If your computer’s hard drive is acting up or you’re experiencing data read errors, a surface scan tool can help identify the root cause. Ariolic Disk Scanner is a completely free utility designed to detect bad sectors on your hard drive or external storage devices. It works on Windows 11, Windows 10, and older versions as well.
What is Ariolic Disk Scanner?
Ariolic Disk Scanner is a small and portable software that checks your hard drives and USB drives for unreadable sectors. Unlike some tools that attempt to fix disk errors, this utility works in read-only mode, making it safe to use even on failing disks. It simply scans the surface of your drive and visually shows which sectors are readable and which are damaged.
Key Features of Ariolic Disk Scanner
- 100% free with no hidden costs or upgrade requirements
- Scans hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, and other storage media
- Displays readable sectors in green and bad sectors in red
- Read-only scan mode ensures data safety
- Provides a list of files affected by unreadable sectors
- Portable – no installation required
How to Use Ariolic Disk Scanner on Windows 11/10?
Follow these simple steps to scan your drive for bad sectors using Ariolic Disk Scanner:
Step 1. Download Ariolic Disk Scanner from the official website.
Step 2. Extract the ZIP file and double-click the executable to launch the tool. No installation is needed.
Step 3. Select the drive you want to scan from the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Click the Start Scan button to begin the surface test.
Step 5. The tool will highlight bad sectors in red and good ones in green. You can also view which files are located on bad sectors.
Complementary Tools You Can Use
If you’re looking for a more advanced utility that also checks SMART attributes and performs surface tests, try HDDScan. It’s also freeware and works great alongside Ariolic Disk Scanner.
After checking for disk issues, you might want to clean up unnecessary files and optimize your PC. Glary Utilities Free is an all-in-one solution for junk removal, registry cleanup, and more.
If you plan to compress or back up files from damaged sectors, 7-Zip is a powerful and free compression tool worth using.
To learn more about what files and folders are taking up space on your disk, use SpaceSniffer or a similar disk analyzer that helps visualize disk usage in a detailed manner.
Why Choose Ariolic Disk Scanner?
There are several free disk checking utilities available, but Ariolic Disk Scanner stands out for its simplicity and effectiveness. It’s ideal for users who want a quick and safe way to identify bad sectors without altering or risking data loss. It’s especially useful for checking old hard drives or USB drives that may be failing.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re troubleshooting disk errors or just checking the health of an old drive, Ariolic Disk Scanner is a solid choice. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and doesn’t cost a thing. Since it doesn’t attempt to repair or write to the disk, you can safely use it without worrying about further damage.
For more tools to maintain your Windows PC, check out our guide on the best free tools to optimize and maintain Windows.