Meta description: Slow boot times, strange clicking, or files that won’t open? Here’s how to check your SSD or hard drive’s health before it fails completely.
You can check SSD health in under two minutes using tools already on your computer. On Windows 11, open Settings, go to System, then Storage, and look at the drive’s health and remaining life. On a Mac, use Disk Utility. The same built-in tools work for how to check hard drive health, with one extra step for older spinning drives: running a disk check and reading the SMART status. The rest of this guide shows you exactly where to click, what the results mean, and what to do if something looks off.
Warning Signs Your Drive Is Failing
Drives rarely die without hinting first. If you notice any of these, check your drive’s health today and don’t wait for the weekend:
- Slow boot times and long freezes. If your laptop used to start in 20 seconds and now takes several minutes, the drive may be struggling to read data.
- Files that won’t open or suddenly look corrupted. Photos that show up half grey, or documents that throw an error, are a classic sign.
- Strange noises (hard drives only). Clicking, grinding, or a repeated whirr and stop is the sound of a drive in real trouble. SSDs have no moving parts, so they stay silent when they fail.
- Frequent crashes or blue screens. Random restarts, especially during file transfers, can point to bad sectors.
- Your drive turns read-only. Some SSDs lock themselves into read-only mode when they near the end of their life, to protect what’s left.
- The drive disappears. If it vanishes from File Explorer or the BIOS now and then, treat it seriously.
- A SMART warning at startup. If your computer says the drive is about to fail, believe it.
One of these doesn’t always mean disaster, but two or three together deserve action.
How to Check SSD Health (Built-In Tools)
On Windows 11 (the quickest way)
- Open Settings, then System, then Storage.
- Go to Advanced storage settings, then Disks & volumes.
- Click your SSD, then Properties.
- Look at Drive health. For NVMe SSDs you’ll see estimated remaining life, available spare capacity, and temperature.
If the estimated remaining life is low, or the drive is flagged as at risk, start backing up now.
On any Windows version (PowerShell)
Right-click the Start button, open Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin), and run:
Get-PhysicalDisk | Select FriendlyName, HealthStatus, OperationalStatus
You want to see “Healthy” and “OK.” For wear and temperature, run:
Get-StorageReliabilityCounter -PhysicalDisk (Get-PhysicalDisk) | Select Wear, Temperature
A higher wear number means more of the SSD’s life has been used.
On a Mac
Open Disk Utility, select your internal drive, and check the S.M.A.R.T. status. It should say “Verified.” Some newer Macs show “Not Supported” here, which is normal. In that case, run First Aid and rely on the warning signs above.
A free extra worth knowing: CrystalDiskInfo (Windows) isn’t built in, but it shows SMART data in plain language with a simple Good, Caution, or Bad label. It’s handy if you want a second opinion.
How to Check Hard Drive Health (Built-In Tools)
Spinning hard drives wear out differently. They fail mechanically, so the checks focus on bad sectors and error counts.
1. Check the status in PowerShell. Use the same Get-PhysicalDisk command from the section above. Anything other than “Healthy” is a red flag.
2. Run a disk scan. Open Command Prompt as administrator and type:
chkdsk C: /scan
This looks for file system errors without taking the drive offline. If it finds problems, back up first, then consider a full repair with chkdsk C: /f /r, which can take hours.
3. Look at Event Viewer. Open Event Viewer, go to Windows Logs, then System, and look for repeated disk warnings. Event IDs 7 (bad block), 11 (controller error), and 51 (paging error) are the ones to watch.
4. Read the SMART attributes. With a tool like CrystalDiskInfo, the numbers that matter most are Reallocated Sectors Count, Current Pending Sector Count, and Uncorrectable Sector Count. Anything above zero and climbing is a warning. Many hard drives start showing wear after three to five years, so age matters too.
On a Mac, the Disk Utility steps from the SSD section apply to hard drives as well.
What to Do the Moment You See a Warning
Act in this order:
- Back up your most important files first. Photos, work documents, anything you can’t replace. Copy them to an external drive or cloud storage before doing anything else.
- Cut back how much you use the drive. Every extra hour of use is a risk on a drive that’s already struggling.
- Don’t defrag, and don’t run repair tools on a drive that’s clicking. Repair scans push the drive hard and can finish off a dying one.
- If it’s clicking or grinding, power it off. Keep it off until a professional looks at it. Don’t open the drive, and skip the freezer trick you may have read about. It does more harm than good.
- Replace the drive. SMART warnings and failing sectors don’t fix themselves. Once your files are safe, plan a replacement.
Can a Failing Drive Still Be Recovered?
Often, yes, but it depends on how the drive is failing.
If the problem is logical (a corrupted file system or damaged partition), the data is usually still on the drive and can often be recovered. If it’s physical, such as a failed read head on a hard drive or a dead controller on an SSD, recovery needs specialist equipment. SSDs can be trickier than hard drives because of how they store and manage data, and a drive that’s been written to after failure has fewer chances of recovery. That’s why stopping use early matters so much.
The honest answer is that nobody can promise a full recovery before looking at the drive. At The Mobile Hub, we diagnose first and quote before any work starts, so you know where you stand. You can see how it works on our broken hard disk recovery page.
FAQs
How long does an SSD last?
Most SSDs last many years under normal home use, but lifespan depends on how much data is written to them. Checking the wear figure every few months tells you more than guessing from age alone.
Does a “Good” SMART status mean my drive is safe?
Not always. SMART can still report a healthy drive moments before it fails, especially with sudden controller faults. Treat it as one signal, and keep regular backups either way.
How often should I check my drive’s health?
Every three to six months is a sensible habit, and any time you notice slow performance, odd noises, or file errors.
Can I fix bad sectors myself?
A disk scan can mark bad sectors so your computer avoids them, but it doesn’t repair the drive. Bad sectors usually mean the drive is wearing out, so back up and replace it.
What’s the difference between checking an SSD and a hard drive?
SSDs are judged on wear and spare capacity, since they have no moving parts. Hard drives are judged on bad sectors, error counts, and noise, since they fail mechanically.
Quick recap
- Slow boots, corrupted files, clicking, or a read-only drive are all reasons to check your drive today.
- On Windows 11, Settings, System, Storage, then Disks & volumes shows SSD health in a few clicks.
- Hard drives need a disk scan and a look at SMART error counts, not just a quick glance.
- Back up first, and don’t run repair tools on a drive that’s clicking.
- If a drive has already failed, stop using it and get it assessed at The Mobile Hub. You can book an appointment at Annerley, West End, Kelvin Grove or Gladstone.