Hard Disk Bad Sector – Common Causes and Solutions

Do you often receive hard disk error messages? Maybe your hard disk contains bad sectors. remember, bad sectors on the hard disk can lead to data loss situations. In this article, I will explain everything related to the hard disk bad sector like common causes of the hard disk bad sector and how to remove bad sector from hard disk. I will also help you learn how to fix hard disk bad sectors and recover data from them.

What is Hard Disk Bad Sector?

What are the Causes of Bad Sector?

Common Symptoms of Hard Disk Bad Sector

How to Prevent from Hard Disk Bad Sector?

How to Remove Bad Sector from Hard Disk?

Over the past few decades, data has completely changed the face of our world. Today there is nothing more valuable than computer data. Computer stores all your data on a physical storage device called Hard Disk. Being a mechanical mass-storage device, a hard disk has moving parts. And that is why it is the most vulnerable part of the computer. The main components of a hard disk include platters, spindle, read/write head, logic board, etc.

What is Hard Disk Bad Sector?

There are millions of sectors in a hard disk drive. A sector is the smallest physical storage unit. Each sector on a hard disk stores a fixed amount of user-accessible data, that is 512 bytes. Sometimes it may happen that a hard disk sector gets damaged due to any reason. As a result, that part of the hard disk cannot be accessed or used to store data. You may face data loss or the data may become inaccessible. If the hard disk contains bad sectors, this can also affect its performance. A damaged sector of a hard disk is often known as a bad sector.

It is not easy for users to detect bad sectors in the hard disk. If you are unknowingly using a hard disk with bad sectors, you are likely to face unwanted consequences. The information stored on the bad sector of the hard disk cannot be read, and you cannot write anything on it either. If there are only a few bad sectors in the hard disk, the disk is completely usable. What will you do if you notice bad sectors in your hard disk drive? How will you repair hard disk bad sector? Before I can explain how to do that, let us discuss the most common reasons that can cause a hard disk bad sector.

What are the Causes of Bad Sector?

Over a period of time, the hard disk starts losing its magnetism that may cause bad sectors. In such a situation, the damage is severe and you cannot recover your data from it. But if there are some minor issues, then it is easy to repair hard disk bad sector. Below is a list of the most common causes of bad sector:

Corrupted Address Mark

On a hard disk, the address mark contains the number and location of the sector. In addition, it provides status information about the sector. When an address mark gets corrupted, the hard disk fails to find the requested sector. Although the data is still present there, your hard disk cannot locate it without the proper ID.

Data Corruption

The hard disk uses an EEC (Error Checking and Correction) algorithm to verify the data integrity. If the data is corrupted, your hard disk will try to recover it with the same error checking and correction algorithm. If the correction is successfully done, the hard disk will return the data stored in the sector without reporting any error. But if the correction fails, the hard disk will report an error and no data will be returned.

Corrupted ECC Field

ECC stands for Error Checking & Correcting or Error Correction Code, and the ECC memory is basically a data storage type that can possibly detect some of the most common internal data corruption types and even correct them. ECC is used for checking the integrity of the data being read by the hard disk. When data is being read, the hard disk calculates its ECC and then compares it. Sometimes the error-correcting code (ECC) can also get corrupted due to any reason and, as a result, there will be no way to verify the integrity of the data. In such a situation, when the hard disk reads the data from the sector, the ECC will not match and the hard disk will not return with any data but an error.

File System Error

The operating system does not identify certain partitions or identifies their parameters incorrectly if the file system or content of the master boot record is damaged. A hard disk drive becomes inaccessible in these situations:

• Damaged content of the partition table
• Distorted bootloader code
• Damaged signatures
• Wrong identification of logical partition boundaries

In addition, if you accidentally delete the system files which are important for hard disk operation, the important boot information will also be lost and the disk sector will receive an error warning.

Virus Attacks

Computer viruses and malware can easily destroy the data stored in the hard disk. A boot-sector virus is one such dangerous virus that can easily infect the part of the hard disk that controls your operating system loading information and the file allocation tables used by the hard disk to locate information stored on the device. A severe infection caused by viruses and malware can also cause a hard disk bad sector.

Overheating

The ideal operating temperature of a hard disk is between 35 to 45 degrees Celsius. A hard disk can get very hot when in use for a long duration. Overheating is a serious issue that can cause physical damage to the hard disk and system crash. Long-time overheating can cause bad sectors in the hard disk and, as a result, the data stored in those sectors will become inaccessible.

Dust

Dust can be one of the leading causes of hard disk bad sector, although it is generally overlooked. Since the drive head is very close to the hard disk, sometimes the dust particles can be stuck between the head and the platter surface. As a result, the hard disk fails or it starts causing bad sectors. Dust is also considered one of the important factors for overheating in the hard disk.

Using Old Hard Disk

Remember, the hard disk failure rates steadily increase with age. An old hard disk is always at high risk of physical damage. Do not forget that every electronic device has a limited lifespan. Overusing the hard disk for a long time can cause bad sectors and put your data at a high risk of loss.

I hope you have understood the most responsible factors that can cause the hard disk bad sector. Now let us talk about the common symptoms of hard disk bad sector.

Common Symptoms of Hard Disk Bad Sector

You cannot see the bad sectors in the hard disk as they are not visible on the hard disk platters. You need to use a special tool for that. Such a tool is used by data recovery experts, normal users do not use it. So the question is, “how come to know that the hard disk contains bad sectors”. There are a few common symptoms of hard disk bad sector you should be checking. The hard disk contains bad sectors if:

• The hard disk is taking more time than usual to boot.
• The time for system loading and shutting down has increased.
• SMART tools run automatically to repair hard disk bad sector.
• The files and folders are disappearing unexpectedly.
• You cannot access the files and folders or they are found corrupt.
• The hard disk starts hanging or freezing while you are using it.
• The computer turns off unexpectedly without any prior warning.
• You are continuously receiving hard disk error messages.

If you notice any of these symptoms, this means your hard disk contains bad sectors.

How to Prevent From Hard Disk Bad Sector?

In order to prevent the hard disk bad sector, you should take the following measures:

• It is your responsibility to take care of your computer, laptop, and external hard disk. Keep them away from dust, water, heat, shock, etc.
• You should not touch your device or move it from one place to another when it is on.
• Make sure you are using good quality hardware devices. Also, make sure you never download the software from any untrusted or unreliable sources.
• Always use a good Antivirus software and scan your computer regularly for viruses and malware.
• If you are shutting down your computer, you should do that properly. In addition, always use a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) device to get power backup in case of power failure.
• Keep your data cables as short as possible, and also ensure that the hardware cables are connected neatly.
• You can also use the Disk Defragmenter tool in order to minimize the chances of bad sectors from occurring. This tool will help you prevent head crashes that can cause bad sectors. It can also reduce the wear and tear of the hard disk in order to increase its lifespan and prevent bad sectors.

By taking the above measures, you can successfully prevent the hard disk bad sector. However, if the bad sectors have occurred in the hard disk, you should try to recover your data from them.

How to Remove Bad Sector From Hard Disk?

Constant hard disk overuse for a long time can eventually cause bad sectors. You should try to repair hard disk bad sector and recover data from it by using a few easy methods. A hard disk bad sector can often be fixed by using a spare sector of the hard disk. Most of the hard disks actually have some spare sectors which are set aside for exactly this purpose. However, the data stored in the hard disk bad sector is often unrecoverable. Below I am sharing a few easy methods to repair hard disk bad sector:

• Using Backup: If you have backed up your data on an external hard disk, you can successfully restore it back even if the whole drive is corrupted. This is why you should always take a backup of your hard disk. And whenever you notice some bad sectors, you can simply format the hard disk and restore all your data from the backup.
• Running the Check Disk Tool: You should run the Check Disk tool (chkdsk) whenever you receive a hard disk error. This will scan your hard disk for bad sectors. It will mark the hard sectors as bad and repair the soft sectors to make them reusable. Sometimes Windows automatically runs this tool when there is a problem in your hard disk.
• Using SMART System: With the SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) diagnostic test, you can check the physical state of the hard disk drive and see if there are some bad sectors that can lead to disk failure.
• Using Data Recovery Software: The last option would be a professional Data Recovery software that can recover your data from the hard disk containing bad sectors. There are many data recovery software available in the online marketplace, you can choose any good one.

Running the Check Disk Tool

If you are looking for “how to remove bad sector from hard disk”, you can use the Check Disk tool. It comes as a built-in tool in Windows operating systems to check the integrity of your hard disk and fix various file system errors. It will allow you to scan the hard disk drive for bad sectors. You can run the Check Disk tool in two different ways.

To run the Check Disk tool via cmd, follow the steps given below:

• First, press Win+R on the desktop to open the Windows Run Now type cmd in the box and press Enter.
• On the Command Prompt, “chkdsk g: /f /r /x” and press Enter. (Here G is the drive letter of the disk you want to run the Check Disk tool for).

This will run the check disk took (chkdsk) to check and repair hard disk bad sector and/or other hard disk error messages. The three parameters you have used above have the following roles:

• The /f parameter tells the Check Disk tool to fix any errors if found.
• The /r parameter tells the Check Disk tool to locate the hard disk bad sector and recover readable information from it.
• And the /x parameter forces the drive to dismount before the Check Disk tool can start the process.

Another way to run the Check Disk tool is:

• First, you need to open My Computer.
• Then right-click the local drive (C: drive) or any other drive that is causing the error, and select Properties.
• Now select the Tools tab, and click the Check Now
• This will open the “Check Disk Local Disk (C:)” dialog box. Before you can actually start the process, select either or both of these actions:
  • Automatically fix file system errors to fix errors without scanning the bad sectors.
  • Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors to fix errors and scan the bad sectors.
• After selecting the appropriate action(s), click the Start It will take some time.
• Once the process is successfully completed, you will get a report of the errors which have been fixed during the process. If there is no report, this means no errors were found.

Use Professional Data Recovery Software

If there are a few bad sectors, even then the whole hard disk becomes inaccessible. In such a situation, when you cannot recover your data from the hard disk, you should consider using a professional data recovery software. There are many software vendors in the online marketplace that provide data recovery software to perform manual data recovery without requiring any help from the data recovery expert. You can use any such data recovery software to recover your data from the corrupted hard disk. One such software is the Windows Data Recovery tool provided by Aryson Technologies. This is one of the most recommended data recovery solutions for bad sector hard disk recovery. Since it requires no prior technical expertise, any technical or non-technical user can use this software with ease.

• Using this software, you can recover your maximum possible data from the damaged or corrupted disk partitions and hard disk.
• It supports data recovery from both internal and external hard disks and other storage media devices.
• If you have accidentally formatted the hard disk, even then you can use this software to restore your data back.
• It supports both FAT and NTFS file systems, and MBR and GUID partition tables.
• There are multiple scanning and recovery modes to recover maximum possible data.
• You can check the preview of all the recoverable files and folders prior to saving.
• It runs smoothly under all major Windows-based operating systems.

Before purchasing this software, you must download its demo version. The free demo version of this software will allow you to save the recovered data up to 2 GB. To save all the recovered data, you need to purchase the licensed version of this software.

Conclusion

The article has briefly explained everything about the hard disk bad sector like what it is, how it occurs in the hard disk, the common symptoms, and how you can prevent hard disk bad sector from occurring. I have also shared some useful information about how to repair hard disk bad sector. In the end, I have recommended a professional data recovery software that can help you recover your data from the hard disk that contains bad sector.

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