Find out the status of the hard drive using the CrystalDiskInfo utility

A hard drive is a complex mechanical device, which, unfortunately, is very fragile. Since users’ hard drives store almost their entire life, it is very important to monitor the condition of the hard drive to prevent it from breaking. In order to monitor the status of the hard drive, the CrystalDiskInfo program was developed.

CrystalDiskInfo is a completely free, open-source program that uses SMART technology in its work. The essence of this technology is that it allows not only to determine the current state of the hard drive, but also to predict the occurrence of possible problems.

Using CrystalDiskInfo

1. Download the CrystalDiskInfo program from the link at the end of the article from the official website of the developer. Run the downloaded installation file and install this tool on your computer.
   
   
2. After launching the program, CrystalDiskInfo will immediately determine the general condition of the hard drive and also display indicators for individual parameters. In our example, you can see that the condition of the hard drive is rated as good, which indicates that it is working properly.
   
   
   
   
   If the program has detected problems with the hard drive, you will see an orange status "Anxiety", which will indicate that the disk is experiencing problems.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Below in the program you can see the values ​​for all tested parameters, as well as for which parameters problems were detected (if any). To the right of the attribute is a parameter "Current", which displays the value recorded immediately after the test. "Worst" shows the worst result recorded since the utility was run, "Threshold" indicates the value at which the attribute would be considered problematic. If the Threshold value is lower than the Worst value, then everything is fine. If they are equal or, God forbid, the “Threshold” is higher, the hard drive does not work correctly.
   
   
   
   
   
4. The main idea of ​​the program is that it will monitor the viability of the hard drive, promptly identifying its sore spots - and that is why it is recommended to place the program in startup so that it constantly functions in the background. To do this, click on the tab "Service" and check the boxes next to the items "Agent Launch" и "Autostart".
   
   
   
   
   
5. After this, if the program detects problems, you will hear a characteristic sound notification. However, you can also reconfigure the problem notification, for example, by configuring the program so that a report is sent to your email. You can configure notification settings in the menu “Service” – “Notification Features”.
   
   
   
   
   
6. By default, the program updates data once every 10 minutes, but, if necessary, the update frequency can be reduced or, conversely, increased. To do this, click on the tab "Service" and go to the section "Update frequency".
   
   
   
   
   
7. If your computer uses multiple hard drives, switch between them on the "Disk".
   

Advantages of CrystalDiskInfo:

• Completely free program;
  
  
• There is support for the Russian language;
  
  
• SMART technology, which allows you to predict possible problems with your hard drive.
  

Disadvantages of CrystalDiskInfo:

Not found. CrystalDiskInfo is a purely informative utility that only suggests what you need to pay special attention to, but does not solve the problem in any way, as many users believe. Once you understand what's wrong with your hard drive, you can quickly move on to action: fixing the problem or backing up information in preparation for the imminent failure of the hard drive.

Download CrystalDiskInfo for free

Download the latest version of the program from the official website http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html