HDD "remapping"

[Ravagerx]

Hi!

I have some HDD with lots of bad blocks. I know, that there are some programs that allow to clear this blocks from drive. But I don't know there can I find the one of this programs. Can anyone help me? Any of my advices based on the my understanding of facts you supply.

Excuse my English, I'm from Russia...

 

[dgrewe]

assuming Windows95 or better, try:
start > run > scandisk (newer system)
or
start > run > chkdsk (older system)
David W. Grewe
Dave@internationalbid.com
ICQ VFP ActiveList #46145644

 

[Ravagerx]

Sorry, you misunderstood me. Then I say "clear this blocks", I mean - make it invisible. The scandisk and chkdsk only marks blocks as bad, so operating system can't use it. But I want this blocks invisible. It can be done, I assume in HDD controller/HDD BIOS level - write this bad blocks in bad blocks table, so drive will ignore it. This must slightly decrease the space on drive, but there are no bad's on drive. Any of my advices based on the my understanding of facts you supply.

Excuse my English, I'm from Russia...

 

[Alt255]

There are ways to do this at a very low level but nobody, in his right mind, would suggest them. The file system maintains it's own rights for very good reasons.

Out of curiousity (only), based on your preceeding post, do you hope to mark certain disk sectors as "bad" or "inaccessible" to protect their contents (as you might with a "copy protection" scheme or a virus)?

If so, there are better ways to protect the data without interfering with the file system.

If I misunderstood your post, I am sorry.

Alt255@Vorpalcom.Intranets.com
​

 

[Ravagerx]

Hi!

I mean to make invisible some physically damaged disk areas.

Sometimes we send drives with damaged sectors to vendor (for example, Western Digital), and after time this drives returns without bad sectors, but it size slightly decreases. I try to find a way to do such repair in my lab, so I ask about this kind of utility. Any of my advices based on the my understanding of facts you supply.

Excuse my English, I'm from Russia...

 

[Alt255]

I believe that SCANDISK will mark bad physical sectors. FORMAT will do the same but it also has a parameter that allows you to re-test clusters previously marked as "bad".

I realize that this isn't the answer you were seeking. The drive manufacturers are able to detect damaged disk areas and make them "disappear" so they don't even appear in the bad sector table but... the methods are proprietary, involving, I believe, a reprogramming of the on-board IDE controller.

Years ago, the manufacturers used to print a list of the bad sectors on the hard drive label. With the advent of really large hard disks, this practice was laid aside (the printers ran out of ink). The absence of this table doesn't mean that you are purchasing (for example) a 20gb hard drive with 20gb of good storage, only that you are purchasing a 20gb hard drive that is "free from errors".

If a drive has errors but the OS steps over them and goes its merry way then the existence of the errors is arguable. If a tree fell in the forest but nobody witnessed it, then did the tree really fall? If a drive has a bad sector that can't be detected, then does the drive have a bad sector?

It all depends on who you ask. The loss of a few 512 byte sectors on a modern hard drive can be easy to ignore.

I'm sorry I couldn't provide you with the answer you seek. You could contact the major HD manufacturers but I'm fairly certain that the answer isn't for sale.

Alt255@Vorpalcom.Intranets.com
​

 

[Ravagerx]

Hi!

Thanks for your attention. I realize that only manufacturers can do remapping. It's bad news.

Thanks again Any of my advices based on the my understanding of facts you supply.

Excuse my English, I'm from Russia...