6 Different Ways to Check Hard Disk Status from Within Windows 10
Our storage drives are the soul of our computers, storing our entire digital life on their memory. From our work and professional life documents to our precious personal and family photos and entertainment.
Therefore, it is always necessary to check its condition from time to time to ensure its safety and ability to continue for a longer period of time.
But there is nothing wrong with keeping our precious files and data in a safe place as a backup that can be referred to in emergencies.
Where you can rely on NAS storage solutions if you have enough budget, you can rely on external storage disks , you can even resort to cloud storage.
All that matters is that you keep a backup copy of your important and necessary data. But back to the subject of our discussion today, we will show you 6 different ways that allow you to check the status of the hard disk on Windows 10 , so let's go.
1- Via the BIOS interface
Fortunately, most modern motherboards now have a newer and smarter BIOS interface, which allows us to check the status of the hard disk from within the BIOS interface.
Restart your computer and then press the delete or F12 button continuously to enter the BIOS. ( How to enter BIOS settings on all devices ) and search for Settings, then Advanced Settings, then "NVME self-test". By clicking on this command, your hard drive will be checked, but this is in case your hard drive is of the M.2 SSD type with an NVMe PCIe interface .
2- Improve performance and defragmentation in Windows 10
In fact, solid state storage solutions do not need defragmentation, but if you are starting to notice a very slow performance of your hard drive, you can fix this problem.
Fortunately, Windows 10 is smart enough to do this task on its own, but you can always check it yourself manually. Just type “ Defragment and Optimize Drives ” into the Start menu search bar and then run Analyze and Optimize your storage sectors.
These tools are mostly responsible for checking the condition and health of the hard disk and sometimes improving its condition and fixing any errors in its operation or testing its efficiency and remaining lifespan.
4- Windows CHKDSK tool
This tool from within Windows is responsible for checking the system and storage sectors for any errors and maintaining them, and it will tell you in the results if there are any stubborn technical problems that it cannot solve on its own.
Just right click on the storage sector you want to check, then from the drop down menu click on properties then from the top Tools tab then click on Check now .
The tool will scan for errors and bad sectors but it will not be able to fix the most difficult technical problems, it just tries to tell you if those problems really exist.
5- Using WMIC command
WMIC is a command line interface that allows you to perform many tasks, including checking the health of your hard drive.
Using the SMART feature of storage disks, it can monitor and analyze the hard disk and extract a brief report with the results in the form of "Ok" which means that the hard disk is in good condition, or "Praid Fail" which means that the hard disk is damaged.
Just type in the command prompt window WMIC and then hit Enter key and then type this command diskdrive get status and then hit Enter key again. You will get a quick result of the status of all the storage drives connected to your computer.
6- Use an external application such as CrystalDiskInfo
You can always rely on external applications specialized in examining the hard disk to obtain comprehensive and more accurate results, and in this regard, you will not find better than the CrustalDiskInfo tool .
Although it is a very simple tool, it is accurate, powerful and light on the computer. Through it, you can know the temperatures, the status of the hard disk, the reading and writing speeds and many other features.