Disk Diagnostic Applications

IDE Diagnostics Application
The IDE Diagnostics Application is a powerful software program designed specifically to expand the capabilities of the DataFast D-105 and D-101 duplication systems to include hard drive diagnostic testing. By adding this diagnostic application, your DataFast will not only function as a hard disk duplicator, but also as a hard drive diagnostic center for IDE hard drives! Since data integrity is directly related to the reliable operation of a hard drive, the ability to test the condition of drives before beginning any duplication process can be crucial for ensuring trouble-free operation. This diagnostics application provides the following diagnostic tests that can be performed simultaneously on up to five hard drives.

Scan Disk
The Scan Disk utility is provided to confirm that every sector (or a range of sectors) on a disk is readable. This utility does not destroy any existing data on the disk.

Read/Write Data Integrity
The Write/Read utility enables you to verify that sectors on a disk are writeable and that data written on each sector may accurately be read and that each sector is uniquely addressable.

Remap Bad Clusters
The Remap Bad Clusters routine provides the ability to logically remove bad data from a file, making it possible to recover the remaining good data from a file that would otherwise be useless.

Wipe Disk
The Wipe Disk utility performs either "sanitizing" or "clearing" a drive according to Department Of Defense standards for removable and non-removable rigid disks to obliterate previously recorded data. These methods are documented in Section 8-306 of the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPROM) [DOD 5220.22-M].

Seek
Seek tests are provided to confirm the ability of a drive to function properly with various seek conditions. Several tests perform large seeks after the read or write of every sector. Other tests perform a small incremental seek after every read or write.

SMART
The SMART utility enables the status of the internal failure prediction capability of a drive to be reported. SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is an industry-wide method by which IDE drives monitor internal parameters and warn of the increased potential of a drive failure. This utility enables you to determine whether or not a drive supports SMART. For those drives supporting SMART, you have the ability to activate or deactivate SMART. When SMART is activated you can determine if one or more “threshold conditions” in a drive have been exceeded, meaning that - even though the drive is presently operational - there is an increased likelihood of a drive failure.