How to Check SSD Health in Windows 10 OS – 9 Effective ways

SSDs are becoming famous, which has been the reason n why hard drives and other traditional devices are becoming extinct. They are becoming famous because they have higher speeds and are less exposed to damage. In terms of the prices is that they are also cost-effective. However, you always need to know how to check the SSD health in Windows 10 OS or other operating systems.

The upgrade is, in this case, essential and very lovely. People choose the brand, quality, size, and performance of the SSD they want to purchase.  The rating of the drives has three main factors that they consider. Space in terms of terabytes, age, and material composition are things they look at.

However, there is a challenge that steps in with the assessment of the health of the SSD on Windows 10 and other OS.

SSD- Solid State Drive Health

When we talk of health, we are talking about the functionality and service before the device needs a replacement. Each model comes with the service that it has to deliver before it gets obsolete. Some serve for a longer time when they are under proper management, and some will serve for a very short time.

The brand and the model are great determinants when we assess the health of the SSD. Age of drive and the number of terabytes written over time are the actual assessment of the SSD life.  It is abbreviated as TBW, and when the writing is done per day, it has the abbreviation of DWPD.

Therefore, it is clear that the health of the SSD drive is determined by the amount of data you inject into it. Some allow you to write up to 600TB and then begin to misbehave. It all depends on the capacity of the SSD. We have good examples that will help you to have a better understanding, such as

  • 256GB which serves 150 TBW
  • 512 GB has the potential to do 600 TBW
  • 2TB will also fit 450 TBW
  • 4TB, on the other hand, can serve 600 TBW

In practical life, we have a 10-year warranty on a 2TB model. It means that you have to write 450TB before you visit the manufacturer that the SSD has begun to misbehave or it is failing.

Windows 10 is software that has been influential in making service delivery more enhanced. There are specific improvements that it has come along with that have made the improvements significant.

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How to Check SSD Health in Windows 10 OS

You can check the SSD health in Windows 10 using the CMD function or using software/ tools. To use the CDM function to check if my SSD is healthy? To use CHKDSK, open File Explorer and find the drive that you would like to test. Right-click it once inside of wherever space appears (desktop or Libraries) then select “Properties.” Click on “Tools” from down below where all these options are located; make sure there are no errors by checking this box:

Click Check Now! You’ll get a message stating “You don’t need to scan this drive because Windows 10 has already done so automatically” most times – but we know how important perfect performance can be for your system.

The software or tools you need to check SSD health in Windows 10 OS

There are numerous tools that you can always use to check the health of SSD on Windows 10. A hardware monitor or another software are good things that you can always use to do the task. There are free versions of software and some that you pay for.

The difference between the free versions and the ones you pay for is the features. Free versions have fewer features than the premium versions but will all deliver. A good example is the Crystal Disk Mark which has proven to be quite effective in service delivery.

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Best softwares to use

Crystal Disk Mark software

This tool has a very good recommendation for use to check the SSD health with Windows 10. It has wonderful compatibility that makes its functionality stand out. You can also easily use it because you need to download it and then do the installation.

You will start by keying in the name of the software on the search engine and then open the software site, which allows you to download it. After downloading, you will right-click it and then pick the installation software, allowing you to run it as an administrator.

You now have to run the software on the computer. Running it gives feedback. If it says “good,” you need to know that the status of the SSD is good. You will also have a chance to assess the TBW that is so far on the SSD.

Calculation of the average health is simple as you have to check that the TBW value is okay. The lower the value, the better the SSD health. The actual position of the value is at the top right corner, which has the Total Host Writes indication. The good thing about the feature is that it appears on the SSD with a good life.

Hard Disk Sentinel

This software has a premium value and has great compatibility with windows 10 and windows 7 in addition to other OS. Using it is very easy because it has clear and straightforward features. You will start by locating it online and then download it, after which you have to do the installation.

After the installation, you will open it and then look at the performance and health options. You will check on the color of the health option. If the color is green and there is an indication of 100%, then the status is good, and you have no issues to resolve.

However, you may also notice that the performance is at 90%or even below. It means that there is a challenge with the SSD, and you may need to have some maintenance and replacement.  It also means that the time to claim the warranty has come and the chances of getting lost your previous data are very high.

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Open hardware monitor

Another important app you can try using is the hardware monitor app. It has a good performance and will show you the actual performance of the SSD- thus using it to check the health on Windows 10 among others. You will also find it convenient to use and simple to understand.

The process of installation is straightforward and you will conveniently follow it. When using the app you will start by opening it up. You will also source it from the browser and then install it o the computer.

The app is good in that it will show you the percentage of the SSD performance. If you get higher levels, it means that the status of the SSD life is better. When the performance begins to go as low as 80% you, have reasons to make changes because the SSD is getting closer to a mess.

SSD Life software

The SSD lie software is a premium app that you will have enjoyable moments to use it. It also serves the life check process perfectly. You have an option to use the premium version or the free version.

Softpedia has the free version, but the functionality is limited.  However, the pro version is good because it is cost-effective. Getting it is a nice thing because it will make you have good times with great functionality.

After installing the software, you will conveniently run it. You will open the software and then give it a short time to assess the status of the SSD.

A report will publish itself for the app that tells you how the SSD is performing. The percentage of the SSD performance. High percentages mean the performance is good, as low percentages mean the performance is slightly limited.

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Toshiba SSD Utility

Toshiba’s SSD Utility is the best software to use if you want to monitor your drive in real-time if you are using OCZ SSD now. You can check for any health information, like the remaining life of an SSD or how much space it has left on it with just one click!

Plus this tool also provides optimization features that will make sure that there are no more problems when using this device. Moreover, it is a drive manager.

This software works across most operating systems so if anything happens to be happening now it may as well not matter because this will fix any problems before they begin.

The only challenge with Toshiba SSD utility is that it won’t work on 32-bit systems.

MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard is an easy-to-use, but powerful utility to format and check the health of your SSD or HDD on Windows 10 and other OS. The tool can help you recover missing data from partitions that have been deleted by accident.

It can also analyze disk usage using a variety of read/write tests with different transfer sizes to determine how fast they are on average. This way if there’s an issue in one type it won’t affect other measurements!

Disk Benchmark also exists within Mini Tool which enables users to measure performance when transferring files between drives during testing periods as well as determining random access times across all sectors. The Benchmark can also be used to check any manufacturer’s RAID controllers, storage controllers, hard drives, and SSD drives.

Thus, it can reformat your hard drive, recover lost data from an accident with no recovery software needed (including deleted partitions), create a new bootable formatted partition on whatever size of SSD you need for any operating system including Windows 10 installation media if something happened to yours – all in one simple interface that takes just minutes!

How to use MiniTool Partition Wizard

You can easily use the MiniTool Partition Wizard to check the health of your SSD. The steps are as follows:

  1. Download the free MiniTool Partition Wizard software to your computer. You can download it for free here.
  2. Launch Application on the downloaded software to enter its main interface.
  3. Then, click on ‘Disk Benchmark‘ that is located at the top of the main page of your interface as shown below.
Using MiniTool Partition Wizard to check SSD health on Windows 10 OS

4. In the pop-up window, you can set HD/SSD disk testing parameters including testing drive and length. After that click on Start to execute the operation.

5. Wait for the operation to complete. Then check the results. You can even change the parameters to ensure you get the best results.

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Intel SSD Toolbox

Intel SSD Toolbox is the best way to keep your Intel Solid State Drive running at peak performance. It allows you to monitor, estimate remaining life on a drive, as well as check for S.M.A.R.T., attributes with fast diagnostics that will examine the read/write functionality of an Intel-powered system! This tool can also update the firmware or improve the SSD performance using the TRIM support depending on what’s needed most in real-time.

Moreover, with this software, you can do a secure erase of your secondary Intel SSD.

Samsung Magician to check SSD health

The Samsung Magician is a management suite that allows you to check the health of your SSD, create profiles for different tasks and applications with adjustable settings on maximum capacity or reliability.

It’s more complicated than Intel’s toolbox but still worth checking out if you want greater control over how fast data can be written onto an NVMe drive without worrying about its overall performance level in one specific scenario.

This latest software update has been designed specifically for use on Samsung Magician-enabled drives so that they can be maintained in peak condition. This is by monitoring its health over time rather than doing all this manually every month or two weeks like before which saves you quite a bit of hassle when it comes down reliability!

SmartMonotools to check SSD health on Windows 10

SmartMonotools are two utility programs (smartctl and smartd), which can help you control and monitor your SSD. It offers real-time monitoring of hard disks with tools to analyze disk degradation or failure in the event they arise before it’s too late!

SmartmonoTools supports ATA/ATAPI/SATA-3 up through 8 drives as well SCSI type devices for windows OS only though both work on other operating systems such MACOSX etc

Best tips to improve the health of the SSD

Enable TRIM

TRIM is a very good feature when you want to have the SSD performing as you want. It identifies the data that is not of good use in the SSD and removes it. Drives that do not have the TRIM feature have a big challenge when storing information as they occupy too much space.

With the TRIM feature, you will easily manage the functionality as the space occupation becomes limited. Windows 10 is nice because the feature applies to all the areas.

Don’t wipe the drive

TRIM works effectively and does not need you to tamper with the drivers. You have to ensure that you let it work by itself and manage the data as it can. If you wipe, you expose the SSD to losses. If you wipe, you make the SSD write extra cycles, which fill up the space lowering the health life.

Upgrade the firmware

It is good to know that SSD manufacturers release new firmware every time. You need to ensure that you have the latest firmware, as they come with maintenance features that make the functionality perfect. An update improves the performance and cleans the infections that the system has.

You have to ensure that you do frequent checking to ensure that you have the latest update. Although getting them can pose a challenge, you will need to check if there are new updates on the producers’ sites. You can update yours from the existing ones and have the functionality working as you expect. 

Transfer the cache folder to the RAM disk

The movement of the cache folder to the RAM disk makes the performance of the SSD better. It is good because it allows the RAM to remove anything that is not functioning properly. You will also minimize the chances of having inappropriate content on the SSD.

The movement of the cache is great because it makes the performance stand out to be the best once more. You will end up having the performance that you desire.

Don’t fill the SSD to capacity

Another way of avoiding having problems with SSD is to ensure that you don’t fill it to the capacity. When you have too much data on them, the speeds lower, and the performance becomes bad. The best thing to do is to leave around 10-15% aside so that the functionality stands out to be the best.

Avoid large files

Finally, you have to keep away from large files at all costs. They consume too much space and make the performance very poor. You better use the HDD for large files and the rest on the SSD.

How do I tell you that my SSD is bad?

Telling that the SSD is bad is a process that you need to have a good understanding of. You will download any of the tools shown above and then open the SSD to see its performance after analysis.

After using the tools and it has shown above 90%, then the SSD is good. If it has a percentage of 100%, then it is best. This means that anything that comes below 90% is low and needs immediate intervention.  You may need to consider replacing it if it has a performance that is lower than that.

What is the cause of SSD failure

We need to understand that the life span of the SSD is limited to specific performance and life.  When the SSD runs out of a specific write life, it becomes essential to make the changes.

When the SSD gets beyond the writing life, it becomes a poor performer, and you can no longer add more data to it. Getting at this point makes the SSD begin to fail. Sometimes there can be a manufacturing fault that makes the performance of the SSD begin to fail. If there is a short circuit, you are also likely to have the SSD failing.

What is the lifespan of the SSD

If you get a good SSD, then you will have it lasting for 10 Years or more. You can also have cases where the SSD lasts less than 5 years. It happens when your data writing rate is higher.

The processes make the life span less, especially when more work takes place on the SSD. The lifespan of the SSD is calculated by the SSD TBW value, which tells you to continue using or replace the SSD when the writing life is exhausted.

What happens if you choose not to replace the SSD?

When you choose to continue using the SSD that has the write life period ended, you will have it performing poorly. After some time, the SSD will start losing the data that you have been keying in it. This now makes it impossible to add more content on the SSD.

The result of these three problems will make the whole system that encompasses the SSD fail. You have to ensure that you have done some good work to remove the SSD, or it will cost you to manage the whole system.

It is cost-effective to replace the SSD when it becomes a poor performer than when it has spoilt the system and lost data. When replacing, you can consider getting one with more capacity to serve you for a longer period.

Conclusion

Getting the best service from the SSD has to come with performance determined by the health of the SSD whether on Windows 10 or other Operating Systems. It is wise to assess the SSD’s performance using the tools we have shown above as they will make you have an easy time and enjoy reliable performance.

Utilizing the features of windows 10 OS is good as it will make you have a good performance. Adopting effective measures of management makes the performance more enhanced.

Checking SSD Health in Windows 10 FAQs

Why should I check my SSD health?

By checking your SSD health you will have knowledge about your disk benchmark, potential hard disk failures, in addition to performance degradations. Thus, you can know when your SSD is failing and take mitigation actions like moving the content to another Disk or replacing it.

How do you see how much SSD you have?

You can use the 9 tools described here to check how much SSD you have. The tools include Crystal Disk mark, Hard Disk sentinel, Open Hardware Monitor, SSD life, Samsung magician, and Intel Toolbox among others to manage and configure your SSD.

What is TBW in SSD?

Terrabytes Written (TBW) is another metric used for SSD write endurance. It is a measure used to describes how much data can be written on the SSD during the life span of the drive.

How can I choose a SSD for gaming?

Choosing the best SSD for PS4 and other gaming consoles is easy when you understand your needs. You can use compatibility, capacity, quality, and speeds among other features to get the SSD for gaming.

How can I check SSD health windows 10 cmd?

Not sure if your SSD is healthy? Use CHKDSK. Open File Explorer and right-click on the drive you would like to check for errors, select Properties from that menu (or press Win+P). Click on “Tools” at bottom of page then click Check button next to Disk Health Status; this will show any issues with reading/writing speeds as well as whether the unit needs reseating or replacement due its buffering capacity being exceeded.

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