We cannot rely on any piece of technology to work completely forever. Hard drives are no exception, and when they fail, they take years of important files with them. Fortunately, many free equipment can predict drive failures, before they can give time to backup their data and replace the drive.
Before downloading the third-party software, check what Windows already provides. CHKDSK drives remain the most direct tool for scanning errors. open command prompt As a administrator and type chkdsk c: /f /r To scan your main drive. /F The flag itself fixes errors, while /R Detects poor areas and receives readable information. Fair warning, this process takes time, especially on large drives.
Windows also includes smart (self-spanning, analysis and reporting technology) monitoring. You can also use an event viewer to solve Windows problems related to hard drives. open event viewer And navigate Windows log> system And filter for Disc Events. See a warning message about disc health – these often appear before or weeks before complete failure.
For more detailed monitoring, the Windows performance monitor tracks the disc performance metrics in real time.
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Type and access it Performance In Dialogue,
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Click Green plus Icon to connect counters.
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choose Physical disk Performance from object dropdown.
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Choose matrix like “AVG. Disc Queue Length” or “Disc Read bytes/Sec”.
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Credibility Monitor vs. Performance Monitor: Comparing two Undertoids Windows Tools
Windows has two diagnostics tools that are manufactured in it, which many people do not know. Learn both of them with this guide.
Storage space in Windows Pool simultaneously drives several drives and automatically monitor their health. Setups are required through this feature Settings> System> Storage> Manage Storage Space In advanced storage settings. Once configured, it sends information when the drive shows signs of failure and the data in a healthy drive can maintain excess.
These underlying equipment works well for basic monitoring, but they lack detailed health reports that provide dedicated software.
Crystaldicinfo is the most available as user friendly drive monitoring tools. Its clean interface displays you everything required at a glance.
The color-coded system fools health evaluation. Blue means excellent, green good health, yellow warning of caution, problems of orange signals and red screams require immediate replacement. The colors of the condition are more like traffic lights for your storage.
Pay attention to major smart characteristics such as reallocated sector count, counting of current pending area, and uncorrectable error calculation. Increasing numbers in these categories often predict imminent failure, sometimes the drive really dies.
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Crystaldicinfo can send email information when health changes. Enable this facility through Function> Alert Features> Mail Settings To be informed even when you are away from your computer.
However, do not rely on reading completely. Some drives fail without warning despite showing good health, while others continue to work after yellow warnings. Use crystaldicinfo as part of a comprehensive monitoring strategy, not just protecting you against data loss.
download: Crystaldicinfo (Free)
This device leads to monitoring hardware to the next level, and drive health is one of its major features. This overwhelms beginners with information. Where crystaldicinfo shows compulsory, HWINFO displays every comprehensible hardware metric.
After installing HWINFO, navigate on the drive section to find detailed smart data with temperature readings and performance figures. Hwinfo can record the drive matrix over time and create a detailed report that reveals the gradual decline pattern. This historical data proves to be easy to spot the trends that can miss single-foot snapshots.
Drive temperatures cause ups and downs under the load, affecting reed/right speed during intensive operation. Hwinfo provides real -time monitoring, allowing you to inspect high temperatures, one of the primary reasons why hard drives fail.
The free version ideally handles the most monitoring needs. However, this power comes with complexity. You may feel to navigate dozens of sensors categories and hundreds of individual readings. However, if you want a complete monitoring and do not consider a learning state to be bad, Hwinfo protects from unmatched detail.
download: Save (Free)
HDDSCAN takes a different view, focusing on active testing rather than inactive monitoring. This surface scan and tension tests. These active tests can reveal problems that do not appear in standard health reports, especially developing poor areas or inconsistent read speeds.
This tool practically works with any storage device that you can connect to your computer. Whether you have HDD or SSD, USB flash drive, SD card, or even network-composed storage, they all come under its test.
The interface seems dated but functional. You just have to choose your drive, choose a test type, and let it run. It provides several test types, serving each different purposes. Surface scans examine each sector, while verification read tests, measuring access time throughout the drive.
The active test may take hours to wear extra wear and extra wear on the drive of aging, potentially intensifying failure in compromised HDDs.
The equipment excels to confirm doubts rather than regular monitoring. If your computer starts functioning slugally or the files are sometimes contaminated, then HDDSCAN’s test may indicate whether the drive is causing these issues.
Do not run intensive tests often on a healthy drive. Save HDDSCAN to solve specific problems or to make a detailed analysis before significant data migration. For daily surveillance, stick with the Gentler option.
download: Hddscan (Free)
This device creates a balance between simplicity and expansion as it focuses on the drive lifetime rather than only current health status. This reflects temperature monitoring in real time, displayed prominently as well as health percentage.
The interface displays significant information at a glance: drive temperature, total operating hours and percentage-based health score. Unlike some other devices, which report only “good” or “bad”, HDDLIFE tries to predict the remaining drive life based on usage patterns and smart characteristic analysis.
Performance metrics help differentiate between drives that are failing and showing only those showing their age. However, HDDLife provides only 15-day free tests before converting into a freeware version. For timely drive checking, this limit makes free option more practical.
download: Hddlife (Free)
This tool is also a middle ground between simplicity and technical depth, and is one of the recommended methods that you are receiving to test the actual drive capacity.
The main interface keeps things straight with a basic health check -up that displays “pass” or “unsuccessful” for each connected drive. But it shines in its tabd interface. The general tab provides complete drive specification from firmware versions to interface speed.
Whereas, the characteristics display each smart parameter with current values, threshold and failure predictions. The Self-Test tab lets you run various diagnostic routines directly from the interface. Short tests are usually completed in minutes, while extended tests provide perfectly drive verification.
Unlike some devices that only read existing data, GSMARTCONTrol actively tests your drive. Additionally, round out of error log and temperature monitoring feature set. Additionally, the historical temperature data helps identify a very hot running drive, while the error log reveals problems that cannot immediately trigger smart alerts.
GSMARTCONTrol works firmly in various drive types and manufacturers. The interface prioritize information on the but functional, aesthetics.
download: Gsmartcontrol (Free)
Drive monitoring regularly crosses your fingers and expecting the best. These devices provide the required warning signals to protect your data before disaster strike, but remember that a healthy drive also requires proper setup. When replacing the failed drive, be sure to format your new hard drive before filling it.
