{"id":31,"date":"2026-07-22T15:14:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T15:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/?p=31"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:14:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T15:14:41","slug":"check-hard-drive-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Check Hard Drive Health (Windows, Mac &#038; Linux Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hard drives do not often die unexpectedly. If you are experiencing slow performance, system crashes, or file corruption, it&#8217;s important to understand <strong>h<\/strong><\/span><b>ow to check hard drive health <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to catch any issues with your drive before they can cause catastrophic data loss. While traditional <\/span><b>HDDs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> degrade over time, so do modern <\/span><b>SSD,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so regular diagnostics are vital to help maintain a smooth-running system and keep your personal files safe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Quick_Answer_%E2%80%94_How_to_Check_Hard_Drive_Health\" >Quick Answer \u2014 How to Check Hard Drive Health<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Signs_Your_Hard_Drive_Is_Failing\" >Signs Your Hard Drive Is Failing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#How_to_Check_Hard_Drive_Health\" >How to Check Hard Drive Health<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Windows\" >Windows<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Mac\" >Mac<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Linux\" >Linux<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Understanding_SMART_Status\" >Understanding SMART Status<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Best_Hard_Drive_Health_Tools\" >Best Hard Drive Health Tools<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Hard_Drive_Health_Tools_Comparison\" >Hard Drive Health Tools Comparison<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#When_Should_You_Replace_a_Hard_Drive\" >When Should You Replace a Hard Drive?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Frequently_Asked_Questions\" >Frequently Asked Questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#How_do_I_check_my_hard_drive_health\" >How do I check my hard drive health?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#What_is_SMART_status\" >What is SMART status?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Is_CrystalDiskInfo_safe\" >Is CrystalDiskInfo safe?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Can_CHKDSK_fix_a_failing_hard_drive\" >Can CHKDSK fix a failing hard drive?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/check-hard-drive-health\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Quick_Answer_%E2%80%94_How_to_Check_Hard_Drive_Health\"><\/span><b>Quick Answer \u2014 How to Check Hard Drive Health<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you need a quick <\/span><b>hard drive health check<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, here is the fastest way to get an accurate status update based on your operating system:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Windows:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Open Command Prompt and run <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wmic diskdrive get status<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or download <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/crystalmark.info\/en\/software\/crystaldiskinfo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>CrystalDiskInfo<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for a detailed breakdown. Run <\/span><b>CHKDSK<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to scan for disk errors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Mac:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Open <\/span><b>Disk Utility<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, select your drive, and check the <\/span><b>SMART status<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or run First Aid.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Linux:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Install <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">smartmontools<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and run <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">smartctl -a \/dev\/sda<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the terminal.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Signs_Your_Hard_Drive_Is_Failing\"><\/span><b>Signs Your Hard Drive Is Failing<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before a drive completely dies, it usually leaves a clear trail of warning signs. As these are the early warning signs, you can get your important files backed up before you lose them all due to hardware failure.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watch out for these common warning signs:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Severe System Slowdowns:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Exceptionally long load times, random freeze-ups, or sudden unresponsiveness during basic file operations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Unusual Noises:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Distinct clicking, scraping, grinding, or loud humming sounds coming directly from a mechanical <\/span><b>HDD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Frequent System Crashes:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Sudden Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) on <\/span><b>Windows<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or frequent kernel panics on <\/span><b>macOS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Corrupted Files &amp; Bad Sectors:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Files that refuse to open, missing folders, or repeated disk error prompts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Boot Failures:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Your computer repeatedly fails to locate the main boot drive during startup.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you experience two or more of these symptoms simultaneously, discontinue heavy use of the device and make a new <\/span><b>backup<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of files.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Check_Hard_Drive_Health\"><\/span><b>How to Check Hard Drive Health<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s how to check it on each OS below<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Windows\"><\/span><b>Windows<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Windows <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has many built-in utilities to handle these tasks quickly, as well as a wide variety of powerful third-party tools:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>WMIC Command (Quick Check):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Press Win + R, type cmd, and then press Enter. Enter the command wmic diskdrive get status and press Enter. It returns &#8220;OK&#8221; if the basic health parameters of your drive are OK.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>CHKDSK utility in<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To scan and repair file system structure errors run <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">command Prompt as an admin and execute chkdsk C: \/f \/r to scan and repair file system structure errors. Scan for file bugs and isolate<\/span><b> bad sectors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to prevent the operating system from writing to damaged sectors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>CrystalDiskInfo: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Download this free tool to <\/span><b>check HDD health<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><b>check SSD health <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with CrystalDiskInfo for more in-depth checks. It directly reads the telemetry data of the drive and provides a color-coded health rating immediately.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mac\"><\/span><b>Mac<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Apple diagnostics tools make it easy to check <\/span><b>macOS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> drives:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To launch Spotlight, press Cmd + Space, type Disk Utility, and press Enter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click on your primary internal drive located in the sidebar on the left. Click on your primary internal drive in the sidebar on the left.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look for <\/span><b>SMART status<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the bottom information panel. It should say &#8220;Verified&#8221;.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the top, click the<\/span><b> First Aid <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">button and run it. This will check the drive volume for file system corruption, and it will fix minor disk permissions.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Linux\"><\/span><b>Linux<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For<\/span><b> Linux<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> users, the terminal commands provide direct control of the hardware diagnostics:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the terminal, install smartmontools with your package manager (e.g., sudo apt install smartmontools).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use lsblk or fdisk -l to find out which drive label is your drive.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Execute the full drive assessment command: sudo smartctl -a \/dev\/sda (where sda is the name of your drive, e.g., nvme0n1 for an <\/span><b>NVMe SSD).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check the &#8220;SMART overall-health self-assessment test result. Look for the line: SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Understanding_SMART_Status\"><\/span><b>Understanding SMART Status<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>SMART <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) is an automatic monitoring system that is embedded within the latest storage drives. It monitors internal operational parameters to anticipate hardware failures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key metrics to monitor include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reallocated Sectors Count: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of memory areas that were damaged and then had to be retired and remapped to healthy memory sectors on the drive<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Current Pending Sector Count: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bad sectors that are pending to be remapped on the next write operation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Drive Temperature: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High operating temperatures greatly reduce disk life.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Important Diagnostic Tip: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A S<\/span><b>MART status <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of \u201cOK\u201d does not necessarily indicate that a drive is healthy. SMART only detects degradation or failure of the physical components, and not sudden electrical surges or all controller chips failing. Use a real-time error count and system behaviour over time, rather than just a generic pass\/fail indicator.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_Hard_Drive_Health_Tools\"><\/span><b>Best Hard Drive Health Tools<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While built-in tools give quick pass-or-fail answers, dedicated software gives deeper insights. Here is how top utility tools compare:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hard_Drive_Health_Tools_Comparison\"><\/span><b>Hard Drive Health Tools Comparison<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-5\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-5\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Tool<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Platform<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">Best For<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">CrystalDiskInfo<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Windows<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Comprehensive general diagnostic readings and real-time drive monitoring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">SeaTools<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Windows, macOS<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Deep sector testing and firmware updates specifically for Seagate drives<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">WD Dashboard<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Windows<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Performance monitoring, health tracking, and firmware management for Western Digital drives<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Samsung Magician<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Windows, macOS<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Optimizing performance, checking health, and managing encryption on Samsung drives<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-5 from cache -->\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using brand-specific software (like <\/span><b>SeaTools<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>WD Dashboard<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or <\/span><b>Samsung Magician<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is often ideal because those tools access proprietary diagnostic tests tailored directly to that manufacturer&#8217;s hardware specifications.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_Should_You_Replace_a_Hard_Drive\"><\/span><b>When Should You Replace a Hard Drive?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s important to differentiate between software bugs and real hardware wear. Commands may be able to correct file system corruption, while physical component wear needs immediate hardware replacement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you experience any of the following, you should change your drive ASAP:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of<\/span><b> Reallocated Sectors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Pending Sectors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> keeps increasing during routine checks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>SMART status<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> utilities will directly alert a critical error or warning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mechanical drives start making mechanical noises (click, grinding, or scraping sounds).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The connection to the drive is often lost, or the drive is not recognized at all.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Software such as CHKDSK does not correct hardware failures. When physical damage has been incurred, the focus should move from repair to<\/span><b> data recovery<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and moving your files to a new drive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"1392\" data-end=\"1590\"><strong data-start=\"1392\" data-end=\"1590\">If you&#8217;re planning to replace a failing drive with a faster SSD, our <a href=\"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/nvme-vs-m2-ssd\/\"><em data-start=\"1463\" data-end=\"1480\">NVMe vs M.2 SSD<\/em><\/a> guide will help you choose the right upgrade based on your motherboard compatibility and performance needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frequently_Asked_Questions\"><\/span><b>Frequently Asked Questions<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_check_my_hard_drive_health\"><\/span><b>How do I check my hard drive health?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can <\/span><b>check hard drive health <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with certain system command-line tools that are built-in, such as WMIC in Windows, Disk Utility in Mac, or smartctl for Linux. If you really want to know more, there are third-party software tools such as <\/span><b>CrystalDiskInfo<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that also provide in-depth health status reports.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_SMART_status\"><\/span><b>What is SMART status?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Operational information such as operating temperature, power-on hours, and sector read errors are built-in metrics for monitoring that are tracked through <\/span><b>SMART status<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It notifies people when a drive begins exhibiting signs of hardware failure.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_CrystalDiskInfo_safe\"><\/span><b>Is CrystalDiskInfo safe?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, CrystalDiskInfo is a fully trusted, safe, open-source IT tool. It reads hardware telemetry data without changing, moving, or deleting your personal files safely.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_CHKDSK_fix_a_failing_hard_drive\"><\/span><b>Can CHKDSK fix a failing hard drive?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, CHKDSK will not fix any physical errors on a drive. It can only correct file structure errors and can only mark bad sectors as unusable, making your system stop writing data to the unstable areas.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><b>Conclusion<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most effective way to protect your important files is to make sure you keep an eye on storage health on a regular basis. Your drive&#8217;s internal diagnostics and trusted manufacturer tools will help you identify any hardware problems and bad sectors at an early stage. Keep an up-to-date <\/span><b>backup<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of important files, and replace a failing storage device before it fails altogether.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Knowing <\/span><b>how to check hard drive health<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> keeps you one step ahead of unexpected system crashes<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hard drives do not often die unexpectedly. If you are experiencing slow performance, system crashes, or file corruption, it&#8217;s important to understand how to check hard drive health to catch any issues with your drive before they can cause catastrophic data loss. While traditional HDDs degrade over time, so do modern SSD, so regular diagnostics [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-storage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37,"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/37"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bulkdevices.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}