The hard disk, or hard drive, is the main storage device in the system unit. The performance of the computer and the safety of data largely depend on its characteristics.
Instructions
Step 1
You can determine the type and characteristics of a hard drive by external inspection. The sticker above shows the model and manufacturer of the equipment, as well as the number of heads and cylinders.
Step 2
If the hard drive is already installed in the system unit, and you do not want to remove it from there, try getting information from the BIOS. Restart your computer and press the Pause / Break key when the computer's device information appears on the screen. Use Enter to continue output. Press these keys one by one until the turn comes to the hard disk.
Step 3
There is another way. After the initial boot, wait until a prompt appears on the screen similar to the following: “Press Delete to setup”. Instead of Delete, the BIOS developer can specify another key, usually one of the functional ones. Press this key to enter the BIOS setup menu. Find information about IDE, SCSI or SATA devices in the menu items, depending on which interface is used in your system unit.
Step 4
You can get data about the hard disk using Windows tools. Call the program launch line using the Win + R hotkeys or select the "Run" option from the "Start" menu. Enter the msconfig command. In the system settings window, go to the "Service" tab, find the "System Information" item and click the "Run" button. In the "System Information" list, expand the "Storage" node and click on "Disks".
Step 5
If the physical disk is divided into logical volumes, then you will see two items "Disks". One will contain information about logical drives, the other - about physical devices, i.e. full description of their properties: serial number, cluster size, number of cylinders, sectors, tracks and logical partitions.
Step 6
To determine the characteristics of devices, including the hard drive, you can use third-party programs. One of them - PC Wizard - is available for free download on the developer's website. Download and install the program. After starting, click on the "Hardware" button and in the "Element" list, click on the "Disk" icon.
