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Check hard drive with 3rd party file system

  • 02-04-2020 10:01PM
    #1
    The_B_Man
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 8,008 ✭✭✭
    Something about sandwiches


    Hi,

    I need to check 3 hard drives taken from a machine that's not working. I want to see if its not working because the hard drives are broken, or if its another issue.

    I don't know what File System the drives are formatted to, but its not NTFS anyway.

    I am looking for some free software that I can check the drive itself to see if its operational or not. The data itself is less important so I just need to check the drive(s) mechanically.

    Can anyone recommend some software?

    Thanks.


Comments

  • #2
    GowlBag
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 57 ✭✭GowlBag


    Assuming the drives are any way modern they will have SMART technology built in. You will need to check their recorded SMART attributes. I use a free program called Crystal Disk Info to check these.

    There are certain critical attributes to look out for that would indicate drive failure. More info on these here:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.#ATA_S.M.A.R.T._attributes


  • #3
    sheepsh4gger
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 622 ✭✭✭sheepsh4gger


    The easiest thing to do is connect them to a working computer (power and sata) then boot into Ubuntu from either a CD or USB stick.
    Unlike Windows, Linux supports foreign filesystems so if it's in any way modern then you should be able to just click on it and mount it to view the files.


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