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Hd sentinel

Posted: 2015.08.03. 20:59
by Mark123
Hi,
I am currently using standard free version, but I will be soon purchasing pro version to reinitialize my disk, however I have question.
After reinitialization ( I play to reinitialize my disk from another ) i will install windows.
Does format after reinitialization ( windows format before you install windows ) change things, I mean will my disk still be without bad sectors, or after formating you have to do it again?

Regards

Re: Hd sentinel

Posted: 2015.08.04. 11:18
by hdsentinel
Thanks for your message and considering the Pro version.

The Disk menu -> Surface test -> Reinitialise disk surface test stabilizes the hard disk in general.
It fixes sectors with any kind of problems, for example if they are damaged / weak, then the hard disk is forced to re-test them and either mark them as bad if required (to prevent further use of the original bad sector and re-direct all further reads/writes to the spare area). Or if the sectors are now stable, they will be repaired and can be used without problems.

For example if weak sectors detected / reported, this is a good way to make the hard disk better, as described at
http://www.hdsentinel.com/hard_disk_cas ... ectors.php


It is important to know that the "bad sectors" will not be eliminated automatically by the tests.
The test forces the hard disk to repair them, but the text description still shows them, so after a complete re-install, they will still displayed.
But this is good - as then you can be sure that all possible bad sectors are fixed: they no longer used, so they can't cause any further problems.

And as the test verifies the complete hard disk surface and confirm that all sectors (the good ones and the "bad" ones replaced with sectors from the spare area) accessible without errors, retries or delays (so generally the hard disk fixed) then you can clear the bad sector counter in Hard DisK Sentinel any time. This way the problems related to the past are acknowledged, the error counters cleared - so then Hard Disk Sentinel will detect and display only possible new problems - if there will be.

I recommend to read the proper sections of the Frequently Asked Questions page:
http://www.hdsentinel.com/faq.php#health
http://www.hdsentinel.com/faq.php#tests

These describe the recommended steps to analyse the hard disks, reveal and fix any possible issues because the most important is to verify if the drive is stable (there are no more, currently hidden problems).

If the tests show no errors (which means the hard disk is now stable, all possible bad sectors are already re-allocated and fixed this way), it is possible to acknowledge the reported problems and remove them from the text description, to improve the health back to even 100%
as then the software will only report future issues (if there will be).
This is described at http://www.hdsentinel.com/faq_repair_ha ... _drive.php

If you prefer, you can use Report -> Send test report to developer option any time, for example
- now, before testing/repairing, as then it is possible to check and recommend best way(s) to improve the situation
- and/or if you see new problems, decreased health in the future, so I can check the new situation, the difference since the previous status and may advise.