HDD integrity test

ally_uk

Ok guys quick question

I am working on a large order of machines for a external client

The problem being I am dealing with second hand hardware

( The previous order I completed was a way of testing the waters originally the hardware was ok but some of the machines suffered from hdd's failing a few weeks later)

The question I propose to you is simply do any of you recommend a good free tool that I can use to really stress a hdd and test it.

The O/S I am using for the machines is XP service pack 2.0

I was recommended that I could use a Live CD Linux distro such as Finnix to Run a check called Bad Blocks

Does anybody have any experience of this and is this a effective testing tool?

Many Thanks

Ally

Sie

I like Ultimate Boot CD myself.

www.ultimatebootcd.com

Good for a variety of things.

Edit - Include the correct link in future Sie

sthomas

This may be a little off topic but if you buy refurb's you should always purchase from a reputable company that gives you the option to purchase an extended warranty on the machines and offers good tech support. I always purchase Dell's from www.partstockpc.com and get 3 year warranty's. When I have a problem, lets say a harddrive goes bad for example, they usually send me a new one with no questions asked. That is just IMHO of course.

benbuiltpc

Hiren's Boot CD

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hiren.thanki/bootcd.html

You can get the ISO through a torrent.

JDMurray

The most thorough low-level testing and repair utility for hard disks is SpinRite by GRC. It has saved my bacon quite a few times over the past 15 years. I don't consider it a burn-in tool, but it certainly exercises the drive for many hours while it tests and repairs it.