Hard drive bad sector problem - please help

While I was working on my pc yesterday it suddenly begin to behave
too much sluggishly so I restared my comp but found that it showed
disk read error occured - press ctrl+alt+del to restart & I was unable
to boot into windows. So I restarted & the same error occured again.
So I decided to find out the problem.

I booted my comp with bart pe boot CD & tried to recover data from the
80GB seagate sata hdd ( bought last year from vedant computers)
to my pen drive.. When I was going to access the E drive which has nearly
20GB of data it showed completly empty

I recovered some data from F driv
& suddenly CRC error occured & I was unable to recover rest data. So I
thinked why not try the chkdsk. I issued chkdsk command with
chkdsk /f /r flag but the comp hanged.

Then I tried to Install XP by deleting all of the partions from 80GB hdd.
I deleted all partions & created a 15GB fresh partion & the rest space unpartioned.
A full format of C drive took around 20 minutes :shocked: When the format was complete
xp took around 40 minutes to install where it usually takes only 20-22 mins. Also
Xp's boot up time is around 2-3 mins now on fresh install :shocked:

After xp was installed I installed HDTune & check the 80GB hdd for bad sectors.
It showed some bad sectors. I am mentioning the test result in here :

HD Tune Pro: ST380211AS Error Scan

Scanned data : 76288 MB
Damaged Blocks : 1.2 %
Elapsed Time : 22:57
1 Error at 26 MB (LBA 53376)
2 Error at 534 MB (LBA 1093688)
3 Error at 3007 MB (LBA 6160368)
4 Error at 3039 MB (LBA 6224040)
5 Error at 3071 MB (LBA 6291424)
6 Error at 3136 MB (LBA 6424144)
7 Error at 3144 MB (LBA 6440328)
8 Error at 5705 MB (LBA 11684656)
9 Error at 8535 MB (LBA 17480072)
10 Error at 9160 MB (LBA 18760096)
11 Error at 12801 MB (LBA 26218152)
12 Error at 15610 MB (LBA 31969608)
13 Error at 27420 MB (LBA 56157552)
14 Error at 28022 MB (LBA 57390872)
15 Error at 28607 MB (LBA 58588152)
16 Error at 28675 MB (LBA 58727656)
17 Error at 28699 MB (LBA 58776864)
18 Error at 36111 MB (LBA 73955600)
19 Error at 36575 MB (LBA 74906000)
20 Error at 39212 MB (LBA 80306528)
21 Error at 39349 MB (LBA 80587584)
22 Error at 39358 MB (LBA 80606456)
23 Error at 51592 MB (LBA 105662128)
24 Error at 51663 MB (LBA 105807520)
25 Error at 51848 MB (LBA 106185328)
26 Error at 51984 MB (LBA 106463312)
27 Error at 54232 MB (LBA 111068416)
28 Error at 54281 MB (LBA 111168752)
29 Error at 57699 MB (LBA 118168048)

I've made another three partion on the 80GB hdd to fix the bad sectors & fixed
them. But still the Hdd is way too slow. So I want tochange the hdd. Now I've
few questions - Guys please help me as far as you can.

1. Can I get a new hdd as replacement or they just repair my hdd with some software ?
( But I don't want a repaired hdd which will show new kind of prob some day later )

2. Will those bad sectors show up when I take the hdd for replacement.
( As if the bad sectors will not show up I will not get replacement I doubt )

3. What should I tell seagate people about the hdd ?- sorry for too much noobish Q

4. Should i take the hdd directly to the service center or give
the hdd to the shop from where I've bought it for replacement ?

** How much day it usually takes to get a replaced HDD ?

5.. Does segate has any service center near chadni, Kolkata ?

I'am sorry for the tooo loooong post. Guys please bear with me & give me
suggestion about the above questions

there is service center in kolkata. Take hard disc there.

V

Don't worry dude, even my 250 HDD developed bad sectors. I sent it to Seagate and got a 500GB HDD fro replacement!!! They replace it with the higher model if they do not have your model's stock with them.
To check if its surely developed Bad Sectors download Seatools from Seagate.com and run a short drive self test, it'll take about 10mins , if it FAILS then here's what to do :-

Seagate HDDs have a 5 year warranty. You can get yours replaced by sending it to Seagate. For that visit Seagate India and get a Replacement Request by entering your HDD's serial and Model number online. They'll give you the address to ship it to (Chennai) and how to pack your drive. Be sure to pack it correctly in anti-static bag! And you'll get a brand new drive in 15Days
You'll be a hapy man!

^^ really? I have a seagate 250GB too!!! and I want a 500GB

I'll run the tool and see... Considering I live in Chennai, I can probably finish this fast

is there anyway to repair bad sectors? my samsung portable HDD got 92kb of bad sectors today...although in warranty, i dont think i will be able to get it replaced or anything cos this one my uncle got for me from Israel.

^^ No, bad sectors are caused on the surface of the drive itself, so they cannot be repaired. Try asking your samsung dealer nearby, or call up the samsung hotline, if any. You still have the warrantee card, bill etc, right? You can try showing them as proof.

Thanks guys for your replies.

chanchalchatt said:
there is service center in kolkata. Take hard disc there.

Is it near chadni ? Can you please provide the address ?

i know that seagate has service center in 12, lower rowdon st. but can somebody tell me how to get their I mean the nearest metro station near rowdon st.

vaibhav.Kanwal said:
Don't worry dude, even my 250 HDD developed bad sectors. I sent it to Seagate and got a 500GB HDD fro replacement!!! T

I got 320 GB in place for 250 GB.....
500 GB.....Good.....Waiting for this one to show any problems....

V

Every Hard Disk has a couple of KB extra sectors, so if a few KB develop bad sectors the Partition Table can be rewritten to ignore those bad sectors and use the extra sectors instead by using the manufacturer's repair utility but if they are of order of MB's then its better to get it replaced.

Seagate is a reliable company, even if a hard disk does develop bad sectors they are replaced promptly, you just need its model number and serial number to make a RMA request online. Even though i had a hard time backing up all my data before sending it for replacement but after 10 Days i got a 500GB one instead of my 250GB, i felt on cloud nine. Such thins don't quite happen that often do they?

www.callingallgeeks.blogspot.com
www.tech9okid.blogspot.com

H

^^^ but they aint that rare too.have seen 3 guys get 500GB as replacement for 250& 320GB hdds.

such a thing doesnt happen with WD though.

My hdd has around 8 or 9 Mbs bad sectors but :

Yesterday I wiped & cleaned my Hdd with R wipe & clean, Formated all 4 partions
on the 80GB hdd & performed chkdsk. But windows doesn't showed any bad sectors.
Then I run HDtune & it found bad sectors again.
Then I run Seatools & it found errors & suggested me to fix those errors but
I skipped.

Now my question is :

Should I fix those errors with seatools ?

I think if I gave the hdd to service center they will repair those bad sectors using
seatools & will not give me a new hdd as replacement ?

Guys what do you suggest ?

V

Repair will only try to recover data from the bad sectors if they have been written over, and that is it.
In order to know if your drive will be replaced, download and install Seatools and run a "Short Drive Self Test". If it shows FAIL then send your drive for replacement buddy.

Seatools error fix log ( created by me ) :

I started the long test

at around 4% it found 97 errors & suggested me to repair
those errors so I did so.

Again I started the long test :

at around 37% it found 100 errors & suggested me to repair
those errors so I did so.

Again I started the long test :

at around 73% it found 87 errors & suggested me to repair
those errors so I did so.

Again I started the long test :

at around 71% it found 88 errors & suggested me to repair
those errors but these time I lost my all patience :mad

What you guys suggest ? Should I try once more coz on the seatools
readme I found :

When SeaTools discovers a bad sector through reading, at the end of
the scan it displays a list of the bad sectors.

If a sector is in use, then that file is incomplete or corrupt. When
a bad sector happens to align with a folder or directory listing
structure, then the links to files and sub-folders it manages may be
broken. Sectors are often not in use.

You should carefully consider the importance of your data. While the
sector is currently unreadable, if the file or folder is important to
you then you may need professional recovery services to possibly
reclaim the data. In this case, select NO to exit without trying to
reallocate blank replacement sectors on the drive.

If you have decided that the file or folder is replaceable, already
backed up or just not important to you, then you can tell SeaTools to
attempt to overwrite the sector.

By design, modern disc drives maintain spare sectors for reallocation
purposes. Usually, sectors become difficult to read long before they
become impossible to read. In this situation the actual data bytes in
the sector are preserved and transferred to the new spare during a
sector reallocation. Similarly, when a disc drive writes data and
encounters a problem, the drive firmware retires the problem sector
and activates a replacement before giving successful write status.

If you give permission to overwrite a bad sector SeaTools will attempt
to write a pattern of zeros to that sector. Usually, this action will
assist the disc drive firmware in managing the problem by retiring the
problem LBA and activating a spare in its place.

or you guys think I should take it to the service center or to the
shop from where I had bought it. I am a little panic abt the
online RMA coz on the PACKAGING terms of the hdd they said :

IMPROPER PACKAGING WILL VOID THE WARRANTY

3. Enclose the drive in an anti-static container. If packaging more
than one drive, use a separate bag for each drive.

4. Secure the drive in Seagate approved packaging. Use 2-inch thick
foam rubber in a corrugated box. Multiple drives in a single box
should be packaged with foam rubber between each drive. Do NOT
use foam packing pellets, bubble wrap, or newspaper. (See Seagate
Approved Packaging section, below.)

What is Seagate Approved Packaging?

We recommend you ship your drive in its original box and packing
materials, which you should always keep for storing and shipping
purposes. If you do not have your original packaging materials,
use 2-inch thick foam rubber in a corrugated box. Multiple drives
in a single box should be packaged with foam rubber between each
drive. Do NOT use foam packing pellets, bubble wrap, or newspaper.

Now in point No. 3 & 4 they'.re telling us to pck the drive in the original
anti static bag with foam.

on the other hand in the approved packaging section they're telling us
either we should only pack it into the original antistatic bag or if we
don't have the pack then we should pack it into some 2 inch thick foam.

Now guys can one of you tell me the exact procedure of packaging the hdd
& where I can get those 2 inch thick foam ?

Also which courier & what kind of sending method I should use ?
What will be the charges of sending the Hdd ?

Guys please help me out....I'm loosing it big time.....

H

go to the Seagate service center directly.dont go 4 online RMA.

^^ Thanks pal for the suggestion.

Usualy if hdds canb repaird then seagate does so n put certified repaird sticker else they replace it with new. U r lucky to get a 500gb hdd. My hdd shows slugish response,chuck chuck snd, bt no bad sectors. M givin fr rma ;-)

At last after 6 days of wait

got a 80GB drive.

H

^^^ did ya get a new drive or a repaired one?

hellgate said:
^^^ did ya get a new drive or a repaired one?

Got a new one.

BTW, Thank you all for your help.