[SOLVED] Sony VAIO Seagate HDD surface scan test failed e-hdd-004

Jed · Jun 18, 2015

My laptop is a Sony VAIO with a Seagate HDD (2yrs old HDD).
After using Seagate Seatools I was not impressed with the simplistic Pass/Fail log & the lack of useful assistance from Seagate Support.

I then used the Sony VAIO Hardware Diagnostics utility program (HDD Test) to get the attached & below more informative tests results (all other HDD tests were OK).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= Surface Scan Test did not pass --- (E-HDD-004) =

=Please run Check Disk to recover the wrong sector --- (E-HDD-005)=
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After running CHKDSK /F /R I still get the above error of = Surface Scan Test did not pass --- (E-HDD-004) =

As I am not a hardware person I would be grateful for advice about:

1. What is a Surface Scan doing & telling me by failing?
2. What is the nature & severity of a surface scan test failure ie how cactus is my HDD?
3. Why did CHKDSK not fix the problem?
4. Anything else I should know about Seagate HDD or should have asked :)
5. Recommended/suggested (data safe) HDD testing tools for better diagnostics info

The reason I am looking at the HDD is because my backup software (Macrium Reflect) crashes ( as does Win 7 Backup/Restore) & Macrium have advised "There appears to be some serious issues reading your disk and the Volume Shadow Copy files"

Digerati · Jun 19, 2015

If chkdsk indicated errors it could not fix, then the drive is toast and cannot be trusted. You can run SeaTools and use the results to hopefully RMA the drive - if still under warranty.

Note you don't need /r and /f. If you enter chkdsk /? you will see that /r "implies" or includes /f.

GZ · Jun 19, 2015

Jed said:
My laptop is a Sony VAIO with a Seagate HDD (2yrs old HDD).
After using Seagate Seatools I was not impressed with the simplistic Pass/Fail log & the lack of useful assistance from Seagate Support.

I then used the Sony VAIO Hardware Diagnostics utility program (HDD Test) to get the attached & below more informative tests results (all other HDD tests were OK).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= Surface Scan Test did not pass --- (E-HDD-004) =

=Please run Check Disk to recover the wrong sector --- (E-HDD-005)=
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After running CHKDSK /F /R I still get the above error of = Surface Scan Test did not pass --- (E-HDD-004) =

As I am not a hardware person I would be grateful for advice about:

1. What is a Surface Scan doing & telling me by failing?
2. What is the nature & severity of a surface scan test failure ie how cactus is my HDD?
3. Why did CHKDSK not fix the problem?
4. Anything else I should know about Seagate HDD or should have asked :)
5. Recommended/suggested (data safe) HDD testing tools for better diagnostics info

The reason I am looking at the HDD is because my backup software (Macrium Reflect) crashes ( as does Win 7 Backup/Restore) & Macrium have advised "There appears to be some serious issues reading your disk and the Volume Shadow Copy files"

1. What is a Surface Scan doing & telling me by failing?
The surface scan tests your drive sector by sector looking for read/write errors. By Failing the software is telling you that there are issues. Many times there are data destructive repair methods included in the oem software. But I have a feeling your drive is failing mechanically (perhaps a read head) and any repair method will be in vain.
2. What is the nature & severity of a surface scan test failure ie how cactus is my HDD?
The drive cannot be trusted as Digerati stated. Back up your information immediately.
3. Why did CHKDSK not fix the problem?
CHKDSK will only attempt to recover information written to bad sectors and mark the sector bad so it isn't used. If there are too many read errors or bad sectors CHKDSK will not be able to repair the drive. In the case of a failing HDD, Chkdsk is only a stop-gap method at best.
4. Anything else I should know about Seagate HDD or should have asked :)
Nope.
5. Recommended/suggested (data safe) HDD testing tools for better diagnostics info
The best diagnostic software for your HDD would be the bootable version of SeaTools.

My recommendation is to back up your information immediately, before catastrophic failure, and replace the HDD.

Jed · Jun 19, 2015

Many thanks Digerati & GZ.
The Seagate HDD is out of warranty & last replaced in 2013.

It looks like a HDD replacement & Win 7 reinstall - sigh!

What is currently the most reliable HDD (manufacturer/model) to replace my current 500 GB (Serial ATA, 5400 rpm) ? - or should I be looking at a SSD replacement ? - FYI my VAIO full specs attached

GZ · Jun 19, 2015

I have found that most HDD manufacturers have very similar reliabilities. Many times HDD failures are just luck of the draw. I prefer Seagate and Western Digital (Blue or Black, rarely buy Green). As for an SSD, that will be up to you. Higher cost per megabyte for improved performance (the amount of performance depends on the PC and OS) is what you will get from an SSD. Personally (I have no hard data to back this up) I feel that SSDs do not have the reliability of mechanical HDDs yet. It has been my experience using SSDs in the past that failure occurs sooner than in standard HDD. But, I haven't used or tested an SSD for a couple of years, I am not sure what todays drives are like.

I also just realized you are using a laptop and not a desktop. An SSD may very well be the way to go... SSDs are generally cooler and use less power then their mechanical counterparts. I have seen higher failure rates in 2.5" HDDs in comparison to their larger Desktop counterparts... I believe this to be due to small size and heat (especially when mounted in a laptop's enclosure).

Jed · Jun 19, 2015

Thanks GZ - I will probably try a new Seagate SATA HDD but use a cooling fan support stand under the VAIO to mitigate the heat issue.
Out from Oz for today.

Jed · Jun 23, 2015

Hi GZ

Eureka!
My problem has now been solved.

I used the free proprietary Seagate tool <SeaTools for DOS> (on a bootable CD) to fix the bad sectors on my Seagate internal HDD - which chkdsk /r was unable to fix.
See SeaTools for DOS | Seagate

Now able to create restore points & to do Win 7 Backup/Restore.
Also now able to do backups/system images using the Macrium Reflect software (which uses the Win 7 VSS service).
See Macrium Software

I will now migrate to a Western Digital Black internal HDD on my laptop.

Many thanks all for your help/advice & suggestions.

Jed

Digerati · Jun 24, 2015

GZ said:
I prefer Seagate

Might want to rethink that - at lease with Seagate Barracudas. See Think twice before buying Seagate Barracuda Hard drives!

GZ · Jun 27, 2015

Digerati said:
GZ said:

I prefer Seagate

Click to expand...

Might want to rethink that - at lease with Seagate Barracudas. See Think twice before buying Seagate Barracuda Hard drives!

I did read that. That is an interesting data set there... For sure. I can only speak from personal experience and my numbers are VERY low compared to that data set, but I have had more Hitachi and WD Green failures than Seagate failures over the course of the past 10 years.

I (almost) always use WD Black (OS Drive) and Seagate 5200 rpm drives for storage. I rarely use the Barracuda line.

GZ · Jun 27, 2015

Jed said:
Hi GZ

Eureka!
My problem has now been solved.

I used the free proprietary Seagate tool <SeaTools for DOS> (on a bootable CD) to fix the bad sectors on my Seagate internal HDD - which chkdsk /r was unable to fix.
See SeaTools for DOS | Seagate

Now able to create restore points & to do Win 7 Backup/Restore.
Also now able to do backups/system images using the Macrium Reflect software (which uses the Win 7 VSS service).
See Macrium Software

I will now migrate to a Western Digital Black internal HDD on my laptop.

Many thanks all for your help/advice & suggestions.

Jed

Glad you were able to sort it and get your backup. Good luck M8.

Adia · Jan 28, 2020

I understand this is an old post but I am just now having the exact problem with my old Vaio also purchased around the same time as Jed. It is an older model and yes I plan to purchase a new one soon hut I am just trying to get it to work so that I can save the date from it to transfer to a new laptop. Geek squad said new hard drive needed which I could do but might as well get new laptop..it is old..can u help me to get everything off of it? It powers on, vaio logo appears then windows logo then does the famous windows chime then time and date in lower left corner but then darkly lit blank screen..I was able to boot into recovery mode using the assist button while powered off..I have checked all drives and ran tests and tried to get it to recognize external drive to to data recovery but will jot recognize external drive and scan I just finished shows the same as Jed..Linear, Funnel and Surface failed and only the random seek test shows ok..just trying to get into it long enough to back up files and misc to my external drive..unless can be fixed? Good laptop still..but just recently decided to get stuck just before log in screen appears for windows log in..help appreciated GZ, or anyone else who sees this post, if you can?..thank you in advance.

x BlueRobot · Jan 31, 2020

@Adia please create a new thread of your own and ensure that you read this thread beforehand - Before seeking hardware advice, please read this.

Search

Search

[SOLVED] Sony VAIO Seagate HDD surface scan test failed e-hdd-004

Jed

Active member

Attachments

Digerati

Moderator
Hardware Expert
Microsoft MVP (Ret.)

GZ

Visiting Expert

Jed

Active member

Attachments

GZ

Visiting Expert

Jed

Active member

Jed

Active member

Digerati

Moderator
Hardware Expert
Microsoft MVP (Ret.)

GZ

Visiting Expert

GZ

Visiting Expert

Adia

New member

x BlueRobot

Administrator

[SOLVED] Sony VAIO Seagate HDD surface scan test failed e-hdd-004

Active member

Attachments

ModeratorHardware ExpertMicrosoft MVP (Ret.)

Visiting Expert

Active member

Attachments

Visiting Expert

Active member

Active member

ModeratorHardware ExpertMicrosoft MVP (Ret.)

Visiting Expert

Visiting Expert

New member

Administrator

Moderator
Hardware Expert
Microsoft MVP (Ret.)

Moderator
Hardware Expert
Microsoft MVP (Ret.)