{"id":35794,"date":"2019-02-26T05:23:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-26T05:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/?p=35794"},"modified":"2026-01-06T08:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T08:54:13","slug":"how-to-check-hard-disk-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/how-to-check-hard-disk-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Check Hard Disk Health?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"How
Figure 1: How to Check the Hard Disk Health <\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>

A hard drive stores critical information such as operating system files and personal data. However, mechanical hard drives are quite sensitive and prone to physical failure or crash. Mechanical shock, corrupt drivers, improper use, or mishandling of drive or system can cause disk errors<\/strong> that can lead to logical corruption, mechanical failure, and physical crash. Moreover, regular usage also causes wear and tear, which eventually can cause drive corruption and failure.<\/p>

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\"Data
Figure 2: Data loss fact <\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>

Data is lost in all such cases, unless you take proper care of the hard drive -whether installed in your laptop, PC, or server. But that’s easier said than done<\/strong>.<\/p>

In this guide, we will take you through the most effective methods <\/strong>to keep a thorough check on the hard disk health. And how you can stay more productive<\/strong> by scheduling the disk checking and optimization tasks with the help of AI (machine learning) based calendar app. Further, we have discussed steps to recover data from failed hard drives coz you never know when things may go wrong.<\/p>

Smart Ways to Check and Ensure Hard Disk Health<\/strong><\/h2>

Step 1: Check Vital Disk Stats<\/strong><\/p>

a. Use SMART Information<\/strong><\/p>

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting<\/strong> (SMART) is a disk monitoring system that comes embedded on hard drives, solid-state drives, and eMMC storage media. The SMART data can reveal a lot about hard disk health including warning signs<\/strong> for imminent drive failure or error.<\/p>

To access and check SMART disk data, you can use the command prompt. Type wmic<\/strong> and then diskdrive get status <\/strong>(see screenshot below). However, no data is shown, but you see a message ‘Status ok<\/strong>’ if the drive is working fine. <\/p>

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\"Checking
Figure 3: Checking SMART status using Windows Command Prompt <\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>

You can also use a GUI based tool such as Drive Monitor, <\/strong>a add on utility in Stellar Data Recovery <\/a>Premium software or CrystalDiskInfo. Both tools work great at reporting the SMART disk info. However, the former –Drive Monitor- provides a much better GUI and monitors the drive on the go. Additionally, the drive monitor also provides the option to scan the disk for bad sectors<\/strong> and clone if the drive health is poor.<\/p>

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\"wdr<\/figure>
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\"Stellar
Figure 5: Drive Monitor Utility in Stellar Data Recovery Premium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
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\"CrystalDiskInfo
Figure 6: CrystalDiskInfo tool to check hard disk health status <\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>

b. Physical Inspection<\/strong><\/p>

If data on your external or internal drive is getting corrupt often, there might be a mechanical issue<\/strong> with the drive. For instance, actuator arm grinding against the platter or clicking noise indicate physical problem with the drive.<\/p>

You can inspect the internal or external drive physically, and here’s how:<\/strong><\/p>