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I am using Windows 8.1 Pro and have a drive that I think may be dying, so I ran 4 different repair tools on it. And now WD Data Lifeguard shows no disk errors at all after a full test. I’m still concerned about the stability of the disk, but I would like to try using it again with the knowledge that any data on it could be destroyed at any time.

Is there a way I can monitor the disk access reads/writes or whatever information I would need to be able to tell if the hard disk drive is in fact going bad? I don’t mind having a program run in the background to monitor as I’ll likely only be using it for a few weeks at most.

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As Google found out a couple of years ago, the SMART data from disks is not actually valuable in predicting failure.

They ran tests against thousands of hard drives comparing SMART data with actual failures and found there was very little correlation.

Personally, I've only ever come across one tool that is a good indicator of disc issues - and able to often fix them. Unfortunately it is a commercial tool and quite expensive at around USD90. Spinrite from grc.com is the tool in case you are interested.

Worth noting that, in the last 3 years, I've seen 4 or 5 hard drives fail and that is a pretty high ratio. The move to laptops and more mobile use while the increasing data density seem to be the issues.

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  • I've also seen more failures, mainly in my desktop machine -- I think it's more about data density than movement (modern laptop drives park automatically between read/write movements, so movement isn't a big deal). With prices coming down, I'll probably be buying exclusively SSD from now on. There's no way to predict their wearout,either,but current units have a normal usage life much longer than I'll live.
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Apr 9, 2015 at 15:54
  • Agree that data density is likely to be the main issue but I've noted some additional issues with laptops. I don't think the parking features can deal with everything. It is possible that overheating also adds to the problem. Agree that SSD's are the way to go if you can deal with the cost and smaller sizes. Spinny things are never a good idea! :) Apr 9, 2015 at 15:59
  • Yes, heat contributes too, and laptops don't cool as well as most desktop machines -- though I'd expect all-in-ones and microbricks to give similar issues. I got a 256 MB SDD a few months ago for around $70; they're cheaper now,,,
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Apr 9, 2015 at 16:11
  • The only data I keep track of is the number of sectors that were reallocated and or the number of bad sectors determined by the firmware. Unless your dealing with power failures, those two attributes, almost always indicate a failure.
    – Ramhound
    Apr 9, 2015 at 16:16
  • Except that the controllers don't always report these correctly. Often a drive fails with very few reported issues. Apr 9, 2015 at 16:19

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