program to mount a HD with broken index (?)?

Squeeze <rubberduck@duckies.au> wrote
> Rod Speed wrote
>> cpliu <spamfreeliu@yahoo.com> wrote:

>>>> The easiest solution is to get an RMA number from the website.
>>>> If the procedure there requires a failed SMART status or other
>>>> failed status, sometimes it helps to claim the disk is not
>>>> detected anymore (they usually do not check the disk, just send
>>>> you a replacement).

>>> They didn't ask last time. That made me wonder about the
>>> quality of refurbished drives. Do they go through strict testing
>>> and fix things before putting them out as refurbished drives?

>> Yes, but if the fault is intermittent, it may not be visible when they do that.

>>> This drive is still formattable and probably will
>>> resurface as a refurbished drive again soon.

>> Not if they can see the problem when it gets back to them.

>>> What I'm getting back is probably just as bad or worse. Is my concern valid?

>> No, some refurbished drives have been properly fixed.

>>> I never had a refurbished drives (4-5 so far) lasting more than one
>>> year so far.

>> How long do the new ones last ?

>>> And all of these were not used as main drives. They were
>>> turned on only when needed. Is there a program you can
>>> test to make sure it's a good drive after getting a drive?

>> Not with an intermittent fault.

> Nonsense.

Your sig is supposed to be last, with a line with -- on it by itself in front of it, you stupid pseudokraut.

> With intermittent faults one uses the exerciser portion of a diagnostic.

Pity that doesnt MAKE SURE that is a good drive, you stupid pseudokraut.

> Or just use Bart's DiskTool.

Pity that doesnt MAKE SURE that is a good drive, you stupid pseudokraut.

larry moe 'n curly wrote in news:a4bac284-62cd-44e9-be25-d7da375262e9@u6g2000prc.googlegroups.com
> cpliu wrote:
>
> > I have this external USB HD that I only turn it on when needed. One
> > time, when trying to mount, it asked if I would like to check the HD.
> > I clicked yes, and it started checking for a while but stopped at 99%.
> > Maybe I was too impatient, I turn it off and tried to mount it again.
> > After attempting with disk reading noise, it couldn't. It gave a
> > message that the HD needed to be formatted to use.

> www.hddguru.com has some diagnostics,

> including the self-booting MHDD.

Personally I find that one a big disappointment.
A whole lot of feature tool with a little bit of drive fitness test in it.
A bit of a jack of all trades, master of none.

>
> Is it possible to remove the HD from the USB enclosure and plug it
> directly to a parallel or serial IDE connector so that the HD
> manufacturer's own diagnostics can be run on it? Could the HD itself
> be OK but the USB enclosure be the problem?

> Some enclosures have internal power supplies that are terribly built.

Which can lead to bad writes ('bad' sectors).

Update: I've formatted it on Vista and using it as my backup drive. If
I mount it on Vista, it asks to check the integrity of the disk every
time. I skip it each time. Mounting on XP is not a problem. I won't
trust important data on this drive and is looking for another drive as
my main drive.

I think it start having problem because I bring it to work. My table
is not that stable that it shakes a little bit when typing or when I
place my arms on it. How much shock can a modern HD resist? Will minor
shake cause the HD to malfunction? How long do I need to wait before
moving a HD after powering it off? The current 500GB and above HDs in
the market do not appear to be stable from reading the users' reviews.

Thanks for any advice,