how to test a harddrive

ali825 · 4 Apr 2011 at 14:01

hi,

im having a bit of trouble with my computer it keep blue screening, i think it down to a harddrive problem, at the moment it blue screen about 10 second after you log in, im wondering how i go about testing a harddrive without window, is there some sort of boot disk like with ram to test it?

ali

Philtor · 4 Apr 2011 at 14:18

Ultimate Boot CD has a number of utilities for doing this.

JonJ678 · 5 Apr 2011 at 02:32

Hirens or badblocks

trentlad · 5 Apr 2011 at 04:40

Yes sir, there most certainly is.

Google your HDD brand along with the term 'diagnostic'. You should be able to find the manufacturer website, upon which you'll find a series of diagnostic software formats.

If you're having problems logging into windows I'd recommend either the floppy drive or the boot CD based.

When you launch these, they will offer a series of diagnostic tests from a fast scan to a deep long scan of all your HDD sectors. Very thorough and usually highlights most issues.

If you're manufacturer does not provide one, I think the Western Digital diagnostics tool isn't locked to only their brand. May be an option if all else fails.

Good luck!

SparkyG · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:55

I think seagate do a diagnostics tool that can be used for other drive makes as well

panyan · 6 Apr 2011 at 08:47

philtorrens said:
Ultimate Boot CD has a number of utilities for doing this.

also Hiren's boot CD has a good set as well, i used to test my failing WD 2TB - died after 5 months