HD unstable sectors - what does it mean ?

[stevewestern]

One of my WD green 1.5tb hard drives has 989 unstable sectors. It is about 2 and a half years old - is it time to retire it into the bin or can it still be used safely ?

Logic tells me it is heading, like me, downhill fast but I don't want to throw it out if there is some way to sort it out.

HD tune says it has an all green error scan but a health check tells me otherwise

Any advice ?

Thanks !

 

[neil_g]

it depends on what caused the bad sectors. if it was just a one off issue caused by a power outage etc

you could keep the data backed up and keep an eye on it, if the bad sectors increase then bin it. sometimes bad sectors can be an early sign of a controller issue and itll only get worse.

personally id say if you have the money then replace the drive.

 

[stevewestern]

Thanks Neil !

The HD was part of a RAID 1 set-up in my Q-nap NAS which suddenly started to flash at me (!!)
I was about to replace it with a larger HD anyway but had hoped to sell it on to recover some of the cost but I guess it is hardly worth it now.

Many thanks as always..

 

[neil_g]

remember on a raid1 if you have 1 larger drive itll only use the same amount of space as the smallest drive

 

[stevewestern]

Thats part of the reason I was hoping to recover part of the cost - 2 new 3tb HD's is a lot of money to find in one go...

 

[neil_g]

ebuyer are doing WD Red (NAS specific) 3tb for £115..

http://www.ebuyer.com/390986-wd-red...d&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=b2c_wednesday

 

[stevewestern]

..and that's exactly what I have got..
1 came a few days ago, the second is arriving today !