this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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PC Master Race
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The SMART table is not necessarily an accurate representation of the disk’s condition - I get a lot of disks that come through with a “GOOD” condition yet they’re on the brink of data loss.
Disks in a caution state should have replacement and data recovery prioritized.
The appropriate approach to data recovery will vary based on the condition of the disk.
A good place to start would be to download the free Victoria disk diagnostic software, run the “quick” surface scan, and post the result here. Note that any disk interaction / usage during the test will negatively bias the result.
As far as replacement is concerned, provision for whatever falls within your budget plus a second disk to use for periodic backups.
In Windows, I use two disks in a mirrored storage space to tolerate one disk failure, plus an offsite backup.
The quick result looks like this -
I ran the test and have attached a screenshot of the results here. Does this make sense to you? The "quick" scan took well over 3 hours! 😅
Update: I see the screenshot now. It seems I ran the full scan instead! Damn!
Yup, that’s the full scan. Your quick scan results were chill enough that it wasn’t necessarily a bad idea to scan further, I usually stop a scan after 5-10 dead sectors because I know I’ll be replacing the disk.
You’ve got 47 dead / completely unresponsive sectors and quite a few that are slower to respond. Overall, it’s good that you don’t have a ton beyond the 250ms range.
I should have asked, is this disk making any clicking / grinding / scraping noises?
Before proceeding, I would prioritize manual copy of any critical / irreplaceable data. You mentioned using this disk for Program Files - Program installers can usually be sourced and rerun, so I would consider that low priority.
When it comes time to clone the disk, those dead sectors might pose a problem with cloning software. I know that, by default, Macrium Reflect and Clonezilla stop the clone on unresponsive sectors. Both have options to override that, leaving behind bad data.
If the disk is not clicky / scrapey / grindy, you could run
chkdsk /r X:to have your filesystem adjusted and reallocate data away from problem areas before running a clone operation.Please note that continued operation of a failing disk yields continued degradation. In cases of active / rapid failure, running a long filesystem repair operation like chkdsk can actually work against you.
I use OpenSuperClone, a Linux based advanced cloning tool, for most failing disk cases that come through my shop. It’s probably overkill for the current condition of your disk and there’s going to be a learning curve if you choose to go that route, but the main advantage is that it grabs all the “easy” sectors before working on problem areas in order of increasing difficulty. I would have been recommending this route if you were to have had a high count of sectors taking longer than 500ms to respond (green / orange / red). That recommendation would have been accompanied by the disclaimer “if you can’t afford to lose this data, hire a professional”
Thank you so much for your deep analysis and help in reading these charts 😄 I have moved all my Plex content out of there and I'll make a list of the Programs installed on there. There are some downloads and other folders, mostly related to software installs and experiments I've run over time, which I'll have to catalog and hopefully move.
The disk isn't making any clicking/grinding noises. At least, none that I can hear through the chassis.
As for the chkdsk command, seems like Victoria can also do that, but you would prefer the system tool?
Unfortunately, I do not have any option but to continue to use the disk for now. I'll minimize the use, but it'll take me a while to get a replacement disk. Hopefully it holds on till then!
I see you're a professional. So thank you for all your time! The data on there isn't the "can't lose" variety, but I'll get Teracopy on the task asap!