Bad hard disks may not be dead after all.

Question

I had a problem with a Tiger install - explained here -
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8714240#8714240
and as a result, have found a way of 'saving' the original G5 disk, which to all intents and purposes was dead and buried.
I have a working PC and came across a software application called ''HDD Regenerator''. This scans for and repairs 'bad sectors' which were found on the disk in question. There were a fair few of them.
These were 'fixed' by the regenerator and since then I have used this disk as a backup. It works well and have had no problems with it since.
This procedure is worth one's while if you can knobble someone with a pc and get this sftware. It is a straight-forward and a fairly quick application.
Bad sectors were a common ocurrance/factor with older hdds.
B.S. are areas of the disk that are bad, ie. damaged or have lost their ability to keep their 'identity' - a negative or positive charge - a one or a zero - . Most of the windows OSs can and do have a utility to write a 'warning' or set a flag thus preventing data from being written to these areas. This is termed as recovering bad sectors.
One has to initiate this procedure with older drives whereas with present disks it is done by the hdd itself.
I do not know if the Apple OSs have this capability/utility built into them or are hidden somewhere - to write warnings about BS - but think not.
The hdd that I had in the G5[2005] was 'old', comparitively.
don't give up on that 'dead' hard disk. It may be repairable.

Answer 1

Just as an addendum: The software mentioned Hdd Reg. is designed _specifically to do a very specialised job. I wonder if DW and Techtool aren't ''really'' up to this level of ability.
BS can not be skipped.
They must be isolated and there must be a definitive warning to prevent data being written to these ''individuals'.
I do appreciate your caution and concern regarding the reliability of a regenerated disk, but weighing up the outcome thus farm with my experience has led me to the continual useage of HDD regenerator and seemingly failing disks.
There are 2 reasons why a disk will have BS. One is: the armature that picks up and delivers data[reads and writes] is causing actual physical damage to the surface of the hd and usually in this case a drive will fail within a short space of time anyway. The other reason for BS, is poor quality materials used at the 'molecular' level. The 'bits' of data are stored on a material that is/can be magnetic - thus 0, 1 - or positive and negative -ie. an electrical charge -. if the charge will not or does not hold or the area just becomes 'unusable' because of these inconsistancies - data cannot be written here in a 'true' manner- it becomes and is a BS.
This is only a synopsis about BS and the potential for BSes.
Google, for more info.