I've got a roughly 5-year-old 4TB HDD that I just transferred all my data from to a new drive. During this process, I encountered multiple CRC errors on older files, leading to failures when I tried to copy them over. Thankfully, these files were backed up, so I'm not too worried about losing anything important. After I moved the data, I did a full format and ran CHKDSK /R on the HDD, which didn't show any bad sectors. Now I'm left wondering if I can still trust this hard drive or if it's time to toss it. I'm using Windows 11, by the way.
3 Answers
Running CHKDSK /R is a good step, but keep in mind it only does a limited scan and may miss some issues. I recommend running a SMART extended self-test using tools from the drive's manufacturer. Also, CRC errors can often be due to problems with the SATA cable rather than the drive itself. So check that too!
Honestly, it sounds like your drive is starting to degrade. Those CRC errors usually indicate some level of failure. Better to play it safe and discard it rather than risk data loss later.
You might also be dealing with 'weak' sectors. These are sectors that don't read consistently but aren't considered bad yet. A destructive write test could help identify these, but if you're getting consistent CRC errors on certain files, it might indicate that those specific areas are failing, so keep a close watch on the health of your HDD.
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