Ariolic Disk Scanner vs DRevitalize

Ariolic Disk Scanner is a free Windows utility for checking disks for read errors that may indicate drive degradation. It scans every sector on supported media in read-only mode, shows bad clusters as an image, and lists files located on unreadable sectors. The program supports all FAT variants and NTFS. It can scan internal and external disks visible in Windows, including USB sticks, Micro SD cards, CDs, and DVDs. No installation is required, so it can run from a flash drive or another disk. Ariolic says the checks do not alter data. The utility is intended as an early warning for drives showing failure signs, rather than a repair tool. Its knowledge base says scanning does not guarantee that an underlying issue will be fixed. The product page links to a free CNET download.

DRevitalize is Windows software for diagnosing and attempting to repair physical damage on magnetic media, including hard drives and some floppy drives. It works around damaged areas by generating sequences of high and low signals intended to repair bad sectors. The listed current version is 4.10 for Windows and UEFI, and public demo downloads are available for Windows, UEFI, and DOS. Modes include scan-only checks and scan-and-repair read or write tests. Other functions include SMART analysis, raw-data copying, secure erase, Format Unit, ATA security operations, and Device Configuration Overlay controls. The software is intended for minor surface damage, typically a few bad sectors, rather than hundreds or thousands. It can inspect and modify SSD parameters, but cannot truly repair a defective SSD sector; it may reallocate that sector. UEFI use requires a 64-bit system and recent BIOS. Windows support information says the product is designed for Windows 10, while version 4.0 requires at least Windows Vista and .NET Framework 4.6. License ordering is no longer available and the project is on hold.