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Partitioning "around" bad sectors

Started by Shadow Wizard , Jun 23 2012 12:30 PM

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4 replies to this topic

#1 Shadow Wizard

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Posted 23 June 2012 - 12:30 PM

Ok, so I have this hard drive, and after scanning it with HDDregenerator it indicates that in about the first 50 GB there are several bad sectors, but the rest of the drive is fine. Is there any reason I should not partition around these bad sectors? e.g. creating a partition that spans from the 70 GB mark to then end of the drive. I would loose 70 GB, but would still have the rest to use.
please when responding provide details. Responses such as "Don't do it." or "It would be bad" are not responses I am looking for. If I cannot use the good space on the drive, I want to know why.

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#2 the_patriot11

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Posted 23 June 2012 - 01:40 PM

I suppose creating custom partitions around the bad sectors would work for awhile-but what I would be concerned about is the drive is already starting to go bad-and it will just continue to deteriorate over time, which increases the chances of you losing the data on the good partitions if the rest of the drive were to go bad. If it were me, I would just purchase a brand new drive and use this one for target practice, but technically, you could probably use it just partitioning out the bad parts-just make sure you back up everything you care about to another source.

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#3 Shadow Wizard

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Posted 23 June 2012 - 02:01 PM

I suppose creating custom partitions around the bad sectors would work for awhile-but what I would be concerned about is the drive is already starting to go bad-and it will just continue to deteriorate over time, which increases the chances of you losing the data on the good partitions if the rest of the drive were to go bad. If it were me, I would just purchase a brand new drive and use this one for target practice, but technically, you could probably use it just partitioning out the bad parts-just make sure you back up everything you care about to another source.

Thank you very much. What you say does make sense I do suppose, depending on how the drive was damaged. It was just natural wear over time, you are likely right. Anyone else have an opinion on this?

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#4 rotor123

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Posted 23 June 2012 - 02:02 PM

As the_patriot11 says, I agree. One other thing part of the boot process will still be happening at the start of the drive as that is where the OS looks for it to be located.

Be Aware of this also, if track zero is bad......

http://www.boot-us.com/gloss04.htm

Master Boot Record (MBR) / track 0

Master Boot Record (MBR):
The Master Boot Record (MBR) on x86-computers is the first sector of the hard disk. The MBR occupies exactly one sector (512 bytes). After starting the computer the BIOS automatically loads the first sector of the boot drive

Roger

Edited by rotor123, 23 June 2012 - 02:02 PM.

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#5 hamluis

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Posted 23 June 2012 - 08:48 PM

FWIW: When a hard drive is formatted...it automatically takes notice of and works around bad sectors.

I'm curious as to how anyone could assert 50GB of bad sectors, if I understand what you are saying.

Bad Sectors On Hard Drives - http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1583&page=3

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