How to Format NEW HDD and test it

1)Put into dock - initialize - format.

2)No tests are needed.

3)I would format it into two partitions. I do not dare to store all my data on a single partition. Because if the file system of this single partition goes bad then I am at loss. 2-3 partitions would be ok in your needs.

Thanks a lot to all for your advice. I am going to proceed right now to format the drive, and i will let you know how this turns out.

As most of you adviced, i have decided to do 2 partitions. I think that will be enough.

GARYCASE: thanks for this last advice Gary, i am glad i had to step out and i didnt started using the drive as i said in my last comment.

I will do right now what you suggested. I have downloaded the program.

But first i have a small doubt.  Following your step by step, should i just insert the HDD on the Dock and then RUN  Data Lifeguard, or do i have to FORMAT First?

Also, can i use this same program to test the internal drive on this computer? I dont know what brand of drive it is, but if in any case it is a SEAGATE, will it be also safe to test it with it, or better not?

There's no need to format the drive first -- in fact, when you do the write zeroes, it's going to totally wipe out both the format and the initialized status ... so it doesn't matter.

Yes, Data Lifeguard works well for testing other drives as well -- its a good idea to test your internal drives also.   But do NOT do the Write Zeroes on a drive you're already using -- that completely wipes the drive.    You can, however, still do the Quick and Extended tests to check the drives for errors.

And what happens if the TEST says that there are ERRORS on the drives? Does this program also fixes the errors, or do i have to use something else?  

If something like that happens, at least with the older drives i do not want to deal with warranty since i am not in USA...shipping them would be a headache and expensive...

GARYCASE: i runned the QUICK Test and everything came out OK. Then i selected the EXTENDED TEST and it has been running for more than 2 hours and the progress bar is only aorund 15%...It says there is an ESTIMATED TIME REMAINING of 16 hours!!!

Is this long time test normal for a 2 TB HDD? Will it be OK or safe if i Stop it if i needed it to? I do not think i can wait that much for it to finish...

How long do you think it will take for the ZEROS Writing Test that comes after this one?

That's normal for a large drive with just a USB interface (it would be much quicker if the drive was directly connected to a SATA port on the PC).    If you have to stop it, that's okay -- but I'd do it when you have the time just to be sure there aren't any issues with the drive.

The write zeroes will take a long time as well ... close to the same amount of time as the extended test.     ... and of course it will then take a long time again to do the 2nd extended test.

But these comprehensive tests will ensure that there are no issues with your drive before you start using it, so it's worth doing.

Agreed with Nobus. The USB is slow and the error handling via Test Diag tools is very bad when the drive is connected via USB.

Hi, the EXTENDED TEST just fiinished running and it PASSED OK with everything. I also did the WRITE ZEROS TEST, but only the QUICK one, and it passed also.  Perhaps i will run the Extended Write Zeros during the night.

Nobus and Noxcho: thanks a lot for the adidtional imput. Is a good tip. I will connect it now to an internal Sata Cable and power and run it again through there.

The USB dock has its own power adapter, so no problem with that, but i understand your point regarding "error handling" during diagnostivs via USB...

Thanks everybody.

Whether or not you want to thoroughly test a drive before use is a personal choice.

But in my experience I've found quite a few drives that had "infant mortality" issues with the set of tests I outlined ... probably 10 drives out of ~ 100 or so I've purchased in the past several years.    ... and I've had NO failures of drives that passed those tests within the warranty period -- i.e. they last for a long time.

I HAVE had to replace a few drives under warranty that I had NOT done those tests on ... that's why I started doing that comprehensive set of tests.

One other point -- I don't know what supplier unrinoceronte uses [clearly not Newegg since he's not in the US], but if his supplier's policies are similar to Newegg's, then it's FAR easier to get a drive replaced during the supplier's return period than it is later under warranty.    For example, Newegg has a 30-day return period.    Identify a bad drive in that period, and there's no problem getting it replaced with a new drive.    Have a failure on day 31 (or later) and you get to RMA it to the driver manufacturer (i.e. WD, Seagate, etc.) ... and it will be replaced with a refurbished unit.

Ok, so at least on this case, i am more into the SAFE SIDE, and i decided to make all the tests possible. Garycase thanks for all your advice. Noxcho thanks also por your point, i understand it, but as i say, at least this time i want to try all this options out.

So, all the tests came out OK. but now:

IMPORTANT: i have the HDD installed insided the computer connected to the SATA 1port, and when i went to computer management/Disk Management, i got the following window:

"INITIALIZE AND CONVERT DISK WIZARD"

, and in the text it says something about

"This wizard helps you initialize new disks and to convert empty basic disks to dynamic disks...etc etc"

I thought i only had to go straight and Format the Drive..., but should i Follow the steps in this Wizard or should i cancel and format through Disk Management?

Do i need to Convert the Disc into a DYNAMIC DISC? Rememeber that i only need this HDD to use it for Backups using my external Dock.

Thanks

EDIT: OOPS, i just re-read all the first Answers and they mentioned the Initialize part...sorry.. But then what about Dynamic? should i do that?

EDIT 2: Never mind, i find out that Dynamc is for RAID.... So i proceeded and i am doing the Long FORMAT right now. I guess 5 or 6 hours from now to be ready as someone mentioned...

You DO want to initialize the disk (you have to)
... you DO NOT want to convert it to Dynamic.

After it's initialized you simply create a partition and format it.

Hi everybody, thanks a lot for your help in this simple subject. Sorry it was difficult for me, but this was the 2nd time in my life i did this and the first one was so many years ago that i didnt remember anything about it.

So, to wrap up, since i wanted to be on the safe side (altough i understand also noxchos advice) i runned all the tests recommended and they passed OK.

The formatting took 6 hours, and right now i am manually backing up all my files from the 3 computers (These are the folders that i know will not change in all this year).

Then in a few months, i will "concentrate" all this files and folders in only one computer, and just keep one Normal Backup on this external drive.

Thanks very much for your help, this was very very useful and i learned important things regarding the HDD tests for "premature death" ...

LAST MINUTE NOTE:  I just figured out that i have a Problem with this drive, Computer Management and under "My computer" it shows that it only has a little more than half its capacity  for FREE SPACE, and i have not copied any files to it yet.  Please go to this other new question if you can:

New 2 TB HDD shows only 1020 GB Free Space

I dont know how could i missed this... FORMAT didnt reported any problem...