For the bad clusters or physical bad tracks that appear on the hard drive and cannot be repaired, we can apply some disk software to separate them into a single zone and hide them, so that the read/write head will no longer read it. This can extend the life of your hard drive to a certain extent. It must be emphasized that when using a hard drive with bad sectors, you must always back up your data because after one bad sector appears on the hard drive, more bad sectors will follow, leaving you helpless in the face of an invisible material library.
The simplest tool for repairing this kind of error is the Fdisk that comes with the Windows system. If there are physical bad sectors on the hard drive, we can estimate their approximate location through Scandisk and NDD as introduced earlier. Then, use Fdisk to logically partition these bad sectors separately. After all partitioning steps are completed, delete the logical partition containing the bad sectors, leaving only the good parts of the disk. Disk software like PartitionMagic and DiskManager can also accomplish this task. For example, with PartitionMagic partitioning software, first select the hard drive partition, then use the "Check Faults" command from the "Operations" menu to scan the disk and calculate the position of the bad clusters on the hard drive. Then, choose "Advanced" | "Bad Sector Retest" from the "Operations" menu: divide the area with bad clusters into multiple partitions, then use "Advanced" | "Hide Partition" from the "Operations" menu to hide the partition containing the bad clusters. This ensures the normal use of the hard drive with significant bad sectors and prevents the system from frequently reading/writing to the bad sectors, which could otherwise expand the bad sectors' area.
Below, I will introduce the operational steps in detail:
1. Return to the desktop, click on [Start] | [Programs] | PowerQuest PartitionMagic 8.0 | PartitionMagic 8.0 command, entering the main interface of PowerQuest PartitionMagic 8.0. Choose the disk (such as E drive), highlight it after selection, then click on the [Partition] | [Check Errors] menu command.
2. PartitionMagic begins to scan the disk, showing a dialog box with the scanning progress display and work status description. The list shows contents such as "Severity", "Repaired", "Number", and "Description". If a partition error appears, you can also click buttons such as [Repair], [Skip], and [Skip All].
3. After PartitionMagic finishes scanning the disk, if the bad sectors cannot be repaired, we select the disk, then click on the [Partition] | [Advanced] | [Bad Sector Retest] menu command from the main menu to reset the bad sectors for current isolation.
4. Through detection, calculate the position of the bad clusters on the hard drive. Now assume the bad sectors start approximately at the 900MB position of the E drive. Select the E drive, then click on the [Adjust a Partition's Size] command in the left [Select a Task] list to adjust the E drive partition.
5. The [Adjust Partition Size] dialog box appears. This wizard will adjust the size of a partition and let you specify how the adjustment affects other partitions on the same disk. If you want to increase the partition size, the wizard can automatically get free space from other partitions on the disk; if you reduce the partition size, the wizard can automatically allocate the freed-up space to other partitions on the disk.
6. The [Select Partition] wizard appears, allowing you to select the partition whose size you want to adjust. First, confirm the partition you want to resize. You can either click on it in the icon or in the list, for example, selecting the E partition, then clicking the [Next] button.
7. The original size of the E partition was 10000MB. Since the bad sectors appear at the 9000MB position in the beginning of the E partition, the new partition size should be less than 9000MB, such as about 8600MB. Then click the [Next] button.
8. Enter the [Supply Space to Which Partition?] wizard. The space obtained from resizing the partition can be allocated to other partitions on the hard drive. Since we have reduced the capacity of the E partition, we can allocate the released space to other partitions, but because of the bad sectors, do not allocate it to any other partition, i.e., do not check any checkboxes before the partitions. Then click the [Next] button.
9. Enter the [Confirm Partition Resize] wizard. Review the changes you want to make on the disk. This includes the situation of each partition on the disk before the operation and after the operation. When we confirm that the partition resizing is correct, click the [Finish] button.
10. Back to the main interface, select the unallocated disk space on the right, where the type is displayed as [Unallocated]. Then click on the [Copy a Partition] command in the left [Select a Task] column, which will create a new partition on your hard drive.
11. The [Create New Partition] wizard appears, helping you create a new partition on your hard drive. The new partition needs space, and the wizard can obtain free space by reducing the size of other partitions on the disk. Click the [Next] button to continue our task.
12. Enter the [Create Location] wizard, select the location on the disk to create the new partition. In the displayed list, indicate where you want to create the partition. If necessary, the wizard will move or resize other partitions to create space for the new partition. Here we use the recommended settings, so the new partition is located after the E partition, then click the [Next] button.
13. Enter the [Reduce Which Partition's Space?] wizard, which can reduce the size of other partitions on the hard drive, freeing up space for the new partition. In the displayed list, select the partition that can provide space for the new partition being created. Because our goal is to isolate bad sectors, do not check any checkboxes before the partitions here. Then click the [Next] button.
14. Enter the [Partition Properties] wizard, choosing capacity, volume label, and other properties of the new partition. The recommended settings shown here are based on your current operating system and the location of the new partition. Before making changes, you can click the [Tip] button to ensure you understand the issue. We set the new partition size to about 1400MB, choose FAT32 as the file system type, then click the [Next] button.
15. Enter the [Confirm Selection] wizard, including the situation of each partition on the disk before the operation and after the operation. If these selections are correct, click the [Finish] button; to make changes, click the [Back] button.
16. Back to the main interface, we can see the newly created partition as the I partition. Since bad sectors appear on the I partition, select the I partition for further processing, then click on the [Partition] | [Advanced] | [Hide Partition] menu command to hide the partition.
17. A confirmation box for [Hide Partition] pops up. Hiding the partition may cause a change in the drive letter. We are sure to hide the partition, click the [OK] button, returning to the main interface, we find that the area with bad sectors is separately divided into a partition and hidden, and the status of the I partition is hidden.
18. After all operations and settings are complete, be sure to click the [Apply] button at the lower left. Only in this way will the operations we performed truly take effect.
After repairing the hard drive, never re-partition it with DOS-based tools like Fdisk, to avoid changing the starting sector of the hard drive and wasting your efforts.
Original content from Hefei Data Recovery Center: http://www.cndr.cn/wenda/14921.html