All hard disk manufacturers write and maintain special diagnostic software for
their drives. The purpose of diagnostic software is simple: to test drives and diagnose
potential problems with them. These programs usually come with retail drives on a floppy
disk, or can be downloaded from the manufacturer's web site (at no charge). In some cases
a single program will function for any of the manufacturer's drives, but in other cases a
different program is needed depending on the drive model; check the manufacturer's
instructions.
If you suspect a problem with your hard disk, you should always run a diagnostic
program to check the status of the drive. For one thing, the technical support department
of most manufacturers will require the information provided by the diagnostic tool in
order to help you with any problems you experience with the drive. Some will require an
error code or other status information before agreeing to declare a drive defective and
issue an RMA for it.
Often, the diagnostic functions of these utilities are combined with other features for
erasing the disk and are sometimes (incorrectly) called "low-level format
utilities". For more information on this
software, see this section.
Warning: I recommend
against using any diagnostic utility or other software tool written by one manufacturer on
another manufacturer's drives, unless the manufacturer of your drive instructs you to do
so. While it is very unlikely that a problem will result--such software usually
interrogates the drive to determine its type and will refuse to touch a drive made by
another manufacturer--there is always the possibility of problems. It's best to use
utilities designed specifically for your particular make and model.
Tip: The operative word
when using diagnostic software is "software". Like any software program,
diagnostic utilities can occasionally have bugs or problems. There was recently a version
of a diagnostic utility that was incorrectly returning error codes on drives that turned
out to be perfectly fine. Be sure to double-check any error reports with your drive
maker's technical support department before concluding that the drive is bad.
Next: Failure Modes and Failure Determination
