Krdytkyu

I recently bought a new 1TB hard drive and I would like to do a couple of tests before I start using it (I prefer to know if there are problems or there may be problems now before it is too late).

The question is: How useful or how to scan it?

In Windows when a unit is formatted with zeros, if there is a defective sector, the unit automatically reassigns it for a new one (tests performed in this scenario). In Linux I'm not sure if this happens and I do not have to do these tests anymore. So, I can think of some options and at the same time some doubts:

1. Format the unit with zero fill. If there are bad sectors, will they be replaced by new sectors automatically as in Windows?




2. Execute the badblocks tool. This tool although I consider it very good, for a new disc I do not know if it is too exaggerated since it tests with 3 different patterns; demanding more time and wear, perhaps, unnecessary. Can only 1 pattern be programmed? Would it be advisable for this case?




3. Run tool F3 - Fight Flash Fraud. This tool writes a file occupying the entire space of the unit and then checks it, so that the following tests (write / read / test) would be executed. It is used to detect fraudulent pendrives and because after writing the file it proves it, I suppose that this would detect any error in sectors of the surface. For what I think is a good alternative for testing.

These are the options that occur to me and I would like to be told, which of these options would be best applied in cases of new discs and also in cases of used discs and why.

No, OSes does not know it directly.

Bad block management is not done this way nowadays.

When hard drive detects CRC/ECC error on a sector/block, it will try to correct the data and remap the sector elsewhere, this is automatically done when you read the sectors.

This is called "spare sector" mechanism. Spare sectors are often from several hundred KBs to several MBs.

You can only find out the health status through "S.M.A.R.T.", and you should replace it before "reallocated blocks" are increasing too many(which indicates bad HDD health status).

If OS really encounters an I/O error on your drive and bad blocks marked by file system, it often means your spare sectors are depleted, you shouldn't use it anymore or you're going to lose (some) data.

For reading S.M.A.R.T., install Smartmontools by sudo apt install --no-install-recommends smartmontools and read smart status using command sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdX

I have never used badbloacks but from the the man badblacks pages:

DESCRIPTION

       badblocks is used to search for bad blocks on a device (usually a disk partition).  device is the special file cor_

       responding  to the device (e.g /dev/hdc1).  last_block is the last block to be checked; if it is not specified, the

       last block on the device is used as a default.  first_block is an optional parameter specifying the starting  block

       number for the test, which allows the testing to start in the middle of the disk.  If it is not specified the first

       block on the disk is used as a default.

       Important note: If the output of badblocks is going to be fed to the e2fsck or mke2fs  programs,  it  is  important

       that  the  block  size is properly specified, since the block numbers which are generated are very dependent on the

       block size in use by the filesystem.  For this reason, it is strongly recommended  that  users  not  run  badblocks

       directly, but rather use the -c option of the e2fsck and mke2fs programs.

It is adviced to use the command sudo e2fsck -c /dev/sdxX so block size issues won't come into play. Again from man pages

WARNING

       Never use the -w option on a device containing an existing file system.  This option erases data!  If you  want  to

       do  write-mode  testing  on an existing file system, use the -n option instead.  It is slower, but it will preserve

       your data.



       The -e option will cause badblocks to output a possibly incomplete list of bad blocks. Therefore it is  recommended

       to  use  it  only when one wants to know if there are any bad blocks at all on the device, and not when the list of

       bad blocks is wanted.