Effects and ranges of DiskPatch options

 

A list of terms used in this page and their explanation can be found here.

The following table explains the effects of the DiskPatch settings. Use this table to understand which option affects which operation, so you can adjust settings according to your specific situation. A detailed explanation of all settings can be found here.

DiskPatch operation   repair
partition
tables		 repair
boot
sectors		 surface
scan
read-only		 surface
scan
read/write		 wipe clone create
support
analysis log
Setting
read retries

general advice: if a disk shows
many read errors, it might be
better to clone it as soon as
possible. if a disk is dying (bad
sectors increase regularly)
you should stop accessing
the disk and clone it as soon
as possible.
if no read errors exist this
setting has no effect.
default: 32		 in case of read errors:
higher settings may
give better results but
will slow down the
analysis.
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 in case of read errors:
higher settings may
give better results but
will slow down the
repair.
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 in case of read errors:
higher settings will
slow down the scan
but could lead to a more
accurate tally.
when the disk is dying
higher settings will have
a bad effect on the disk;
when many read errors
are detected, clone the
disk.
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 in case of read errors:
higher settings may
give better results
(may identify/repair
more sectors) but
will slow down the
scan.
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 --- in case of read errors:
higher settings may
give better results
(may read/copy more
sectors) but will
slow down the clone.
recommended setting:
for high accuracy
(time is not a factor)
set read retries to high.
for speed (accuracy
is less important) set
read retries to default
or lower. (details)		 in case of read errors:
higher settings may
give better results but
will slow down the
analysis.
recommended setting:
default or lower.
write retries

general information:
If the MBR can't be written to,
partition table repair can not
complete.
if few write errors exist,
the read/write surface scan
may fix them. if many show up
the disk should be replaced.
checking the disk's smart status
may help.
default: 32		 --- --- --- in case of write errors:
higher settings may
give better results
(may identify/repair
more sectors) but
will slow down the
scan.
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 in case of write errors:
higher settings may
give better results
(may identify/repair
more sectors) but
will slow down the
wipe.
recommended setting:
default or lower.
a wipe is functionally
the same as a low level
format.		 only affects the target
disk!
if write errors show up
on the target disk, you
should replace the
target disk. wiping the
target disk first may
identify/fix potential
bad sectors. (details)
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 ---
read error threshold

general information:
setting this to '0' (zero)
will disable the notification;
operations will not be interrupted
by warnings. useful for cloning.
any value higher than '0' will
interrupt the current operation
if the threshold is reached.
default: 32		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every read
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every read
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default or lower.		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every read
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default or higher.		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every read
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default or higher.		 --- only affects the source
disk!
lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every read
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
disabled.		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every read
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default or lower.
write error threshold

general information:
setting this to '0' (zero)
will disable the notification;
operations will not be interrupted
by warnings. useful for wiping.
any value higher than '0' will
interrupt the current operation
if the threshold is reached.
default: 1		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every write
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default.		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every write
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default.		 --- lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every write
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default or higher.		 lower settings will
generate more alerts.
setting this to '1' will
alert you on every write
error that is found.
setting this to '0' will
disable the notification.
recommended setting:
default or higher.		 only affects the target
disk!
recommended setting:
N/A.
Is set to '1' for both
phases of the clone.
(details).		 ---
disk reset

general information:
only has effect when read
errors are encountered. can
have a positive effect on read
results when read errors exist.
default: enabled		 in case of read errors:
enabling this setting may
have a positive effect
on read actions.
no noticeable slow
down is expected.
recommended setting:
default.		 in case of read errors:
enabling this setting may
have a positive effect
on read actions.
no noticeable slow
down is expected.
recommended setting:
default.		 in case of read errors:
enabling this setting may
have a positive effect
on read actions.
scanning time may
increase dramatically if
many read errors are
found.
recommended setting:
default.		 in case of errors:
enabling this setting may
have a positive effect
on read/write actions.
scanning time may
increase dramatically if
many errors are found.
recommended setting:
default.		 in case of write errors:
enabling this setting may
have a positive effect
on write actions.
wiping time may
increase dramatically if
many write errors are
found.
recommended setting:
default.		 in case of errors:
enabling this setting may
have a positive effect
on read/write actions.
clone time may
increase dramatically if
many errors are found.
recommended setting:
default.		 in case of read errors:
enabling this setting may
have a positive effect
on read actions.
no noticeable slow
down is expected.
recommended setting:
default.
verify fixed sectors

general information:
only affects read/write
surface scanning.
default: enabled		 --- --- --- in case of read/write
errors:
enabling this setting
will lead to reliable tally
of fixed sectors.
scanning time may
increase dramatically if
many errors are found.
recommended setting:
default.		 --- --- ---
clean after DOD wipe

general information:
only affects wiping.
default: enabled		 --- --- --- --- will increase the time
needed to wipe a disk or
partition.		 --- ---
skip X after error

general information:
only affects cloning.
default: 1024		 --- --- --- --- --- in case of read errors:
skipping more sectors
during phase 1 of
cloning will speed up
phase 1, but phase 2
will take longer. (details)		 ---
save state file

general information:
a state file contains data on
the disk that was scanned. state
data is saved when a repair
scan is completed. (details)
default: enabled		   --- --- --- --- ---  
global undo

default: enabled		     --- --- --- --- ---
diskedit undo

general information:
only affects actions taken when
using the disk editor.
default: enabled		 --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
FAT sync undo

when enabled will save FAT
repair information to the current
undo file, to facilitate reverting
the changes made during the
repair. FAT undo data is only
saved if space permits, user
will be notified if this is not the
case.
default: enabled		 ---   --- --- --- --- ---
custom geometry

only use when the disk was
partitioned using a different
geometry than the one that's
currently active. (details)
default: use BIOS geometry		     --- --- --- ---  
               
Legend setting affects
operation,
normal severity:
no direct negative effect
on the recovery.		 setting affects
operation,
high severity:
incorrect setting
will have negative
effect on the
recovery		 setting affects
operation,
variable severity:
higher/lower setting
may affect outcome
for better or worse		 no effect about recommended
settings: the suggested
settings are valid for
the specific combination
of setting/operation
where they are
mentioned.		    

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