Hey everyone! I have a couple of 1 TB laptop hard drives that I'm using with an external case I picked up for $7. I primarily use them for backing up notes, games, ISOs, and study materials, so speed isn't my biggest concern. However, I want to make sure they're in good condition. Can anyone recommend some software or tools to check their speed, functionality, and scan for bad sectors? I'm on Windows 11 with 16GB of RAM, so I think I should be able to test them without issues.
3 Answers
To check the health of your drives, you can run a command called `chkdsk /b` from the admin command prompt. This will scan the whole drive—including free space—for any bad sectors. If you find bad sectors, it’s best not to trust that drive. It can take a while though! If you just want to check the parts with data, `chkdsk /r` will do a quicker job.
Just a heads up: the `/b` option only works on NTFS drives, which is what you want anyway!
You can also use CrystalDiskInfo to check the SMART data of your drives. SMART will provide information about the drive's condition, but keep in mind it’s not 100% foolproof; drives can fail even if the SMART data looks okay. Also, make sure your hard drive case is using USB 3 instead of USB 2—USB 3 is significantly faster!
Just letting you know, my setup uses a Type-C connection.
Most SATA hard drives from the last 20 years support SMART, allowing you to check their health and run self-tests. I recommend using CrystalDiskInfo for checking SMART attributes. If you want a deeper test, GSmartControl can perform extensive self-tests, although that might take a few hours. Just be cautious with cheaper SATA to USB adapters, as they may not support SMART functionality.
Thanks for the info!
Does `chkdsk` work on external drives too, like those connected via USB?