How to know a Hard Disk is new?

I'm going to get my crashed hard disk replaced with a new one.
How can I know whether the Hard Disk I have recieved is new?

Look for normal wear and tear. Look at the screw holes, do they look fresh and unscratched?

g_goyal2000 said:
I'm going to get my crashed hard disk replaced with a new one.
How can I know whether the Hard Disk I have recieved is new?

No matter what brand of Hard Disk you own,each of them has a
Unique Serial Number.

Just write down your crashed Hard Disk's Serial Number and check for it when you get your replacement

Both should be different
Its as simple as that

S

or look for manufacturing date. for new hard disk it should be within last 1-2 months

A

go to the manufacturer's website and check the warranty expiry date..for the serial no of ur new HDD

The way I check the age of a HDD is to run any SMART program on first starting of HDD and check the "start/stop count" and "power on time" .... I use the freewares Diskcheckup or HDDTune for SMART readings.

EDIT: Even a low level format does not Zero or change these SMART readings so it should give you a correct idea of the HDDs usage.

Eazy said:
The way I check the age of a HDD is to run any SMART program on first starting of HDD and check the "start/stop count" and "power on time" .... I use the freewares Diskcheckup or HDDTune for SMART readings.

EDIT: Even a low level format does not Zero or change these SMART readings so it should give you a correct idea of the HDDs usage.

What kind of SMART program? Kindly point me to it/them.

D

i think he meant Diskcheckup and HD Tune are freewares which you should look into.. and if you reply with what to do next.. i suggest you to click on those links download the app

J

g_goyal2000 said:
What kind of SMART program? Kindly point me to it/them.

In the commonly used small and free programme called "speedfan" there is an option of "S.M.A.R.T." in which you can select your HDD and click on "Perform an in-depth online analysis of this hard disk".You have to be online and you will get the results within seconds including "Power On Hours Count". This is only what I know and there may be easier ways.

da_tcpip said:
i think he meant Diskcheckup and HD Tune are freewares which you should look into..

These are the exact 2 which I use

I got a HDD replaced by Hitachi 2 days back and after a Format and restore of a backup image I checked the SMART readings and it shows 3 hours power on time .... looks like I got a NEW HDD.

when a hard disk is connected first time to the PC , it shows a message....i m not sure but i hav heard.....once this message is read it never reappears.....

ayush_chh said:
when a hard disk is connected first time to the PC , it shows a message....i m not sure but i hav heard.....once this message is read it never reappears.....

Do you mean "Initialize" ? When I low level format a HDD from a bootable CD with the software provided by HDD maker and I next start XP it does ask me again if I want to initialize the HDD. Also after I run KILLDISK to clean a HDD I am asked by XP about initialization of the HDD.