Unexplained error while cloning hard drive

[Petros_k]

I've been using Macrium Reflect for months now to clone my hard drive for backup purposes and I've never had an issue like this. Clone copy process gets to 3% and then I get these errors depending on which program is used:

Using Macrium Reflect:

Clone failed - Read failed - 13 - Broken pipe



I tried using DriveImageXML. Got an error again:

Read Error: Data error (cyclic redundancy check)

Info: Partition Copy Error
Address: 004E66A9



It looks like there's an error on the original hard drive, but Microsoft checkdisk scanning for bad sectors says the volume is clean. Here are results:

"CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
115200 file records processed.
File verification completed.
179 large file records processed.
0 bad file records processed.
0 EA records processed.
44 reparse records processed.
CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
157322 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.
0 unindexed files scanned.
0 unindexed files recovered.
CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)...
115200 file SDs/SIDs processed.
Security descriptor verification completed.
21062 data files processed.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
34830160 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

242601983 KB total disk space.
83600400 KB in 93018 files.
60672 KB in 21063 indexes.
4 KB in bad sectors.
223563 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
158717344 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
60650495 total allocation units on disk.
39679336 allocation units available on disk.

C: Windows\system32>chkdsk c: /F
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be
checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N) Y

This volume will be checked the next time the system restarts. "


--and when it ran again at restart still found nothing wrong to be fixed.


The hard drive has also been defragmented. Seatools diagnostic says SMART has not been tripped, and the short tests all pass. HD Tune health status of both drives says "ok." I even tried a reinstall of Macrium Reflect.

I also checked the computer to see if some protection was turned on without having done it myself. Still got the error when anti-virus (Avast) is disabled.

 

[ViviTheMage]

uh oh, sounds like you have a mechanical drive that is failing.

Read Error: Data error (cyclic redundancy check)


back up whatever data you can and get off that beast! Take a peak at your SMART info (google should show you loads of free SMART tools). I bet you have something that is 'off the charts' in read errors or something.

 

[Petros_k]

uh oh, sounds like you have a mechanical drive that is failing.

Read Error: Data error (cyclic redundancy check)


back up whatever data you can and get off that beast! Take a peak at your SMART info (google should show you loads of free SMART tools). I bet you have something that is 'off the charts' in read errors or something.

As I said above, SMART diagnostics indicate nothing has been tripped. HD Tune reports both drives are okay. I saw someone else who had a problem like this at another forum, and yes it was suspected that the original drive had a mechanical defect. But no. It turned out to be a bad sector. See: http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...on-copy-error-with-driveimage-xml-611673.html

Is there a diagnostic tool that's better at finding errors than chkdsk?

 

[ViviTheMage]

Woops, missed the SMART info.

What brand drive is it? Most brands have their own sector fixer, and it seems to be pretty decent. They''ll also give you more good SMART info if HD tune blanked out on some codes #'s.

Do you EVER hear it clicking when copying data to/from? Or when trying to clone with macrium?

 

[schmuckley]

run chkdsk and try again

 

[Petros_k]

I got it sorted now...

I made the mistake of running HD Tune's Error Scan as a "Quick Scan" the first time and it missed that there was actually one damaged block. I used Seatools bootable CD at startup, the long test, and it found 6 errors. They were repaired successfully at the end of the test. Booted back up and used HD Tune to double check, no damaged block showed up this time. I went back to Macrium Reflect to clone as I usually do and all went well finally.

I just don't know if the error was mechanical or logical. This is a Seagate Barracuda hard drive. Does a program like Seatools fix both logical and mechanical errors?

 

[ViviTheMage]

If it was mechanical, you'd probably hear that head skipping around. How many bad sectors does it have currently? You do only get so many before the drive becomes a toaster.

 

[Petros_k]

There was only 1 damaged block, with 6 errors, but I guess it was enough to prevent the cloning process. Now that Seatools did the repair, there appears to be none. I don't know if the damage happened because of something like a power failure, and if it affected the magnetism of a portion of the disk, or if it was just a logical error. I don't hear the typical grinding sounds associated with a failing drive, but this is the first time something like this happened.

Wouldn't SMART diagnostics have picked up a mechanical failure? After Seatools ran and fixed the problem the status for the test was "passed" after the repair.

 

[chemwiz]

In my experience 1 bad sector is nothing to worry about, but I'd run the Seatools diagnostic again in a week or so to make sure there's no recurrence. If you keep getting more bad sectors it's RMA or replacement time.

 

[Petros_k]

RMA? What does that stand for?

 

[Scarpozzi]

The way they are usually *fixed are by reassigning the block location to another place on the physical drive or marking that block as bad so it gets passed over. Most drives have extra blocks for this purpose.

RMA = return merchandise authorization. It's how'd you'd return a warrantied hard drive, if the damage is covered under warranty.

I've seen similar errors when doing simple file copies from USB sticks and other drives subject to bad blocks without the management tools to detect errors. If SMART doesn't have any crazy numbers reported that make the drive look like it's ready to fail (preemptive failure, for example), I'd just keep on cloning and keep your cloned copy ready to use (in case it does fail for good).