Chronicling disk gone bad diagnosis with various software. Some open source

Here’s a directory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_S.M.A.R.T._tools

here’s a pre-installed part of a certain Linux distro:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest_Disk_Utility

here’s something else interesting

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Main_Page

TO BE CONTINUED . . . .

http://www.howtoforge.com/data_recovery_with_testdisk