How to Run a Hard Drive Speed Test on Windows 10/11 – Step-by-Step Guide

Updated by

Tracy King 

Written by

Sherly 

Last updated on May 10, 2024

The write and read speed of an external hard drive can greatly impact the performance of your electronic devices, so you might need to test its write/read speed to see if you need a new one. You can learn how to run an external hard drive speed test on Windows right here:

Especially as an experienced gamer, you should pay attention to the speed of your PS4/PS5/Xbox One external hard drive, as the speed will directly affect your gaming experience. Let's dive in.

Run an external hard drive speed test using a professional speed testing tool - Detailed data

AOMEI Partition Assistant Free is a professional external hard drive speed test tool for Windows operating system. It can display all detailed information related to the speed of your external hard drive, such as sequential read/write, random read/write, I/O, latency, etc. Please refer to the table below for more information:

• Supported Systems: Windows 11/10/8/7, as well as Windows Vista/XP
• Target Users: Beginners and experienced users
• User Interface: Intuitive
• Difficulty Level: Easy (simple click operations)

Here's how to test the speed of an external hard drive:

Step 1. Launch Partition Master. Then click the Download button to activate the “DiskMark” feature under the “Discovery” section.

Step 2: Select the target drive, test data, and block size from the drop-down menus.

Step 3: Once all settings are configured, click on the “Start” button to begin the disk benchmarking process. You will then see metrics such as sequential or random read/write speeds, IOPS, and latency.

You can learn more about the features of Partition Master tool from the following list:

• Run PS5 Speed Test
• Run SD Card Speed Test
• Test SSD Write Speed
• Check SMART Status on Windows
• Check SSD Health on Windows 10/11
• Check SSD Temperature on Windows 10

Its “Disk Benchmark” and “Disk Health” features will help you take better care of your (external) hard drive. Plus, you can check its health status and get detailed transfer speeds anytime. Download it and give it a try!

Running an External Hard Drive Speed Test Through Task Manager - Limited Data

You can also test the target external hard drive speed via Task Manager, but Task Manager only provides limited basic data. If you want to get detailed information about HDD benchmark, you can still turn to Partition Master.

See how to test an external hard drive's speed with Task Manager:

Step 1: Search for “Task Manager” in the Windows search box.

Step 2. Click on it to launch it, and then choose the “Performance” option.

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Step 3: Select your external hard drive from the left-hand panel.

As you can see, Task Manager shows limited information, so don't hesitate to use the Partition Master tool. By the way, if the test result is not satisfactory, you can click on the link below to solve the problem:

Conclusion

The speed of your external hard drive can have a big impact on your computer's performance. In this article, you'll learn about two tools you can use to test the speed of your external hard drive. If you're curious about how fast yours is, try these tests and use the above methods to speed it up.

Tools like Partition Master can provide you with more detailed and accurate read and write speed data. Additionally, it can effectively monitor the health of your hard drive, thereby preventing data loss or even financial losses due to hard drive failures.

Frequently Asked Questions About External Hard Drive Speed Tests

This section lists three questions and their answers. If you encounter similar issues, refer to the solutions provided below.

You can use professional disk speed testing tools, such as Partition Master. Here are the steps:

Step 1. Download and launch Partition Master. Go to the “Explore” section.

Step 2: Click “Disk Label” and select the target hard drive.

Step 3: Select your “Test Data” and “Block Size.” Then click “Start.”

< strong > 2. How can I check my external SSD speed?

"Partition Master" can provide you with detailed speed data. Here's how to do it:

Step 1. Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard and click “Explore”.

Step 2: Click on the “Disk Benchmark” feature, then select your external SSD drive. Choose your “Test Data” and “Block Size.”

Step 3: Finally, click “Start”.

3. How do I test the speed of an external hard drive on a Mac?

You can use the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test on your Mac to check this. Here's how:

Step 1: Launch Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, and click the “Settings” button to select the target drive.

Step 2: Click on "Start," and you'll see your reading and writing speed in detail.