HDD test?

[RedWind]

I have about 6 HDD siting around and IDK if they are good or not and wondering if there is a prog that I can attach my HDDs with an external usb and test them?

[rtc443]

well if the hard drives are ide you can easily buy a usb-ide cord which also comes with its own power supply. there about 12 dollars or so ... then i would just plug it in and see if it shows up under computer>manage>disk management then format it, u can use it as some added space...as for the testing programs i dont know but im sure there are plenty out there good luck

[digip]

I have about 6 HDD siting around and IDK if they are good or not and wondering if there is a prog that I can attach my HDDs with an external usb and test them?

If using windows, and there isn't anything on them you need,you could just format them. Otherwise do a:

"chkdsk x: /r" where x is the drive letter of the attached drives.

Checks a disk and displays a status report.


CHKDSK [volume[[path]filename]]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L[:size]]


  volume          Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
                  mount point, or volume name.
  filename        FAT/FAT32 only: Specifies the files to check for fragmentation.
  /F              Fixes errors on the disk.
  /V              On FAT/FAT32: Displays the full path and name of every file
                  on the disk.
                  On NTFS: Displays cleanup messages if any.
  /R              Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information
                  (implies /F).
  /L:size         NTFS only:  Changes the log file size to the specified number
                  of kilobytes.  If size is not specified, displays current
                  size.
  /X              Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary.
                  All opened handles to the volume would then be invalid
                  (implies /F).
  /I              NTFS only: Performs a less vigorous check of index entries.
  /C              NTFS only: Skips checking of cycles within the folder
                  structure.

The /I or /C switch reduces the amount of time required to run Chkdsk by
skipping certain checks of the volume.

[RedWind]

yeah i know about the chkdsk but wondering if there was something better

also while on topic I remember seeing a usb device that connect the HDDs as a quick pnp it was just a board and a couple wires

[Sparda]

SpinRite would tell you if the drives had any problems.

[RedWind]

SpinRite would tell you if the drives had any problems.

if I remember correctly SpinRite is a boot only, am I correct?

[Sparda]

if I remember correctly SpinRite is a boot only, am I correct?

You can run it in a VM easily enough.

[nullArray]

SpinRite would tell you if the drives had any problems.

SpinRite is wonderful, I'm told. It receives plenty of praise on Security Now...,

Dariks Boot 'n Nuke has some utilities in it..., I think. I've never actually poked around, just use it to securely erase drives we have at the office.

[digip]

SpinRite would tell you if the drives had any problems.

SpinRite isn't free though, but I think there is something similar on the UBCD4WIN live discs.

What about TestDisk. I know its meant as a software recorver tool, but does it also test the disk(like its name says?)

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Livecd

[RedWind]

I just ordered this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16812156102 I dont feel like puling everything apart plus this will come in handy

thanks for all your help

[napisani]

one of the best tools i have ever used was called ontrack easy recovery - it has a very good utility for "disk diagnostics".

[cooper]

You could always look at the diagnostics tools of the manufacturer of the drive. They tend to be quite comprehensive in their reporting, though of course rather specific for their particular brand of harddisk.