How to Check SSD for Bad Sectors | 5 Testing Ways

This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to check your SSD for bad sectors, which can lead to data loss and decreased performance.

In the world of digital storage, ensuring the health and integrity of your SSD (Solid State Drive) is crucial for maintaining optimal performance and data reliability. One common issue that can affect the functionality of an SSD is the presence of bad sectors that can lead to data loss and decreased performance. Regularly checking your SSD for bad sectors is essential to maintain its health and ensure data integrity. In this article, EaseUS will explore five effective methods to check your SSD for bad sectors.

Overview of Bad Sectors on SSD

Bad sectors, also known as bad blocks, refer to areas in an SSD's NAND flash memory that have become unreliable for data storage. These sectors can no longer be accurately written to or read from, leading to potential data loss or corruption. There are two main types of bad sectors:

• Logical Bad Sectors: Caused by software issues or file system errors, these can often be repaired.
• Physical Bad Sectors: Resulting from damage to the memory cells, these are typically irreparable.

What Is Bad Sector and Its Symptoms

• Slower Performance: Reduced read and write speeds, longer boot times, and sluggish application loading.
• Frequent Crashes: System freezes or crashes may occur due to inaccessible data.
• Data Corruption: Files may become unreadable or disappear unexpectedly.
• Error Messages: Users may encounter warnings related to data access problems, prompting disk checks.
• SMART Warnings: Self-monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) may indicate issues with reallocated sectors or other anomalies.

Share all the information about bad sectors on SSD with more users:

Why SSD Has Bad Sectors?

🧰Physical damage: Dropping the drive or exposing it to extreme temperatures or moisture can cause physical damage to the drive, leading to bad sectors.

📖Manufacturing defects: Some SSDs may have defects from the manufacturing process that can result in bad sectors.

❎Wear and tear: Over time, SSDs can experience wear and tear from regular use, leading to bad sectors' development.

🔒Power surges or electrical issues: Power surges or electrical issues can damage the drive and result in bad sectors.

How to Check and Repair Bad Sectors on SSD - 5 Solutions

Way 1. Using Third-Party Diagnostic Tool - EaseUS Partition Master🏆

EaseUS Partition Master Professional is a comprehensive disk management tool that offers a range of features to help users manage their hard drives and partitions effectively. One of the features of EaseUS Partition Master Professional is the ability to check for bad sectors on SSDs. Here is an overview of how you can use EaseUS Partition Master Professional to test and check for bad sectors on your SSD:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master. Right-click the disk that you want to check, and then click "Surface Test".

Step 2. The operation will be immediately performed and all bad sectors will be marked as red.

Additional Key Features of EaseUS Partition Master

• Check SSD health in Windows 10
• Check SSD temperature
• Test SSD for Errors
• Test SSD read/write speed

Download this tool to manage your SSD in a professional way:

Way 2. Using S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring

S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) is a built-in monitoring system for storage devices that tracks various attributes related to the drive's health. Most modern SSDs utilize S.M.A.R.T. to report on their status, providing valuable insights into potential issues.

For Windows:

Step 1. Open the Command Prompt by typing "cmd/command prompt" in the Windows search bar and selecting "Run as administrator" to open a Command Prompt with administrative privileges.

Step 2. In the Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter: wmic diskdrive get status

Step 3. This command will display the S.M.A.R.T. status of all connected drives. Look for your SSD on the list and check its status. If it says "OK" or "PASSED," your drive is healthy.

For Mac:

Step 1. Click on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen and select "About This Mac."

Step 2. In the window that opens, click on "System Report."

Step 3. In the System Information window, click "Storage" in the sidebar.

Step 4. Look for your SSD in the list of drives and select it. You will see detailed information about your SSD, including the S.M.A.R.T. status.

Way 3. Using CHKDSK

CHKDSK can identify and repair logical file system errors and mark bad sectors so they are not used in the future, helping maintain the integrity of your SSD.

Step 1. Open a Command Prompt with administrative privileges by typing "cmd" in the Windows search bar, right-clicking on the Command Prompt, and selecting "Run as administrator."

Step 2. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter: chkdsk #: /f /r /x(Replace # with the letter of the SSD drive you want to check for bad sectors.)

Note: The "/f" parameter tells CHKDSK to fix any errors it finds, the "/r" parameter tells it to locate bad sectors and recover readable information, and the "/x" parameter forces the volume to dismount before the scan begins.

Step 3. CHKDSK will start scanning the SSD for bad sectors and other disk errors. This process may take some time, depending on the size of the drive and the amount of data stored on it.

Step 4. Once the scan is complete, CHKDSK will display a summary of the results. If any bad sectors are found, CHKDSK will attempt to repair them.

Step 5. After CHKDSK has completed its scan and repair process, you can review the results to see if any bad sectors were detected and repaired.

🚩Extended Reading: How to Run CHKDSK to Check Hard Drive Errors

Way 4. Using Windows Disk Properties

If you suspect that your SSD may have bad sectors, one effective method to check its health is through the Windows Partition Properties feature. This built-in tool allows you to scan your SSD for errors and attempt recovery of any bad sectors. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use this method.

Step 1. Click on the Start menu and select This PC, or simply type "This PC" in the search bar and hit Enter.

Step 2. In the File Explorer window, find your SSD under the "Devices and drives" section.

Step 3. Right-click on your SSD and select Properties from the context menu.

Step 4. In the Properties window, click on the Tools tab at the top.

Step 5. Under the "Error-checking" section, click on the Check button. A new window will pop up.

Step 6. In the new window, check both options:

• Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
• Automatically fix file system errors

Step 7. Click on Start to begin the scanning process.

Way 5. Using SSD Manufacturer's Software

Most SSD manufacturers provide proprietary software that can monitor drive health and perform diagnostics.

Examples of Manufacturer Tools

• Samsung Magician: Offers performance optimization, firmware updates, and health checks.
• Crucial Storage Executive: Provides S.M.A.R.T. monitoring and firmware updates for Crucial drives.
• Western Digital Dashboard: Monitors drive health, temperature, and firmware updates.

Conclusion 

Regularly checking your SSD for bad sectors is crucial for maintaining its performance and safeguarding your data against potential loss. By utilizing methods such as S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, built-in Windows tools like CHKDSK, manufacturer-specific software, surface tests, and third-party diagnostic tools, you can effectively assess your drive's health and address any issues before they escalate into serious problems.

For beginners, we highly recommend EaseUS Partition Master as an effective tool for checking your SSD for bad sectors. This versatile disk management software simplifies the process of diagnosing and repairing issues with your SSD, making it accessible even for those who may not be tech-savvy.

FAQs: How to Check SSD for Bad Sectors

This FAQ section collected some related questions in case you have additional queries about how to check SSD for bad sectors:

1. How do I check the health of SSD?

To check the health of your SSD, you can run a surface test process that provides insights into its performance and potential issues: : Use disk management tools like DiskGenius to perform a surface test that scans the entire drive for bad sectors by reading every block of data.

2. What is the lifespan of a SSD?

The lifespan of an SSD is influenced by several factors, primarily measured in Total Bytes Written (TBW) and Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD). Current estimates suggest that the average lifespan of an SSD is around 5 to 10 years, although this can vary based on usage patterns:

• TBW: This metric indicates how much data can be written to the drive before it is likely to fail. For example, an SSD with a TBW rating of 256 TB can handle that amount of data written over its lifetime.
• DWPD: This measures how many times you can overwrite the entire capacity of the drive each day throughout its warranty period. For instance, if a 1 TB SSD has a DWPD rating of 1 over a five-year warranty, you could write 1 TB of data daily without exceeding its lifespan.

3. Can I repair a dead or bad SSD?

Repairing a dead or bad SSD can be challenging but not impossible, depending on the nature of the failure:

• Perform data recovery
• Use Diagnostic Tools
• Update firmware
• Replace with new SSD