Checking the smart health of the hard drive. Useful utilities for monitoring the state of the HDD A program that determines the state of the hard disk

Today we will learn how to check the hard drive of a computer or laptop for serviceability, what methods exist and what programs with utilities are best used to diagnose the state of a component.

HOW TO CHECK THE HARD DISK OF A COMPUTER OR LAPTOP FOR CORRECTION. FEATURES, METHODS, SOFTWARE AND UTILITIES

Good afternoon, today we will find out how to do it right check HDD a personal computer or laptop running on operating systems Windows 7 , 8 and 10 on the serviceability as well as what third-party programs it is better use for condition analysis component. Moreover, step by step with help screenshots for clarity, we will demonstrate procedure by careful diagnostics hard disk through various ways and utilities... In conclusion, we will tell you what tasks on a computer or laptop performs HDD computer and why from time to time you need check Winchester on the damage that may arise in his sectors.

As we know HDD or Winchester Is one of the key components personal computer or laptop, which is the main memory block, that is, the part responsible for storage , distribution and moving information. Winchester on a par with physical medium has its own specific life time and over time he has a property called damage to sectors(broken sectors), which is extremely unacceptable in cases where it kept very important or useful information. In this way, examination hard disk on the serviceability or working capacity Is one of the most important procedures on diagnostics fortunes details to be be able to do any user who owns a personal computer or laptop.

HOW TO DISABLE SLEEP MODE ON A COMPUTER IN OS WINDOWS

So, how and with what begins checking the status of the hard disk ? Initially done on a computer or laptop backup the most important files another physical medium, for example on USB-Flash drive , Flash card , third-party HDD (SSD) Winchester or CD ... We also note that if our diagnosed HDD format SDD or HDD publishes during work extraneous sounds as clicks or certain claims To operability component, then before carrying the part directly to repair, initially, so to speak at home, it is worth using various methods for his checks with the help of third-party programs... Today there are a huge number of different utilities and applications for detailed diagnostics of hard disk segments on the broken sectors, which compatible with any operating system and accessories computer. About such programs, which help we will talk to users in our article to install which of them is the best quality check and restore fragments hard drive .

1. METHODS CHECKING THE HARD DISK FOR CORRECTION. BUILT-IN ANALYSIS UTILITIES

Development company " Microsoft ”Has a wide range of opportunities to work with different components operating room systems. One of the most common basic or embedded programs operating system Windows the application is considered CHKDSK which serves for checks and fixes bad sectors hard disk ... Program CHKDSK helps to produce check hard drive without installation third party applications. In case if file system hard disk has one or another mistakes, then basic application will help as well will eliminate some or all Problems, depending on their difficulties.

Firmware CHKDSK Functions :

- Search and fix found errors in the file system of the hard disk NTFS / FAT;

- Identification of physically damaged bad sectors;

- Checking third-party media, for example, SSD / HDD drives, USB Flash, SD cards for faults.

How to use the CHKDSK program? Initially, the user launches file system scan which is done with launch standard window “ Execute "Located in the user menu" Start ”Working toolbar of the operating complex Windows XP, 7 ,8 or 10 ... If we don't not found on the menu " Start "Command line" Execute “, Then we will use the function“ Conductor “.

The procedure for checking the system using the "Explorer" menu :

- First of all, we find in the explorer a section with the name “My Computer”;

- Then we click the right mouse button on the hard disk or its separate medium (volume), which needs to be checked;

- On the "Service" tab, you must click on the "Check" button. For reference, note that the check is carried out only if the user has administrator rights;

- After all the above steps, the computer's operating system is restarted. In the process of restarting the computer, the Windows OS disk / s are automatically checked for problems. In addition, when it finds problems on the disk, the program fixes them;

- If the program does not find any problems during the verification process, then the procedure ends without fixing. In addition, it should be said that if there are errors on the disk, fixing them can take quite a long time ( for reference: up to several hours);

- At the final stage of the check, the program examines the third-party physical media of the system, without restarting the computer.

TO How to analyze a disk using the built-in command line? Initially, the user must to runcommand line... This can be done with several ways : Firstly , run the command “ Execute “, Then we type in the line the condition“ cmd “; Secondly , you can implement launch through the menu “ Start “, Then go to the“ All programs ", Further " Standard "And find the utility" Command line “.

After launch command line, we write a condition in the window, for example: “ chkdsk C: / f “Which means check one or the other disk systems. To produce full hard disk check, after the standard steps, it is necessary reload computer, then you need to wait until the system will be checked on the broken sectors... Note for reference that in order to receive background information on possible parameters checks hard drive, in the command window we enter the condition “ chkdsk /? “.

As you can see with the help of simple action you can quickly enough determine serviceability, as well as health of hard disk volumes and systems generally. Note for reference that HDD costs check then when we just bought new computer or laptop. Moreover, examination needed even when the mistakes at installation applications or moving large amount of information in the form files... In the event that we we rarely use your computer, then recommended from time to time his include, to to disperse physical medium, since each Winchester has a certain write resource(rewriting) information and way of writing data on the bulk carrier does not provide static.

Built-in programs on identifying and elimination of errors which according to default go in a particular operating system Windows perform only surface examination for availability broken sectors disk. Built-in utilitiesdo not stand out high precision in finding malfunctions on the carriers... As most recommend specialists in the area of computer technology, to spend detailed examination with in-depth analysis hard drive better take advantage of(download and install) third party programs and utilities that are online Internet v free access.

2. SOFTWARE FOR DIAGNOSTIC STATE OF THE HARD DISK

So, as we said earlier, apart from basic or embedded programs for diagnostics fortunes hard disk that go along default in a particular version of the operating system Windows , today still a large popularity users deserve third party utilities... Third party programs or utilities capable not only in detail diagnose volumes hard disk but also effectively fix bad sectors and mistakes if available.

Popular third-party programs for diagnosing and fixing hard disk errors :

HDDLife : it is that third party utility which must be installed every user of a personal computer or laptop. Program controls the health of physical carriers and protects those who do not want to suddenly lose important information on the device. The main virtues utility is active indicator fortunes hard disk. HDDLife produces performance measurement computer and determines wear and tear components in online mode.

Everything indicators displayed as colorful stripes... So for example a strip Green colour means that with components devices are all in okay... Strip yellow color means that, HDD worked part term his service and it follows more closer pay attention in the process of further exploitation. Red stripe programs means what is needed immediate action relatively hard disk or others system components, up to their renovation or replacements, since the probability is high losses important information.

Also, a program that translated from English means “ A life or hard drive life “, Displays physical media temperature information. Temperature maybe be displayed as scales or digital indicator... As we know too high operating temperature of the disks quickly brings them to worthlessness so it is very important to keep it constant control... Utility HDDLife proposed in free access as with trial(free) version and paid in which significantly expanded functionality.

Seagate Seatools : is also not less popular utility which is very useful for any modern computer user. However, in difference from HDDLife , Seatools - it narrow on profile program, that is, not universal and it is only compatible with Winchesters brand Seagate (for reference: 70% market share of hard drives today), and as for others physical media models then their analysis maybe passes fragmentarily or with mistakes... In order to to begin enjoy program just enough install, to run and select necessary points for diagnostics... Utility working completely in automatic mode. On the first stage going on bug testing and then them elimination, in the presence of. In case if examination ends successfully, then at the end of the procedure in dialog box a sign appears “ PASS ” – no errors found, and if there is problems, the inscription “ FAIL “, That is, found mistakes.

What problems are detected by the program Seagate Seatools :

- Search for bad sectors and errors in the file system of the hard disk format HDD or SDD;

- Problems in the boot loader of the Windows operating system;

- Incompatibility of hardware and drivers of the Windows operating system;

- Elimination of bad sectors of the hard disk;

- Search for viruses of various complexity and other applications that disrupt the functioning of the hard disk.

Often the program Seagate Tools finds and fixes mistakes and malfunctions systems on one's own, however, sometimes there are cases when it is required participation user in the procedure. On my own behalf, we note that the first time you use utilities with the aim of checks and bug fixes systems, it is worth stocking up patience, since this process is very painstaking... Note for reference that duration process can increase proportionately volume and occupied place information on hard disk .

In conclusion, we note that in the event that even the checked HDD is in full technical serviceability then as recommended specialists, it is always worth it saveimportant information which kept on the Winchester. Backups important files best done on third-party media... For reference, note that today there are many programs who are capable restore lost or damaged files and fragments hard disk... However, we must understand that Not allutilities fully capable recover lost files especially if they erased With physically injured carrier. So backup is the only and sure way preserving important information which kept on the hard disk.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION. LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS SHARE WITH FRIENDS. WE ARE WAITING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS.

Many PC users hardly think about checking the status of their HDD. Checking the hard drive, first of all, is needed for early detection of errors in it.
If you manage to identify in advance the problem of the hard drive, then you can save all the important information stored on it until its final failure.
In this material, we will describe the procedure for checking the status of the HDD using specific examples, and also tell you how to be in a situation if your hard drive is faulty.

How to check the status of a hard drive

You can check the status of the hard disk using various utilities that read the status of your hard drive from its self-diagnostic system SMART... SMART technology is now installed on every hard drive produced. SMART technology was developed back in 1992 and is being improved to this day. The main goal of SMART is logging the aging process of the hard drive... That is, the collection of information such as the number of HDD starts, the number of spindle rotations and many others. More SMART monitors errors"Screws", both software and mechanical, and as far as possible corrects them... In the process of tracking, SMART performs various tests, such as short and long, to identify those very malfunctions. In this article, we will consider such programs that can read information from SMART:

Ashampoo HDD Control 3;
Defraggler;
HDDlife;
Victoria.

Each program from the list, in addition to reading SMART readings, offers a number of functions and tests that, to one degree or another, extend the life of the hard drive. But the most interesting is the program Victoria... The Victoria program, in addition to determining the state of the HDD, is also able to produce REMAP of bad sectors... That is, she can hide broken sectors by replacing them with backup ones if there is one. In fact, the REMAP procedure can completely restore the hard drive... It is also worth noting the possibility of fixing the hard drive thanks to the console application " chkdsk". The "chkdsk" console program can fix file system errors so that Windows does not need to be reinstalled.

Ashampoo HDD Control 3

First, we will look at the program Ashampoo HDD Control 3... Let's run this utility on a Windows 10 computer.

The Ashampoo HDD Control 3 window displays the message “ ✓ OK", As well as the inscription" This hard drive has no problem". This information means that the hard drive in question is in perfect order. If you see the message “ Error", As well as the inscription" This hard drive has a problem", It means that it has bad sectors or is overheating. To view the complete information about the health of the "screw", taken from the smart, you need to click on the footnote "" located in the central block.

In addition to viewing information from smart, Ashampoo HDD Control 3 can run self-test test S.M.A.R.T. and surface check test... You can test these tests in the "" block.

By performing these tests, you can also identify problems with the HDD. In addition to taking readings from smart and tests, Ashampoo HDD Control 3 is able to:

Defragment;
Clean the system from debris;
Search and remove duplicate files;
Securely erase files from HDD, without the possibility of recovery.

The presence of such functionality of Ashampoo HDD Control 3 in screw health monitoring and additional functions puts the utility in the first place.

Defraggler

Utility Defraggler primarily intended for defragmentation, but besides that she can read SMART readings... The utility is free and any user can download it from www.piriform.com. After starting the utility, you need to go to the " State».

In the window you can see that the utility displays a message about the status of the screw, as “ GOOD"- this means that he is in perfect order. If you see the message “ Error"In the status, this will mean that there are faulty sectors on the hard drive and it is time to change it. The utility is quite simple and will suit, first of all, novice PC users who want to monitor the health of the HDD and defragment it. I would also like to note that the utility supports all current operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10.

How to check a hard drive using HDDlife

Utility HDDlife has a pleasant interface and immediately gives us the information we need, which is responsible for the serviceability and breakage of the screw.

From the image above, you can see that the health block is " OK!", Which means that everything is in order with the HDD. To see the details of smart, you just need to click on the link “ click to view S.M.A.R.T. attributes».

If you see a message in the health block “ DANGER!”, It means that your HDD will soon become unusable.

In this case, you need to replace the old hard drive with a new one. Utility HDDlife, first of all, is suitable for novice PC users, as its simplicity will make it easy to monitor the health of the "screw". In addition to the standard utility, the developer also releases HDDlife for Notebooks which is designed for laptops. The laptop version has the same functionality as the standard version, but can also HDD noise control... It is also worth noting that the program supports all current operating systems, from Windows XP to Windows 10.

Victoria

Program Victoria developed in a version for DOS and by Windows... For our example, we'll use the Windows version of Victoria, which can be downloaded from http://hdd-911.com. Victoria is currently available in version 4.47. By running the Victoria utility, we will get into such a window.

Victoria does not have a beautiful interface as in previous utilities and is written in such old languages as Delphi and Assembler.

In the first Victoria tab “ Standart»Is all information about installed hard drives into the computer.

The second tab " SMART"Is needed for taking readings smart... To display smart results, you need to click the Get SMART button, and then the results will be displayed.

In the hard drive in question, Victoria found 1212 bad sectors. This number of BAD sectors is critical, therefore, in this case, it is necessary to carry out full backup all data from HDD. To fix the hard drive with the REMAP test in Victoria, you need to go to the " Tests"And select the mode" Remap". After these steps, you can start the procedure for reassigning the bad sectors to the backup using the Start button.

The Victoria REMAP test can take a very long time. The test time depends on the number of BAD sectors. This test of the Victoria utility does not always help, since there might not be any spare sectors left in the "screw".

Please note that using Victoria tests, you can damage the health of the HDD and the information on it.

How to check a disk for health using "chkdsk"

It may happen that by checking the S.M.A.R.T. you did not find any problems with the utilities described above, but the system is still unstable. Instability can be manifested by blue screens of death, freezes in programs. This behavior of the Windows operating system is caused by file system errors... In this case, the console command “ chkdsk". By running the "chkdsk" command, you can fully restore working capacity Windows OS. For this example, we will take a computer with the new Windows 10 operating system. The first step is to open a console in Windows 10 as an administrator. This can be easily done by right-clicking on the " Start"And choosing the item we need.

In the running console, execute the following command CHKDSK F: / F / R After checking with the command application "chkdsk", the result of the check will be displayed in the console.

Now let's look at the command “ CHKDSK F: / F / R"In more detail. Immediately after the command "chkdsk" is the letter " F"- this letter local disk where we fix bugs. Keys " / F" and " / R» fix errors in the file system, as well as fix bad sectors... These keys are almost always used unlike the rest. You can view the rest of the keys with the chkdsk /?

It is also worth noting that in Windows 10 the capabilities of the "chkdsk" application have been significantly expanded thanks to the new keys.

How to test a hard drive for health using DST

Abbreviation DST decrypts Disk Self Test, that is self test disk... Manufacturers specifically build this method into the HDD, so that later, using special software, they can perform DST self-diagnostics, which will identify problems. By testing the "screw" using DST, you can get data on the probable breakdown of the hard drive... It is especially convenient to use DST on servers and computers of enterprises, where reliable storage of information plays an important role. Now let's look at the use of DST on the example of HP notebooks. For newer HP notebooks with support UEFI BIOS there is a special diagnostic menu " Startup Menu". This menu is launched with power key and key combinations ESC.

To run system tests, press the F2 button.

In the window that appears, DST is named Hard Disk Test. After selecting it, a self-test will start.

Other manufacturers also have a DST method, only the launch on a PC from other manufacturers is different from the above.

Checking a hard drive in Linux

For example, let's take a computer based on the Ubuntu 16.04 operating system. To do this, let's launch a terminal in Ubuntu. In the terminal, type the following command sudo apt-get install smartmontools This command should install

If you don't like working in console mode, you can install the graphical utility Gnome-disk-utility... Here you can see everything you need to know about the HDD and its condition.

Summing up

In this article, we described how you can monitor the state of the HDD, as well as how to fix its sectors and file system, if possible. From the material it becomes clear that monitoring the condition of hard drives is very important, as it allows anticipate HDD failure.

If you find that your hard drive is problematic, then do not postpone replacing it until later. The problematic "screw" can fail at any time, and you will lose all the information stored on the computer.

We hope our material will be useful to our readers, and will fully help solve the problem of checking the hard drive.

How to check sectors on a hard drive

Perhaps the most popular program for checking sectors on a hard drive is Victoria... In it, you can view SMART status, check blocks for integrity and read delay. As I already described.

This is what a scanned hard drive looks like in Victoria

Is the HDD in bad condition? Extract data!

If the hard disk test showed that the condition is critical, urgently copy all the information to another medium. Very often, users do not attach much importance to freezes, spontaneous restart of the computer. As a rule, they begin to wonder only when Windows stops loading. Sometimes it happens that it is too late to get the information out on your own. If you do not need hardware repair and replacement of components with the help of a donor, then you can try.

If there are bad sectors on the HDD, you can try to remove them by reassigning them to a different area using. The ideal program for this task would be HDD Low Level Format... Attention! This procedure will permanently delete all your information. Transfer your data to another medium beforehand.

In case of problems in the mechanical part of the HDD, read the article. I hope this article has helped many readers. If you have any questions, ask in the comments.

The best "Thank you" is your repost

A modern computer is made in such a way as to withstand more than one year of constant work. You probably have acquaintances (or you yourself are such a user), whose PC has been working for almost a dozen years and, with the exception of not the best performance, does not show any signs of "illness" or imminent death. Unfortunately, not all components of a computer are as durable as RAM, processor, or motherboard. Like a car, a modern PC has consumables that need to be replaced over time. This primarily concerns the storage system or hard disk / SSD.

You don't have to wait until the operating system stops turning on or your files suddenly disappear. You can detect the approach of the need to replace a disk using special applications that monitor the "health" of the disk and can promptly advise you to make a backup copy and prepare money for a new drive.

Checking the health status of a disk without programs

Windows 10 is a complex and complex system, but it still lacks a full-fledged utility for checking the health of disks. She may indicate that the disk is either working normally or already needs to be replaced. The latter often means that the drive has actually come to an end. Unfortunately, there are no intermediate values here. However, let's look at a method that allows you to find out the health of a disk in Windows 10 without third-party programs.

To analyze the state of the disk, Windows takes information from the self-diagnostic data of S.M.A.R.T. The disadvantage of this approach is that if the disk is on the verge of death, and the self-diagnostic systems report that “everything is fine,” the Control Panel will indicate that the disk is working normally. This prevents the user from noticing disk degradation in time and transferring important information to a new drive. To do this, you need to use third-party applications. Fortunately, there are plenty of them on the Internet. Below we have compiled a list of applications that we ourselves use and which we consider to be the most convenient.

Disk health checker

It should be noted that the program cannot predict 100% exactly how long the disc will last. Still, third-party apps will give you a more accurate picture of the health of your drives and help you avoid sudden troubles.

One of the most popular applications of its kind is called CrystalDisk Info from the makers of the popular CrystalDisk Mark benchmark with which you can. It is small, does not need to be installed, translated into Russian and displays a large amount of useful information. Download CrystalDisk Info from the official website and launch the application. At the top, you will see a panel that displays all of your physical disks (if you have one HDD, divided into 4 partitions, the application will display one disk) with brief information about their condition. Click on the drive you need, after which you will see details about its work.

Pay attention to large blocks first. Technical condition and Temperature... The first indicator is the very "health". Its value is calculated based on a large amount of data about the disk's activity, such as hours of operation, the number of starts, overwrites, errors, temperature, and so on. Each of these parameters can be found in separate windows.

The screenshot, for example, shows that a Kingston SSD with 95% health lasted 6620 hours, which equates to 275 days of continuous use. The longer an SSD works and the more rewriting cycles it has, the more its health deteriorates. The health of a hard disk depends on the number of so-called “bad blocks” and unstable sectors, as well as the ability of the disk's firmware to fix them. All this information can be found in CrystalDisk Info. If any of the drive parameters deviates from the norm, the application will notify you about this with the corresponding color designation. If the parameter is colored blue, then everything is fine with the disk. Yellow is already anxiety. Red is bad, and gray means the application was unable to detect the values. Please note that a health value below 100% does not mean that it is time for you to change the disk now. Replacement is recommended when values are below 50% or when attributes are highlighted in yellow or red.

Another good program for determining the health of a disk is Hard Disk Sentinel. It is also localized into Russian and offers a slightly more user-friendly interface for checking a large number of indicators on your disks. In addition, unlike CrystalDisk Info, Har Disk Sentinel is better suited for continuous disk monitoring. For example, in it you can set a threshold for the temperature of the disks, upon reaching which the application will notify you about the need to cool the air inside the case to avoid overheating. Hard Disk Sentinel more clearly demonstrates the state of disks, their performance and operating time, and also knows how to predict the remainder of the life cycle based on the current state of the disk. In addition, it has built in various tests that can help you learn about BADs and other problems. When problems are found, HDS will give you recommendations to help you decide what to do with the drive and whether to buy a new one.

HDS is a complex and very large application that can take a long time to describe. In this article, we will only focus your attention on the main thing. You just need to install and run the program, after which you will receive a sufficient amount of information about the health of the disk. If you have the time and desire, the application can be studied and flexibly customized for yourself, but this is already a topic for a separate material. Of the minuses, we can only note that poor optimization for high-resolution screens, as well as frankly dumb icons not only inside the application, but also in Explorer.

We can also mention diagnostic utilities from the disk manufacturers themselves, such as Seagate, Western Digital or Toshiba, but they all often lag far behind the applications mentioned in this article in terms of convenience and capabilities, so we will not recommend using them.

Having applications for diagnosing hard drives, you will always be aware of their condition and at the right time you can quickly and painlessly move your files to a new drive if the existing one begins to show signs of imminent death. If you use any other utilities that you think are the best for CrystalDisk Info or Hard Disk Sentinel, share them in the comments.

Good day!

How many things could be corrected if we knew in advance what awaits us ...

And if in life it is almost impossible to predict some events, then in the case of a hard disk - some of the problems, nevertheless, can be predicted and foreseen!

To do this, there are special utilities that can find out and analyze the SMART * readings of the disk (show them to you, if necessary), and on the basis of these data assess the health of your disk, along the way calculating how many years it will still be able to serve.

The information is extremely useful, in addition, such utilities can monitor your disk online, and as soon as the first signs of unstable work appear, notify you right there. Accordingly, you will have time to make a backup in time and take action (although a backup should always be done, even when everything is fine 😊).

And so, I will consider in the article several methods (and several utilities) for analyzing the state of the HDD and SSD.

* Note:
S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a special technology for assessing the state of a hard disk by an integrated hardware self-diagnosis / self-monitoring system. The main task is to determine the likelihood of a device failure, preventing data loss.

Perhaps this is one of the most popular questions asked by all users who first encounter problems with a hard drive (or are thinking about the safety of storing their data). Everyone is interested in the time that the disk will work until it completely "stops". Let's try to predict ...

Therefore, in the first part of the article, I decided to show a couple of utilities that can get all the readings from the disk and analyze them independently, and give you only the finished result (in the second part of the article, I will give utilities for viewing SMART readings for independent analysis).

Method number 1: using Hard Disk Sentinel

One of the best utilities for monitoring the status of computer disks (both hard drives (HDD) and "newfangled" SSDs). What impresses the most about the program is that it will independently analyze all the data received about the state of the disk and show you a ready-made result (very convenient for novice users).

In order not to be unfounded, I will immediately show the main window of the program, which appears after the first launch (the analysis of the disk will be done immediately automatically). The health and performance of the disk is estimated as 100% (ideally, it should be so), the time that the disk will still work in normal mode is estimated by the program at about 1000 days (~ 3 years).

What's with the disk according to Hard Disk Sentinel

In addition, the program allows you to monitor the temperature: both current and average and maximum during the day, week, month. If the temperature goes beyond the "normality" - the program will warn you about this (which is also very convenient).

Also, Hard Disk Sentinel allows you to view SMART readings (however, to evaluate them, you need to understand the disks well), get complete information about the hard disk (model, serial number, manufacturer, etc.), see what the hard disk is loaded with (i.e. . get performance information).

In general, in my humble opinion, Hard Disk Sentinel is one of the best utilities for monitoring the status of disks in the system. It should be added that there are several versions of the programs: professional and standard (for the professional version with advanced functionality, there is a portable version of the program that does not need to be installed (for example, you can even run it from a USB flash drive)).

Hard Disk Sentinel works in all popular Windows (7, 8, 10 - 32 | 64 bits), supports the Russian language in full.

Method number 2: using HDDlife

This program is similar to the first, it also clearly shows the current state of the disk: its health and performance (in percentage terms), its temperature, the amount of time worked (in months). In the upper part of the window, based on all this data, HDDlife shows the final summary for your disk, for example, in my case "ALL RIGHT" (which means that everything is in order with the disk).

By the way, the program can work online, monitoring the state of your disk, and in case something goes wrong (at the first signs of problems) - immediately notify you about it.

As an example, the screenshot below shows an SSD drive received a warning: its health is still within acceptable limits, but reliability and performance are below average. In this case, you should not trust the disk with any important data, and, if possible, you need to prepare for its replacement.

By the way, in the main window of the program, next to the amount of disk time worked, there is a link "Disk tincture" (allows you to change some of the parameters you want). By opening it, you can control the balance between noise / performance), very useful with disks that make a lot of noise), and adjust the power consumption settings (useful for laptops that run out of battery quickly).

Add-on: HDDlife works on both PCs and laptops. Supports HDD and SSD drives. There are portable versions of the program that do not need installation. It can be configured so that the program runs along with your Windows. HDDlife works in Windows: XP, 7, 8, 10 (32 | 64 bits).

How to view your SMART reading

If the previous utilities independently assessed the state of the disk based on SMART data, then the utilities below will give you more freedom and data for self-analysis. In the reports it will be possible to find a fairly large set of parameters, on the basis of which it will be possible to roughly assess the state of the disk and make a forecast for its further work.

Method number 1: using СrystalDiskInfo

СrystalDiskInfo

An excellent free utility for viewing the status and SMART readings of a hard drive (SSD drives are also supported). What the utility wins over - it provides you with complete information about the temperature, technical condition of the disk, its characteristics, etc. that "and for beginners who need a hint).

For example, if something is wrong with the temperature, then you will see a red indicator on it, i.e. СrystalDiskInfo will inform you about it.

The main window of the program can be conditionally divided into 4 zones (see the screenshot above):

"1" - all your physical disks installed in the computer (laptop) are listed here. Next to each is shown its temperature, technical condition, and the number of sections on it (for example, "C: D: E: F:");
"2" - the current temperature of the disk and its technical condition are shown here (the program makes an analysis based on all the data received from the disk);
"3" - disk data: serial number, manufacturer, interface, rotation speed, etc .;
"4" - readings SMART. By the way, what the program bribes with - you don't need to know what this or that parameter means - if something is wrong with any item, the program will mark it yellow or red and notify you about it.

As an example to the above, I will give a screenshot showing two disks: on the left - with which everything is fine, on the right - which has problems with reassigned sectors (technical condition - anxiety!).

As a reference (about reassigned sectors):

when the hard drive detects, for example, a write error, it transfers data to a specially designated spare area (and this sector will be considered "reassigned"). Therefore, bad blocks cannot be seen on modern hard drives - they are hidden in reassigned sectors. This process is called remapping and the reassigned sector is remap.

The higher the value of the remapped sectors, the worse the surface condition of the disks. Field "raw value" contains the total number of reassigned sectors.

By the way, for many disk manufacturers, even one reassigned sector is already a warranty case!

To the utility CrystalDiskInfo monitored online the status of your hard disk - in the "Service" menu, put two checkmarks: "Agent start" and "Autostart"(see screenshot below).

Then you will see the program icon with temperature next to the clock in the tray. In general, you can now be more calm about the state of the disk ☺ ...

Method number 2: using Victoria

Victoria- one of the most famous programs for working with hard drives. The main purpose of the program is to assess the technical condition of the drive, and to replace the damaged sectors with backup workers.

The utility is free and allows you to work from both Windows and DOS (which in many cases shows much more accurate data about the state of the disk).

Of the minuses: working with Victoria is quite difficult, at least I highly do not recommend pressing buttons in it at random (you can easily destroy all the data on the disk).

I have one fairly simple article on my blog (for beginners), where it is detailed how to check a disk using Victoria (including finding out the SMART readings - an example in the screenshot below (in which Victoria pointed out a possible temperature problem)).

👉 To help!

Quick disk diagnostics in Victoria: