Hey everyone I was just wondering which applications in linux would be comparable if not better for diagnosing hard drives, than their windows counterparts. I have been doing research and found a few options but what I want to know is your experiences with these pieces of software and what have you found for linux that is of the same or better quality and gives better results.

The software in question is
Victoria - HDD sector testing
HDD Guardian - HDD SMART Testing


Any help or advice is appreciated!

smartctl(8)

A first thing to know is whether or not the drive is SMART enabled. If it's a current magnetic type of drive, likely. Things like thumbsticks, SD cards, etc, no.

I believe the SMART utilities also have Windows equivalents, because S.M.A.R.T. is a capability of the drive, specifically for the information which you're seeking.

I don't know the software's you cited, but have used smartctl.

I always recommend the OEM diag suites. They have intimate design knowledge of the drive and sometimes special tools and tests.

Define "best".

I use 'smartctl', because it is easy to use and works for all drives. Yes, manufacturers often make their own tools, you can probably find most of them on:
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
They may have extra tests that you can run. Whether these tests are actually any use is left to the user to decide. I know at one point I ran the Seagate diagnostic program to run a long test, but after it was finished in the log it was logged as a short test. Hmmm ... not what I want. Still, it did its job, and I remember it did have some extra info on the drive. In most cases I use smartctl.

The OP did ask for Linux so the second #2 post may be the most correct.