are bad sectors a cause for concern?

[Maverick2002]

I think I may have some bad sectors on my Maxtor drive. It won't complete a full format (which scans for bad sectors), but it will complete a quick format (it's now running WinXP just fine). My question is this: are there any real problems that could arise from bad sectors on a drive? I mean, it still works fine except for that full format issue. I guess I'm wondering whether I should send it back for RMA or not.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I'd be very wary of a drive that reports bad sectors during format.

Download and run the manufacturers diagnostic, if it fails - send the drive back

 

[Jeff7]

Another Maxtor with fresh bad sectors...geez. Every Maxtor I've owned has developed bad sectors.
Just my usual disclaimer for bad sector posts - all drives have bad sectors from the start. But they're all mapped off at the factory, so us end-users never see them.
However, when new ones start showing up, that's not a good sign.

Run Maxtor's utility on it, and set it for the Advanced test; if it says something's wrong, you can get an RMA number.

 

[Bozo Galora]

you could try HDD Regenerator app