July 2024: Top Free Software to Safeguard and Check Your Hard Drives

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 toreplace your hard drive if it fails some part of one of these tests.

Your Windows PC includes tools like Windows Error Checking and thechkdsk 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

My Review of Seagate SeaTools

Seagate SeaTools is free hard drive testing software that comes in two forms for home users:

• SeaTools Bootable andSeaTools for DOS support Seagate or Maxtor drives and run independently of your operating system on their ownUSB 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

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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)

My Review of HDDScan

HDDScan is a free hard drive testing program for all types of drives, no matter the manufacturer. It includes aSMART 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

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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, andConveyance 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

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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 anISO 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 abootable 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

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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 Zerodata sanitization method .

Download Western Digital Dashboard

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.

Download DiskCheckup

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

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

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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

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 abenchmark 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

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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

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

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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 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

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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

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

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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 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

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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.

Download Ariolic Disk Scanner

Best Commercial Hard Drive Repair Software

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