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
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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
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.
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
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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)
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.
03
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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.
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
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.
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
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Western Digital Dashboard
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
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.
06
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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.
07
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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
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.
08
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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
Error Checking, sometimes referred to asscandisk, 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.
09
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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
HD Tune is a Windows-based hard driver tester that works with any internal orexternal 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.
OnlyWindows 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.
10
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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 Fujitsuhard 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
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:
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
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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
Free EASIS Drive Check is a hard drive tester that incorporates two main testing utilities—asectortest 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.
12
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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 clearlyindicates if there's damage.
It runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. Windows Server support is available for paying customers.
13
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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.
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