Hard drive bad sectors?

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Level 1

5 points

Hard drive bad sectors?

Hello All,

I have a 15 inch MacBook pro, early 2011 model, with the Fujitsu 7200 rpm hard drive. I'm using the latest version of Yosemite. ( 10.10.2) My computer is loaded with maximum memory, the optional video card. I recently bought a program called Drive Genius 4 because my computer seemed slow and Safari was locking up. I then started getting frequent bad sector error messages from the programs resident hard drive module. It advised me to immediately reformat the hard drive with one pass of zeros, to mark off the bad sectors.

Testing with Mac's hard drive utility, with one of Apple's technician's on the phone, indicated that everything was alright. I decided to re-formated the hard drive using one pass of zeros to mark off the bad sectors. I used Mac's hard drive utility for this. I left one small partition intact because I thought it might have important information that identifies my computer as a real Macintosh product. I then did a clean re-instalation of Yosemite from a download I stored on a backup drive. I then restored my programs from a recent backup. However, I was using a third party backup program called "SuperDuper!" for Mac from Softonic. I used it because it is much faster than Mac's backup. Now, my computer is running much faster. I'm also having no trouble with Safari, except for last night. I got stuck into some internet code that looked like it was trying to get me to install malware by clicking "OK" in a box. I couldn't get out of the tab, even by trying to force quit Safari. So I closed down by using the shut down button. Strangely enough, the site reappeared after I rebooted my computer, even though I have "Safari opens with a new window" in the general Safari preferences. But this time I was able to close the bad window.

I can't get any information about the effectiveness of Drive Genius 4 from Mac tech support because they're not allowed to comment about third party software. But it has excellent reviews from users and Mac publications.

Question 1: Should I take Drive Genius 4s bad sector warnings seriously and replace the hard drive? I did a thorough physical drive test with "Drive Genius 4" immediately after my re-format and it tested alright. I just received a bad sector warning this morning from a module in Drive Genius 4 called "Drive Pulse." It's supposed to constantly monitor ones hard drive for failure. I have read many complaints about my Fujitsu hard drive failing. I've been using computers since the early DOS days and I never had a hard drive fail. I occasionally would develop bad sectors but I used a utily like "Norton" to mark off the bad sectors and move the data. Even though this would occasionally happen, I never had a catastrophic hard drive failure. But now, I'm reading recommendations all over the web to replace any hard drive with the first bad sector warning.

Question 2:, Should I try to reformat the drive again and include the small sector I left intact the last time? This time, I would use Mac's built in backup program, simply out of superstition. I have no knowledge whether any particular backup program is better than another. I don't completely trust Mac tech support because they are restricted by their company's proprietary regulations. (Sorry Mac, I was once a big fan, but your new note books, with their soldered in components, is a low blow. It's obviously made, IMHO, as a form of planned obsolescence.)

Question 3: I read several complaints from self installers who stripped screws to gain access to the had drive. Some people claimed that the screws are made from very soft metal. This actually happened to me with an older 13 inch Mac Notebook, when I added more memory. Luckily, the compartment stays closed with one bad screw.

I don't trust the local Apple's genius crew to do the installation. Why? After numerous visits, they couldn't even diagnose a simple iPhone problem. They were very unpleasant and arrogant, suggesting that my phone's problem didn't exist. I became so exasperated that I threatened to pay off my AT&T phone contract early if they didn't help me. They sent me a new phone if I would agree to leave a deposit until they received my old one. Now that's service!

Thanks in advance for any advise. I apologize for my lengthy letter.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2), Hard Drive Problem.

Posted on Feb 28, 2015 3:17 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Apr 13, 2016 9:36 PM in response to gagelle

Hi gagelle,

1. I would take the error messages seriously. Most dedicated third party apps are much "stronger"/thorough than DU and can find issues DU cannot. Many knowledgeable people consider the life of a HDD to be in the 3 to 5 year range. Your HDD is in that range. Personally, I would replace it unless you don't have any critical data on it and can live with the risk of your HDD dying.

2. The small sector left intact is likely the Recovery Disk Assistant. After zeroing the HDD again, I would install a fresh OS from the App Store, in case your "stored" OS is corrupt.

3. If you decide to replace your HDD and you're not comfortable with doing it, have a professional replace it. In my experience, people who strip screws (especially the tiny ones), either don't have the proper drive bit or are holding it at an angle or are not pressing down on the driver hard enough or a combination of these things. There should be no reason to strip the screw heads.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

141,000 points

Feb 28, 2015 5:22 PM in response to gagelle

I can't get any information about the effectiveness of Drive Genius 4 from Mac tech support because they're not allowed to comment about third party software. But it has excellent reviews from users and Mac publications.

I can comment about it. Drive Genius will report false positives and may be responsible for causing disk corruption. Get rid of it. It's junk your Mac does not need.

"Mac publications" that accept advertising are necessarily biased, and cannot be relied upon for accurate information. Do you really think they'll publish a negative review about a product from a company supplying the revenue they need to survive?

But now, I'm reading recommendations all over the web to replace any hard drive with the first bad sector warning.

You should. Hard disk drives are wear items. Fortunately, they are also inexpensive enough to have several backups. At the first sign of failure, plan to replace it ASAP. Having a backup plan such as Time Machine makes that a non-event.

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Answer 3

gagelle Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 4, 2016 11:14 AM in response to John Galt

John, you were correct. Other Mac users told me not to use any 3rd party software and even claimed that third party utilities could damage my hard drive. Well, I finally brought my computer to a local Mac store where my hard drive was tested. Their software indicated that it, indeed, was defective. My GPU also was the subject of a class action suit due to a high failure rate. I agreed to have Apple replace my hard drive if they would thoroughly test the GPU. They found that my GPU was also defective. They replaced both hard drive and GPU and thoroughly cleaned out the inside of my computer. My 5 year old computer works like new. I am grateful to Apple for standing behind their products.

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Answer 4

gagelle Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 13, 2016 9:34 PM in response to tjk

Hi tsk,

At this late date, I found out the reasons for all my crashes. It took some hunting to determine that my hard drive was defective.

After I read about a class action lawsuit against Apple for defective video cards in my model, (Spring 2011 Macbook Pros with the optional video card) I called Apple technical support. The representative made an appointment for me to see a technician at an Apple store. The tech at the apple store first used a hard drive diagnostic program which immediately revealed a problem. However, the program did not pick up any issue with my video card. At this point my computer was overheating and the display was randomly going off. When the tech mentioned that if I agreed to pay to have them install a new hard drive, once they opened the computer, they could run more tests on my video card. I agreed to this because the price was reasonable and I had a hunch that my video card was defective. I eventually received a call from the Apple store technician with the news that my video card was, indeed, defective. Apple was nice enough to perform all the work at no charge! When I looked at the receipt, it indicated that they replaced the whole motherboard.

After a year of struggling, Apple came through with an excellent service experience. I paid over $3,000 for my loaded Macbook Pro and could not afford to buy a new one with so many options. My faith in Apple has been restored.

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