Updated by

Linda

Authored by

Sherly

Last updated on April 22, 2024

External hard disk drives (HDDs) have gained popularity due to their portability, compactness, and affordability. However, users of external HDDs are still at risk of data loss, as their lifespan can be affected by various factors such as temperature, environmental conditions, and specific usage patterns.

So, how to reduce data loss in this case? The answer is to check the health of your external hard drive regularly. But how to do that? Read on, and you can get a step-by-step guide on this issue. Let's start with the easier method.

How to Check the Health of an External Hard Drive on Windows 10/11

Here, we find two effective methods to easily check the status of an external hard drive.

Two methods to monitor the health of an external hard drive:
Using Partition Master Tool
Using CHKDSK Tool

#1. Using the Tool Partition Master

With AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can effectively check the health status of your external hard drive to prevent unexpected errors from damaging your data. This tool can check all SMART statuses related to the health of your external hard drive, such as temperature and status, power-on hours/count, unsafe shutdowns, and more. Download and try it now.

Let's learn more about it.

    • Supported Systems: Windows 11/10/8.1/7, Windows XP/Vista
    • Difficulty: Low
    • Interface: Clear
    • Target Users: All Users

Step 1: Launch Partition Master and click the blue arrow to activate the “Disk Health” feature under the “Discovery” section.

Click the blue arrow.

Step 2. Select the target disk and click "Refresh" button. Then, you can view the status of your disk.

Select the target disk Select the target disk

As a reliable hard drive health monitoring tool, Partition Master can do a lot, such as:

Now, without any second thought, download this tool to check the health of your external hard drive. You will get detailed results, and you can take some measures based on the obtained results.

#2. By using CHKDSK

If you'd rather not download third-party software, you can use a built-in Windows tool to check your external hard drive. You can do this by running the CHKDSK command, which will give you information about the state of your drive. The downside is that you'll only get limited data – you won't be able to see any additional details. If you want to do a simple check, follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click the Windows icon, select "Run," and type cmd in the Run window.

Step 2: Type chkdsk in the Command Prompt, and press Enter.

Now, the command prompt will scan your external drive for errors, and if there are any, it'll show up right here.

chkdsk

Here, I've listed some topics related to external hard drives. You can click to refer if needed.

"External Hard Drive Health Check Video Tutorial"

This video reveals five ways – including the two solutions above – to expertly assess the health of your external hard drive:

Conclusion

It's essential to regularly check the health of your external hard drive to prevent data loss. You can use the CHKDSK command to check the external hard drive's status, but it will only provide basic results. For a more detailed health check, including information like temperature and status, it's recommended to use a disk utility tool, such as Partition Assistant.

AOMEI Partition Assistant, as a hard drive health monitor tool, can help you check the SMART status of external hard drive. In this way, you can take measures in advance to protect your external hard drive.

Please download this tool without hesitation and run an external hard drive health check.

Frequently Asked Questions About Checking External Hard Drive Health

Do you have any other questions about checking the health of an external hard drive? This article might be able to help. If you have a similar issue, check the solution below.

1. How do I check if my external hard drive has failed?

As mentioned, you can connect the external hard drive to a Windows PC and follow these steps:

Step 1. After connecting your external hard drive, download and launch Partition Master.

Step 2: Tap on “Disk Health” under the “Discover” section.

Step 3: Select your external drive, and then click the “Refresh” button.

It lets you monitor the temperature and health of your external drive, and it will warn you if anything seems amiss.

2. How can I tell if my external hard drive is physically damaged? If your external hard drive has suffered physical damage, it might exhibit one or more of the following symptoms: 1. **Device Unrecognizable**: The computer fails to detect the hard drive, or it doesn't show up in Device Manager. 2. **Unusual Noises**: You might hear clicking, buzzing, or abnormal sounds, which could indicate a problem with the drive's read/write heads. 3. **Data Loss**: Files suddenly disappear, become inaccessible, or cannot be read. 4. **Error Messages**: While attempting to access the drive, you may receive error messages like "I/O error" or "Drive not formatted." 5. **Performance Degradation**: The drive's read/write speed significantly decreases, or file transfers get interrupted. 6. **Power Issues**: The hard drive fails to start properly or works intermittently, even when connected to a power source. If you experience these issues, your external hard drive might be physically damaged. In such cases, it's advisable to consult a professional data recovery service, as they have specialized tools and techniques for diagnosing and resolving the problem. Avoid using the drive further to prevent potential additional damage before attempting any actions.

When a hard drive experiences physical damage, there are specific signs that you might notice, such as:

    • Unusual sounds
    • Slower computer performance
    • Inability to boot the operating system
    • Black screen issues
    • Frequent system crashes
    • Files taking multiple attempts to open

**3. How can I check if my hard drive is in good condition?** To assess the health of your hard drive, follow these steps: 1. **Use built-in operating system tools:** - **Windows:** Open "Disk Management" to view the drive's status. You can also use the "Event Viewer" to search for disk errors. - **macOS:** Go to "About This Mac" > "System Report," and under the "Hardware" category, select "Disks" to see information and warnings. - **Linux:** Run the `smartctl` command (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) to check the drive's status. 2. **Utilize third-party software:** - Download free or paid disk utility tools such as CrystalDiskInfo (Windows), Disk Utility (macOS), or GSmartControl (cross-platform). These tools display the drive's SMART data, which can indicate its health. 3. **Regularly perform disk checks:** - On Windows, use the `chkdsk` command to check and repair disk errors. - macOS and Linux have similar disk repair utilities. 4. **Monitor drive noise and performance:** - Unusual sounds like clicking or buzzing could be signs of a failing hard drive. - Slower boot times or decreased file read/write speeds might also indicate a problem with the drive. Remember that a drive can fail even if it appears to be working fine. Regularly backing up important data is the best strategy to prevent data loss.

You can check the health of your hard drive using CMD. Here's how: 1. First, press the 'Windows' key and 'R' key together to open the "Run" dialog box. 2. In the "Run" box, type "cmd" and hit 'Enter' to open the Command Prompt. 3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press 'Enter': ``` chkdsk /f /r ``` This command checks for disk errors and attempts to fix them. The '/f' flag is for fixing errors, while '/r' looks for and repairs bad sectors. 4. The system might ask you to choose a time to run this check since chkdsk typically needs to run when no other programs are accessing the hard drive. You can opt to run it after a restart or proceed immediately if you don't have any critical tasks running on your computer. 5. The process may take some time depending on the size of your hard drive. Be patient and wait until it finishes. 6. Once done, chkdsk will display information about your hard drive's status. If there are any errors, it will list them and attempt to rectify them. Keep in mind that while chkdsk is a useful tool, it might not detect all types of hard drive issues. For a more comprehensive hard drive health check, you might need specialized hard drive diagnostic software.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R, then type "cmd" in the Run window that appears, and press "Enter."

Step 2: Type wmic in the Command Prompt, and press Enter.

Step 3: Finally, type "diskdrive get status", and press "Enter" again.

Step 4. The command prompt will display the status of all hard drives:

    < li > OK means the hard drive is operating normally. < /li > < li > Pred Fail indicates that the hard drive may fail soon. < /li >

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