[Bad Sector Explained in 2023] What Is Bad Sector?

Updated on Dec 09, 2023 | by Kent

PAGE CONTENT:

What Is A Bad Sector?
Bad Sector Cause on HDD/SSD
SSD/HDD Bad Sector? Check Bad Sector Repair

What Is A Bad Sector?

Hard drive damage, data loss, and data recovery are common issues in the digital world. One of the causes of hard drive failure is bad sectors, which can significantly impact the possibility of data loss.

A bad sector is a sector on a data storage device, such as a hard drive, that is damaged due to mechanical issues, manufacturing flaws, or physical stress, which can cause data corruption and pose a risk to information security.

what is bad sector

Hard disk drives (HDDs) are vulnerable due to their mechanical components, making them prone to bad sectors, which are unreadable areas on the drive, and can be caused by various factors, requiring a fix using different strategies.

Hard bad sectors
Soft bad sectors

Hard bad sectors

Hard bad sectors, also known as physical bad sectors, are areas on a hard disk that have physical damage and are no longer usable for storing data.

Causes

Physical bad sectors on a drive can be caused by various factors. They may have been present since the drive's manufacturing, which involved inspecting millions of sectors, a time-consuming process. Alternatively, user error, such as dropping the drive, exposing it to intense heat, or accumulation of dust, can also lead to the formation of bad sectors.

Solutions

Unfortunately, defective areas on a hard drive cannot be fixed, including corrupted and lost data. Damaged PST files and other data will be stored on bad sectors, making absolute recovery impossible. It's essential to handle your hard drive with care to prevent damage.

Soft bad sectors

Soft bad sectors are malfunctioning clusters on a hard drive where the error correcting code (ECC) doesn't match the sector's contents, making it unreadable.

Causes

Soft bad sectors are often caused by software issues, such as sudden power interruptions that can leave sectors in a logical state of disarray. This can occur when the hard drive is writing to a sector at the exact moment the power is shut off, resulting in a sector that can no longer be accessed.

Solutions

Fortunately, soft bad sectors can be fixed, unlike hard bad sectors, and most computer systems come with built-in disk repair tools, such as Windows' CHKDSK tool, which can mend weak, damaged sectors, allowing them to be read and written normally after being fixed.

Bad Sector Cause on HDD/SSD

The bad sectors occur due to improper usage of the hard drive, power surges, physical damage, and software bugs. To prevent the occurrence of bad sectors, it is recommended to use a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to protect the computer from power surges, avoid physical damage by keeping the computer in a safe place, and update the operating system and software regularly to prevent software bugs.

Basic hard drive issues, such as faulty sectors, can significantly impact data storage. To prevent them, it's essential to understand the potential causes of bad sectors. These can include various factors, such as physical damage, overheating, power surges, and software issues, which can lead to data loss and storage problems. Understanding these causes can help you take preventive measures to maintain the health of your hard drive and ensure the integrity of your data.

Overheating

Hard drives work best between 20-25°C and overheating can cause a crystal oscillator clock to malfunction, potentially damaging the hardware inside. To prevent this, it's recommended to use efficient cooling methods and keep the hard drive away from heat sources.

Over-aging

You should be aware that each disk drive has an anticipated lifespan, and if your hard drive has been in use for a while, the inside hardware may deteriorate significantly, resulting in damaged sectors.

Virus/malware attack

To avoid malware and viruses, activate effective anti-virus software and other security measures to protect your data and prevent damage to your PC's hard drive.

File system error

Bad sectors on hard disks can occur due to file system errors, causing logical errors and damaged sectors on the drives.

Improperly close your computer

A hard disk drive is in high-The drive head will move to its original position when you suddenly shut down your computer, potentially causing it to rub against the disk and resulting in bad sectors. To avoid this, it's essential to turn off your computer correctly.

Dust

The most common cause of hard disk failure is dust, which can lead to bad sectors and interfere with heat dissipation due to its close proximity to the drive head and internal circuitry components.

While most Solid State Drives (SSDs) experience wear out from writing, they can also develop bad sectors. This can manifest in various ways, including the drive being slow to access data, frequent crashes, or failing to boot up properly. In some cases, the drive may also produce error messages or show signs of data corruption.

Files and folders can get corrupt or unreadable.
Perform significantly worse than anticipated
Poort Read speed read speeds for particular data types.

The system may not always recognize the SSD, leading to slower performance or booting issues. Additionally, SSDs can experience bad sectors, despite their flash storage technology not having mechanical parts. Over time and use, these memory cells can fail, potentially leading to data loss or corruption.

SSD/HDD Bad Sector? Check Bad Sector Repair

Now that we know the reasons for bad sectors, let's move on to checking and potentially repairing them. There are three solutions that can help with this:

Run CHKDSK
Bad sector repair tool (Windows PowerShell)
Boot into Safe Mode

1. Run CHKDSK

To launch CHKDSK in the Windows Command Prompt, you can type the command `chkdsk` followed by the drive letter of the disk you want to check, such as `chkdsk c:`. This will launch the CHKDSK utility and allow you to scan and fix any errors on the specified drive.
To open Command Prompt with administrator privileges, type "cmd" in the Start menu's search box, right-click on the Command Prompt result, and select "Run as administrator".
To run a check on your drive, open the Command Prompt window and type "chkdsk" followed by pressing Enter. This will initiate a scan to identify any potential drive problems, and if any issues are found, it will inform you of what needs to be repaired. However, the CHKDSK command alone won't automatically fix errors, and you'll need to use additional commands to address any issues that are identified.

CHKDSK commands can be used to correct faults discovered during a scan. The following commands are available to correct faults: /F, /R, /P, /C, /M, /B, /X, /I, /L, /V, /Q, /Z, /Y, /K, /S, /H, /I, /F, /R. Each command has a specific function, such as /F to fix errors, /R to recover data, /P to check for bad sectors, and so on.

Comparison	Data recovery service provider
chkdsk	The command "chkdsk" is used to check a hard drive for errors, but it does not attempt to fix them. It scans the drive for logical and physical errors, and reports any issues it finds. The command is typically used to identify and report errors, rather than to repair them.
chkdsk [drive letter]:	The command specifies which drive or partition to scan, replacing [drive letter] with the desired drive, such as C: to scan the C drive.
chkdsk /f	Scanning your hard drive's file system can sometimes result in errors, and attempts are made to fix them.
chkdsk /r	The command attempts to repair sectors on your hard drive, making them readable within the file system, and also runs the chkdsk /f functionality, a deeper check.
chkdsk /x	The command "chkdsk /f" disconnects a drive, allowing it to be scanned and repaired. It runs the chkdsk functionality to fix issues.
chkdsk /f /r /x	The command scans the file system and sectors, fixes any errors, and if needed, disconnects the drive before doing so.
/scan	An online scan of the hard drive can be performed while it's still in use, allowing you to continue using the drive without interruption. This type of scan is typically run on both internal and external hard drives.

2. Bad sector repair tool (Windows PowerShell)

To repair bad sectors on Windows 10 and 11 using PowerShell, you can use the `chkdsk` command to scan and repair disk errors. First, open PowerShell as an administrator and type `chkdsk /x C:`, replacing "C:" with the drive letter you want to scan.
Right-click on the Start button and choose Windows Powershell (Admin)
The user is being asked to confirm that they want to allow PowerShell to make changes to their computer. They are being prompted to click "Yes" to proceed.
Copy and paste the following command into the new window, then hit the Enter key:

Repair-Volume C –OfflineScanAndFix

To repair the volume on drive C, you would run the command `Repair-Volume C -Scan` in PowerShell. This command will scan the volume for any issues and attempt to repair them.
To resolve the error, run the System File Checker (SFC) and DISM tools to scan and replace corrupted system files. Restart Windows after the repair is completed to check if the error is not there anymore.

3. Boot into Safe Mode

If the problems persist, restart your PC in Safe Mode and give the following fixes another shot.

Verify the disk for system errors.
Format the hard drive and run the CHKDSK Command.
To optimize your computer's performance, use Windows PowerShell to defragment your hard drive and fix any disk issues. This can help improve the speed and efficiency of your computer by reorganizing the data on your hard drive and resolving any problems that may be slowing it down.

Restart your computer after finishing this. You should now be able to fix your disk issues.

If your hard drive has bad sectors, it's likely that data on those sectors will be lost, and it's impossible to repair them. In this case, it's best to back up your data to prevent losing it.

If you suspect your hard disk has a bad sector, you can back up your data using Qiling Disk Copy, a reliable and professional disk cloning software that helps you copy data from one HDD or SSD to another without losing any of it.

Qiling disk copy pro

What are its features?

It helps to produce backups and system migration by copying the operating system to a new hard disk as a backup.
Cloning a hard drive to an SSD can improve your PC's performance by providing faster access to data, reducing loading times, and enhancing overall system responsiveness.
It helps to make a bootable USB, CD, or DVD.
In the event of a system failure, it can help create a bootable CD, DVD, or USB, allowing for a recovery of the system.
Easy and time-saving method of upgrading your hard drive.
The tool's user-friendly interface eliminates the need to navigate complex migration settings, while its one-click auto migration settings ensure error-free data transfer.
Supports sector-The cloning software supports various advanced features, including level cloning, one-click OS migration, resizing partitions when copying disks, and creating WinPE bootable disks.

Conclusion

While data recovery techniques work well in logical failure situations, physical damage to an HDD or SSD can still cause issues. However, data can still be recovered using various data recovery software. To prevent physical damage, it's essential to take care of the hard disk by ensuring it doesn't overheat and doesn't become overloaded with heavy data, which can create bad and soft sectors and ultimately damage the disk.

More Information About Bad Sectors

Bad sectors on a hard drive occur when a physical area of the disk becomes damaged, causing data to be lost or corrupted. To avoid bad sectors, it's essential to regularly back up your data and maintain your hard drive's health through regular disk checks and defragmentation.

1. Do bad sectors mean bad drive?

A bad sector, also known as a compromised sector, is a sector that is slow to access or contains small clusters of defective storage space, making it no longer readable or writable. This can cause harm to the hard drive and prevent users from accessing data fragments.

2. How can we avoid bad sectors?

To prevent bad sectors, keep the system cool and dust-free, and use branded hardware. Use short data cables and ensure proper system setup. If possible, use an uninterrupted Power supply mode.

3. Will formatting a hard drive fix bad sectors?

Formatting a hard drive is a reliable method to resolve issues with it. For most external hard disk issues, a quick format is sufficient, but for problems with bad sectors, a full format is required. A full format checks the entire drive for damaged sectors and remaps them to a backup sector, making them unusable. This process ensures the drive's reliability and prevents data loss.