

The principle of its operation is much more complex than that of other programs, and these differences clearly benefited the program. She manages to restore what others could not. Also, unlike other programs, it does not destroy your files that were in the sectors it corrects, but preserves them culturally. Well, not life, but a fairy tale.

The program has two versions - graphical and console. If you are not very knowledgeable about this topic, use the graphical one with the Russian language, everything is intuitive there. In the console, its capabilities are much wider, because there is less pressure and restrictions from the operating system.

Let's look at the graphical interface.

Note! However, this program has one significant drawback - it is paid, and the trial only allows for verification. Well, that’s good too.

Programs from hard drive manufacturers

Who, besides the manufacturers themselves, can know better how to work with hard drives? Some of these programs work only with disks of a certain brand, some - with all. Experiment.
Let's begin.

SeaTools

Essentially a simple program:

Data Lifeguard Diagnostics

This is the name of the verification program from the manufacturer WD. The functionality is approximately similar to the previous program, but has a number of advantages.

• firstly, it can be used with any disk. This is a huge plus, despite the prevalence of discs of this brand;
• secondly, she knows how to destroy information;
• thirdly, it can simply cut off dead sectors so that the disk runs longer at the same speed, albeit with a slightly smaller volume. Definitely an extremely useful feature.

All options are in context menus. That is, to start scanning a specific disk, you just need to right-click on it (of course, in the program interface) and select required action. That's all the work.

We hope these methods helped you deal with the problems of your machine, repair it, or prevent damage. Good luck!

Video - How to check your hard drive yourself

The post contains a list of the 20 best free tools for partitioning, diagnostics, encryption, recovery, cloning, and formatting disks. In general, almost everything you need for basic work with them.

1.TestDisk

Note: PhotoRec is a related application to TestDisk. With its help it is possible to restore data in memory digital camera on hard drives and CDs. In addition, you can restore basic image formats, audio files, text documents, HTML files and various archives.

When you run TestDisk, you are presented with a list of hard drive partitions that you can work with. The selection of available actions carried out in sections includes: analysis to adjust the structure (and subsequent recovery, if a problem is detected); changing disk geometry; deleting all data in the partition table; recovery boot partition; listing and copying files; recovering deleted files; creating a snapshot of the section.

2. EaseUS Partition Master

On the left is a list of operations that can be performed with the selected section.

3.WinDirStat

Clicking on a field in the diagram will display the file in question in a structural form.

After loading WinDirStat and selecting disks for analysis, the program scans the directory tree and provides statistics in the following options: list of directories; directory map; list of extensions.

4. Clonezilla

Clonezilla Live is a bootable Linux distribution that allows you to clone individual devices.
Clonezilla SE is a package that installs on Linux distribution. It is used to clone multiple computers simultaneously over a network.

5. OSFMount

An additional function of OSFMount is the creation of RAM disks located in RAM computer, which significantly speeds up working with them. To start the process, go to File > Mount new virtual disk.

6. Defraggler

Defraggler analyzes the contents on the disk and displays a list of all fragmented files. During the defragmentation process, the movement of data on the disk is displayed. Those highlighted in yellow are data that is being read, and those highlighted in green are those that are being written. When completed, Defraggler displays a corresponding message.

Supports file NTFS systems, FAT32 and exFAT.

7. SSD Life

By monitoring SSD wear, you can increase the level of data security and identify problems in a timely manner. Based on the analysis, the program concludes how often the solid-state drive is used.

8. Darik's Boot And Nuke (DBAN)

DBAN has two main modes: interactive mode and automatic mode. Interactive mode allows you to prepare the disk for data removal and select the necessary erasing options. Automatic mode Cleans all detected disks.

9.HD Tune

When launching the application, you need to select a drive from the drop-down list and go to the appropriate tab to view the information.

10.VeraCrypt

The VeraCrypt project was created on the basis of TrueCrypt with the goal of strengthening methods for protecting encryption keys.

11. CrystalDiskInfo

The top panel on the screen displays all active hard drives. Clicking on each one reveals the information. The Health Status and Temperature icons change color depending on the value.

12. Recuva

The required files are identified using the preview function and marked with checkboxes. You can sort the search result by type (graphics, music, documents, videos, archives) and immediately view the contents.

13.TreeSize

Folder sizes are displayed from largest to smallest. This way it becomes clear which folders take up the most space.

Note: With Defraggler, Recuva and TreeSize, you can initiate Defraggler and Recuva functions for a specific folder directly from TreeSize - all three applications integrate seamlessly.

14.HDDScan

HDDScan is designed for testing SATA, IDE, SCSI, USB, FifeWire (IEEE 1394) drives.

15.Disk2vhd

Disk2vhd creates one VHD file for each disk with selected volumes, preserving information about disk partitions and copying only the data that belongs to the selected volume.

16. NTFSWalker

Having your own NTFS drivers makes it possible to view file structure without Windows help on any computer readable media. Deleted files, regular files, as well as detailed attributes for each file are available for viewing.

17.GParted

GParted allows you to create partition tables (MS-DOS or GPT), enable, disable and change attributes, align partitions, recover data from damaged partitions and much more.

18. SpeedFan

SpeedFan works with hard drives with SATA, EIDE and SCSI interfaces.

19. MyDefrag

The program has convenient function working in screensaver mode, as a result of which defragmentation will be performed at the time designated for launching the screen saver. MyDefrag also allows you to create or customize your own scripts.

20. DiskCryptor

DiskCryptor has quite high performance- this is one of the most fast drivers encryption of disk volumes. The program supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS and exFAT file systems, allowing you to encrypt internal or external drives.

Most old hard drives contain erroneous records, etc. . Some of them lead to sad consequences; It's only a matter of time before this happens to your hard drive.

Windows OS offers tools for finding errors on the HDD, but they are not intended for diagnostics and testing. We invite you to familiarize yourself with much more effective tools.

So, how can you check your hard drive for errors? Here is a list of recommended programs:

HDD Regenerator – a program for testing your hard drive and treating bad sectors

HDD Regenerator- a utility for checking your hard drive, a professional tool for diagnosing, finding and fixing errors. The word "Regenerator" clarifies: the program is not only capable of detecting possible malfunctions, structure errors and bad sectors, but is also suitable for correcting them.

HDD Regenerator program interface

HDD Regenerator is a program for checking your hard drive and fixing errors. Can also be used as a full-fledged tool for . If the information is not readable, regeneration will allow you to bypass bad blocks and read problematic files.

In order to determine HDD status, you must pass a special test. Additional information allow you to extract . HDD Regenerator has the corresponding tools.

Other features of the program:

• File files are supported FAT systems and NTFS, however, when testing the system type does not matter
• Displaying detailed statistics about the operation and status of the hard drive
• Creating a bootable regenerating flash drive or CD/DVD based on HDD Regenerator
• Prescan mode: quick diagnostics hard drive (surface scanning)
• HDD monitoring in real time
• Data security: the program works in read mode (with the exception of overwriting bad sectors)

The cost of the PRO version of HDD Regenerator is $79.99/year. There is a free trial version available that allows you to restore 1 bad sector for free.

Hitachi Drive Fitness Test (WinDFT) – a program for testing and checking the condition of the hard drive

Hitachi Drive Fitness Test is a program for diagnosing a hard drive and finding read errors. The utility allows you to quickly check the status of internal and external hard drives that support G-Technology.

Seagate Seatools for Windows: Testing Drive Performance

Seatools from Seagate is a free tool for HDD diagnostics in Windows and DOS. The utility will allow you to identify some problems on the HDD before contacting the warranty service to repair the disk (In our realities, instead of repairing you will be offered a replacement device, as a result of which you will lose all saved data).

Note. The program is not compatible with all HDD models; it is only relevant for hard drives from Seagate.

Problems that the program can detect:

• Violation of the HDD file system structure
• Bad sectors and read errors
• Driver errors and systemic problems Windows
• Equipment incompatibility
• Damage Windows boot loader(MBR) on disk
• Presence of viruses, keyloggers or other malicious applications

Seatools works as follows: the user selects tests for diagnostics, runs them, and as a result receives a detailed report. If the test is passed, the PASS mark will be displayed, otherwise FAIL. It should be noted that HDD testing may take up to 4 hours. To save time, you can choose one of three testing modes.

Seagate Seatools can also be used to “treat” your hard drive. That is, the program is able to detect bad blocks and try to restore or overwrite them with zeros (this method allows you to subsequently ignore problem blocks when reading/writing the disk structure).

HDD Health program: checking the disk and reading SMART attributes

HDD Health is another free program for testing your hard drive and monitoring its performance. The utility checks the hard drive for errors (SSD / HDD) and makes a forecast (Health indicator as a percentage).

Preliminary check of the disk for errors using basic SMART indicators. HDD Health program interface

The main program window displays the following information:

• manufacturer, model, firmware version
• current HDD (SSD) temperature (available through the notification area)
• general condition of the disk structure
• other attributes (via the Extended info menu)

Similar to other diagnostic tools, HDD Health reads S.M.A.R.T indicators, which allows you to clarify the current hardware performance. The program does not have any other tools for calculating errors or checking for bad blocks.

HDD Health 4.2: check SSD status disk

Thus, the tools of the HDD Health program will be useful to those for whom S.M.A.R.T. indicators are sufficient to check the condition of the hard drive (and if the condition of the device is not critical). Fortunately, the latest HDD/SSD drives have S.M.A.R.T technology. implemented.

HDDScan - a program to check your hard drive for bad sectors

HDDScan is a free program for hard drive diagnostics, reading S.M.A.R.T. and other parameters. After testing, you will receive a detailed log file detailing the disk status.

HDDScan supports various types storage devices:

• RAID arrays
• HDD drives with IDE/SATA interface
• SATA/ATA SSD
• USB flash drives

Let's note the most useful functions of HDDScan:

• Checking hard disk for errors that are not detected by standard Windows utilities: bad blocks and bad sectors
• Hard testing Disk (Read/Clear)
• Checking the temperature for all hard drives connected to the PC
• Export any information as a custom report

CHKDSK is a Windows OS utility for checking errors and fixing bad blocks

You can check your hard drive for errors without installing third-party programs. operating room Windows system allows you to do this through utility program Check Disk.

The CHKDSK utility appeared in DOS. It not only searches for, but also corrects basic file system errors. It should be clarified that it is not intended to search for all types of errors and is not a HDD diagnostic tool.

However, using CHKDSK you can fix errors on various storage devices: not only on your hard drive, but also on a flash drive and an SD card. Since Windows NT, it fixes bad blocks (physically bad sectors) by marking them accordingly. Subsequently, these areas are bypassed by other programs when reading/writing.

HDDLife - a program for monitoring the status of your hard drive

Usually the heart of a computer is called the processor or motherboard. But they serve faithfully for several years, and then the hard drive suddenly fails. In terms of loss, no component can compare with it.

The hard drive is computer memory, which, of course, needs to be protected. To prevent sudden data loss, you should regularly perform backups data to another HDD or storage media. However, if you want to prevent hard drive failure in advance, you need to determine its current state. The HDDLife program will help with this.

HDDLife has several very useful functions. First of all, tracking state of hard disk. The “health” of the HDD is shown as a color scale. If everything is in order, the scale has green, if the disk has worked for a decent period of time, the color is yellow. The red scale is already a signal of a pre-emergency condition: the hard drive has worked and is ready to retire. In this case, it is better not to take risks and promptly replace the component. In the pro version of HDDLife, you can set up an email notification about the pre-failure state of hard drives. If there are a lot of computers on the network, then the diagnostic option will come in handy. The status graph also informs you how long the disk has been working. This is worth paying attention to, especially if you are buying a used drive or just want to make sure it is new.

The second important section is displaying the disk temperature. Any electronics works, or rather wears out faster, at elevated temperatures. And too high a temperature, as a rule, even leads to disastrous consequences. If the indicator text is green, then everything is in order and the disk is in good thermal conditions. Otherwise, you need to buy special cooling or check the ventilation of the slot in which the disk is located. On some HDDs, the program allows you to adjust the noise level and performance. This is done using a slider that determines the relationship between the characteristics. Either this is the possibility of a special version for a laptop, or a limitation of the trial version - however, the option was not available for us. Some HDDLife functions cannot be called unique: for example, an indicator of available space. If there is not enough space on the partitions, the now familiar warning is displayed. Free space monitoring is available in Windows, as in almost any OS, so the message is more annoying than informative.

The program is distributed in three versions: free, HDDLife Professional and HDDLife for Notebooks. The differences can be found on the page http://www.hddlife.ru/rus/compare.html.

Answers to readers' questions

I often resort to system recovery due to a crash. It often freezes, the processor is constantly overloaded, I have already deleted unnecessary programs. As best I could, I closed all background programs. Experts say that you need to change the hard drive, they say, there are many damaged (broken) sectors. I want to try this program to check sectors. How to check your hard drive for errors?

Answer. Indeed, if you experience the problems described in your question, checking your hard drive for bad sectors will not hurt. At a minimum, we recommend scanning the disk using applications such as HDD Regenerator and Victoria. You can find out how to check your hard drive for bad sectors directly in the documentation. Whether it’s worth it or not, the wording is not very correct. You should check your HDD for errors regularly if the data is of even minimal value to you.

The hard drive is an important, but far from perfect, component personal computer. For some users it does not work reliably, it crashes, data from it is lost or is significantly damaged. One of the most common problems with a hard drive is the appearance of so-called “broken” (bad) sectors on it, which become a “headache” for many users. In this article I will talk about the reasons for the appearance bad sectors on your hard drive, I will list a number of programs that allow you to recognize them, and I will also explain how to check your hard drive for bad sectors on your PC.

What are “bad sectors”?

As you know, a traditional hard drive consists of several rotating magnetic disks, over which magnetic heads move, magnetizing any part of the disk and thus writing information onto it (in the form of zeros and ones).

The disk itself is divided into tracks, and the latter, in turn, are divided into sectors on which recording needed by the user information.

Due to certain reasons (I will list them below), information from a number of sectors cannot be read by the hard drive. Such sectors receive the status of “bad sectors” (bad sector), and the system tries to either restore the functionality of such a sector (restore), or reassign the address of such a bad sector to the backup sector (remap), or completely clean up the bad sector (erase). In the case of remapping, spare workable sectors are usually located at the end of the hard drive, and the hard drive spends additional time accessing them, which inevitably affects the speed of the hard drive and the loading of various applications and programs. Next, I will tell you how you can check your computer’s hard drive for bad sectors.

Reasons for bad sectors

What are the reasons for the appearance of bad sectors on HDD disk? Usually they are as follows:

• Gradual “shedding” of the surface of the hard drive due to its wear, due to which there are more and more bad sectors on the disk;
• Physical impact on the hard drive due to various types of external shocks;
• Power surges in the network, which directly affect the violation of data integrity on the hard drive and lead to the appearance of bad sectors;
• Incorrect shutdown of the computer (improper operation), as a result of which bad sectors appear on the hard drive.

Symptoms of bad sectors

Due to the reasons described, there are more and more bad sectors on the hard drive, which begins to directly affect the operation of the operating system. In particular, you may notice the following:

• The system boots slowly;
• The system slows down (freezes) when reading and writing data from the hard drive;
• The system refuses to boot at all (quite often in the middle of the process);
• The computer sometimes restarts for no reason;
• Various errors regularly occur while the OS is running.

After we have described the symptoms and reasons for the appearance of bad sectors, let’s move on to a description of how to check a hard drive for bad sectors.

The best ways to check your hard drive for bad sectors

So how to check bad sectors (and fix them)? Below I will describe a number of methods that have proven their effectiveness in working with various hard drives.

Method 1. Use the CHKDSK system utility

The simplest and convenient way to find and fix bad sectors on an HHD hard drive - this is to use the functionality system utility CHKDSK.

1. To take advantage of its capabilities, launch Explorer, right-click on the inactive volume (on which there is no operating system installed), and select “Properties” from the menu that appears.
2. In the window that opens, go to the “Service” tab, there click on the “Run check” button.
3. Check the boxes next to the two verification options, click on “Run”, and wait for the process to complete.

The same can be done for the system volume (on which the OS is installed). The only thing is that this may require a system reboot, but after the system reboots, it will begin checking the disk for bad sectors.

You can also run CHKDSK through the console. To do this, run the command line as an administrator and enter:

chkdsk c: /f /r - (instead of: if necessary, specify a different letter of the problem drive) press enter and wait for the process to complete.

Method 2. Use the Victoria HDD program to analyze and treat the disk

Victoria HDD- probably the most popular program to check the hard drive for bad sectors (and to restore the latter). It effectively checks and repairs bad sectors, has good reviews from experts, and can be used in both classic graphics mode and DOS mode.

One of the Wiki bonuses is the ability to read the SMART indicator of your hard drive, which allows you to monitor in sufficient detail the degree of its performance (the “SMART” tab of the program). In addition, the Victoria program carries out “remapping” (reassignment of damaged sectors), resets bad sectors, conducts detailed test surface of the hard drive, ranking sectors into different groups depending on the speed of reading information from them.

1. To use this program, download and run it.
2. Then go to the “Test” tab, select “Ignore” there and check the surface for bad sectors.
3. If such are found, you should select the “Remap” mode in the same tab, this will allow you to reassign addresses from bad sectors to backup ones.
4. If, after remapping, bad sectors remain, you can try to restore them using the “Restore” function, while the “Erase” function completely erases data in bad sectors, writing zeros there.

In general, the functionality of “Victoria” is quite extensive, and to get a full description of it, you need to go to the material specifically about using the program.

Method 3. Use the HDD Scan program to check the hard drive for bad sectors

Another program that can check a hard drive for bad sectors is HDD Scan. This is a fairly popular utility that offers several different tests (Surface Test, Smart Offline Tests, etc.). Select Surface Test, check the “Read” box on the right and run a disk surface test.

The program will analyze the response time of the available sectors and give us the result in graphical mode.

Method 4. Check your hard drive with HDD Regenerator

The HDD Regenerator program allows you to check and restore data on your hard drive, the same applies to bad sectors. I note that the program is paid, but those interested can search for free options online.

1. To take advantage of the program’s capabilities, you need to launch it, select the disk to work with, decide on the scanning mode (I recommend Normal Scan), and then select the “Scan and repair” option.
2. Then it will be necessary to specify the scanning boundaries (starting from sector 0) and monitor the scanning process itself.
3. Depending on the response speed, sectors will be marked with different letters and colors.

Method 5. Scan the disk with HDD Health for damaged sectors

Another program for checking the disk surface for damaged sectors. HDD Health analyzes the general condition of the disk, provides detailed statistics by existing partitions (using SMART technology, including the general state of the structure, disk rotation temperature, the presence of bad sectors, and so on).

Icon running program is located in the system tray, and the program itself notifies the user as necessary about any problems in the operation of the hard drive.

Recovering a hard drive, removing BAD (bad) sectors [video]

Typically, checking a hard drive for bad sectors is carried out using special software tools, the Victoria HDD level or HDD Regenerator. The most effective of all the programs listed in the article, Victoria HDD, allows you not only to check the surface of the hard drive for bad sectors, but also to restore them, remap them and clean them. If bad sectors begin to appear on your hard drive, then I recommend using the functionality of the above programs; they have proven their effectiveness in working with the hard drives of many users.

Today we’ll talk about such an important computer component as the hard drive.

Sometimes users complain about the slow operation of the system, its frequent freezes, the appearance of blue screens BSOD death, system errors, loss or damage of files and/or directories, etc., without suspecting that the problem is not at all in buggy Windows, clumsy drivers or viruses.

The problem is the hard drive, which is slowly starting to crumble. This is where a program for checking your hard drive comes in handy.

To understand the further content of the article, first consider the principle of operation of a hard drive.

In addition to error detection, there is also a function to automatically correct them and restore the ability to read and write to the hard drive.

In addition to diagnosing hard drives, the tool can also be used to diagnose removable media (USB, SD cards, etc.).

Before checking the disk, close all programs and applications.

Click Start, write “My Computer” in the program search field, and select the item found by the system. In the central window we see a list of hard drives.

Right-click on the hard drive you want to check and select “Properties”.

Go to the “Service” tab and click the “Run check” button, in the window that opens, check the “Automatically correct system errors” box and click the “Run” button.

For initial diagnostics, these settings are quite sufficient.

For more detailed diagnostics, you need to check another box in the “Scan and repair” field. bad sectors».

In this mode, verification may take longer than in the previous one.

If the disk you select is a system one, i.e. an operating system is installed on it, it is impossible to perform a check at this point in time, because When checking, the disk must be disconnected.

In this case, the system will display a warning window and prompt you to perform a check before the next starting Windows(“Disk check schedule”).

If the disk you select is not the system one, there is no need to restart the computer; before checking, the system will prompt you to disconnect it.

You must click “Disable” in the appropriate window, after which the scan will begin.

After the check is completed, we will see a window with its results.

The presence of bad sectors is the first sign that after some time the hard drive will fail.

Therefore, in order to avoid the loss of valuable information, we recommend that you do not waste time and immediately copy all valuable data to another physical hard disk.

Review of third-party programs for checking drives

There are quite a few ways to diagnose a hard drive. large number a variety of utilities of varying functionality and convenience with free or paid licensing.

MHDD- a fast, free, compact program for working with low-level drives developed in 2000 by Dmitry Postrigan.

The program is aimed at professionals and has an ascetic DOS interface.

In addition to diagnostics, the program can read/write arbitrary sectors, manage the SMART and password system, noise characteristics control system, produce extreme testing, work with the drive’s password system, etc.

Before working with the program, in order to avoid damage to the equipment being diagnosed, the developer strongly recommends that you read the documentation for the program available on the official website.

Advantages:

Free;

Compact;

Fast.

Flaws:

Works exclusively under DOS so is not suitable for beginners;

Has relatively complex settings;

English interface language.

HDDExpert- a free utility whose operating principle is to convert SMART information of drives into data convenient for user perception and analysis.

The program provides full information about computer hard drives (performance, errors, warnings, temperature) and has the ability to test their performance.

Despite the lack of Russian language support, the program has a simple interface that even a beginner can understand.

The program's capabilities are limited by the parameters of SMART technology, so you can't count on serious diagnostics and testing.

Advantages:

Has a simple interface.

Flaws:

Suitable for primary, shallow diagnostics;

Victoria. For testing hard drives, as well as for eliminating some problems, in 99% of cases, the Victoria program is suitable.

It was developed by Belarusian programmer Sergei Kazansky, is absolutely free, has a small size (up to 1 MB) and works with hard drives at the port level, i.e. at the lowest level, which allows achieving high performance qualities.

Thanks to these characteristics, the program is preferred by specialists service centers.

In addition to more complex tasks, the program allows you to perform a number of tasks for the average PC user:

• perform low-level testing,
• determine the average access time,
• control the noise level,
• erase information without the possibility of subsequent recovery and much more.

Among other things, the program can work in Windows environment and DOS.

DOS mode is relevant when the operating system cannot be loaded and it is necessary to check the hard disk.

Advantages:

Free;

Compact;

Has a wide range of functions;

Works in MS DOS and MS Windows;

Has a simple interface.

Flaws:

The project is not being developed and some of the widely used versions of the utility have English language interface and do not support work in 64-bit operating systems.

The problem is solved by downloading alternative versions of the program created by the community.