Hard Disk Monitoring

Hello
I have some issues with this hdd since 2014.

The disk since then is showing me these messages, and it's health is on 97%
15/10/2014 2:51:42 ðì,#198 Off-Line Uncorrectable Sector Count 0 -> 2
15/10/2014 2:51:42 ðì,#197 Current Pending Sector Count 0 -> 2

Yesterday, I finally had the chance to move it's files to a new disk and format it. On the check disk options window, I clicked on both boxes and it found and fixed two bad sectors. Right after that, I opened your program and checked the disk and I noticed that the health of my disk dropped to 96% and now I have three weak sectors instead of two. This is the new message added on my log

8/9/2016 9:02:13 ðì,#197 Current Pending Sector Count 2 -> 3
I reinitialize the disk surface through your program and I'll have to wait for 86 hours to be completed.
What is happening exactly and is there anything else that I have to do? Is the disk going to survive or I shouldn't count on it to store important files?

• System Information
  --------------------
  Windows Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Windows 7 Ultimate
  CPU Type & Speed #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz, 3089 MHz
  CPU Type & Speed #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz, 3090 MHz
  BIOS Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Award Modular
  Physical Memory Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4096 MB, Used: 2977 MB (73 %)
  Display Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT
  Display Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1280 x 1024 (32 bit)
  Printer #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Adobe PDF
  Printer #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Fax
  Printer #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft XPS Document Writer
  Printer #4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Send To OneNote 2016
  Network Controller #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet
  Network Controller #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . : RAS Async Adapter
  Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : D: HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8163B / 0L23 (DVD, CD)
  
  PCI Device Information
  ------------------------
  PCI Bus 0; Device 0; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 975X Memory Controller Hub - 277C
  PCI Bus 0; Device 1; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 975X PCI Express Root Port - 277D
  PCI Bus 0; Device 28; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Root Port - 27D0
  PCI Bus 0; Device 28; Function 5 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) ICH7 Family PCI Express Root Port - 27E2
  PCI Bus 0; Device 29; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27C8
  PCI Bus 0; Device 29; Function 1 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27C9
  PCI Bus 0; Device 29; Function 2 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27CA
  PCI Bus 0; Device 29; Function 3 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27CB
  PCI Bus 0; Device 29; Function 7 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 27CC
  PCI Bus 0; Device 30; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82801 PCI Bridge - 244E
  PCI Bus 0; Device 31; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) ICH7 Family LPC Interface Controller - 27B8
  PCI Bus 0; Device 31; Function 2 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C0
  PCI Bus 0; Device 31; Function 3 . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller - 27DA
  PCI Bus 1; Device 0; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT
  PCI Bus 3; Device 0; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet
  PCI Bus 4; Device 1; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS (WDM)
  PCI Bus 4; Device 1; Function 1 . . . . . . . . : Creative Game Port
  PCI Bus 4; Device 1; Function 2 . . . . . . . . : 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller
  PCI Bus 4; Device 6; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : ITE IT8211 ATA ATAPI Controller
  PCI Bus 4; Device 7; Function 0 . . . . . . . . : Texas Instruments 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller
  
  
  
  -- Physical Disk Information - Disk: #3: WDC WD20EARX-00PASB0 --
  
  Hard Disk Summary
  -------------------
  Hard Disk Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 3
  Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SunPlusIT USB/ATA #0
  Vendor Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : VID: 04FC, PID: 0C15
  Disk Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 27CC (USB 2.0) [VEN: 8086, DEV: 27CC] Version: 9.1.9.1006, 7-31-2013
  Hard Disk Model ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : WDC WD20EARX-00PASB0
  Firmware Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 51.0AB51
  Hard Disk Serial Number . . . . . . . . . . . . :
  Total Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1907726 MB
  Power State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Active
  Current Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 36 °C
  Maximum Temperature (Ever Measured) . . . . . . : 36 °C, 8/9/2016 2:09:35 μμ
  Minimum Temperature (Ever Measured) . . . . . . : 36 °C, 8/9/2016 2:09:35 μμ
  Maximum Temperature (During Entire Lifespan) . . : 43 °C
  Power On Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 61 days, 0 hours
  Estimated Remaining Lifetime . . . . . . . . . . : more than 1000 days
  Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ###################- 96 % (Excellent)
  Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : #################### 100 % (Excellent)
  
  The drive found 2 bad sectors during its self test.
  There are 3 weak sectors found on the disk surface. They may be remapped any time in the later use of the disk.
  At this point, warranty replacement of the disk is not yet possible, only if the health drops further.
  It is recommended to examine the log of the disk regularly. All new problems found will be logged there.
  No actions needed.
  
  ATA Information
  -----------------
  Hard Disk Cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 3876021
  Hard Disk Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
  Hard Disk Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 63
  ATA Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ATA8-ACS
  Transport Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SATA Rev 2.6
  Total Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 488378646
  Bytes Per Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4096 [Advanced Format]
  Multiple Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
  Error Correction Bytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 50
  Unformatted Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1907729 MB
  Maximum PIO Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4
  Maximum Multiword DMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
  Highest Possible Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . : S-ATA Gen3 Signaling Speed (6 Gps)
  Negotiated Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . : S-ATA I Signaling Speed (1.5 Gps)
  Minimum Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . . . : 120 ns
  Recommended Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . : 120 ns
  Minimum PIO Transfer Time Without IORDY . . . . : 120 ns
  Minimum PIO Transfer Time With IORDY . . . . . . : 120 ns
  ATA Control Byte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid
  ATA Checksum Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid
  
  Acoustic Management Configuration
  -----------------------------------
  Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Disabled
  Current Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Default (00h)
  Recommended Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . : Default (00h)
  
  ATA Features
  --------------
  Read Ahead Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
  DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Ultra DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  S.M.A.R.T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Write Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Host Protected Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Advanced Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Extended Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Power Up In Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  48-Bit LBA Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Device Configuration Overlay . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  IORDY Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Read/Write DMA Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  NOP Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Trusted Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  64-Bit World Wide ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :
  Streaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Media Card Pass Through . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  General Purpose Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Error Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  CFA Feature Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  CFast Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Long Physical Sectors (8) . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Long Logical Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Write-Read-Verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  NV Cache Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  NV Cache Power Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  NV Cache Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Free-fall Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Free-fall Control Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  
  SSD Features
  --------------
  Data Set Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  TRIM Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Deterministic Read After TRIM . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  
  S.M.A.R.T. Details
  --------------------
  Off-line Data Collection Status . . . . . . . . : Successfully Completed
  Self Test Execution Status . . . . . . . . . . . : Test Failed By Read Element
  Total Time To Complete Off-line Data Collection : 37080 seconds
  Execute Off-line Immediate . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Abort/restart Off-line By Host . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Off-line Read Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Short Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Extended Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Conveyance Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Selective Self-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Save Data Before/After Power Saving Mode . . . . : Supported
  Enable/Disable Attribute Autosave . . . . . . . : Supported
  Error Logging Capability . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Short Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . . . : 2 minutes
  Extended Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . : 358 minutes
  Conveyance Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . : 5 minutes
  Last Short Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . . : Test Failed By Read Element
  Last Short Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . . : 8/9/2016 12:55:24 μμ
  Last Short Self-test Duration . . . . . . . . . : 1 minutes
  Last Extended Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . : Test Failed By Read Element
  Last Extended Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . : 8/9/2016 1:01:43 πμ
  Last Extended Self-test Duration . . . . . . . . : 1 minutes
  Last Conveyance Self-test Result . . . . . . . . : Never Started
  Last Conveyance Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
  
  Security Mode
  ---------------
  Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Security Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Security Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 378 minutes
  Security Enhanced Erase Feature . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Security Enhanced Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . : 378 minutes
  Security Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
  Security Locked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
  Security Frozen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
  Security Counter Expired . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
  Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : High
  
  Serial ATA Features
  ---------------------
  S-ATA Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
  S-ATA I Signaling Speed (1.5 Gps) . . . . . . . : Supported
  S-ATA II Signaling Speed (3 Gps) . . . . . . . . : Supported
  S-ATA Gen3 Signaling Speed (6 Gps) . . . . . . . : Supported
  Receipt Of Power Management Requests From Host . : Supported
  PHY Event Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Non-Zero Buffer Offsets In DMA Setup FIS . . . . : Not supported
  DMA Setup Auto-Activate Optimization . . . . . . : Supported, Disabled
  Device Initiating Interface Power Management . . : Not supported
  In-Order Data Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Asynchronous Notification . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
  Software Settings Preservation . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
  Native Command Queuing (NCQ) . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
  Queue Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32
  
  Disk Information
  ------------------
  Disk Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Caviar Green
  Form Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 3.5"
  Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2 TB (2 x 1.000.000.000.000 bytes)
  Number Of Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4
  Number Of Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8
  Disk Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Serial-ATA/600
  Buffer-Host Max. Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 600 MB/seconds
  Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 65536 KB
  Drive Ready Time (Typical) . . . . . . . . . . . : ? seconds
  Average Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ? ms
  Track To Track Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . : ? ms
  Full Stroke Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ? ms
  Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 101,6 mm (4,0 inch)
  Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 147,0 mm (5,8 inch)
  Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 25,4 mm (1,0 inch)
  Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 640 grams (1,4 pounds)
  Acoustic (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2,4 Bel
  Acoustic (Min Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 2,5 Bel
  Acoustic (Max Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 2,9 Bel
  Required Power For Spinup . . . . . . . . . . . : 1.750 mA
  Power Required (Seek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4,5 W
  Power Required (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2,5 W
  Power Required (Standby) . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0,7 W
  Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Western Digital Corporation
  Manufacturer Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products
  
  S.M.A.R.T.
  ------------
  No. Attribute Thre.. Value Worst Data Status Flags
  1 Raw Read Error Rate 51 200 200 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistica..
  3 Spin Up Time 21 173 165 0000000018A4 OK Self Preserving, Performance, Statistical, Critical
  4 Start/Stop Count 0 100 100 0000000001C1 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  5 Reallocated Sectors Co.. 140 200 200 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical, Critical
  7 Seek Error Rate 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistical
  9 Power On Time Count 0 98 98 0000000005B8 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  10 Spin Retry Count 0 100 100 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  11 Drive Calibration Retr.. 0 100 100 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  12 Drive Power Cycle Count 0 100 100 0000000001AC OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  192 Power off Retract Cycl.. 0 200 200 00000000019D OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  193 Load/Unload Cycle Count 0 194 194 000000004F04 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  194 Disk Temperature 0 114 107 000000000024 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Statistical
  196 Reallocation Event Count 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  197 Current Pending Sector.. 0 200 200 000000000003 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  198 Off-Line Uncorrectable.. 0 200 200 000000000002 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count
  199 Ultra ATA CRC Error Co.. 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
  200 Write Error Rate 0 200 200 000000000002 OK (Always passing) Error-Rate
  
  Transfer Rate Information
  ---------------------------
  Total Data Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 78.806 MB, 1.470.659 MB since installation (12/7/2011)
  Total Data Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 236.419 MB, 902.137 MB since installation
  Average Reads Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 780,19 MB
  Average Writes Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 478,59 MB
  Current Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 25725 KB/s
  Maximum Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 39717 KB/s
  Current Read Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 6557 KB/s
  Current Write Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 19168 KB/s
  Current Disk Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 98 %

Please check:

Support -> Frequently Asked Questions -> What is a weak sector? How to repair weak sectors?
or directly at

http://www.hdsentinel.com/hard_disk_cas ... ectors.php

This page describes clearly the situation and shows how chkdsk does NOT fix the problems.

Generally a weak sector can be detected any time on the hard disk, usually after an improper shut down / power loss / reset.
These sectors are still used by the hard disk - but these are unreadable: any data stored in them (usually attempted to be saved at the point of power loss / reset) usually damaged or lost.

Chkdsk happily find these sectors as "bad sectors" and mark them (in the file system) as bad.
This is not the solution, but even making things worse because:

1) this causes false assumption that the hard disk is bad. This is not true: the problem is usually related to something else, not caused by the hard disk itself. Users usually run for warranty replacement - which is completely wrong idea. The service usually performs a test which deletes all data (like using the Disk menu -> Surface test -> Reinitialise disk surface test) and give back the drive as perfect (maybe after payig service fee, as the drive was perfect) - or even give back an other repaired drive with similar (or even worse) condition.

2) upon next re-partition / re-installation, the affected sectors will be re-used. These may cause problems again.

3) imaging/cloning a such hard disk drive usually problematic: the clonng tools may refuse to read the drive (again, leading to false assumption that the drive is bad) but if they can copy the file system information, they happily copy the "bad sector" information previously saved by chkdsk.
So then if you use chkdsk on the new drive, it will report "bad sectors" even that drive never had any problems.


Exactly because of the above, chkdsk is not a good solution to REALLY repair the drives.

Yes, the Disk menu -> Surface test -> Reinitailise disk surface is the best way to repair and completely eliminate weak sectors, as described on the link. The text description may still show some bad sectors - but as these are no longer used by the hard disk (already reallocated, so never be reused, never cause any more problems) these are acceptable. And (of course) chkdsk will also not detect/report these.

If you prefer a faster repair, usually (especially if the weak sector count is low) Disk menu -> Surface test -> Write test is enough. it is approx 5 times faster than the Reinitialise Disk Surface test.
Currently working on an even safer and easier repair method.