How to Perform Diagnostic on SSD on My Windows PC?
In this post, you’ll learn how to do diagnostic SSD on a Windows computer. If you find your SSD has some unknown signs that you doubt they may cause disk failing, you can follow our guide to check your SSD status.
Why do you need to run diagnostic SSD?
It is imperative to check whether your SSD is functioning optimally, regardless of whether you have acquired a new one or have been utilizing one for an extended period. This information will assist you in determining whether to optimize or replace your hard drive.
Nevertheless, Windows does not provide any functionality for evaluating the health of SSD or HDDs. Consequently, it is necessary to utilize a third-party hard disk health check utility. The following aspects of your solid-state drive can be determined with an SSD health checker:
✦ SSD health check: The initial function of an SSD check utility is to display the current state of your disk. It is capable of identifying whether your SSD contains a faulty sector, which provides insight into the overall health of your drive.
✦ SSD error check: The second primary function of an SSD diagnostic utility is to identify errors on the disk and, if feasible, resolve them simultaneously.
✦ SSD speed verification: The transfer speed is a critical metric for evaluating the performance of an SSD, as it determines whether it is experiencing a slowdown. Therefore, an SSD speed test is conducted by a hard drive diagnostic program to determine the write and read speeds.
How do you know whether your SSD is dying or not?
Typically, SSDs will indicate the presence of an issue before the occurrence of a complete disaster. Symptoms of hard disk failure may initially appear to be minor before they escalate into a significant problem. Initially, failing SSD warning indicators may be a source of inconvenience; however, they can rapidly damage your computer if disregarded.
1. Frequent Crashes During Boot
The system may fail to boot up properly or frequently crash while starting. This can indicate that the SSD is unable to read essential system files, often due to corrupted sectors or wear.
2. Read/Write Errors
Files may fail to save, or you may encounter errors when trying to access certain files. This can happen if specific blocks on the SSD become inaccessible due to wear or damage.
3. Sluggish Performance
Although SSDs are known for their speed, failing SSDs may exhibit unusually slow read or write speeds. This may occur due to the drive struggling to access or store data.
4. File Corruption
You may notice files becoming corrupt or disappearing altogether. This is often a result of the SSD not being able to retain data in its cells properly.
5. System Freezing or Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)
Random system freezes or blue screens can indicate that the SSD is having difficulty communicating with the system. These issues might be intermittent at first but grow more frequent over time.
6. SMART Errors
SSDs have a Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) feature. If your SSD’s SMART diagnostics report errors or degraded health, it could indicate impending failure.
4 Ways to do SSD diagnostic via Windows built-in tools
In this part, we'll show you how to check the status of your SSD disk on your Windows PC.
Way 1. Check hard drive health in BIOS
Step 1. Reboot your PC, and after it’s switched off and on again repeatedly, press Delete, F2, F12, or whichever buttons the boot screen tells you will take you to your BIOS.
Step 2. Once in the BIOS, the exact instructions will depend on your motherboard manufacturer. In the example, on MSI Mortar WiFi B550M in the BIOS, go to “Settings -> Advanced -> NVME Self-Test” to test the health of the NVMe drives.
Way 2. Use PC/disk manufacturer's tools
If you’re using a computer with a hard disk produced by a big hard disk manufacturer, or a computer has a brand-developed tool, you can choose these tools to check your hard drive. For example, if you’re using a newer HP laptop, there’s a separate UEFI diagnostic tool that you can access by pressing F2 during boot.
You can go to “Component Tests -> Hard Drive” to run tests on one or more drives on the PC.
And if you’re using a WD, Seagate, or Samsung disk, you can go to the official website to download its own tool to check your disk.
Way 3. Use CHKDSK in CMD
The Windows CHKDSK program is a built-in Windows utility that scans your hard drive for system problems and bad sectors. It also aids in the examination of hard disk health by displaying any faults.
It will search for and rectify minor issues, as well as notify you if there is a larger issue that it cannot resolve. You may use this utility to test hard disk health and, if feasible, repair damaged sectors and errors.
Step 1. Open “Search” and type cmd and choose “Run as administrator” under “Command Prompt.”
Step 2. Enter chkdsk at the prompt and hit Enter.
Step 3. You can also use chkdsk /f /r to fix bad sectors and recover any readable data if possible.
Another option is chkdsk /f /r /x, which dismounts the drive first.
Way 4. Use the S.M.A.R.T. check
S.M.A.R.T. is a feature on modern hard drives that allows you to instantly assess their health status. Though this function should automatically inform you if there are any problems with your disk, you may manually check it if you suspect something is wrong.
Step 1. Open “Search” and type cmd and run it.
Step 2. Type: wmic diskdrive get model,status, and press “Enter”.
Then you can see the disks and their status.
Best HDD/SSD diagnostic tool—AOMEI Partition Assistant
You need not be concerned if your computer or hard drive lacks a compatible tool; you have the option of selecting a third-party tool. AOMEI Partition Assistant is a free disk and partition manager for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7 systems.
The S.M.A.R.T. information of the disk can be obtained by the hard drive's health check function to assess its condition. The user will be requested to back up the disk data if the disk health status is poor. Additionally, this software provides a disk performance test function, a PC cleaner, and hard drive defragmentation capabilities.
Upon completion of the hard drive health check, you may evaluate its read/write speed, eliminate all unnecessary files from your system and hard drive, and then defragment your hard drive to enhance its performance. These are all beneficial operations for the wellness of your hard drive.
Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. When the program is successfully launched, it will automatically obtain S.M.A.R.T. information on all hard disks in the background.
Once it detects that the disk health status of one hard drive is poor, a red exclamation mark will be displayed on the disk icon. You can also right-click on one hard drive and choose Properties-->Health(SMART) to see detailed S.M.A.R.T. information on this disk.
Step 2: There are 3 states of hard disk health.
▍State one: Good
The disk is in good condition and can be used with confidence.
▍State two: Caution
Except for the temperature, one or more attributes are close to the threshold. The disk still can be used normally, but it is recommended to back up the disk regularly.
▍State three: Bad
One or more attributes are equal to or less than the threshold. The disk may be damaged soon and cause data loss. It is recommended to clone this disk and replace it with a new one.
You can click "View details" to see specific S.M.A.R.T. values, red text indicates that the value of the item is equal to or exceeds the threshold.
If the disk is not S.M.A.R.T. enabled or is a virtual disk, then the disk health status cannot be obtained. You will see prompt information like this:
Further reading: What can you do after SSD diagnostic?
You may have a more comprehensive understanding of your disk after utilizing the most effective tool to assess the health of your SSD. If all goes well, you may either remain in your current location or undergo SSD optimization to enhance performance. However, if there are irreversible issues, it is advisable to promptly replace the existing one with a new one.
We recommend that you clone your current disk to prevent the need to reconfigure everything if you simply wish to replace it with a new hard drive. AOMEI Partition Assistant has a convenient feature that allows you to clone old SSD once you have located a suitable new disk. In addition, the cloning methods are capable of cloning a larger disk to a smaller disk. You are only required to follow the steps to select the mouse during the procedure; there are no intricate steps.
To sum up
Typically, consumer-grade SSDs can last 5 to 10 years under normal usage. Most manufacturers provide warranties ranging from 3 to 5 years, so it's important to perform diagnostic SSD regularly especially after your SSD has worked for several years. AOMEI Partition Assistant is an all-around disk manager tool for Windows users. If you're a Server user or you need to manage multiple devices, you can check other advanced editions of this handy tool.