new Ubuntu user here.

"Disk is OK, 7 bad sectors (37° C/99° F)"

My laptop is 6 years old, fan was getting real noisy (I suspect it was because the laptop couldn't really handle the Windows 10 1806 update), so I switched to Ubuntu and it's gone mostly quiet. It's a 1TB HDD, never been touched, added to nor subtracted from, currently 6.3% full. The laptop is a Samsung and I suspect the HDD is a Samsung too.

1) Do most HDDs have zero bad sectors?

2) At how many bad sectors should I be looking to change my laptop/HDD? (I back up regularly, nothing really important on this laptop)

Thank you

3

1 Answer

It is not that bad, but having even one bad sector is a warning sign that the part has entered the next failure stage, and more bad sectors can develop. It is just a matter of how soon. So, definitely don't rely on this system for important work/data you plan on preserving.

Also, the hdd does not require a fixed number of bad sectors to die suddenly (the chance of sudden death already increased significantly between zero to non-zero), so the usual recommended practice is to get a replacement for any hard disk with known bad sectors.

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