A hard drive is one of the important components of a computer because it functions as a data storage medium. However, not all hard drives sold in the market are new hard drives. There are also used hard drives that are sold at a cheaper price but have a higher risk of damage or data loss. Therefore, before buying a hard drive, you need to know whether the hard drive is new or used.
There are several ways you can do to find out a new or used hard drive, either by using software or without software. In this article, we will explain these methods in full and detail, and provide the latest information about hard drives that you need to know. Check out the following review!
How to Find Out a New or Used Hard Drive with Software
One of the easiest and most accurate ways to find a new or used hard drive is to use special software that can read information about the hard drive, such as make, model, capacity, speed, health, age, and so on. There is many software that you can use, but we will give examples of two popular and free software, namely Hard Disk Sentinel and HDTune.
Hard Disk Sentinel
Hard Disk Sentinel is software that can monitor and analyze your hard drive. This software can display various information about the hard drive, such as performance, health, temperature, number of bad sectors ( bad sector ), number of times turned on ( power on count ), number of operating hours ( power on time ), and others. This software can also provide an estimate of the remaining life of your hard drive.
Here are the steps to use Hard Disk Sentinel to find out a new or used hard drive:
- Download and install Hard Disk Sentinel on your computer. You can download this software for free on its official website.
- Open the Hard Disk Sentinel software. You will see the main interface of this software, which displays a list of hard drives connected to your computer. Select the hard drive you want to check by clicking on it on the left panel.
- Note the information displayed on the right pane. You can see the performance status and health of your hard drive in the Overview section. You can also find more detailed information on the Information tab, S.M.A.R.T., Disk Performance, and Temperature.
- To find out a new or used hard drive, you can look at the following parameters:
- Power on time: shows the number of hours the hard drive has spent operating since it was first used. The greater this number, it means that the hard drive is getting older and used more often. You can view these parameters on the Information tab or S.M.A.R.T. with the attribute code 09.
- Power on count: shows the number of times the hard drive was turned on and off since it was first used. The greater this number, means that the hard drive is turned on and off more often, which can adversely affect its health. You can view this parameter on the S.M.A.R.T. tab with the 0C attribute code.
- Bad sector: shows the number of damaged or unreadable sectors on the hard drive. The more bad sectors, the more damaged the hard drive is and the risk of data loss. You can view these parameters on the S.M.A.R.T. tab with the 05 or C5 attribute code.
- Estimated remaining lifetime: shows the estimated remaining life of your hard drive based on its health condition. The smaller this percentage is, the closer the hard drive is to the end of its useful life. You can see these parameters at the bottom of the right pane.
By looking at the parameters above, you can find out whether the hard drive you are using or what you want to buy is a new or used hard drive. In general, new hard drives have low power on time, power on count, and bad sectors, as well as a high estimated remaining lifetime. Conversely, used hard drives have high power on time, power on count, and bad sectors, as well as low estimated remaining lifetime.
HDTune
HDTune is software that can also monitor and analyze your hard drive. This software has features similar to Hard Disk Sentinel, which can display information about the hard drive, such as brand, model, capacity, speed, health, temperature, and so on. This software also has a feature to perform an error scan, which is scanning the hard drive for bad sectors.
Here are the steps to use HDTune to find out a new or used hard drive:
- Download and install HDTune on your computer. You can download this software for free on its official website.
- Open HDTune software. You will see the main interface of this software, which displays a list of hard drives connected to your computer. Select the hard drive you want to check by clicking on it in the drop-down menu in the top-left corner.
- Note the information displayed on the right pane. You can view the health status of your hard drive on the Health tab. You can also see more detailed information on the Info and Error Scan tabs.
- To find out a new or used hard drive, you can look at the following parameters:
- Power on time: same as in Hard Disk Sentinel, this parameter shows the number of hours the hard drive has spent operating since it was first used. You can see this parameter on the Info tab with the ID code 09.
- Power cycle count: same as in Hard Disk Sentinel, this parameter shows the number of times the hard drive was turned on and off since it was first used. You can see this parameter on the Info tab with the 0C ID code.
- Reallocated sector count: same as in Hard Disk Sentinel, this parameter shows the number of damaged or unreadable sectors on the hard drive. You can see this parameter on the Health tab with the 05 ID code.
- Current pending sector: This parameter shows the number of undetermined sectors, whether damaged. If this sector is read successfully, it will be restored to normal status. Otherwise, it will be marked as a bad sector. You can see this parameter on the Health tab with the C5 ID code.
- Error scan: this feature you can use to scan the hard drive thoroughly and display the results in graphic form. You can use this feature by clicking the Error Scan tab and then clicking the Start button. You can also tick the Quick Scan option to speed up the scanning process. If the scan results show a green block, it means that the hard drive has no bad sectors. If it shows a red block, it means that the hard drive has bad sectors.
By looking at the parameters above, you can also find out whether the hard drive you are using or what you want to buy is a new or used hard drive. In general, new hard drives have low power on time, power cycle count, reallocated sector count, and current pending sector, as well as error scans that do not show red blocks. In contrast, used hard drives have high power on time, power cycle count, reallocated sector count, and current pending sector, as well as error scans that show red blocks.
How to Find a New or Used Hard Drive without Software
Besides using software, you can also find new or used hard drives without software, namely by using the built-in features of the Windows operating system. There are two features you can use, namely Defragment and Optimize Drives and Device Manager.
Defragment and Optimize Drives
Defragment and Optimize Drives is a feature that you can use to optimize the performance of your hard drive by reducing fragmentation on the hard drive. Fragmentation is a condition in which the data on the hard drive is not arranged sequentially, thus slowing down the read-and-write process. By defragmenting, the data on the hard drive will be rearranged sequentially, thus increasing the speed and efficiency of the hard drive.
Here are the steps to use Defragment and Optimize Drives to find a new or used hard drive:
- Open the Defragment and Optimize Drives feature by pressing the Windows and R buttons at the same time, then typing dfrgui and pressing Enter.
- You’ll see the Defragment and Optimize Drives feature interface, which displays a list of hard drives connected to your computer. Select the hard drive you want to check by clicking on it on the left panel.
- Note the information displayed on the right pane. You can see the status of your hard drive in the Current status section. You can also view more detailed information by clicking the Analyze or Optimize button.
- To find out a new or used hard drive, you can look at the following parameters:
- Media type: shows the type of your hard drive, whether Solid state drive (SSD) or Hard disk drive (HDD). SSD is a type of hard drive that uses memory chips to store data, while HDD is a type of hard drive that uses magnetic platters to store data. SSDs have better speed, health, and lifespan than HDDs, but come at a higher price.
- Last run: shows the date and time of the last time your hard drive was defragmented. If your hard drive is new, then this date and time will be the same or close to the date and time of your hard drive purchase. If your hard drive is used, then this date and time will be longer or far from the date and time of your hard drive purchase.
- Fragmentation: shows the percentage of fragmentation on your hard drive. Fragmentation is a condition in which the data on the hard drive is not arranged sequentially, thus slowing down the read-and-write process. The higher the fragmentation percentage, the harder the hard drive is used more often and requires defragmentation. You can reduce fragmentation by clicking the Optimize button.
By looking at the parameters above, you can find out whether the hard drive you are using or what you want to buy is a new or used hard drive. New hard drives have better media types, newer last runs, and lower fragmentation. Conversely, used hard drives have worse media types, longer last runs, and higher fragmentation.
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Device Manager
Device Manager is a feature that you can use to manage the hardware connected to your computer, including hard drives. This feature can display information about the hard drive, such as brand, model, capacity, drivers, status, and so on. This feature can also solve problems that occur on hard drives, such as hard drives not detected, hard drive problems, hard drives not working, and others.
Here are the steps to use Device Manager to find out a new or used hard drive:
- Open the Device Manager feature by pressing the Windows and X buttons simultaneously, then select Device Manager from the menu that appears.
- You’ll see the Device Manager feature interface, which displays a list of hardware connected to your computer. Locate and click Disk drives to see a list of hard drives connected to your computer.
- Select the hard drive you want to check by right-clicking on it, then select Properties.
- You will see a Properties window that displays information about your hard drive. You can see more detailed information on the General, Driver, Details, Events, and Volumes tabs.
- To find out a new or used hard drive, you can look at the following parameters:
- Device status: shows the status of your hard drive, whether it works properly or is problematic. If your hard drive is new, then its status will show This device is working properly. If your hard drive is used, then the status may show This device is not working properly, or This device has a problem. You can also view the error code that appears on the status of your hard drive to find out the cause of the problem.
- Driver date: shows the date and time when your hard drive driver was last updated. If your hard drive is new, then this driver date will be the same or close to the date and time of your hard drive purchase. If your hard drive is used, then this driver date will be longer or far from the date and time of your hard drive purchase.
- Device instance path: shows the location of your hard drive on your computer system. You can view these parameters on the Details tab by selecting the Device instance path in the drop-down menu. This parameter comprises several parts, such as VEN_, DEV_, SUBSYS_, REV_, and so on. The part you need to pay attention to is the VEN_ and DEV_ section, which shows the vendor and device ID of your hard drive. You can search the internet for the vendor and device ID of your hard drive to find out the make and model of your hard drive. If your hard drive is new, then this vendor and device ID will match the make and model of the hard drive you purchased. If your hard drive is used, then this vendor and device ID may not match the make and model of the hard drive you purchased, as the hard drive may have been modified or replaced by the seller.
By looking at the parameters above, you can find out whether the hard drive you are using or what you want to buy is a new or used hard drive. In general, new hard drives have a good device status, a new driver date, and a corresponding device instance path. Conversely, used hard drives have poor device status, old driver dates, and inappropriate device instance paths.
Conclusion
Thus, the article on how to find out a new or used hard drive easily and accurately. We have explained these ways using software or without software and provided the latest information about hard drives that you need to know. Hopefully, this article is useful for those of you who want to buy or use the best quality hard drive. Thank you for reading this article to the end!