I've got a relatively unused external 10TB drive that Windows prompted me to scan and fix. I agreed, but now it's been stuck overnight, trying to read very slowly. I checked the drive's health with CrystalDiskInfo, and it shows bad signs, especially with the Current Pending Sector Count and Uncorrectable Sector Count both at 66. I'm unsure how to abort this scan and fix since neither the Cancel button nor closing the window seems to work. Should I just restart my computer and unplug the drive when it shuts down? Also, I've noticed the Pending Sector Count went down to 65, but I'm worried that waiting too long might cause more damage since the drive's temperature is already at 64°C. What should I do?
1 Answer
It’s not looking great for that drive. The lowering number in the Current Pending Sector column isn't good; it suggests the drive is deteriorating. You can indeed just reboot your computer to forcefully abort the scan. However, I’d recommend considering replacing the drive since it might be on its last legs. Those pending sectors generally need some kind of write to convert them into reallocated sectors, but it sounds like that drive might be struggling with that too.
Thanks for the advice! I've already shut my PC off and ordered a new 10TB drive. The data isn't mission-critical, but it would be a hassle to lose it completely. I'm curious about the next steps—when the new drive arrives, should I clone the old drive or just copy over the important files manually? Any best practices?