Is running CHKDSK /f /r safe for a hard drive showing pending sectors?

You can run chkdsk /f /r, but do it only after securing a backup. Run it from an elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell window, allow it to schedule at reboot, and don’t interrupt the scan once it starts. It checks the file system and attempts to identify unreadable sectors, but it won’t make a deteriorating disk reliable. A full scan of a 1TB hard drive can take several hours, and a drive with read errors may take considerably longer.

Check the drive manufacturer’s diagnostic tool and review the complete SMART data, including the reallocated, pending, and uncorrectable sector counts. A pending sector can occasionally clear after being successfully written or read, but you should still treat the warning seriously. If the drive is stable enough, cloning it to a replacement drive can be safer than repeatedly working from the original.

Sometimes a pending sector turns out to be readable and gets returned to service after a full read test, but that is not something to rely on. Even if the count goes back to zero, keep backups and monitor the drive. If the numbers increase or Windows reports more disk errors, replace it immediately.

A pending-sector warning usually points to a physical drive problem, and CHKDSK cannot repair failing hardware. Back up or copy your important files to another drive immediately—copy them rather than moving them. After your data is safe, replace the hard drive, preferably with an SSD. The laptop may support an M.2 SSD, but check whether its slot accepts SATA, NVMe, or both.