How to Test Western Digital Hard Drive Speed [Complete Guide for 2024]

Updated by

Sherly 

Written by

Cici 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

Western Digital hard drives are popular among users for their quality and performance. This page will offer you two methods to test and boost the speed of your Western Digital hard drive.

Before we delve into the step-by-step guide, it's essential to understand the need for testing the speed of your Western Digital hard drive.

Here are the tools you can use to test the speed of your Western Digital hard drive:

Why Benchmark Western Digital Hard Drive?

A Western Digital hard drive can have a capacity of up to 4TB and a maximum sequential read speed of 560 MB/s and sequential write speed of 530 MB/s. When the read and write speeds of the hard drive fall below these standards, it can affect your computer's performance. There are two main reasons for running a Western Digital hard drive benchmark:

• Ensure drives function properly and run faster
• Detect and fix hard drive issues

It is necessary to test the speed of your Western Digital hard drive. By performing an HDD benchmark, you can also check if the new hard drive you bought reaches the standard speed.

How to Test the Speed of a Western Digital Hard Drive

This section will introduce two reliable and professional speed testing tools to check the speed of your Western Digital hard drive. A simple comparison is provided so that you can choose the appropriate method based on your needs.

Now that you have a baseline, you can proceed with the step-by-step guide below to test the speed of your WD drive.

Method 1: Test WD Hard Drive Speed with Partition Master Step 1: Download and Install Partition Master First, visit the official website of Partition Master to download the version suitable for your operating system (Windows or Mac). After downloading, double-click the installation file and follow the on-screen instructions to install it. Step 2: Run Partition Master Once installed, launch Partition Master. The main interface will display all connected hard drives and partitions on your computer. Step 3: Select the Hard Drive for Testing In the program interface, locate your WD hard drive and click on it to select it. Make sure you choose the correct drive you wish to test. Step 4: Start the Speed Test Click on the "Hard Disk Tools" option in the toolbar, then choose "Hard Disk Speed Test." Partition Master will begin testing the read and write speeds of the selected hard drive. Step 5: View the Test Results Wait for the test to complete. Partition Master will display the read and write speeds of the hard drive. You can use this information to evaluate the performance of the drive. Please note that hard drive speed can be influenced by various factors, including hardware configuration, system load, and the condition of the hard drive itself. If the speed is lower than expected, you may need to check the drive settings or consider upgrading your hardware.

AOMEI Partition Assistant provides a "DiskMark" feature that allows you to easily obtain your hard drive's sequential and random read and write speed, as well as its I/O and latency rates with just a few clicks.

Here are the steps to run the Western Digital hard drive speed test using the Partition Master tool:

Step 1. Launch Partition Master. Click the Download button to activate the "DiskMark" feature in the "Discovery" section.

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

Select a disk to test.

Step 3: Once all settings are configured, click “Start” to run the disk benchmark. You'll then see readings for sequential and random read/write speeds, I/O, and latency.

If needed, you can click “Save this report” in the bottom left to export the data and analyze any anomalies.

Furthermore, with this powerful tool, you can also check your hard drive's health and manage your computer more efficiently. If you have further needs, please click the button below:

Method 2: Test Your WD Drive Speed with Task Manager

The Task Manager is a Windows tool you can use to test read and write speeds, though its results are fairly basic. If you want to view live data, follow these steps to test the speed of your Western Digital hard drive:

Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar at the bottom, and then select “Task Manager” from the pop-up menu.

Step 2: From the menu at the top of the new window, choose “Performance.”

Step 3. Select the target drive and view the speed data.

Additionally, Western Digital provides its own hard drive diagnostic tool - Data LifeGuard Diagnostics (DLGDIAG). This will identify, diagnose, and repair Western Digital hard drives, but it won't test the drive's speed. To do that, use one of the two methods above.

How to Improve the Speed of a Western Digital Hard Drive

The above two methods can be used to test the speed of a Western Digital hard drive. If it's running slow, it could be due to bad sectors or insufficient disk space. Here are some quick ways to speed up your Western Digital hard drive:

• Free up disk space: Clean up some unnecessary files and programs.
• Update programs: Run the latest Windows updates.
• Disk Defragmentation: Reduce the time it takes to read fragmented files.
• Enlarge partition: Extend partition or clone all data to a new hard drive.
• Fix bad sectors: If there are a few bad sectors, you can use a disk surface test to remove them.

"Partition Master is an excellent tool to use for increasing hard drive speed. Give it a try if you haven't downloaded it yet!"

Conclusions

Do you know how to test the speed of a Western Digital hard drive? This article shares two methods to boost the speed of your Western Digital hard drive.

If you want to have better control over your disks, Partition Master is the tool for you. It will help you check your hard drive's speed and health and boost data performance.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Test the Speed of a Western Digital Hard Drive

This article offers a detailed guide on how to test the speed of a Western Digital hard drive. It also includes a FAQ section that might be of assistance.

**1. How do I test my Western Digital hard drive?** To test your Western Digital hard drive, follow these steps: 1. **Using built-in Windows tools:** - Open "My Computer" or "File Explorer," and locate your WD hard drive. - Right-click the drive icon, and select "Properties." - In the pop-up window, click on the "Tools" tab, then hit the "Check" button. The system will scan and fix any errors. 2. **Using WD Drive Utilities software** (for WD drives): - Visit the Western Digital official website to download and install the "WD Drive Utilities" software. - Run the utility, which will provide a health check and various diagnostic tests for your drive. - Follow the software's instructions and choose the "Hard Drive Self-Test" or a similar option. 3. **SMART monitoring:** - Use a third-party disk monitoring tool like CrystalDiskInfo, which reads the SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) data of your hard drive to assess its health. - Install and run the software; it will display the drive's status and any potential issues. 4. **Creating and running a hard drive clone:** - Employ backup and cloning tools like Acronis True Image or Todo Backup to create an image of your hard drive. - If the cloning process is successful, this typically indicates that the drive has no significant issues. Make sure your hard drive is connected to your computer and powered on while performing these tests. If you encounter any issues during testing, consider contacting Western Digital's customer support for further assistance and guidance.

This article provides two methods to test the speed of your Western Digital hard drive. You can use Partition Master for a speed and health check, or use cmd for data testing. If you want to check the health of your Western Digital drive, you can also use their tool: WD Data LifeGuard Diagnostics.

Step 1. Download the WD DLGDIAG for Windows support.

Step 2: Right-click on the drive and select "Run diagnostics."

Step 3: Select “Quick Test” and click “Start.” When the pop-up window appears, click “OK.”

Step 4: If desired, select “Extended Test” to check for bad sectors. Select “Erase” to wipe the drive.

2. What is the speed of the Western Digital hard drive?

WD's drives manage up to 560MB/s sequential reads and 530MB/s sequential writes.

3. Why is my WD hard drive so slow?

There are several reasons why your Western Digital hard drive might be running slow.

• Excessive fragmentation on the disk.
• Lack of free space on the hard drive.
• Bad sectors on the disk.
• The disk is infected with malware.

You can use tools like Partition Master to solve this issue and speed up your hard drive.