- PC slowing down or freezing as well as Blue Screen of Death indicate hard drive failure.
- You can scan and fix hard disk errors using the chkdsk command .
- Even better, if you're not really comfortable operating manual controls, you can use software to test the hard drive.
- Avoid disk crashes by opting for the best hard drive performance diagnostic tools and keep your PC in shape.
Your computer's hard drive contains all of your important data, but any damage to the device could put your data in jeopardy. Additionally, hard drives have a limited lifespan and are likely to become corrupted at some point. Relying solely on your hard drive to store your data is not a wise decision.
If you are unaware of your hard drives' health status, you may not have the opportunity to save your essential data before it's too late. It's important to note that not all hard drive crashes occur randomly. As a result, it's crucial to know when it's time to back up your data.
One potential solution is to monitor the health of your hard drive. By doing so, you can quickly intervene and make a backup in the event of an issue.
Solutions and Alternatives to Monitor Your Hard Drives
All latest generation drives are equipped with a monitoring technology called SMART. This tool aims to continuously monitor a certain number of parameters on a hard disk.
These include read and write error rates, spin time, seek error rates, temperature, and other important things.
To alert you when some of these crucial parameters are degrading or reaching their threshold, you need a program that can track all these changes and will show them to you as well.
Ensuring the safety of your data stored on a hard drive requires testing its capability. Taking the time to backup important files and finding a replacement in advance is crucial.
Although monitoring programs can help, they may not provide a complete assessment of your files' integrity.
Therefore, it's recommended to use available tools to check for any failures at least once a month to prevent your drive from deteriorating and losing your data.
SMART to check the health of your hard drive
SMART is the built-in monitoring system that is implemented in most modern hard drives or SSDs . Unfortunately, it will only be able to notify users when an impending hardware failure is on the way.
All major hard drive manufacturers recommend an occasional check of your drive's health and also run surface tests and performance tests.
We have put together a list of the top 3 hard drive checker software that can predict and protect against the unavoidable circumstances of a crash.
How to scan hard drive?
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| best software to test hard drive |
1- Iolo System Mechanic Pro
This tool is extremely effective in keeping your system healthy. You can run a bunch of scans to monitor the status of your hardware, but also fix lots of errors.
Speaking of hard drives, System Mechanic keeps them safe through its various tools and provides you with maximum information about it.
You don't have to worry about taking action – the paid version not only analyzes and provides you with information about errors, but also fixes them.
Included in the all-encompassing Phoenix 360 security, privacy, and optimization bundle are seven software products, with Iolo System Mechanic being one of them.
Here are the primary features to consider:
- Identify startup apps related to your startup process and deactivate unnecessary ones to optimize the startup time of your Windows operating system.
- Perform quick or deep scans of your computer
- Stop background services and processes that drain resources
- Improve the performance and stability of your CPU, memory and hard drive
- Clean up junk files and delete cache files that clutter your hard drive
- Clear chat and internet history to protect your privacy
- Defragment, optimize and backup your system registry.
2- Paessler PRTG
Industry-leading PRTG is a powerful, easy-to-use solution trusted by 200,000 users worldwide.
Very versatile and complex, this tool is suitable for all systems you can think of: devices, traffic and applications. Moreover, you can extend its benefits through the customizable HTTP API.
PRTG monitors bandwidth, databases, applications, cloud storage, even servers, and the entire local network, including your workstations, routers, switches, and printers.
Here are the primary features to consider:
- Monitor bandwidth, databases, applications, cloud services, servers and LAN
- Technologies SSH, SNMP, WMI et Windows Performance Counters
- Graphs with real-time status (300 objects included: device and status icons, traffic graphs, ranking lists, etc.)
- Complete dashboards and detailed reports
- Flexible alerts you can schedule.
3- Hard Disk Sentinel
Hard Disk Sentinel is a reliable software that offers excellent SSD and HDD analysis capabilities. It goes beyond mere monitoring and diagnosis of hard drive problems, as it also allows for testing and repairing of hard drives.
The software provides users with comprehensive reports and displays the status of their SSDs and HDDs, including any performance degradations. This information enables users to take appropriate measures to avoid drive failure and prevent data loss.
Hard Disk Sentinel stands out for its sensitivity to disk failures, as well as its ability to provide detailed and relevant information about any detected issues. This makes it a valuable tool for users who want to stay on top of their hard drive health and ensure optimal performance.
Here are the primary features to consider:
- Our system provides extensive notifications and analyses to ensure that your valuable data remains highly secure.
- Sophisticated detection algorithms
- One software can be used to examine a variety of different storage devices, including internal hard drives, portable hard drives, SSDs, SSHDs, NAS drives, micro SD cards, and eMMC devices.
- Monitor status including health, temperature, transfer speed and all SMART values
Speaking of data loss, if you came to this article a bit too late and are already battling hard drive failure, don't panic. We have the best recovery software for your hard drive.
Finally, you should know that your Windows PC also has a built-in tool that can accomplish this task.
However, if you want more comprehensive results, a third-party hard drive health checker will prove to be your best bet.
You have the option to select from the tools listed above, or you can offer additional recommendations by using the comments section located below.