What does 'Completed with read failure' mean?

• A. The drive passed the test with no issues.
• B. The drive encountered unreadable sectors — failing hardware.
• C. The test completed with minor data errors.
• D. The test was aborted by user.

Answer: (B)

When a diagnostic report says “Completed with read failure,” the test finished but encountered sectors that could not be read. That points to unreadable sectors and usually indicates hardware problems with the drive—media damage or a failing read path (head, controller, etc.). It’s not a simple pass or a minor hiccup; it’s a sign the drive may be failing and data in those sectors could be lost.

In practice, back up any accessible data if possible, then plan to replace the drive. After replacing, you can run additional health checks on the new drive and review SMART attributes (like reallocated sector count and pending/uncorrectable sectors) to confirm overall health.