Is this because of bad sectors?

[8bit]

My setup is Athlon 800, Abit KT7, 20GB IBM 7200 Deskstar HDD (Primary master), 6GB Seagate 5400 HDD (Primary slave), 512MB infineon RAM

I recently ran Scandisk (thorough) on my IBM hdd and found approx 500kb bad sectors. My system was running ok after doing so. Yesterday I backed up about 4GB of files from my Seagate to the IBM and problems started to creep up. First the PC wouldn't shut down properly. When I rebooted, the minute I open Windows explorer and click on My Computer, the system will hang and a lot of hard disk activity. Sometimes the BSOD comes up too. Even when I try to empty recycle bin the thing hangs hard.

I suspect it's the bad sectors of the hdd but I'm not sure. Now the system is very unstable. Can anyone help? Thanks.

 

[8bit]

Thanks for the reply. Pardon the ignorance but how do I do a low level format. I've heard of it but never actually done it! You only mentioned del the software from the the IBM, does that mean I can keep my work files while I do the low level? Also i thought bad sectors are physical faults and cannot be repaired.

 

[mithrandir2001]

Oh geez, I hope this isn't yet another IBM Deskstar failure.

Go to IBM's site and get the IBM Drive Fitness software. It will tell you if your drive is healthy or not.

It amazes me how people say "low level format" like it was a catchy phrase. Yes, it might clear a bad sector problem, but *you lose all your data*, so it is no magic bullet. Some people don't know what low level format means. It's means everything goes kaput and your HD will revert to the way it was when you originally got it.

I had the same problem with a 60GXP...a low level format cleared the problem, but I RMA'd the drive because I did not trust it (Drive Fitness said "Defective Device&quot. A 4 week old drive like mine shouldn't suddenly fail to boot because of bad sectors...that's a quality problem.

 

[8bit]

Thanks for the tip. I think mine's a 75GXP. Too bad I can't RMA it as I don't live in the US and the 1 year warranty has just expired!!