How To... Scan A Hard Disk Drive For Errors

Although you can use Windows utilities such as scandisk, chkdsk or error checking (depending on which version of Windows you have) I have found a program called HD Tune to be the most reliable and informative utility to use.

www.hdtune.com

There is a Pro (paid for) version and a free version.  Needless to say, I'm using the free version!

Simply select your HDD from the dropdown menu, click on the Error Scan tab and then click on Start.