I'm amused somewhat that everyone seems to be assuming this was the drive that came with the system. I *did* specify OEM packaging for the *drive*, after all. I'm talking about the manufacturer (Western Digital) warranty process, not the computer builder (Dell) warranty process.
Ahem.
Misunderstandings aside: I will be getting a replacement drive and dropping it in, it's the question of getting the image swapped over vs. reinstalling. And to do *that*, I need a way around that bad sector. It appears to be a serious hardware fault and I'm tempted to low-level the drive after I get a successful image off it, see what happens, but the point is that right now it's a literal tarpit: as soon as the scan hits that sector, it enters an endless loop. Judging by the sounds it's making, it's seeking properly but unable to read the sector at all, and so it tries again... and again... and etc.
I've let it run for 5 hours just to see if it was an abnormally long timeout, but no dice.
I don't care what flavor utility I use, I'm just wondering if anyone knows of one that can behave intelligently instead of relying on the drive's own internal diagnostics (which are obviously flawed, here) about that sector.
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
Ahem.
Misunderstandings aside: I will be getting a replacement drive and dropping it in, it's the question of getting the image swapped over vs. reinstalling. And to do *that*, I need a way around that bad sector. It appears to be a serious hardware fault and I'm tempted to low-level the drive after I get a successful image off it, see what happens, but the point is that right now it's a literal tarpit: as soon as the scan hits that sector, it enters an endless loop. Judging by the sounds it's making, it's seeking properly but unable to read the sector at all, and so it tries again... and again... and etc.
I've let it run for 5 hours just to see if it was an abnormally long timeout, but no dice.
I don't care what flavor utility I use, I'm just wondering if anyone knows of one that can behave intelligently instead of relying on the drive's own internal diagnostics (which are obviously flawed, here) about that sector.
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs