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, they immediately notify you. 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 health 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 obtained 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 the current one and the average and maximum temperature 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 of 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 condition 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). Having opened 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 (important for laptops that run out of battery quickly).
Addition: 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 status of the disk based on SMART data, then the utilities below will give you more freedom and data for self-analysis. It will be possible to find a fairly large set of parameters in the reports, on the basis of which it will be possible to roughly assess the state of the disk and make a forecast for its further operation.
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., moreover, some of the data is marked (i.e. the utility is relevant, as for experienced users who themselves know "what is - 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 do not 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 for the above, I will give a screenshot that shows two disks: on the left - with which everything is fine, on the right - which has problems with reassigned sectors (technical condition - alarm!).
As a reference (about the reassigned sectors):
when the hard disk 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 the reassigned sectors. This process is called remappingand 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 the status of your hard drive online - 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 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, find 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:
CrystalDiskInfo is a free utility for computer HDD and SSD maintenance with ATA (PATA, SATA), USB and IEEE1394 connection interfaces. If something strange happens to your hard drive, do not be lazy to download CrystalDiskInfo in Russian for a computer for free using the link from the site https: // site without registration and SMS. The advantages of the utility include: the output of detailed reliable information about the status, powerful monitoring and verification tools, as well as efficient tools for changing the settings of hard drives. If problems are found, Crystal Disc Info displays a warning and sends the user an email message.
Before a large number of bad sectors appear, read and write errors, unpleasant noise, temperature rises, performance decreases, it makes sense to download the useful CrystalDiskInfo program for free for a computer with Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 (32- bit and 64-bit). The utility quickly installs on your computer and uninstalls correctly without "tracking" the system registry. At startup, the program checks the status of the hard disk of the computer or laptop, this takes some time.
Checking, monitoring, analyzing, charting and changing settings
When checking, the utility displays detailed information, including about external USB HDD and IEEE1394. Displays: firmware version, AAM * / APM ** data, interface type, spindle speed, buffer size, life, number of bad sectors, temperature and even a graph of temperature dynamics over time, as well as other technical characteristics. S.M.A.R.T *** parameters are monitored, including: the number of read errors, overall performance, start-stops and other data. CrystalDiskInfo dynamically tracks changes in a large amount of data from drives in the system, keeps a log and allows you to beautifully display this in the form of graphs. This format allows you to visually see the overall picture of the health of the computer's disk subsystem.
Those who want to download CrystalDiskInfo for free without registration and SMS, without leaving the site https: // site will also be found because the utility allows not only to diagnose the hard drive, but also to take care of its health. Changing the AAM and APM settings allows you to control the performance parameters and the corresponding amount of acoustic noise produced, as well as the energy consumption parameters. If necessary, it is possible to reset the bad sectors counters. In the "Tools" menu there is a link to the system "Disk Management", where all the necessary transformations are done with them: create a partition, expand or shrink partitions, and so on.
CrystalDiskInfo interface and functionality
Nice modern interface supports many localizations, as well as themes (skins), three of which are available immediately after launch. Positive feedback and comments from users are caused by an intuitive display of the status in color: blue (or green) - good, yellow - warning, red - problems / alarm, gray - no information.
This small free open source utility is being developed by Japanese programmer Noriyuki Miyazaki (known as Hiyohiyo), so in Europe and America many people find menus and settings confusing. The Japanese do not share this opinion. Unfortunately, there are no hints and explanations about the importance of parameters unfamiliar to an ordinary computer user, and in order to understand it, sometimes you have to refer to the reference section.
Rich functionality allows CrystalDiskInfo to compete not only with free, but also with paid programs. According to the reviews and comments of many users around the world, it is definitely worth downloading CrystalDiskInfo for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP (32-bit and 64-bit) in Russian for free. Among the competitors, it is worth noting the paid programs HDDlife Professional and Hard Drive Inspector and the free [email protected] Hard Disk Monitor in Russian, as well as paid HD Tune Pro in English. As for the functionality of Crystal Disk Info, you definitely need to know about the following advantages of this utility:
- high reliability of data,
- correct interaction with S.M.A.R.T technology,
- monitoring of more than 25 parameters,
- data on current operating modes in real time,
- control of temperature and data S.M.A.R.T,
- displaying the temperature of disks in the system tray,
- prompt message by e-mail about problems,
- the ability to change the AAM / APM settings,
- control of the speed and amount of acoustic noise,
- settings to save energy consumption,
- no conflicts with the latest versions of SSD drives,
- work with external HDD with USB and IEEE 1394 interfaces,
- compatibility with a large number of equipment ****.
reference Information
* Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) - control of the track search time parameter, while the faster the block of magnetic heads moves along the radius while searching, the more noise.
** Advanced Power Management (APM) - energy management.
*** Self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (S.M.A.R.T.) - an internal self-diagnosis and self-monitoring system using hardware built into the disk with the ability to generate reports and predict the time of failure.
**** An exhaustive list of compatible hardware can be found on the crystalmark official website at info.
The latest version of CrystalDiskInfo download in Russian
Free software download for free
Now you are on the page "Russian Crystal Disc Info - checking the hard drive and taking care of its health" in the tests section for the computer of the site, where everyone has the opportunity to legally download programs for a computer with Microsoft Windows OS. Thank you for visiting the section.
Hello.
Forewarned is forearmed! This rule is very useful for working with hard drives. If you know in advance that such and such a hard drive is likely to fail, then the risk of data loss will be minimal.
Of course, no one will give a 100% guarantee, but with a high degree of probability some programs can analyze S.M.A.R.T. (a set of software and hardware tools that monitor the state of the hard drive) and draw conclusions on how long it will last.
In general, there are dozens of programs for performing such a hard disk check, but in this article I wanted to focus on some of the most intuitive and simple to use. So…
How to find out the status of a hard drive
HDDlife
(By the way, in addition to HDD, it also supports SSD drives)
One of the best programs for constantly monitoring the health of your hard drive. It will help to recognize the threat in time and replace the hard drive. Most of all, it impresses with its clarity: after launching and analyzing, HDDlife presents a report in a very convenient form: it shows you the percentage of the "health" of the disk and its performance (the best indicator, of course, is 100%).
If your values \u200b\u200bare above 70%, this indicates a good condition of your disks. For example, after a couple of years of work (quite active by the way), the program analyzed and concluded: that this hard disk is healthy by about 92% (which means that it should serve, if no force majeure occurs, at least the same amount) ...
After starting, the program is minimized to the tray next to the clock and you can always monitor the status of your hard drive. If it detects any problem (for example, high disk temperature, or too little space left on the hard drive), the program will notify you with a pop-up window. See example below.
HDDLIFE notification that the hard disk space is running out. Windows 8.1.
If the program analyzes and displays a window as in the screenshot below, I advise you not to hesitate with the backup (and replacing the HDD).
HDDLIFE - data on a hard disk is in danger, the faster you copy it to other media, the better!
Hard Disk Sentinel
This utility can compete with HDDlife - it monitors the state of the disk just as well. What impresses the most about this program is its informativeness, along with its simplicity for work. Those. it will be useful for both a novice user and an experienced one.
After starting Hard Disk Sentinel and analyzing the system, you will see the main window of the program: hard disks (including external HDDs) will be presented on the left, and their status will be displayed on the right in the window.
By the way, a rather interesting function is to predict the health of a disk, by how long it will last you: for example, in the screenshot below, the forecast is more than 1000 days (this is about 3 years!).
The condition of the hard disk is EXCELLENT. No problem or weak sectors were found. No speed up or data transfer errors were detected.
No action is required.
By the way, the program implements a rather useful function: you yourself can set the threshold for the critical temperature of the hard disk, upon reaching which, Hard Disk Sentinel will notify you of exceeding!
Hard Disk Sentinel: disk temperature (including the maximum for the entire time of disk use).
Ashampoo HDD Control
An excellent utility for monitoring the status of hard drives. The built-in monitor allows you to know in advance about the first problems with the disk (by the way, the program can notify you about this even by e-mail).
Also, in addition to the main functions, a number of auxiliary ones are built into the program:
Disk Defragmenter;
Testing;
Cleaning the disk from garbage and temporary files (always relevant);
Deleting the history of visits to sites on the Internet (useful if you are not alone at the computer and do not want someone to know what you are doing);
There are also built-in utilities for reducing disk noise, power settings, etc.
Screenshot of the Ashampoo HDD Control 2 window: everything is in order with the hard disk, the state is 99%, the performance is 100%, the temperature is 41 degrees. (it is desirable that the temperature is less than 40 degrees, but the program considers that everything is in order for this disk model).
By the way, the program is completely in Russian, intuitively thought out - even a novice PC user can figure it out. Pay special attention to the temperature and status indicators in the main program window. If the program issues errors or the state is assessed as extremely low (+ besides, there is a grinding or noise from the HDD), I recommend that you first copy all the data to other media, and then start to deal with the disk.
Hard Drive Inspector
A distinctive feature of this program is:
1. Minimalism and simplicity: there is nothing superfluous in the program. It gives three indicators in percentage terms: reliability, performance and no errors;
Hard Drive Inspector - monitoring the state of the hard drive.
СrystalDiskInfo
A simple but reliable utility for monitoring the health of hard drives. Moreover, it works even in cases where many other utilities refuse, crashing with errors.
The program supports several languages, is not replete with settings, is made in the style of minimalism. At the same time, it has rather rare functions, for example, reducing the noise level of the disk, controlling the temperature, etc.
What is also very convenient is the graphical display of the situation:
Blue color (as in the screenshot below): everything is fine;
Yellow: alert, action to be taken;
Red: you need to take immediate action (if you still have time);
Gray: The program was unable to determine the readings.
CrystalDiskInfo 2.7.0 - screenshot of the main program window.
HD Tune
This program will be useful for more experienced users: in addition to graphically displaying the "health" of the disk, they also need high-quality disk tests, in which you can get acquainted in detail with all the characteristics and parameters. It should also be noted that the program, in addition to HDD, also supports modern SSD drives.
HD Tune offers quite an interesting feature in order to quickly check a disk for errors: a 500 GB disk is checked in about 2-3 minutes!
HD TUNE: Quickly find disk errors. Red squares are not allowed on a new disc.
Also very useful information is checking the speed of reading and writing a disk.
HD Tune - check the speed of the disk.
Well, one cannot but note the tab with detailed information about the HDD. This is useful when you need to know, for example, supported features, buffer / cluster size or disk rotation speed, etc.
HD Tune - detailed information about the hard drive.
In general, there are at least as many similar utilities. I think that these will be enough for the majority of more than ...
And the last thing: do not forget to make backups, even if the condition of the disk is assessed as excellent at 100% (at least the most important and valuable data)!
Happy work ...
Experienced users are well aware that even minor influences can affect the health of a hard drive, for example, voltage drops, mechanical shocks and shocks, static voltage, etc. The mechanism of a hard disk itself can disrupt the surface of the drive where information is stored. Below is a guide on how to properly check your computer hard drive for serviceability.
The main symptoms of a damaged hard drive
Already during the start of the PC, it may buzz loudly or make cracking sounds. Such noise should immediately alert the owner of the computer and make him think about diagnosing the hard drive. It is recommended that all important and personal files be copied to an external media or to another computer before the test of this important PC element is carried out, since the test itself will have a significant load on the hard drive.
It is imperative that you take care, before starting the program for testing, to ensure good cooling of the hard drive, for example, open the case cover of the system unit and clean the internal equipment from accumulated dust. The source of rattling sounds during the operation of a hard disk is if its read head hits bad sectors. If you do not take measures, then their number will gradually increase and can lead to the loss of HDD performance.
Verification procedure
Experts have developed many different special utilities to perform performance testing of this important element of the PC. Also, the procedure can be carried out using the built-in Windows tools.
Using Windows tools
The operating system allows you to analyze the hard drive. This method is not very reliable, but it is useful for the user to be able to use it. In addition to analyzing the surface of the hard disk, OS tools, if possible, can fix some errors.
The sequence of actions consists of the following steps:
Using Seagate SeaTools Utility
A significant number of PC owners have already been helped by this handy application. It is free, fully Russified and effectively copes with the diagnostics of hard drives from most manufacturers. It is available for download at seagate.com.
The application is equipped with an intuitive interface. Having opened the utility, you will immediately see the displayed list of hard drives with which you can perform all the necessary tests. As a result, a report will be displayed to the user, and most importantly, the program can restore faulty sectors. 
The application is also distributed freely, but it works only for equipment of one specific manufacturer "Western Digital". However, since they are widespread in the Russian Federation, this program can help a significant number of users.
The functionality is similar to the above program. You can install it from the official resource "support.wd.com".
Allows you not only to make a free check of a broken HDD, but also to obtain detailed information on S.M.A.R.T., as well as to carry out a large number of different equipment tests.
In addition, the utility effectively works with flash drives, RAID, SSD.
We should dwell on this program in more detail, since it currently provides high accuracy of test results. The utility is available for installation at “softportal.com”.
It is necessary to do the following sequential actions:
Note: it is not recommended to check the “Erase” box, as this will erase all files. 
Conclusion
Winchester is one of the weakest points of a modern computer. Its normal service life does not exceed five years, but it is impossible to clearly indicate the exact time.
Therefore, the only way out is to regularly check it and diagnose its condition.
Have you started to hear extraneous squeaks in the system unit? The performance of the system has somehow completely impermissibly decreased, although the processor and memory should not allow this? Well, it's time to check the hard drive. How to do this is in our article.
This is quite an important matter. Aside from the performance hit, although this is certainly important too, it is about your data. You don't want to one day be left without all your data simply because your disk has decided to fail? Here. Therefore, it is important to check the condition of the disk and its health more often.
Correcting errors in a timely manner also helps to increase the lifespan of the disk. Whether it's a regular hard drive or an SSD, file system errors force it to wear out, so it's important to keep it in good condition. Otherwise, data will be lost even faster.
If you understand the importance of this event, then let's get started.
Checking with standard Windows tools
This is the easiest way and can give you quite a lot of information about your hard drive and even try to fix some errors.
Read interesting information and reliable tips in the article -
Command line
If the previous scenario of using standard Windows tools is not very effective, then the command line method can try to complement it. Its essence is that it is launched from the bootable installation media of the system, that is, the system itself is not running and cannot block some of the requirements of the verification program.
Important! This method has one drawback: you need an installation media, and it is desirable that it be exactly with the version of Windows that is installed on your computer.
- Create bootable media and insert it into your floppy drive or USB port. In the BIOS of your computer, select boot from this media. Wait for the operating environment to load.
- When the program reaches the window that says "Start Installation", press the Windows key + F10.
- Enter the following command in the console window that opens: chkdsk / f. Hit Enter.
- The check will start. The program will display the results immediately on the command line. She will immediately try to fix all the errors found.
Simple third-party software
Let's take a look at a few programs that can help you troubleshoot most of the problems in your hard drive without going into too much detail.
HDDScan
Using this program, you can understand in which sectors the write and read speed is high, and in which it is not. The program is completely universal, with its help you can diagnose anything you want, if only it was an information storage device.
The principle of working with her is extremely simple: you start scanning and wait for her report on the work done, from which it is quite possible to draw some conclusions.
Crystal disk mark
A more specialized utility, although it monitors, in fact, also the speed. The program cannot do anything else, but based on the speed of writing and reading, one can quite understand what is happening to the disk and how long it will take.
Important!It is strictly forbidden to use this program if you want to test an SSD drive. His death when using this software will be even closer: this program fills all the space with some data, and, although they are weightless and deleted without a trace, for the SSD it is also wear and tear.
More complex software
If you are not satisfied with either standard verification tools or simple programs, then you can move on to more complex programs for verification. So, let's begin.
Victoria HDD
The most widely used hard drive troubleshooting software.
Its advantages are that there is both a quick and deep check of the disk, and also that it monitors its temperature. This is also an important indicator, but it does not affect wear so much.
HDD Regenerator
A pro tool in our article. Corrects everything that it finds on its way. Its huge competitive advantage is Russification. Using it is therefore very simple, despite the impressive set of functions.
The principle of its operation is much more complicated than that of other programs, and these differences clearly benefited the program. She is able to restore what others did not. Also, unlike other programs, it does not destroy your files that were in the sectors it corrects, but preserves culturally. Well, not life, but a fairy tale.
The program has two versions - graphical and console. If you are not very versed in this topic, use the graphic one with the Russian language, everything is intuitive there. In the console, its capabilities are much wider, because there is less pressure and prohibitions from the operating system.
Consider a graphical interface.
On a note! However, this program has one significant drawback - it is paid, and the trial only allows you to check. Well, that's good.
Programs from hard drive manufacturers
Who, besides the manufacturers themselves, can better know how to work with hard drives? Some of these programs work only with discs of a particular brand, some - with all. Experiment.
Let's start.
SeaTools
Essentially simple program:
Data Lifeguard Diagnostics
This is the name of the verification program from the WD manufacturer. In terms of functionality, it is approximately similar to the previous program, but has a number of advantages.
- firstly, it can be used with any disc. This is a huge plus, despite the prevalence of disks of this brand;
- secondly, she knows how to destroy information;
- thirdly, it can simply cut off dead sectors so that the disk runs longer at the same speed, albeit with a slightly smaller volume. Definitely an extremely useful feature.
All options are in the context menus. That is, to start scanning a specific disk, you just need to right-click on it (of course, in the program interface) and select the desired action. That's all the work.
We hope these methods have helped you sort out your problems, fix it or prevent it from breaking. Good luck!
Video - How to check your hard drive yourself
