UBCD is the best free tool. ..But for a situation like this, the only way to test the integrity of raid disks is to remove them from the raid set and scan them individually. Spinrite for grc.Com is the only app I know that could do this as it doesn't need to understand the format to be able to repair a disk.
(Of course, it can do a better job if it understands the format, but there is much it can do with HFS, iPod, TIVO, and Raid drive formats. ) Um, that's the only tool I'd use anyway. Not free, but there's nothing that's free that I'm aware of that can do what Spinrite can do.
And the author has specialized in spinning-platter drives and data recovery for a long time. Spinrite will analyse a disk quite intensively if you're talking to it straight through IDE or SATA.(presumably SCSI too, but I haven't tried that.) It can work through USB and RAID, but those controllers will hide a lot of what the drive can tell Spinrite. Not sure what you could do to test the controller.
I never needed speed, just integrity, so I avoid raid.
Check the hard drive manufactures website for utilities that relate to the hard drive. If you post the brand of the HD I can probably help you better. Also, the UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD) contains a number of utilities for the Hard Drive.
ultimatebootcd.com/ It has all of the hard drive diagnostic tools in one spot for many of the major manufacturers.
You might want to look at some of the software at runtime.org. They have some freeware but some of their software works quite well and I use it often. Their trial versions allow you to try it and see if there is some repairs that can be done.
I believe in trying out software before buying it so I will suggest Spinright. See if you can find a someone who has it and give it ago. If it works and you like it then buy your own copy.It will be worth the money if you can afford it but I also know it a lot of money.
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