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I am running Pop!_OS on my 128GB SSD and want to install Windows 10 on my 3TB HDD for gaming. The thing is that the HDD is for some reason really slow.

I checked on Linux and it says that there are 31872 bad sectors.

How can I fix these bad sectors or speed up my PC?

My PC is an iMac but I am just using Linux at the moment. Here are some details:

Disk Management Photo for my 3TB Drive

I also ran sudo fsck /dev/sdb from some research but I keep getting this or something similar:

ozone@ozone:~$ sudo fsck /dev/sdb
fsck from util-linux 2.34
e2fsck 1.45.5 (07-Jan-2020)
ext2fs_open2: Bad magic number in super-block
fsck.ext2: Superblock invalid, trying backup blocks...
fsck.ext2: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sdb

The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem.  If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
    e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
 or
    e2fsck -b 32768 <device>

Found a gpt partition table in /dev/sdb

Is there any way I can fix my HDD or make it better?

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  • You can't 'fix' bad sectors, they're bad, ie broken & your drive & OS should already have mapped round them. Next test is a SMART test, to try evaluate whether this was a one-off occurrence or the drive is rapidly failing. Right now your main concern should be that your backup of it is up to date & complete.
    – Tetsujin
    May 22, 2020 at 14:07
  • I have nothing on the drive so I don't need to back it up. I have just done another sudo fsck /dev/sdb2 and gotten this: ozone@ozone:~$ sudo fsck /dev/sdb2 [sudo] password for ozone: fsck from util-linux 2.34 e2fsck 1.45.5 (07-Jan-2020) 3TB_Drive: clean, 11/183123968 files, 11782357/732482304 blocks
    – Kevin A.
    May 22, 2020 at 14:09
  • Disk Assessment says: Disk is OK, one failing attribute is failing.
    – Kevin A.
    May 22, 2020 at 14:10
  • fsck will just keep trying to patch up the drive's format & file system, it's not any more clever than that. Next test is a SMART test, google for an appropriate one for linux. Chances are, it's ready for the scrap heap.
    – Tetsujin
    May 22, 2020 at 14:12
  • Wow, 31872 bad sectors? This HDD is hopeless.
    – gronostaj
    May 22, 2020 at 14:25

2 Answers 2

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Answer in short: 1. Replace the drive 2. Improve the temperature condition 3. If there is a speed issue left, use a SSD.

I checked on Linux and it says that there are 31872 bad sectors. How can I fix these bad sectors or speed up my PC?

You can't fix them. Your drive is dying. You have to replace your drive but a new drive won't last long either because your drive is running at 54 °C as documented in your picture. This is at the upper limit of the allowed temperature window.

What is your room temperature? Reducing the operating temperature of your drive is urgently needed apart from replacing. Try to install a fan or mount your drive in a metal case that is able to absorb and transfer the heat outside. (I am not familiar with Imacs)

Your speed issue is most likely caused by read attempts of your drive from broken sectors. When being unhapping with the HDD drive performance after replacement by a healthy one, use an SSD instead.

Regarding the answer of Keltari:

Also, it is not uncommon for traditional hard drives to have some bad sectors.

Nearly 32000 are not "some bad sectors" and even some bad sectors will make me replace my drive.

As for your hard drive being slow, you havent given enough information. Traditional spinning > hard drives are massively slower slower than SSDs. SATA 2 can support up 3 Gb/s, while traditional PATA drives are 133 MB/s.

Theoretical interface speed does not matter for the operation or the installation of an operating system unless you are currently doing a full format operation.

When installing or running the OS files in use are typically small. The speed is rather determined by access time which is high for a spindle drive and low for a SSD.

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  • Why does this quote the contents of another user's answer instead of the question?
    – Ramhound
    May 22, 2020 at 16:13
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Generally speaking, bad sectors cannot be fixed. Once a sector is marked as being bad, they are no longer used by the hard drive. Also, it is not uncommon for traditional hard drives to have some bad sectors.

As for your hard drive being slow, you havent given enough information. Traditional spinning hard drives are massively slower slower than SSDs. SATA 2 can support up 3 Gb/s, while traditional PATA drives are 133 MB/s. The speed difference is like night and day. It could very well be your hard drive is working perfectly.

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  • Let me give you an example. It took over 4 hours to install Ubuntu a few months ago. It took over 6 hours to install Windows 10 yesterday.
    – Kevin A.
    May 22, 2020 at 14:20
  • What are you trying to express by comparing SATA and PATA speeds?
    – gronostaj
    May 22, 2020 at 14:25

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