Software & Apps > Backup & Utilities 382 382 people found this article helpful 13 Best Free Hard Drive Testing Tools (July 2024) SeaTools, HDDScan, and GSmartControl are my top picks By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on July 8, 2024 Backup & Utilities File Types Apps Windows MS Office Linux Google Drive Backup & Utilities Design Cryptocurrency Close There are several free programs available to help you test your hard drive and identify any issues. Here are my top recommendations that I've been suggesting to people for years. Most apps have similar features, but some only work on specific hard drives. No matter which software you use, you may need to replace your hard drive if it fails some part of one of these tests. Your Windows PC includes tools like Windows Error Checking and the chkdsk command. Still, others, like those below, are available from hard drive manufacturers and other developers. 01 of 13 Seagate SeaTools What We Like Works from both inside and outside of Windows Completely free SeaTools for DOS works on any operating system Windows tool lets you test a hard drive from any manufacturer What We Don't Like SeaTools for DOS can be hard to use and install DOS version can deal with only 100 errors before restarting DOS edition might not work well with RAID controllers My Review of Seagate SeaTools Seagate SeaTools is free hard drive testing software that comes in two forms for home users: SeaTools Bootable and SeaTools for DOS support Seagate or Maxtor drives and run independently of your operating system on their own USB drive or CD, respectively. SeaTools for Windows installs on your Windows system. Use it to perform basic and advanced testing of any kind of drive—internal or external—from any manufacturer. Seagate's programs are excellent. They are used to test hard drives by professional computer services but are easy enough for anyone to use. The Windows version should work with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. There's also a Linux version. Download SeaTools For those looking for SeaTools Desktop, SeaTools Online, or Maxtor's PowerMax software, please note that the tools above have replaced all three. Seagate now owns the Maxtor brand. 02 of 13 HDDScan What We Like Works with all hard drives No installation need (portable) Easy to use Includes a SMART test Runs on all modern versions of Windows What We Don't Like Runs on Windows only No built-in help docs or tips for using it Can't install the program to your computer (it runs as a portable program automatically) My Review of HDDScan HDDScan is a free hard drive testing program for all types of drives, no matter the manufacturer. It includes a SMART test and a surface test. Some reasons I chose this app are because it's easy to use, is completely portable, supports almost all drive interfaces, and seems to be regularly updated. The official system requirements state that you need to be running at least Windows XP, so it should work with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista, including Windows Server 2003. Download HDDScan 03 of 13 GSmartControl What We Like Choose from three different tests Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS Lets you view the drive's SMART attributes A portable version is available What We Don't Like Doesn't support every USB and RAID device When exporting information, it includes everything, not just a specific result you want to save GSmartControl can run various hard drive tests with detailed results and give an overall health assessment of a drive. View and save SMART attribute values like the power cycle count, multi-zone error rate, calibration retry count, and many others. GSmartControl runs three self-tests to find drive faults: Short Self-test takes around 2 minutes to complete and is used to detect a completely damaged hard drive, Extended Self-test takes 70 minutes to finish and examines the entire surface of a hard drive to find faults, and Conveyance Self-test is a 5-minute test that's supposed to find damages that occurred during the transporting of a drive. This program can be downloaded for Windows as a portable program or as a regular program with a normal installer. The latest version works with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista, but there's an outdated edition you can get for older Windows versions. It's also available for Linux and Mac operating systems, as well as included in a couple of LiveCD/LiveUSB programs. Download GSmartControl 04 of 13 Samsung HUTIL What We Like Tests hard drives regardless of the OS that's installed Not too difficult to use Lets you erase data from the drive, too What We Don't Like Tests Samsung HDDs only Isn't as easy to install as a desktop-based program Must have access to a working computer to set up the program Text interface (no buttons you can click) Hasn't been updated in many years My Review of Samsung HUTIL Samsung HUTIL is a free hard drive diagnostic utility for Samsung hard drives. HUTIL is sometimes called ES-Tool. This tool is available as an ISO image for burning to a CD or USB drive. This feature makes HUTIL operating system independent and a better testing tool, in general, than those designed for use within Windows. It's also possible to run HUTIL from a bootable floppy disk. Because this is a bootable program, you'll need a working hard drive and OS to burn it to a disc or USB device. Download Samsung HUTIL HUTIL will only test Samsung hard drives. It will load and find your non-Samsung drive but you will not be able to run any diagnostics on the drive. 05 of 13 Western Digital Dashboard Western Digital Dashboard for Windows. What We Like Runs from within Windows Really easy to use Also shows basic information about the drives What We Don't Like Scans Western Digital hard drives only My Review of Western Digital Dashboard Western Digital Dashboard is free hard drive testing software for Windows that lets you run several hard drive tests. It supports viewing Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) information. There's a Short Test option that performs a relatively fast self-scan, and an Extended Test that checks the whole hard drive for bad sectors. This tool can also be used to wipe a hard drive using the Write Zero data sanitization method. Download Western Digital Dashboard 06 of 13 DiskCheckup What We Like Keeps track of SMART attributes to predict hard drive failure Can be configured to email you when certain events take place Well-organized and easy-to-use interface Small download size What We Don't Like Doesn't scan SCSI or hardware RAIDs Free for home/personal use only, not commercial/business DiskCheckup should work with most hard drives. SMART info like reading error rate, spin-up time, seek error rate, and temperature is displayed, as well as short and extended disk tests. Details in the SMART section can be configured to send an email or display a notification when their attributes exceed the manufacturer's recommended threshold. DiskCheckup should work fine with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, plus Windows Server 2008 and 2003. Download DiskCheckup 07 of 13 Windows Drive Fitness Test (WinDFT) What We Like Very easy to use There are two HDD testing functions An option lets you perform a deep test for better results Lets you test more than one drive consecutively SMART attributes can be viewed Also lets you erase a hard drive What We Don't Like Can't scan the primary hard drive where Windows is installed No tutorials, instructions, or tips are included in the program Unable to change where the LOG file is saved Works on Windows operating systems only No longer receives updates My Review of Windows Drive Fitness Test Windows Drive Fitness Test is free hard drive diagnostic software available for use on most drives available today. The download link below installs the Windows Drive Fitness Test software to the Windows OS, but you can't use the program to scan the drive that has Windows installed. Only USB and other internal hard drives can be scanned. You can install WinDFT to your PC if you're running Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, or XP. Download Windows Drive Fitness Test 08 of 13 HD Tune What We Like Tests several types of storage devices Includes helpful tests Information can be saved to a screenshot and copied to the clipboard The program isn't confusing to use What We Don't Like Can't export results to a text file Officially works on up to Windows 7 only Only home/personal use is allowed No update since 2008 My Review of HD Tune HD Tune is a Windows-based hard driver tester that works with any internal or external hard drive, SSD, or memory card. You can run a benchmark read test with HD Tune, check the health status with Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology, and run an error scan. Only Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000 are said to be the only supported operating systems, but I used HD Tune in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without any issues. Download HD Tune 09 of 13 Microsoft Windows Built-In Error Checking What We Like No download necessary Also tries to fix any hard drive errors What We Don't Like Runs on Windows only Lacks features found in other free hard drive testing software How to Scan Your Hard Drive Using Built-In Error Checking in Windows Error Checking, sometimes referred to as scandisk, is a hard drive testing tool that comes with Microsoft Windows that can scan your hard drive in search of a wide range of errors and correct many of them. It's built into all modern versions of Windows. 10 of 13 Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool What We Like One of the easiest hard drive testing apps to use Provides two hard drive testing functions Runs from within Windows, but there's also a floppy version if you don't have Windows What We Don't Like Tests Fujitsu hard drives only The bootable program runs from a floppy disk only (not a disc or flash drive) The floppy program isn't as easy to install and use as the Windows version The desktop program runs on Windows only My Review of Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool is a free hard drive testing tool designed for Fujitsu hard drives. It's available in both a Windows version and an OS-independent, bootable DOS version. However, the bootable version is designed for floppy disks—an image that works with a CD or USB drive is not available. Two tests are available: A "Quick Test" (about three minutes) and a "Comprehensive Test" (time will vary based on hard drive size). The Windows version is said to work with Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP. It might also run just fine in Windows 11 and Windows 10. Download For: Windows DOS Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool will perform hard drive tests on Fujitsu drives only. If you have any other make of hard drive, try one of the manufacturer independent tests listed toward the beginning of this list. 11 of 13 Free EASIS Drive Check What We Like Scan results can be emailed to you automatically Runs a surface scan to check for errors Shows SMART attributes Checks errors on both internal and external hard drives Scan results show useful information What We Don't Like Hasn't been updated in a long time (the last official supported OS is Windows 7) Works on Windows computers only Doesn't include as many features as most other hard drive testers My Review of Free EASIS Drive Check Free EASIS Drive Check is a hard drive tester that incorporates two main testing utilities—a sector test and a SMART value reader. The SMART test lists more than 40 values about a hard drive, while the sector test checks the surface of the media for reading errors. The report of either test can be read straight from the program when complete, configured to be sent to you by email, or printed off. Free EASIS Drive Check is said to work with Windows 2000 through Windows 7, but I successfully tested it in Windows 10 and 8 as well. Download Free EASIS Drive Check 12 of 13 Macrorit Disk Scanner What We Like Great visuals that are easy to understand Doesn't have to be installed Works on several Windows operating systems What We Don't Like Excludes features found only in the paid versions Free only for personal/home use Scans just one drive at a time Includes external links you might accidentally click Infrequent updates Macrorit Disk Scanner is a simple program that checks for bad sectors on a hard drive. It's easy to use, and you can start using it in no time since it's fully portable and doesn't need to be installed. The majority of this screen is used as a visual representation of the progress of the scan and clearly indicates if there's damage. It runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. Windows Server support is available for paying customers. Download Macrorit Disk Scanner 13 of 13 Ariolic Disk Scanner What We Like Checks any hard drive for bad sectors Shows which files are affected by errors Portable (no installation necessary) Very clean interface that's not distracting or confusing to use What We Don't Like Doesn't support HFS (only NTFS and FAT file systems) Displays an ad after each scan Ariolic Disk Scanner is similar to Macrorit Disk Scanner in that it's just a read-only scan of a drive to check for bad sectors. It has a minimal interface with only one button and is easy to understand if any parts of the drive contain bad sectors. One thing that's different from Macrorit Disk Scanner is that Ariolic Disk Scanner lists the files where read errors occurred. I tested Ariolic Disk Scanner in Windows 11, 10, and XP, but it should also work with other versions of Windows. The program is portable and just over 1 MB in size. Download Ariolic Disk Scanner Backup & Utilities Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit