For each user, sooner or later, the question arises of maintaining one important component, where most of the computer's information is permanently stored. Of course, we are talking about a hard disk, the state of which should be constantly monitored in order to avoid data loss. Special utilities will help us to cope with this task.
Necessary
- - the Internet;
- - HDTune program.
Instructions
Step 1
Select a utility. For Microsoft Windows operating systems, a lot of programs, both domestic and foreign, have been developed that allow you to view information about the current state of a hard disk, test its performance, identify errors in operation, in a word, evaluate its performance. One of the most popular utilities is HDTune, which is distributed in two versions - paid and free (with limited functionality). The free version is sufficient for basic hard disk maintenance.
Step 2
Download and install. You can download the HDTune utility from the official site. After downloading, run the installer and follow its instructions. At the end of the installation, you will be prompted to run the program. In the future, it can be launched using a shortcut on the desktop or from the "Start" menu, the "Programs" section.
Step 3
Check the temperature. The current temperature of the hard disk can be seen at the top of the main program window. If you have several disks installed on your computer, open the drop-down menu at the top of the main window and select the required one. Please note that the temperature of the disk should not exceed 45 degrees (Celsius), otherwise the risk of its rapid failure increases significantly.
Step 4
Measure performance. To start the procedure for measuring the performance of a hard disk, select the required hard disk from the drop-down list in the main window of the program, go to the “Benchmark” tab and click the “Start” button. The operation may take some time to complete. Upon completion, you will be presented with a graph with the measurement results.
Step 5
Check out the summary. For a quick summary of hard disk partitions, file systems, bootloader availability, and supported features, click the Info tab.
Step 6
Check the current status. By clicking on the "Health" tab, you will be presented with information about the technical condition of the hard disk, obtained using the self-diagnosis technology (SMART). Based on the received data, the program draws a conclusion and reports it in the "Health Status" field.
Step 7
Check for errors. To check the presence of bad ("bad") sectors on the disk, go to the "Error Scan" tab and press the "Start" button (select the "Quick Scan" option). The operation can take a significant amount of time depending on the capacity and speed of the disk. The test results will be presented graphically and summarized.
