A server administrator is troubleshooting slow performance and intermittent file corruption on a non-system data volume hosted on a Windows Server. The System Event Log contains multiple errors with the source 'disk' and the message, 'The device, \Device\Harddisk1\DR1, has a bad block.' Which of the following is the most appropriate next action to diagnose the extent of the physical disk problem?
Replace the RAID controller's cache battery.
Run chkdsk D: /r
Initiate a RAID array rebuild for the logical volume.
The correct answer is to run 'chkdsk D: /r'. The event log message explicitly states a 'bad block,' which is synonymous with a bad sector. The 'chkdsk' utility with the '/r' switch is the appropriate Windows tool to locate bad sectors, mark them as unusable, and attempt to recover any readable data from them. This action directly addresses the error message and serves to diagnose the health of the physical disk media.
Defragmenting the volume is incorrect because defragmentation is a file system optimization process that consolidates fragmented files; it does not repair or identify physical errors like bad sectors. Running defragmentation on a failing drive can worsen the problem.
Initiating a RAID array rebuild is inappropriate at this stage. The problem is a physical error on a single drive. A rebuild should only be performed after the faulty drive has been replaced. Attempting to rebuild an array with a failing drive can lead to complete array failure and data loss.
Replacing the RAID controller's cache battery is incorrect. While a failed cache battery can cause severe write performance degradation, it does not cause physical 'bad block' errors on a disk drive.
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