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.