How to Check Hard Drive Health on Windows, Mac & Linux

To check hard drive health on Windows, follow these methods:

To check hard drive health on Windows, follow these methods:

• Back up important data if you suspect drive issues.

• Close apps using the target drive to avoid access conflicts.
• Run terminals as administrator for consistent results.

• Built into Windows, no extra software needed
• Can repair file system errors and mark bad sectors
• Works on both internal and external drives
• Can run at boot to fix locked system files
• Provides detailed logs in Event Viewer

• Full scans are time‑consuming on large drives

• Requires administrator privileges
• Command syntax may be difficult for beginners
• Cannot fix severe physical hardware damage
• May cause data loss if files are already corrupted and unrecoverable

• Back up important data if you suspect drive issues.

• Close apps using the target drive to avoid access conflicts.
• Run terminals as administrator for consistent results.

• Built into Windows, no extra software needed
• Can repair file system errors and mark bad sectors
• Works on both internal and external drives
• Can run at boot to fix locked system files
• Provides detailed logs in Event Viewer

• Limited detail compared to full SMART attribute readouts

• Output and availability vary by driver and hardware
• WMIC is deprecated on newer Windows versions
• Does not perform surface tests or repairs
• May require administrator privileges for consistent results

To check hard drive health on Windows, follow these methods:

• Back up important data if you suspect drive issues.

• Close apps using the target drive to avoid access conflicts.
• Run terminals as administrator for consistent results.

• Built into Windows, no extra software needed
• Can repair file system errors and mark bad sectors
• Works on both internal and external drives
• Can run at boot to fix locked system files
• Provides detailed logs in Event Viewer

• Full scans are time‑consuming on large drives

• Requires administrator privileges
• Command syntax may be difficult for beginners
• Cannot fix severe physical hardware damage
• May cause data loss if files are already corrupted and unrecoverable

• Back up important data if you suspect drive issues.

• Close apps using the target drive to avoid access conflicts.
• Run terminals as administrator for consistent results.

• Method: Press Windows + R, type diskmgmt.msc, press Enter.

• Alternate: Right-click Start and select Disk Management.
• Verify target: Identify the disk by capacity, model, and connection type to avoid

• Visual health: Look for Healthy in the volume status bars and list.

• Layout and file system: Confirm partition layout, file system type, and presence of unallocated space.
• Mounting issues: If a volume does not have a drive letter, right-click and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths to add one.

• Access: Right-click the disk or volume and select Properties.

• Volumes tab: Review partition style (MBR or GPT), capacity, and assignment.
• Tools tab: Use Error checking to scan the volume for file system errors. Click Check and follow prompts.
• Hardware or Events tab: Review device information and recent logs for disk-related issues.
• Run an error check from Disk Management
• Invoke scan: Right-click the volume, select Properties, Tools, then Check.
• Repair option: If prompted, choose to scan and repair. You may need to schedule at restart for system volumes.
• Review results: After completion, Windows will report whether errors were found and fixed.

• Initialize: If a disk shows as Not Initialized, right-click the disk label and choose Initialize Disk. Select GPT for modern systems, MBR for legacy.

• Create volume: Right-click Unallocated space, select New Simple Volume, follow the wizard to set size, file system (NTFS or exFAT), allocation unit size, and label.
• Finish: Assign a drive letter and complete the wizard. The volume should show Healthy and mount in File Explorer.

• Offline or missing: If a disk is Offline, right-click and bring it Online, then investigate cables or power if it fails.

• Read-only flags: For removable media stuck read-only, check the device’s physical lock switch and Properties > Policies settings.

• Open: Press Windows + R, type eventvwr.msc, press Enter.

• Navigate: Windows Logs > System. Filter for Disk, Disk Controller, or Ntfs sources to find related errors.

• Visual overview of disks, partitions, file systems, and drive letters

• Easy to create, delete, resize, and format volumes
• Built into Windows with no additional software required
• Quick at spotting unallocated space and basic status like Healthy

• Does not show detailed S.M.A.R.T. health or wear metrics

• Limited diagnostic depth compared to dedicated tools
• Some operations require reboots for system volumes
• Risk of data loss if wrong disk or partition is modified

To check hard drive health on Windows, follow these methods:

• Back up important data if you suspect drive issues.

• Close apps using the target drive to avoid access conflicts.
• Run terminals as administrator for consistent results.

• Open File Explorer, right-click the target drive, and select Properties.

• Go to the Tools tab and locate Error checking.
• Click Check. If Windows says you do not need to scan, you can still choose to scan.

• Click Scan drive for a read-only check of file system errors.
• If prompted after a scan, select Repair drive to fix detected issues.
• For system drives, you may be asked to Schedule on next restart. Confirm, then restart to run the check before Windows loads.

• After completion, Windows reports whether errors were found and fixed.

• For detailed logs, open Event Viewer, navigate to Windows Logs > Application, and look for entries from Wininit or Chkdsk that summarize actions taken.

• Easy graphical workflow that does not require command syntax

• Integrated with Windows and available on any drive with a letter
• Can schedule a boot-time repair for system volumes
• Provides a quick yes or no on whether repairs are needed

• Less detailed output than command-line CHKDSK logs

• Limited control over scan parameters compared to command flags
• May require a restart for system drive repairs
• Does not show S.M.A.R.T. health metrics or perform surface tests

• Back up important data if you suspect issues. Close apps using the target drive.

• Open PowerShell as administrator for consistent access to storage data.

• Open Start, type PowerShell, right-click Windows PowerShell, select Run as administrator.

• Run:
  • Get-PhysicalDisk | Select FriendlyName, MediaType, HealthStatus, OperationalStatus
• Review HealthStatus. Healthy indicates no detected issues. Investigate any warning or unknown states.

• Run:

• Get-WmiObject -Namespace rootwmi -Class MSStorageDriver_FailurePredictStatus | Select InstanceName, PredictFailure
• Check PredictFailure. False means no predicted failure. True signals the drive is predicting a failure and needs attention.

• Identify the disk number:

  • Get-Disk | Select Number, FriendlyName, SerialNumber
• Get counters:
  • Get-StorageReliabilityCounter -Disk (Get-Disk -Number 0) | Select *
• Look for attributes such as Wear, Temperature, ReadErrorsTotal, ReallocatedSectors, and MediaErrors if exposed by your hardware driver.

• Run:

  • Get-PhysicalDisk | Select FriendlyName, MediaType, HealthStatus, Usage, Size
• If your driver exposes it, also check:
  • Get-StorageReliabilityCounter -Disk (Get-Disk -Number 0) | Select Temperature, Wear, PowerOnHours
• Review Wear or percentage used to gauge SSD lifespan.

• Run:

  • Get-PhysicalDisk | Select FriendlyName, HealthStatus, OperationalStatus | Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation .disk_health.csv
• Open the CSV to archive results or share with support.

• Healthy or OK means no current flags. Warning or predictive failure suggests backup and replacement planning.

• Rising media errors, reallocated sectors, or high temperature indicate deteriorating health even if the overall status is still healthy.

• Built in and scriptable for multiple disks and remote checks

• Fast to run with low overhead
• Can expose predictive failure flags and detailed counters on supported hardware

• Detail depends on drivers and hardware support

• Some cmdlets are unavailable on older Windows editions
• Does not perform repairs or surface scans
• Interpreting counters require vendor documentation

• Use Disk Utility

• Use SMART Status in Disk Utility
• Use Terminal
• Use Third-Party Tools

• Back up important data before running repairs.

• Quit apps that might be using the disk and ensure the Mac has stable power.

• Open Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.

• In the menu bar, select View > Show All Devices so you can select the physical disk (not just volumes).
• This view helps you target the correct device and its containers/volumes.

• Select the physical disk in the sidebar, then click the Info button (i) in the toolbar to view SMART status.

• If you see a fatal hardware error, back up what you can and plan to replace the drive; Disk Utility cannot repair hardware faults.
• If there’s no hardware error but issues persist, proceed with First Aid.

• In Disk Utility, select the lowest item under the disk (the last volume), click First Aid, then Run.

• Repeat First Aid upward: run it on each higher item (container, then disk) until you reach the top.
• For startup volumes, run First Aid from macOS Recovery for a more thorough check:
  • Intel: restart and hold Command-R to enter Recovery.
  • Apple silicon: shut down, then hold the power button until Options appears, and choose Disk Utility.

• Built-in and free; no installation required.

• User-friendly GUI for verify/repair with First Aid.
• Shows a basic SMART status to flag impending hard disk drive failure.

• SMART detail is limited compared to third-party tools; no per-attribute view.

• Cannot repair physical hardware faults; severe errors require drive replacement.
• For startup disks, best results often require running from Recovery, which adds downtime.

• Back up important data if you suspect any drive issues.

• Quit apps that might be using the disk and ensure stable power.

• Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.

• In the menu bar, select View > Show All Devices so you can select the physical disk, not just a volume.

• In the sidebar, click the topmost entry for the device you want to check. Confirm by capacity and model to avoid confusion with volumes or containers.

• Click the Info button in the toolbar. Find the SMART status field in the details panel.

• Typical results include:
  • Verified: No SMART-reported hardware problems.
  • Failing: The disk reports impending hardware failure. Back up immediately and plan to replace the drive.
  • Not supported: The enclosure or interface is not passing SMART data to macOS.

• If status is Failing, copy critical data off the drive as soon as possible, then replace the hardware.

• If status is Verified but you still see issues, run First Aid on the volume, check cables and ports, and consider deeper diagnostics.
• If status is Not supported, try a different enclosure or interface, or use a tool that can read SMART through your controller.

• Built in and quick to access.

• Very easy to interpret at a glance.
• Works without installing any extra software.

• Only shows a high-level pass or fail, not detailed attributes.

• Often unavailable for disks in some USB enclosures or docks.
• Cannot repair hardware faults; it only reports them.

• Back up data: If you suspect issues, copy critical files first.

• Quit apps: Close anything using the disk to avoid locks.
• Use Recovery for startup disks:
  • Intel: Restart, hold Command+R → Utilities > Terminal.
  • Apple silicon: Shut down, hold power → Options > Continue → Utilities > Terminal.

• List devices:

  • diskutil list
• Confirm targets: Note identifiers (for example, disk0, disk2s1) by size, type, and connection.
• Check APFS layout:
  • diskutil apfs list

• View SMART via diskutil:

  • diskutil info disk0 | grep -i SMART
• Interpretation: “Verified” indicates no SMART-reported faults; “Failing” means imminent hardware failure; “Not Supported” often occurs with some USB enclosures.

• Verify a volume (non-destructive):

  • diskutil verifyVolume /dev/diskXsY
• Repair a volume (First Aid equivalent):
  • diskutil repairVolume /dev/diskXsY
• APFS-specific repair (if needed):
  • diskutil apfs repairVolume /dev/diskXsY

Tip: Work bottom-up, run on the lowest volume, then container, then the physical disk.

• Verify partition map:

  • diskutil verifyDisk /dev/diskX
• Repair partition map (from Recovery if it’s the boot disk):
  • diskutil repairDisk /dev/diskX

• APFS check (read-only device node is faster):

  • fsck_apfs -y /dev/rdiskXsY
• HFS+ check:
  • fsck_hfs -fy /dev/rdiskXsY
• Run until “The volume … appears to be OK.” If repairs are reported, re-run once more to confirm.

• System log scan (optional):

  • log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.filesystems"' --last 1d
• Look for I/O errors, unmounted volumes, or repeated repair messages as signs of deeper issues.

• Powerful: Full verify/repair coverage for volumes, containers, and partition maps.

• Precise: Clear, actionable output with specific error messages.
• No extra apps: Uses built-in tools suitable for scripting and remote work.

• Learning curve: Requires comfort with disk identifiers and command syntax.

• Limited SMART detail: Only high-level status; no per-attribute view.
• Recovery requirement: Startup disk repairs often require booting into Recovery, adding downtime.

• Back up data: If you suspect issues, copy critical files first.

• Quit apps: Close anything using the disk to avoid locks.
• Use Recovery for startup disks:
  • Intel: Restart, hold Command+R → Utilities > Terminal.
  • Apple silicon: Shut down, hold power → Options > Continue → Utilities > Terminal.

• Pick a tool: DriveDx or SMART Utility are popular for detailed SMART attributes and warnings.

• Install and launch: Follow the installer, then open the app.
• Review dashboard: Check overall health, temperature, power‑on hours, and key attributes.
• Run tests: Start a Short Self‑Test for quick screening; run an Extended/Long Self‑Test for deeper checks.
• Set alerts: Enable notifications for threshold changes, rising reallocated or pending sectors, or SSD wear indicators.

• Pick a tool: GSmartControl provides a graphical view over smartctl.

• Open the drive: Select your disk to view attributes, error logs, and capabilities.
• Run tests: Start Short, Extended, or Conveyance tests and monitor progress and results.
• Interpret results: Watch for increases in Reallocated Sector Count, Current Pending Sector, UDMA CRC errors, or SSD Percentage Used.

• Speed test: Use Blackmagic Disk Speed Test to spot sudden throughput drops that may hint at failing media or throttling.

• Surface scan (read‑only): Choose tools that perform sequential read checks to detect unreadable sectors without writing.
• Correlate findings: If speed is fine but SMART flags rise, trust SMART. If speed is poor with clean SMART, check cabling, ports, trim, or filesystem.

• If SMART is failing: Back up immediately and replace the drive; do not attempt repeated repairs.

• If SMART is verified but errors persist: Run First Aid in Disk Utility, test cables/ports, then re‑test. Consider a different enclosure for external drives.
• Trend monitoring: Enable periodic reports to catch early degradation before data loss.

• Most detailed: Full SMART attributes, error logs, temperatures, SSD wear indicators, and trend graphs.

• Proactive alerts: Background monitoring warns you before failures.
• Self‑tests: One‑click Short/Long tests with clear pass/fail results.

• Cost or setup: Some apps are paid; free options may require extra setup.

• Hardware limits: Many USB enclosures do not expose SMART, reducing visibility.
• No repairs: These tools diagnose; they do not fix physical faults.

• Use fsck (File System Consistency Check)

• Use SMART Tools
• Use Disk Utility (on Ubuntu and other distributions with GNOME)
• Using badblocks

• Back up data: Repairs modify metadata and may risk data loss if corruption is severe.

• Do not run on mounted filesystems: Plan to unmount the target volume, or use recovery/single‑user mode for the root filesystem.

• List block devices:

  • lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT,FSTYPE,UUID
• Confirm target: Match by size, mount point, and filesystem (for example, /dev/sdb1 with ext4).

• Unmount safely:

  • sudo umount /dev/sdXn
• If busy: Stop services or use lazy unmount as last resort:
  • sudo umount -l /dev/sdXn

• Generic fsck wrapper:

  • sudo fsck -n /dev/sdXn
• ext2/3/4 explicitly (more options):
  • sudo e2fsck -n /dev/sdXn

• Interactive repair:

  • sudo fsck -f /dev/sdXn
• Automatic yes to fixes (non‑interactive):
  • sudo fsck -y /dev/sdXn
• ext4 with explicit tool:
  • sudo e2fsck -f -y /dev/sdXn
• Re-run until it reports “clean” to confirm all issues are fixed.

• Reboot into rescue mode: Choose “Advanced options” → recovery or single‑user mode, or boot from live media.

• Run read-only device node for speed:
  • sudo e2fsck -f -y /dev/rdisk0p2 (adapt device)
• Reboot normally when done.

• XFS: fsck.xfs is a no-op; use xfs_repair on an unmounted XFS volume.

  • sudo xfs_repair /dev/sdXn
• Btrfs: Prefer scrub/check instead of fsck.
  • sudo btrfs scrub start -Bd /mountpoint
  • sudo btrfs check --readonly /dev/sdXn
• FAT/NTFS: fsck.vfat and ntfsfix provide limited repairs. For NTFS, full repairs are best done on Windows.

• Quick integrity check:

  • sudo fsck -n /dev/sdXn (should show clean)
• Mount back:
  • sudo mount /dev/sdXn /mnt
• Confirm status:
  • dmesg | tail and sudo blkid /dev/sdXn

• Direct repairs: Fixes many metadata and journal issues that cause mounting failures.

• Granular control: Flags like -n, -f, -y enable safe checks, forced scans, or unattended repairs.
• Universal availability: Installed by default and works across many filesystems via specific fsck helpers.

• Risk on mounted volumes: Running on mounted filesystems risks additional corruption.

• Filesystem variance: Different filesystems need different tools (XFS, Btrfs), which can be confusing.
• No hardware insight: Does not test media health; pair with SMART tools or badblocks for surface issues.

• Back up data: If SMART warns of failure, copy critical files before deeper tests.

• Ensure passthrough: Some USB/SATA enclosures do not expose SMART; test with a direct SATA/NVMe connection or a known‑good enclosure.
• Install tools:
  • Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install smartmontools
  • Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf install smartmontools
  • Arch: sudo pacman -S smartmontools

• List disks: lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,MODEL,TYPE

• Target device: Note identifiers like /dev/sda, /dev/nvme0n1.

• Enable SMART: sudo smartctl -s on /dev/sdX

• Check info: sudo smartctl -i /dev/sdX (confirms SMART availability, model, firmware)

• Full report: sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdX (or /dev/nvme0 for NVMe)

• Key fields to review:
  • Overall-health: PASSED/FAILED summary
  • Temperature and throttling: Overheat events are red flags
  • Reallocated/Pending sectors (HDD): Rising counts indicate media decay
  • CRC errors: Often cabling/port issues
  • Percentage used/Wear level (SSD/NVMe): Approaching limits suggests replacement planning

• Short test (1-3 min): sudo smartctl -t short /dev/sdX

• Extended test (can take hours): sudo smartctl -t long /dev/sdX
• Conveyance test (HDD shipping damage): sudo smartctl -t conveyance /dev/sdX
• Check results: sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdX and review Self‑test log for PASS/FAIL and LBA of first error
• Abort a running test: sudo smartctl -X /dev/sdX

• Health summary: sudo smartctl -a /dev/nvme0

• Important NVMe fields: Percentage Used, Data Units Written, Media and Data Integrity Errors, Critical Warnings, Temperature

• Enable daemon: sudo systemctl enable --now smartd

• Configure alerts: Edit /etc/smartd.conf to schedule tests and email warnings on threshold changes.

• Detailed diagnostics: Full SMART attributes, error logs, and self‑test history.

• Predictive alerts: Can warn before catastrophic failure.
• Broad coverage: Works for both HDDs and SSDs, including NVMe with rich wear metrics.
• Automatable: Daemon and scripts support continuous monitoring and notifications.

• Passthrough limitations: Some USB enclosures hide SMART data.

• Interpretation required: Attribute meanings vary by vendor; false positives are possible without context.
• No repairs: SMART reports health but does not fix file system or media errors.
• Time cost: Extended tests take hours and may reduce performance while running.

• Back up data: Repairs or formatting risks data loss if issues are severe.

• Use direct connections: Connect external drives directly to USB or SATA. Some docks hide SMART data.
• Close apps: Ensure no programs are using the target volume.

• Launch Disks: Open Activities and search for Disks, or run gnome-disks.

• Select the drive: Choose the physical device in the left pane. Confirm by model and capacity.

• Open SMART data: Click the menu button for the drive and choose SMART Data and Self-Tests.

• Review key fields: Overall Assessment, Power-on Hours, Temperature, Reallocated or Pending sectors for HDDs, Percentage Used or Media Errors for SSDs and NVMe.
• Decide action: If failing is indicated, back up immediately and plan a replacement.

• Quick screen: Start a Short Self-Test for a few minutes of checks.

• Deeper check: Run an Extended Self-Test to scan the surface. This can take hours.
• Review results: Check the self-test log for pass or fail and any first error LBA.

• Run check: Click the partition, then the gear icon, and choose Check Filesystem.

• Repair if offered: Approve repairs if errors are found. For system partitions, perform from live media.

• Run benchmark: Use the Benchmark option to measure read and write speeds.

• Interpret results: Sudden slowdowns or unstable curves hint at failing media or cable issues.

• If SMART fails: Stop heavy use, clone or back up data, replace the drive.

• If SMART is OK but errors persist: Re-seat cables, try a different port, recheck filesystem, and retest.

• Detailed diagnostics: Full SMART attributes, error logs, and self‑test history.

• Predictive alerts: Can warn before catastrophic failure.
• Broad coverage: Works for both HDDs and SSDs, including NVMe with rich wear metrics.
• Automatable: Daemon and scripts support continuous monitoring and notifications.

• Detail limits: Less granular than smartctl for raw attributes and logs.

• Hardware passthrough: Some USB enclosures do not expose SMART to the OS.
• No deep repairs: Filesystem fixes are basic and hardware faults cannot be repaired.

• Back up data: Any write-mode tests will destroy data. Even read-only scans can stress failing disks.

• Unmount target: Do not run on a mounted filesystem. If needed, stop services and unmount the partition first.
• Confirm device path: Identify the correct disk/partition before proceeding to avoid data loss.

• List disks and partitions:

  • lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT,FSTYPE,UUID
• Match the target: Note the device (for example, /dev/sdb or /dev/sdb1) by size, mount point, and filesystem.

• Basic scan with verbose output:

  • sudo badblocks -v /dev/sdXn > badblocks.txt
• What it does: Reads through the device to detect unreadable sectors and saves their LBAs to badblocks.txt for later use.

Tip: Scanning a whole disk (sdX) is slower than a single partition (sdXn); choose based on your goal.

• Four-pass write-read test:

  • sudo badblocks -wsv /dev/sdX
• Warning: This overwrites the entire device and erases all data. Useful only when you intend to wipe, stress-test, or prepare a drive for fresh use.

• Use e2fsck with the bad block list:

  • sudo e2fsck -l badblocks.txt /dev/sdXn
• Alternative: have e2fsck call badblocks itself:
  • sudo e2fsck -c /dev/sdXn
• Result: The filesystem records those sectors so the OS avoids them going forward. Ensure the volume is unmounted when running these commands.

• Re-run a read-only pass: Confirm that previously reported sectors are no longer used and that no new errors appear.

• Consider SMART: For ongoing health monitoring and failure prediction, pair badblocks with SMART tools for a fuller picture.

• Surface-level verification: Detects unreadable sectors directly by testing I/O on the media.

• Actionable integration: Works with e2fsck to mark bad sectors on ext-family filesystems.
• Flexible modes: Read-only for safe checks; write-mode for thorough stress tests when wiping or refurbishing drives.

• Time-consuming: Full-disk scans can take many hours on large drives.

• Data-destructive in write-mode: The -w test erases all data.
• Not predictive: Does not forecast failure; should be combined with SMART monitoring for health trends.
• Limited via some enclosures: USB/SATA bridges may throttle or distort results; direct connections are more reliable.