SeaTools Question

TerraViper-5 · **SeaTools Question -** 07-17-2012, 00:43 | posts: 58

Hi!

After a while I decided to scan my drives with long scan to be sure there is nothing wrong. So I started a long scan and returned after half and hour to discover that a dialogue has opened prompting me that "Now its a good time to back up your important data, that SeaTools can try to repair all damaged sectors and that if it fail it will mark the test as FAIL". and that "Seagate isnt responsible for any data loss." While I wanted to proceed the test, that "back up your data" has stopped me. Does this mean that this test and repair will possibly cause data loss? Or is it just a safety measure, to ensure that that 0.1 % chance that the disk will fail during test does not happen? Cause I really dont have a 1.5 TB spare drive to make a back up of everything :\ I also dont understand, did this dialogue appear because it has found a bad sector or does it always appear when running this test? The line "progress" already had 1 cm filled when I came back.

Thank you for answers!

IcE · 07-17-2012, 01:41 | posts: 7,096 | Location: Toledo, Ohio

The program is telling you it found a bad sector, which doesn't always mean that the drive is toast, but it's usually a strong indicator of mechanical or magnetic problems that could and usually do lead to complete failure.

As for the backup message, it's probably Seagate just covering their bums so that if the drive happens to fail when you're using this software they can't be held responsible for it. It's kind of a silly loophole, really. Although if it does fail during the repair attempt, it's not like there's any way Seagate will know unless you tell them. So just don't say a word about it if it does fail.

Regardless, back up your most important items.

thatguy91 · 07-17-2012, 05:21 | posts: 2,963 | Location: Australia

If the drive is under warranty, you can get a replacement drive. Of course, this is easier said than done... and if you deal with Seagate directly you still have to pay for shipping, packaging, and you get a refurbished drive back.

TerraViper-5 · 07-17-2012, 18:33 | posts: 58

No, unfortunately it is not in warranty for almost 7 months anymore :\ Anyway, thanks for info!