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ArkansasQuapaw's avatar
ArkansasQuapaw
Iron Contributor
Sep 03, 2025

Does Windows 11 automatically block physical bad sectors on hard drives?

Using DiskGauge, three physical bad sectors were detected on the hard drive. After formatting, the usable space decreased by several dozen megabytes. It is suspected that Windows 11 automatically masked the bad sector area, but it remains unclear whether the system would attempt to read the masked bad sectors again when the drive is filled with data.

1 Reply

  • Sawyeryo's avatar
    Sawyeryo
    Iron Contributor

    No. There will be error coming out when Windows 11 tries to access bad sectors.