当您得到一个全新的硬盘驱动器或您怀疑您当前的硬盘驱动器有问题时，您应该检查错误(check for errors)。检测各种内部错误的最佳方法是使用免费的硬盘测试软件。不必担心为高级诊断工具(diagnostic tools)付费，因为所有硬盘制造商都有自己的。
在本文中，我们将检查最好的免费硬盘测试程序。但是，在开始使用任何第三方软件之前，最好使用 Microsoft 的chkdsk 工具(chkdsk tool)。对于大多数硬盘驱动器问题，它足够可靠，并且每个Windows系统都默认安装了它。
1.西部数据仪表盘(Western Digital Dashboard)
Western Digital Dashboard替换了已弃用的Data Lifeguard 诊断(Data Lifeguard Diagnostic)工具。它具有更现代的外观，并且非常用户友好。请注意，它仅适用于Windows系统。
WD Dashboard将自动检测您的 Western Digital驱动器。如果您的 PC 有多个驱动器，您可以从下拉菜单中选择每个驱动器。该程序将显示有关驱动器的一般信息(general information)，例如型号、驱动器运行状况、温度、容量和剩余寿命。您还可以监控实时性能。检查硬盘的读写速度。
WD 的免费硬盘驱动器测试软件还附带驱动器测试、固件更新功能以及擦除驱动器的选项。
(Seagate)另一家流行的硬盘制造商 Seagate 开发了适用于Windows、Linux和DOS的(DOS)SeaTools。DOS版本运行速度更快，可以修复坏扇区，但使用起来相当困难。也就是说，Windows和Linux版本提供了测试硬盘驱动器(test your hard drive)所需的所有功能。SeaTools还支持其他制造商的硬盘驱动器。
用户界面有些过时，但它很直观，您不需要任何技术知识来测试您的驱动器。您可以检查驱动程序损坏、系统文件损坏(system file corruption)等等。只需(Just)选择您的驱动程序并进行测试。
3.硬盘扫描(HDDScan)
尽管名称如此，这款免费的硬盘测试软件还支持SSD驱动器、闪存 USB(Flash USB)驱动器和RAID阵列服务器。
HDDScan可以检测坏块和坏扇区，它可以监控各种驱动器参数，如温度，并提供多种类型的测试。您可以轻松地执行一般健康和读/写测试，并查看您的硬盘驱动器是否在降级或出现故障。HDDScan也适用于几乎所有驱动器型号。
4.磁盘检查(DiskCheckup)
DiskCheckup是一个免费的硬盘诊断工具，几乎适用于任何驱动器。您可以监控SMART属性并预测硬盘驱动器何时变得不可靠。您可以检查硬盘驱动器的启动时间（如果您有HDD），实时监控温度，并执行短期或扩展测试。
DiskCheckup 还可以检测到Host Protected Area和Device Configuration Overlay，它们是硬盘驱动器上的隐藏区域。您可以删除它们以查看用户通常无法访问的数据。
请注意， DiskCheckup仅供个人免费使用。对于商业用途，您需要购买许可证。
5.三星魔术师(Samsung Magician)
Samsung Magician是一个用于(Samsung Magician)SSD管理的 Windows 程序。它允许用户轻松更新SSD的固件、监控驱动器运行状况和性能参数，还可以运行诊断扫描。缺点是，它只支持三星 SSD(Samsung SSDs)。
UI 可能是我们在所有免费硬盘诊断软件中见过的最好的，因此测试SSD是一个用户友好的过程，不需要技术专业知识。如果您有三星 SSD(Samsung SSD)，三星魔术师(Samsung Magician)是最好的选择之一。
GSmartControl是一款免费的驱动器检测工具，适用于任何品牌的HDD或SSD。您可以为Windows、macOS 以及Linux下载它。
用户界面对于初学者来说很容易导航。您可以快速检查SMART数据以了解驱动器的健康状况。GSmartControl告诉您有关驱动器身份、硬件规格(hardware specifications)的所有信息，并为您提供性能统计信息。
GSmartControl的优点在于您可以让它在后台运行，每隔几个小时运行一次快速驱动器分析，而不会影响 PC 的性能。
最后的想法
这些免费的硬盘测试软件工具最适合运行定期诊断和实时监控您的硬盘。还有其他曾经流行的免费工具，但我们不能再推荐它们，因为它们中的许多只支持Windows 7之前的旧 Windows 版本。我们列表中的那些也适用于Windows 10和 11。
如果您发现了一个很棒的免费硬盘测试程序，请在评论中告诉我们！
6 Best Free Hard Drive Testing and Diagnostic Software
When you get a brand new hard drive or you suspect something’s wrоng with your current one, you should check for errors. The best way of detecting various internal errors is using free hard drive testing software. Don’t worry about paying for premium diagnostic tools because all hard drive manufacturers have their own.
In this article, we’re going to check the best free hard drive testing programs. However, before you start using any third-party software, it would be a good idea to use Microsoft’s chkdsk tool. It’s reliable enough for most hard drive problems and every Windows system has it installed by default.
Western Digital Dashboard replaced the deprecated Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool. It has a much more modern look and it’s very user-friendly. Take note it’s available for Windows systems only.
The WD Dashboard will automatically detect your Western Digital drives. If your PC has multiple drives, you can select each one from a drop-down menu. The program will display general information about the drive, like model number, drive health, temperature, capacity, and remaining lifespan. You can also monitor real-time performance. Check your hard drive’s read and write speeds.
WD’s free hard drive testing software also comes with drive tests, firmware updating capabilities, and an option to erase your drive.
Seagate, another popular drive manufacturer, developed SeaTools for Windows, Linux, and DOS. The DOS version will run faster and can fix bad sectors, but it’s quite difficult to use. That said, the Windows and Linux versions offer all the features you need to test your hard drive. SeaTools also supports hard drives from other manufacturers.
The user interface is somewhat outdated, but it’s intuitive and you don’t need any tech know-how to test your drives. You can check for driver corruption, system file corruption, and much more. Just select your driver and test it.
Despite the name, this free hard drive testing software also supports SSD drives, Flash USB drives, and RAID arrays servers.
HDDScan can detect bad blocks and bad sectors, it can monitor various drive parameters like temperature, and it offers several types of tests. You can easily perform generic health and read/write tests, and see whether your hard drive is degrading or malfunctioning. HDDScan also works with almost all drive models.
DiskCheckup is a free hard drive diagnostics tool that works with almost any drive. You can monitor SMART attributes and predict when a hard drive is about to become unreliable. You can check your hard drive’s spin-up time (if you have an HDD), monitor temperatures in real-time, and execute short or extended tests.
DiskCheckup can also detect the Host Protected Area and Device Configuration Overlay, which are hidden areas on your hard drive. You can remove them to see data that is normally inaccessible to users.
Take note DiskCheckup is free only for personal use. For commercial use, you need to purchase a license.
Samsung Magician is a Windows program for SSD management. It allows the user to easily update an SSD’s firmware, monitor drive health and performance parameters, and it can run diagnostic scans as well. The downside is, it only supports Samsung SSDs.
The UI is probably the best we’ve seen in any free hard drive diagnostic software, so testing your SSD is a user-friendly process that doesn’t require technical expertise. If you have a Samsung SSD, Samsung Magician is one of the best options.
GSmartControl is a free drive inspection tool that works for any brand of HDD or SSD. You can download it for Windows, macOS, as well as Linux.
The user interface is easy to navigate for beginners. You can quickly inspect SMART data to get an idea about your drive’s health. GSmartControl tells you everything you need to know about the drive’s identity, hardware specifications, and gives you performance statistics as well.
What’s great about GSmartControl is that you can leave it running in the background to run a quick drive analysis every few hours without impacting your PC’s performance.
Final Thoughts
These free hard drive testing software tools are the best for running regular diagnostics and monitoring your drives in real-time. There are other free tools out there that were once popular, but we can’t recommend them anymore because many of them support only the older Windows versions up to Windows 7. The ones on our list will work with Windows 10 and 11 as well.
If you discovered an awesome free hard drive testing program, please let us know in the comments!
