Top 5 Best HDD S.M.A.R.T Monitor Software Free Download 2024
Key Takeaways of S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor:
- 1. S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor is hard disk health checking utility or program for testing the hard drive health state.
- 2. Many hard drive manufacturers and software producers have provided different types of hard drive monitor software online for people to download and check the hard drive health state in Windows 11/10/8/7.
In this article, you'll learn:
- Top 5 Best S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software Recommend & Free Download
- What Can I Benefit from Using S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor?
- Checklist of Selecting S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor in 2024
Top 5 Best S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software Recommend & Free Download
Here we compared over 20 hard drive health-checking software and selected top 5 best S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitors to help all levels of disk owners to test and modify their disk status with ease.
Select one of the reliable tools to check if your hard drive or SSD is healthy now:
- #1. Qiling Disk Master
- #2. CrystalDiskInfo
- #3. Active@Hard Disk Monitor
- #4. Ashampoo HDD Control
- #5. Hard Disk Sentinel
So which one is the best for Windows beginners? Here is a comparison table, and you may follow to define which method suits your need the most quickly:
| S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor | Favored Features | Latest Version |
|---|---|---|
| Qiling Disk Master🏆 |
|
V18.0 [2023/09/19] |
| CrystalDiskInfo |
|
V9.2.1 [2023/11/21] |
| Active@Hard Disk Monitor |
|
V23.0.0 [2023/02/10] |
| Ashampoo HDD Control |
|
V3.0 [Date unclear] |
| Hard Disk Sentinel |
|
V6.10 [2023/02/09] |
If you are not sure about which tool to choose, here is Qiling Editors' Pick, and you may take as a referration:
- For an open-source S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor: take CrystalDiskInfo for help.
- For Windows Beginners & easiest tool: try Qiling Disk Master Free Edition.
Here the following, you can take a quick view of features, pros, cons, and how to use each S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor utility on your PC. Let's get started here. Also, feel free to share this page to help more of your friends finding reliable HDD S.M.A.R.T monitor software online:
#1. Qiling Disk Master Free Edition
Easiest & Best Free S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software
Known as reliable free partition manager software, Qiling Disk Master Free Edition mainly supports Windows users to apply to manage and optimize disk partitioning performance. It recently released a new feature called Disk Health which allows disk owners to test disk health state in just 1 simple click efficiently.
S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software Free Download:
You can now click the button here to download and install this software on your PC directly.
S.M.A.R.T Feature List:
- S.M.A.R.T Indicator: Scan and test all disk health parameters at one time. Predict healthy disk parameters with green lights and unhealthy parameters with red lights.
- Test Specific Disks: You can select to test any specific hard drives or SSDs as you want.
- Monitor Disk Status: 'Good' means your disk is quite new and healthy; 'Bad' directly indicates that your disk is failing or dying or it's too old with some errors.
- Temperature: It monitors the real-time temperature of your existing disks on PC. 'Normal' means the temperature of your disk is below 60 degree, and it normally works fine. However, when the temperature goes up to 60 or even higher degrees, you're supposed to shut down all running programs and the computer until the drive becomes cool.
Pros and Cons of Qiling Disk Master with Its Disk Health Feature:
Pros:
- Free for all levels of Windows users.
- Support HDD, SSD (SATA/M.2/NVMe), and external storage devices.
- Provide bonus features to optimize disk performance.
- 1-click solution
- 24*7 technical support
- Easy & applicable
Cons:
Doesn't have a Mac version.
Why Choose It: Powerful, Free, and Provides Bonus Features to Improve Disk Performance.
Step-by-Step Guide:
How to Check SMART Status on Windows 10
If you're using Windows 10, it's essential to ensure that your hard drive or solid-state drive is still physically reliable, so for this, you need to check the smart status of Windows 10 regularly. Here, you can find 2 best ways with easy guidelines.
You can find more valuable details in the video that introduces how to check hard drive health:
Alongside providing S.M.A.R.T data, Qiling Disk Master also helps you to:
Aside from this, you can also check hard drive health on Windows 7 with Qiling Disk Master successfully.
#HDD SMART Monitor#SMART HDD Monitor#S.M.A.R.T Software for Hard Drives#SMART HDD Tool
#2. CrystalDiskInfo
Open-source S.M.A.R.T Disk Monitor
CrystalDiskInfo is an open-source disk utility that supports users in testing S.M.A.R.T state in different types of storage devices, including USB drivers, RAID disks, and NVMe SSDs.
S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software Free Download:
You can open this link in your browser and get official access to download CrystalDiskInfo on your PC: https://osdn.net/projects/crystaldiskinfo/
S.M.A.R.T Feature List:
- Health Status: clearly display the health status of the selected disk.
- Test Specific Disks: users can directly select the desired disk to test.
- Temperature Monitor: detect the temperature of the target disk.
- Test Volume Health State: users can even selectively test existing partition health status.
Pros and Cons of CrystalDiskInfo:
Pros:
- Free for all levels of Windows users.
- Update frequently
- Support testing external storage devices' S.M.A.R.T status
Cons:
- Doesn't have a technical support
- Doesn't support the latest Windows 11
- Can't test USB and SD card status
- Lack of instant technical support.
Why Choose It: Free, Easy to use, and Test Disk Health in Volume Level.
#SMART Minotor HDD#HDD SMART Tool#S.M.A.R.T HDD Tool#HDD Monitor
#3. Active@ Hard Disk Monitor
Old Stylish S.M.A.R.T Monitor Software
Active@ Hard Disk Monitor, first released in 2009 by LSoft Technologies Inc, aims to instantly assist users in detecting disk health issues. It adds clear icons to let users find which parameters in the S.M.A.R.T test result are not functioning well.
S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software Free Download:
Open this link in your browser, and you'll be able to get official access to download Acrive@ Hard Disk Monitor on your PC: https://www.disk-monitor.com/index.html
S.M.A.R.T Feature List:
- Test Disk Temperature: it is a temperature monitor that clearly shows the disk temperature and whether it's within a safe range.
- Monitor S.M.A.R.T Attributes: list standard S.M.A.R.T attributes parameters to tell users which one to be aware of.
- Test Specific Disk: it allows users to specify the disk to test.
- Clean S.M.A.R.T Icons: add a clear icon to help users to check which parameter is not functioning properly.
Pros and Cons of Active@ Hard Disk Monitor:
Pros:
- Support testing disk health state for free.
- Light software
Cons:
- Freeware requires registration with email address
- Old stylish UI design
- Not frequently updated
- Some types of disks are not supported
Why Choose It: Light and Easy.
#Hard Drive SMART Utility#SMART HDD Reader#SMART Disk Monitor
#4. Ashampoo HDD Control
Powered Disk S.M.A.R.T Monitor
Ashampoo HDD Control, like Qiling Disk Master, is more than a hard disk S.M.A.R.T monitor, which also provides bonus features to assist users monitor and improving the disk performance. Aside from testing disk health state, users can also apply this tool to defrag disks, clean drives, even clean duplicate files, shred folders and documents, etc.
S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software Free Download:
Open this link: https://www.ashampoo.com/en-us/hdd-control-3 in your browser, and you'll be able to get this tool on your PC.
S.M.A.R.T Feature List:
- S.M.A.R.T Data: Provide brief S.M.A.R.T test data for selected disk.
- General Information: List general information of the selected disk, such as Model, Serial Number, firmware, etc.
- Temperature Monitor: Automatically detects all existing disk temperatures.
- SSD Wizard: Offers a bonus disk optimizer wizard for SSD.
Pros and Cons of Ashampoo HDD Control:
Pros:
- 10 days free trial.
- Provides bonus features aside from disk S.M.A.R.T monitoring.
- Works on old Windows 7 and 8.
- Supports detecting USB device S.M.A.R.T data.
Cons:
- Not 100% free
- Doesn't support macOS.
- Not quite compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11.
- Payments are required after 10 days.
Why Choose It: Easy to use and practical.
#S.M.A.R.T HDD Software#HDD Smart Monitoring#SMART HDD
#5. Hard Disk Sentinel
Old-Stylish & Professional Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T Monitor
Hard Disk Sentinal is a monitoring utility for SSD and HDD users to test and analyze their state. This software detects and displays the S.M.A.R.T information for the selected disk automatically. Moreover, users can also apply it to detect an external hard drive.
S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Software Free Download:
Open this link in your browser, and you'll be able to download this software and apply it to detect your disk health state in simple clicks: https://www.hdsentinel.com/index.php.
S.M.A.R.T Feature List:
- General: It gives a general disk health test result to help users quickly view if their disk is perfect.
- S.M.A.R.T: Scan and detects attribute data, also gives a direct status mark to notify users if the disk is healthy.
- Temperature: Automatically monitor disk temperature in the background.
- Information: Detects and display the basic information of each disk, including Prot, model, firmware, serial number, disk types, etc.
Pros and Cons of Hard Disk Sentinel:
Pros:
- Professional
- Automatically detects disk temperature.
- Supports Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7.
- Enables users to set threshold data for predicting and alarming if the disk is healthy or not.
Cons:
- Limited features in the standard version.
- Doesn't support macOS and old Windows OS.
Why Choose It: Professional & Powerful.
#Classic SMART Tool#HDD SMART Monitor Windows#HDD SMART
What Is S.M.A.R.T Monitor
S.M.A.R.T, known as Self-Monitory, Analysis and Reporting Technology, is a monitoring system included in computer hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). Its primary function is to detect and report various indicators of drive reliability with the intent of anticipating imminent hardware failures. (-by Wikipedia)
So what is a S.M.A.R.T monitor? It's a type of technology that were built-in into different types of hard drive health checking software or utility that help both novices and professionals to indicate the disk performance and health state in a simple way.
What Can I Benefit from Using S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor?
You may berry the same question in your mind, and here is a list of benefits that you may enjoy by using a reliable S.M.A.R.T HDD or SSD monitory software or program:
- Check the health status of hard drives and SSDs.
- Check hard disk problems.
- Provide detailed status checking report.
- Alters users about disk problems.
When Do I Need a S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor?
So when should I use or have a reliable S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor? Our suggestion is always!
As a smart and intelligent user, we suggest that you always keep a reliable hard drive health check software on your PC to indicate and monitor your hard drive, and SSD disk status instantly.
This also helps you to find solutions to improve and keep your storage disk drive performance always at an ideal level. Feel free to share this information to help your friends understanding the importance of checking their disk health and how to select a reliable HDD monitor software here:
Checklist of Selecting S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor in 2024
So how do I select a S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor software or program?Here is a list of tips that you can take as criteria in selecting a reliable hard drive health monitor tool:
| Options | Selection Criteria |
|---|---|
| Features: | Whether the S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor supports, detect, and check the health state of your hard drive or SSD disk. |
| Bonus Features: | Whether the S.M.A.R.T hard drive checking tool offers you bonus features to improve the disk health status and optimize disk performance. |
| Supported OS: | Whether the target tool supports your current operating system. |
| Difficulty Level: | Whether the tool you select is easy to use. |
| Price: | Whether the price of the selected tool is within your budget. |
| Technical Support: | Whether the support team offers instant and professional technical support for disk users so as to resolve all types of disk health-checking issues. |
The key point, in our minds, to define if the hard drive monitor tool suits you or not, is to make sure it's easy and powerful to resolve your problem.
S.M.A.R.T Hard Drive Monitor Is Useful and Get The Best One to Check Your Disk Health Now
On this page, we collected 5 best hard drive S.M.A.R.T testing and checking software for all levels of Windows users to download and try. Among the 5 tools, which is the best one? Here is our suggestion:
- Easiest & Comprehensive S.M.A.R.T Tool - Qiling Disk Master
- Open-Source S.M.A.R.T Software - CrystalInfo
- Professional & Flexible S.M.A.R.T Utility - Hard Disk Sentinel
The other two tools - Active@ Hard Disk Monitor and Ashampoo HDD Control are also useful for different types of users that deserve a try.
FAQs About Hard Drive Monitor
If you have further questions about the hard drive monitor, follow and find answers to the listed questions below:
1. Can I get a S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor free downloaded?
Yes, sure. If you search S.M.A.R.T hard drive monitor online, you'll get a full list of recommendations. And you can try anyone for downloading.
However, if you prefer a reliable monitor for testing the S.M.A.R.T state of a hard drive, you can try Qiling Disk Master with its Disk Health feature.
2. Should I set hard disk S.M.A.R.T to enable or disabled?
Normally, it's not a smart decision to enable the S.M.A.R.T feature in BIOS settings. The reason is that this may slightly affect the operation and may decrease the hard disk performance.
For a better experience using the disk and optimizing the drive performance, it's highly recommended that you turn to a hard drive S.M.A.R.T monitor software or tool as recommended on this page for help. It's easy and efficient, causing no damage to your disk at all.
3. What is HDD S.M.A.R.T monitor?
An HDD S.M.A.R.T monitor is a program software or utility developed by hard drive manufactures or software producers to assist ordinary users in monitoring and testing if their disk drives are in a health state. With this utility, people can quickly scan the disk, getting its general information, temperature, and all the S.M.A.R.T threshold data at one time.
Some advanced HDD S.M.A.R.T monitor even provides hard disk health optimization features to improve the disk's performance.
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