Examples
badblocks -nvs /dev/sdbThis would check the drive "sdb" in non-destructive read-write mode and display progress by writing out the block numbers as they are checked.
badblocks -wvs /dev/sdb6This would check the sixth partition of the drive "sdb", in destructive read-write mode and display progress by writing out the block numbers as they are checked. All data will be overwritten at the block level. If used on an entire disk as in the previous example, it destroys MBRs, partitions and data alike.
badblocks -wvsb 4096 /dev/sdbThis writes 4 different patterns on the whole drive /dev/sdb and verifies by reading back. Modern disk drives will probably not show any defective sectors because they silently remap bad sectors to spare tracks, but running the program with a new drive for several days will test the whole surface, and when reading it afterwards S.M.A.R.T. data will eventually show reallocated sectors.
Using the -w option on a device containing an existing file system erases the data on that device.
Read more about this topic: Badblocks
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