| Tool | Bootable ISO Available? | Repairs or Just Marks? | Speed | Cost | |------|------------------------|------------------------|-------|------| | | Yes | Repairs (claims physical) | Slow | $59.99 | | CHKDSK /R | No (runs in Windows recovery) | Marks bad sectors | Moderate | Free | | SpinRite | Yes | Repairs (level 5) | Extremely slow | $89 | | MHDD | Yes (DOS-based) | Remaps sectors | Fast | Free | | Victoria HDD | Yes (via bootable USB) | Remaps/repairs | Fast | Free |
Aggressive repair cycles can accelerate failure. After repair, replace the drive if SMART values show: hdd regenerator bootable iso