freebsd-questions Digest, Vol 92, Issue 59

[J. Seth Henry]

> Hi have an IDE drive (bit old) that is starting to develop bad blocks.
> 
> Is there a tool to scan the disk and reassign/block (I don't care
> loosing some space on that disk) the bad bocks?
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Olivier

Unfortunately, most ATA drives automatically map spares as they detect bad
blocks. If the drive is reporting bad blocks, then the drive has very likely
run out of spares.

I would seriously consider swapping the drive, and copying your data before
the corruption gets any worse.

Of course, depending on the age of the disk, it might not automatically
remap bad blocks - so I would suggest looking for a diagnostic tool on the
manufacturer's web site. These usually involve a bootable CD or floppy disk.

Regards,
Seth Henry