2024-12-22

hard drive diagnostic software

Top 6 Free Hard Drive Diagnostic Softwares

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM06 mins

Free hard drive diagnostic software There are many free hard drive diagnostic softwares available to help you determine what, if anything, is wrong when you suspect there may be a problem with a hard drive.

Some of these diagnostics tools may be built in to your operating system already while others are available from hard drive manufacturers.

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

  • SeaTools for DOS supports Seagate or Maxtor drives and runs independent from your operating system on its own CD or disk, making it highly reliable.
  • SeaTools for Windows is a program that installs on your Windows system. You can do basic and advanced testing of any kind of drive – internal or external – from any manufacturer.

Note: You do not need to own a Seagate or Maxtor hard drive to use SeaTools.

2. Hitachi Drive Fitness Test
Hitachi Drive Fitness Test is free hard drive diagnostic software available for use on most drives available today.

The Hitachi Drive Fitness Test software is available as an ISO file which can be burned to a CD and then used to boot the computer.

Note: You do not need to own a Hitachi hard drive to use Drive Fitness Test (DFT).

3. Microsoft Windows Built-In Error Checking
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.

This tool can also attempt to correct a number of hard drive problems.

4. Samsung HUTIL
Samsung HUTIL is a free hard drive diagnostic utility for Samsung hard drives. HUTIL is sometimes called ES-Tool.

Samsung’s HUTIL tool is available as an ISO image for burning to a CD. This 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 a bootable floppy disk.

Note: HUTIL will only test Samsung hard drives. HUTIL will load and find your non-Samsung drive you will not be able to run any diagnostics on the drive.

5. Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic
Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic is free hard drive diagnostic software designed for Western Digital branded hard drives only.

The Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic software is available in a bootable, ISO format and allows for a number of hard drive tests. See the installation instructions from Western Digital in the link below for details.

Note: Data Lifeguard Diagnostic will also run diagnostics on hard drives from other manufacturers but the primary drive in the computer must be a Western Digital drive.

6. Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool
Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool is a free hard drive testing tool designed for Fujitsu hard drives.

The Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool (FJDT) is available in both a Windows version and an operating system independent, bootable DOS version. Unfortunately, the bootable version is designed for floppy disks – a CD image is not available.

Two tests are available with Fujitsu Diagnostic Tool, a “Quick Test” (about 3 minutes) and a “Comprehensive Test” (time will vary based on hard drive size).

Note: 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.

Important: Replace your hard drive if it fails any of your tests.

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Hard drive diagnostic software: WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostics CD/Floppy Disk

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM04 mins

Data Lifeguard Diagnostics CD/Floppy disk

The Data Lifeguard Diagnostic softwares are used primarily for determining the physical condition of your hard drive. If you are having computer problems which you suspect are hard drive related, you can test your drive with this software. This diagnostic software is designed for hard drives larger than 8.4 GB with the model number starting with WDxxx.

Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for DOS (CD)

  • Version: Version 5.04f
  • Publish Date: Oct, 2008
  • Supported OS: Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP/Vista

Data Lifeguard Diagnostic download

Data Lifeguard Diagnostic Options:

  • SELECT DRIVE – Always choose this option first, as it determines which drive you will be working on.
  • QUICK TEST – This option tests your drive quickly for any major physical problems. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
  • EXTENDED TEST – This option checks your drive thoroughly and it can repair any correctable errors. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, some data loss may occur, depending on the errors found and the errors corrected. Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
  • WRITE ZEROS TO DRIVE – The Write Zeros option, wipes any and all data off your drive. This option used when your data is no longer usable or recoverable. If you no longer need any data from your drive and would like to start over, run this option to set your drive to an as new condition. NOTE: Please make sure that you have selected the correct drive to perform this function on as once ran, no data will be recoverable.
  • VIEW TEST RESULTS – You can see the results of the test you just performed
  • PRINT TEST RESULTS – Test results can be printed with this option. USB printers are not supported
  • LOG FILE OPEN/CLOSE – You can access the log file which is generated automatically
  • ENTER AND PRINT RMA INFORMATION – Information pertaining to each drive tested can be customized and printed with this option.
  • HELP – Brief descriptions of each option in addition to explanations of error codes are available in this option.
  • QUIT – Reboot your system once you have completed the selected tasks
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FreeAgent Pro Tools Utilities – Performing Drive Diagnostics

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM02 mins

How to check the health of my FreeAgent drive?

FreeAgent You should run a diagnostic on your drive regularly as part of general maintenance. A health check determines hard disk integrity and can help troubleshoot potential problems with disk surface, partitioning, and drive recognition. To run a drive diagnostic:

  1. Close all open files located on the FreeAgent drive.
  2. Open the Seagate FreeAgent Tools application. Click Utilities in the Command panel.
  3. The Utilities window opens. Click Run Drive Diagnostics.
  4. The Run Drive Diagnostics window opens. Click Test to begin the drive diagnostic. The diagnostic utility performs its tests without affecting the data on your drive and takes only a short time to complete. When the test is complete, the Utilities window displays the results. If the drive encounters an error during testing, the window displays an error code with instructions to contact Seagate for service and support.
  5. Click OK to return to the Utilities window

Flash Videos: FreeAgent Pro Tools Utilities – Performing Drive Diagnostics

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Free Hard Disk Drive Diagnostic Utility For Samsung Hard Drive

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM010 mins

Samsung Free Hdd Diagnostic Tool Note: The following free hard disk drive utilities and diagnostic tools are only for Samsung Hard Disk Drives. Using any of these utilities on a hard disk drive that was not manufactured by Samsung will have adverse effects on that hard disk drive.

Hardware Utilities

Disk Manager provides support for Dynamic Drive Overlay, which will allow older BIOSes to support large-capacity hard drives. Disk Manager can also partition the drive. (Note: Registration information needed for downloading)

  • Disk Manager for FDD
  • Disk Manager for CD Rom

Hardware Diagnostics

There are three utilities depending on the model of your hard disk drive for diagnosing hardware problems and performing low-level formats:

SHDIAG is a hardware diagnostic for older Samsung hard drives. Backing up data before using SHDIAG is strongly advised.

Hard Disk Drive Series

Model Number

Spinpoint V20400

SV4084D, SV3063D, SV2042D, SV1021D, SV0761D

Spinpoint V15300

V3064D, SV2043D, SV1532D, SV0761D

Spinpoint V10200

SV2044D, SV1533D, SV1022D, SV0511D

Spinpoint V9100

SV1824D, SV1363D, SV0842D, SV0431D

Other Older Models

SV2046D, SV1705D, SV1364D, SV1023D, SV0682D, SP1828D, SP1366D, SP0914D, SV1296D, SV0844D, SV0643D, SV0432D

HUTIL is made with the aim of testing a Samsung hard disk drive while it is installed inside a PC, regardless of the status of user’s operating system. It is a good idea to test drive that is having problems with HUTIL to see if it is truly defective to avoid possible unnecessary troubleshooting or factory service. HUTIL includes EraseHDD, a utility that will perform a low-level format including the partition table and Master Boot Record.

Hard Disk Drive Series

Model Number

SpinPoint F1

HD161GJ, HD162GJ, HD251HJ, HD252HJ, HD322HJ, HD501IJ, HD502IJ, HD752LJ, HD753LJ, HD102UJ, HD103UJ

SpinPoint F1 CE

HA251HJ, HA321HJ, HA501IJ, HA751LJ, HA101UJ

SpinPoint F1 RAID

HE322HJ, HE502IJ, HE753LJ, HE103UJ

SpinPoint S250

HD162HJ, HD200HJ, HD250HJ

SpinPoint S250 CE

HA250HJ, HA161HJ

SpinPoint N2

HS030GB, HS031GA, HS040HB, HS041HA, HS04THB, HS060HB, HS061HA, HS06THB, HS080HA, HS080HB, HS081HA, HS082HB, HS10TJB, HS120JB, HS122JB

SpinPoint N1

HS122JC, HS08XJC, HS10XJC/M

SpinPoint M5

HM201JI, HM250JI, HM061GI, HM080GI, HM121HI, HM160HI, HM160HC, HM121HC, HM080GC, HM061GC

SpinPoint MH80S

HM08HHI, HM12HII, HM16HJI

SpinPoint S166

HD041GJ, HD081GJ, HD042GJ, HD082GJ, HD120HJ, HD161HJ

SpinPoint T166

HD251KJ, HD252KJ, HD320KJ, HD321KJ, HD402LJ, HD403LJ , HD500LJ, HD501LJ, HD080GJ, HD160HJ, HD300JJ, HD301JJ, HD320JJ, HD321JJ

SpinPoint T133

HD250KD, HD250KJ, HD300LD, HD300LJ, HD301LJ, HD320LD, HD320LJ, HD321LJ, HD400LD, HD400LJ, HD401LJ

SpinPoint P80SDH

HD121IJ, HD161JJ

SpinPoint P80SD

HD040GJ, HD080HJ, HD120IJ, HD160JJ

SpinPoint M80

HM040GI, HM040GC, HM061HC, HM062HI, HM080HI, HM080HC, HM100II, HM100IC, HM120II, HM120IC, HM160JI, HM160JC

SpinPoint M60

HM020GC,HM021GI, HM030GI, HM030GC, HM040HC, HM041HI, HM042HI, HM060HI, HM060HC, HM061HI, HM080II, HM080IC, HM081II, HM100JI, HM100JC, HM101JI, HM120JI, HM120JC, HM121JI

SpinPoint P80VEM

SP0451N, SP0842N

SpinPoint P80VEA

SP0822N

SpinPoint P80M

SP1243N, SP1253N, SP1644N, SP1654N

SpinPoint P80A

SP0431N, SP0441N, SP0832N, SP1223N, SP1233N, SP1624N, SP1634N

SpinPoint P120

SP2014N, SP2514N, SP2004C, SP2504C

SpinPoint V120

HA250JC, HA200JC, SP2504N, SP2004N, SP1603N, SP1613N, SP1202N, SP1212N, SP1603C

SpinPoint M40

MP0302H, MP0402H, MP0603H, MP0804H,HM040HI, HM060II, HM080JI

SpinPoint P80

SP0211N, SP0401N, SP0612N, SP0802N, SP0812N,SP1203N, SP1213N, SP1604N, SP1614N, SP0812C,SP1213C, SP1614C, SP0822N

SpinPoint V80

SV0401N, SV0802N, SV1203N, SV1604N, SV0211N, SV0612N, SV0802E, SV1203E, SV1604E

SpinPoint VL40

SV0211H, SV0311H, SV0401H, SV0411N, SV0211N

SpinPoint PL40

SP0411N, SP0211N, SP0311N, SP0411C

SpinPoint V60

SV1204H, SV0813H, SV0602H, SV0301H

SpinPoint P40

SP8004H, SP6003H, SP4002H, SP2001H, SP80A4H, SP60A3H, SP40A2H, SP20A1H

SpinPoint V40

SV8004H, SV6003H, SV4002H, SV2001H, SV8014H, SV6014H, SV6013H, SV4012H, SV3012H, SV2011H

SpinPoint V30

SV6004H, SV4003H, SV3002H, SV2002H, SV0802H

SpinPoint P20

SP4004H, SP3003H, SP2002H, SP1001H

SpinPoint V20400

SV4084H, SV3063H, SV2042H, SV1021H, SV0761H

  • HUTIL for FDD       
  • HUTIL for CD Rom

SUTIL is a utility for older Samsung hard drives that will format them and reset their DMA Modes.

Hard Disk Drive Series

Model Number

Spinpoint V20400

SV4084D, SV3063D, SV2042D, SV1021D, SV0761D

Spinpoint V15300

V3064D, SV2043D, SV1532D, SV0761D

Spinpoint V10200

SV2044D, SV1533D, SV1022D, SV0511D

Spinpoint V9100

SV1824D, SV1363D, SV0842D, SV0431D

Other Older Models

SV2046D, SV1705D, SV1364D, SV1023D, SV0682D, SP1828D, SP1366D, SP0914D, SV1296D, SV0844D, SV0643D, SV0432D

  • SUTIL for FDD

Data Advisor®

Data Advisor is a free hard disk drive diagnostic utility available from http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/. Data Advisor quickly assesses the health of your hard disk drive, file structures, and computer memory by identifying problems that could cause data loss. Don’t worry if you can’t boot your system to Windows; Data Advisor is self-booting, so it runs even when your system won’t.

Note: Ontrack DataRecovery is not associated with Samsung, Inc.

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Low-level Hard Drive Diagnostics Freeware: MHDD

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM03 mins

MHDD is the most popular freeware application for low-level HDD diagnostics.

MHDD Interfaces Supported:
MHDD supports these interfaces: IDE, Serial ATA, SCSI. Also there is a possibility to access an USB storage, there are drivers for emulation (USB->SCSI).

What can MHDD do?
This software can make precise diagnostic of the mechanical part of a drive, view SMART attributes, perform Low-level format, bad sector repair, different tests and tens of other functions.

Platform:

· Intel Pentium or higher CPU
· 4 megabytes of RAM
· DR-DOS, MSDOS version 6.22 and higher
· Any boot device (USB, CDROM, FDD, HDD)
· A keyboard

IDE/SATA Controllers:

· Any integrated into motherboard north bridge (addresses: 0x1Fx for primary channel, 0x17x for secondary channel)
· PCI UDMA boards (detected automatically): HPT, Silicon Image, Promise, ITE, ATI and so on. Even some RAID boards are supported. In this case MHDD works with each physical drive separately
· UDMA/RAID controllers integrated into motherboard as additional chip

Hard disk drives:

· Any IDE or Serial-ATA drive with size bigger than 600Mbytes, in other words, LBA mode is supported in full.
· Any IDE or Serial-ATA drive with size lower than 8388607 TBytes, in other words, LBA48 mode is supported in full
· Any SCSI drive with sector size 512-528 bytes
· Any SCSI removable media such as tape, CDROM. Maximum sector size for such devices is 4096 bytes

What’s New in MHDD v4.6?

· Fixed rare hangs when working with slave device
· Fixed TOF/ATOF problem with determining maximum file size when operating with SCSI devices
· Fixed displaying firmware version instead of serial number in SMART ATT
· Added PCI device ITE 8211 PCI IDE
· Added PCI device VIA VT6421 IDE RAID
· Fixed several issues with some modern BIOSes
· Jumps while scanning now logged properly
· Resets (“R” key) while scanning now logged properly
· ASPI drivers now have latest versions

Related Links:

· MHDD FAQ
· MHDD Documentation
· Change log
· Magic Boot Disk with MHDD

MHDD Free Download:
MHDD 4.5 (older version, but includes ATA/SCSI Terminal)
· MHDD 4.5, self-extracting floppy image
· MHDD 4.5, CDROM iso-image
· MHDD 4.5, just-an-archive (MS-DOS executables only, no SCSI support)
· MHDD 4.6

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Hard drive diagnostic software:Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostics

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM05 mins

Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic is free hard drive testing software designed for Western Digital branded hard drives. Data Lifeguard Diagnostic will also run diagnostics on hard drives from other manufacturers as long as the primary drive is Western Digital.

The Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic software installs on Windows operating systems and allows for a number of hard drive tests. See the installation instructions from Western Digital in the link below for details.

Download: Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostics

How to test a drive for problems using Windows Data Lifeguard Diagnostics?

How can you use Windows Data Lifeguard Diagnostics to do the following:

  • Perform a quick test on a drive for problems
  • Get the serial number of a drive
  • Write zeros to a drive
  • Peform a full media scan on the drive for bad sectors

The Windows version of the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics utility can perform drive identification, diagnostics, and repairs on a Western Digital FireWire, EIDE, Serial ATA, and USB drive. In addition, it can provide you with the drive’s serial and model numbers.

To use the utility:

  1. Download Windows Data Lifeguard Diagnostics. You may need to extract this using an extraction utiltiy such as WinZip.
  2. Run the program, windlg.exe. If you’re running this under Windows Vista, you will need to Right-click on the windlg.exe file and select Run As Administrator.
  3. Read and accept the license agreement to continue.
  4. On the main program screen, there are two windows. In the top window, you will see the drives in your system that are available for testing. The model number, serial number, and capacity of each drive will be displayed. In the bottom window, the partition information for the selected drive will be displayed.
  5. Double-click the drive to be tested in the top window.
  6. The DLGDIAG – Select an Option window appears.
  7. You will see the following options:

    QUICK TEST – performs SMART drive quick self-test to gather and verify the Data Lifeguard information contained on the drive.

    EXTENDED TEST – performs a Full Media Scan to detect bad sectors. Test may take several hours to complete depending on the size of the drive.

    WRITE ZEROS – writes zeros to the drive with options of Full Erase and Quick Erase. File system and data will be lost.

    VIEW TEST RESULT – displays the latest test results.

  8. Select the test you wish to perform and click the Start button.
  9. When the test completes, you will be notified. Click the Close button.
  10. A web page will display the test results for the drive.

Note: Windows Data Lifeguard Diagnostics will test internal hard drives contained within a WD My Book Premium II and WD My Book Pro Edition II storage system. The RAID Array on these units does not need to be broken in order to test the internal drives. The only feature that will not be available with the diagnostics is the SMART data. The diagnostics will not read SMART data from the drives.

Related Links:

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Hard drive diagnostic software:Windows Error Checking

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 mins

1. Microsoft Windows Built-In Error Checking
Error Checking, sometimes referred to as chkdsk, is a hard drive diagnostic tool that comes with Microsoft Windows that can scan your hard drive in search of a wide range of errors. This tool can also attempt to correct a number of hard drive problems.

2. How To Scan Your Hard Drive Using Error Checking
Scanning your hard drive using Error Checking can help diagnose and even correct a wide range of hard drive errors. Error Checking replaces older Windows hard drive diagnostics such as “scandisk” and “chkdsk“.

Here’s How:
1. Open My Computer by double-clicking on the icon on the desktop.
2. Right-click on the drive letter that you wish to check for errors (usually C:) and click on the Properties menu item.
3. Choose the “Tools” tab and click on the Check Now… button.
4. Two options are available in the next window:

  • Automatically fix file system errors will correct many file system errors detected. This is highly recommended.
  • Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors will perform a search for areas of the hard drive that may be damaged or unusable. If found, this tool will mark those areas as “bad” and prevent your computer from using them in the future. This is a very useful feature but may extend the scan time as much as a few hours.

5. Click Start.
6. Allow the Error Checking program to run its course until complete.
7. Restart the PC if prompted to do so.

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Hard drive diagnostic software：Seagate Seatools

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM08 mins

Seagate creates two free hard drive diagnostic softwares – SeaTools for DOS and SeaTools for Windows. Both diagnostic tools are excellent.

1. SeaTools for Windows
SeaTools for Windows has replaced SeaTools Online and PowerMax. SeaTools for Windows is a comprehensive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that helps you quickly determine the condition of the disc drive in your external hard drive, desktop or notebook computer. It includes several tests that will examine the physical media on your Seagate or Maxtor disc drive and any other non-Seagate disc drive.

SeaTools for Windows tests USB, 1394, ATA (PATA/IDE), SATA and SCSI drives. It installs onto your system. SeaTools for Windows is completely data safe.

User Guide about SeaTools for Windows.
Download SeaTools for Windows

2. SeaTools for DOS
SeaTools for DOS has replaced SeaTools Desktop and PowerMax. SeaTools for DOS can test Seagate or Maxtor Parallel ATA (PATA and IDE) and Serial ATA (SATA) interface disc drives. Because the software boots to its own operating system you can test your drive regardless of the OS installed on it.  You can even test a new or completely blank drive.  SeaTools for DOS will instruct the drive to run its built in Drive Self Test (DST) and give either a pass or fail status.  If you are troubleshooting your disc drive and the DST passes, then you have a good drive!

User Guide about SeaTools for DOS.
See the tutorial on the usage of SeaTools for DOS.
Download SeaTools for DOS

Pros
• Two versions are available depending on needs
• Both versions are easy to use once installed and are completely FREE
• SeaTools for Windows tests hard drives no matter the manufacturer
• SeaTools for DOS contains a highly useful “acoustic test” for noise troubleshooting
• SeaTools for DOS is OS independent so it’s automatically compatible with ALL operating systems

Cons
•  SeaTools for DOS requires ISO image burner software that novice users may have difficulty using
•  SeaTools for DOS handles a maximum of only 100 errors, at which point testing has to begin again

Description
• Seagate SeaTools is available in both a Windows version and a stand-alone, bootable version for maximum flexibility.
• Tests in both SeaTools versions are easy to understand and run.
• SeaTools for Windows can test all types of internal drives including SCSI, PATA, SATA, etc.
• SeaTools for Windows can also test external drives like those based on the USB or FireWire standards.
•SeaTools for DOS features an Acoustic Test to help you determine if a noise is from your hard drive or another component.

3. Guide Review – Seagate SeaTools
Seagate’s SeaTools hard drive testing programs are some of the easiest to use of any I’ve ever worked with. The test are basic, easy to run, and generally pretty fast in my tests.

The SeaTools hard drive testing software comes in two different versions. SeaTools for Windows runs on Windows 2000, XP or Vista. SeaTools for DOS runs outside of the operating system so the tool will work on your PC no matter what OS you use.

SeaTools for Windows can perform several basic tests that can help determine the health of your hard drive. Your available hard drives and tests are easy to see when the program opens and can be ran with just a few clicks of the mouse.

You can test hard drives from any manufacturer and of any type, including PATA, SATA, and SCSI internal drives along with USB and FireWire external drives. To begin, simply download the software from Seagate’s site and install in Windows.

SeaTools for DOS can also perform the several basic tests that SeaTools fro Windows can run but it can also run a very useful Acoustic Test. This test can really save you a lot of time during the troubleshooting of a noisy internal component. It will spin the drive down until it’s completely idle, making the drive nearly silent. If you no longer hear the strange noise, the hard drive was the culprit!

With SeaTools for DOS, you can only test hard drives from Seagate and Maxtor. To begin, download either the Floppy Diskette Creator to make a bootable floppy disk (this is the easier option) or the ISO CD-ROM Image to burn to a CD. If you need help burning the CD, check out How to Burn an ISO Image File to a CD or DVD.

So if you’re comfortable burning ISO images and you want a slightly more powerful test, use SeaTools for DOS. If you’re more of a novice or you just want a quick and basic hard drive test, give SeaTools for Windows a try.

Both softwares are completely free and I highly recommend them. If you suspect that your hard drive may be failing, one or both of these tools from Seagate will help you determine what’s wrong.

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