Updated version 6.01, up from the previous freebie deal for version 5.70: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/753027
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Latest version is 6.10.
Revision history
i used it to check external HDD that i shuck prior installing it to my NAS
It's decent, although I prefer CrystalDiskInfo which is open-source and free.
+1
Hard Disk Sentinel really doesn't do anything that other freeware utilities like Crystal Disk Info/Crystal Disk Mark also do, other than having a slightly more polished interface.
Actually it's great for creating HDD inventory. One can create an next export via "Save Authentic Disk Report". It creates a nice overview of the HDD in HTML. I save these to a single location and link to the file via a Excel Spreadsheet that I have all my HDD on. Great stuff along with other inclusions. For free, can't complain.
They're both useful, and pretty much present the same information in different ways.
One good thing about HDS is that it brings to attention stuff like relocated sectors. When I open it and see that a disk is perfect I know it doesn't have any glaring issues, with CrystalDiskInfo I would be looking through a list of raw values. And the way it calculates remaining life might not be the most accurate (nothing can be) but it's still useful info.
When I open it and see that a disk is perfect I know it doesn't have any glaring issues, with CrystalDiskInfo I would be looking through a list of raw values.
No, Crystal Disk Info functions in the exact same way. It will play a warning sound on launch and show a red/yellow colour in the health status icon for any disks with SMART warnings as well as highlight the relevant SMART attribute that the warning applies to. You literally can't miss any SMART warnings.
Also, you can change the raw values in Crystal Disk Info to comprehensible decimal values easily via: Function > Advanced Feature > Raw Values > 10 [DEC].
And the way it calculates remaining life might not be the most accurate (nothing can be) but it's still useful info.
Crystal Disk Info does the same calculation and SSDs will show a percentage of remaining life statistic both in the status icon and in the list of SMART attributes.
Crystal Disk Info is updated far more regularly (latest release 2 months ago) to ensure compatibility with most storage mediums, compared to Hard Disk Sentinel (latest release 6 months ago).
@Gnostikos: It's presented differently enough that you can have a preference.
For example I have a 1TB SSD that has 34% health, in HDS it's yellow/acceptable and in HDI it's blue/good.
Relocated sectors don't trigger smart warnings but I still think they're important. HDS is still green but has this front and centre:
There are 5 bad sectors on the disk surface. The contents of these sectors were moved to the spare area.
At this point, warranty replacement of the disk is not yet possible, only if the health drops further.
It is recommended to examine the log of the disk regularly. All new problems found will be logged there.
The TRIM feature of the SSD is supported and enabled for optimal performance.
No actions needed.
A normal disk looks like this:
The status of the solid state disk is PERFECT. Problematic or weak sectors were not found.
The health is determined by SSD specific S.M.A.R.T. attribute(s): Available Spare (Percent), Percentage Used
The TRIM feature of the SSD is supported and enabled for optimal performance.
No actions needed.
Having a short summary written and presented like this in convenient.
HDS also shows remaining life in days. Again, this calculated by their own algorithm and is arbitrary but it's still useful information.
@Hiphopopotamus: That's just fanboyism talking.
They both do literally the same thing and you'd have to be a real muppet to not notice critical SMART warnings in both utilities.
For example I have a 1TB SSD that has 34% health, in HDS it's yellow/acceptable and in HDI it's blue/good.
Yes, you didn't actually mention that specific example previously but percentage life remaining doesn't constitute an actual SMART warning/failure event since the acceptable value for that attribute is anywhere from 1-100% since a disk with 34% life versus a disk with 100% life is still going to work just fine and both could instantly fail without warning at any point in time. There is no valid calculation/algorithm that can predict disk failure on consumer-grade SSDs based on the percentage life remaining attribute.
Relocated sectors don't trigger smart warnings but I still think they're important.
Again, they do in CDI. Reallocated sector attributes with ANY value other than zero are highlighted yellow in both the disk status icon and in list of SMART attributes, in addition to CDI playing a warning sound on startup.
It sounds like you're critiquing HDS more than CDI there.
Having a short summary written and presented like this in convenient.
I fail to see how reams of text are easier to understand at a glance than a simply-laid out interface consisting of key metrics, a bullet point list and some colour-coded icons.
HDS also shows remaining life in days. Again, this calculated by their own algorithm and is arbitrary but it's still useful information.
Meaningless data since that's not based on any actual firmware/OEM-based algorithm but some arbitrary number generated by HDS which could have no relevance to disk's actual lifespan.
@Gnostikos: I use both, you're calling me a muppet and I'm the fanboy? Really?
I didn't mention it previously but it's something they present differently, which was my point.
I'm looking at CDI right now with my Intel SSD that has 5 relocated sectors, there are no highlights and health status is still blue/good. My program is stock, is there a setting I'm missing?
We can critique both programs, the remaining days is arbitrary as I said, but it's another data point worth noting. It could be completely wrong, but so can the remaining health %.
Edit: To me a paragraph is easier to understand than a table of numbers.
I like open source, but prefer the interface on HDS.
One year ago it showed problem with one of HDD in RAID.
It showed "lasts 14 days", in few days HDD was down. So it works!
Maybe it just shut it down, to prove it works? :-)
I have this running constantly on my machine. It has alerted me to smart errors on several drives, giving me sufficient warning to replace them before failure.
Definitely recommended.
How much Hard drive Space can I download? I've already downloaded 16GBs of RAM
it really depends on your graphics card
Depends. Is your NBN connection HDDP or is it KFC?
I'm with KFC and wasn't able to download much hard drive space. Ive had issues with the Kernel and with the chip shortage I haven't been able to get it resolved.
Your cables are probably bent.
Make sure that you straighten out all of your computer cables each day before switching on your PC to prevent the 0s from getting stuck in any kinks in the cables.
The 1s will always go through without issue but 0s can form blockages when they get stuck in the bends in a cable which will slow down your PC and Internet connection.
Also, protip: cut the cords off any keyboards/mice for insta-wireless connectivity.
You can fit more Ghz in the hdd by taking it out of computer, leave power connected, and tap the corner of the drive on the bench a few times to settle the data. You should feel the data shift, and an audible clicking sound will confirm that the balance has succeeded.
If you are using SSD, a barbecue piezo ligter will re align the data as windows does not defrag ssds.
I did this and now the hard drive is making clicking noises and the computer turns on with a blue screen. Is that bad?
I call this bull*hit! Everybody knows that your hard drives GHz expand if left a couple of hours in the freezer!
You know what would be actually funny ? If I downvote you saying this is a stupid question
I heard that if you put your HDD in the microwave that it will unlock more space on your hard drive that the manufacturer locked out, is this true?
While I wait for an answer I'll be busy downloading free Bitcoin, can't wait to buy a Ferrari this weekend!
Thanks Mate!
If I use SSD for my laptop, would it be beneficial to use this program? or doesn't really relevant?
I use it for more than a year, it's really helpful to monitor drives' temperature and health status in real-time (I have 8 HDDs) especially during summer
Any suggestion on software to repair recover corrupted drives
What sort of corruption and do you know how it occured?
Recuva if its physically working.
Spinrite if its not, and you know jow to use it.
Otherwise, pay a pro.
RECUVA and SPINRITE, those names are gold lmfao
Question about SpinRite. I have a small portable WD HDD 120gb. It appears to be dead, doesn't show up at all in Windows Explorer. However, it looks like Easus knows it is there, but not telling me much, because I don't have a paid version. Would SpinRite work on this drive? Data is not mission critical, but I would like to recover certain bits of it if possible. Reluctant to buy SpinRite at current exchange rates if it won't work for me.
I do have a small collection of other old dead HDD's that I'd also like to attempt to recover data from before I bite the bullet and finally trash them. Again, not mission critical stuff, but they go back a long way, and I would like to find some really early emails etc. that didn't get backed up way back when.
EaseUS should still be able to scan it using free version like most recovery software. The free or Demo version usually only allow you to recovery a few files.
Point being they should all be able to show you what could be recovered in advance to purchasing the full version.
@Borg: Thank you.
Doesn't seem to be allowing me to recover anything.
All a bit confusing. It is telling me 377mb/1006mb Local Disk (*:), so not even giving it a drive letter? No other drives other than C: (with a partition D: for backup), so this must be the dead drive it is finding. When I do the scan it says Scan Complete 11 files 612.76mb. The drive is not full but I am sure there is at least a few gigs of data on it.
Bit beyond my technical skills I think.
@johninmelb: Unfortunately there are so many variables on what can go wrong with HDDs it is too difficult to comment here without drive in hand and a variety of tools/utilities. If drive is working i.e. shows in Disk manager and reports as correct size, but not seeing any drive letters, it could be a corrupt partition. That would require a partition recovery tool
If data is important then best speak to a recovery expert if you are not tech savvy.
Not to recover the drives, but get Macrium Reflect downloaded to start protecting the other drives that are still alive , well worth the price
Isn't it free for Full backs and differentials but not incrementals.
No idea, but I'd pay double what I did for the features it provides me with.
Your use of that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Inconceivable!
Assuming this is only for HDDs and not for SSDs?
You could have clicked the Go to Deal button and read the answer in the first sentence in less time than it took to post this question.
Thanks OP, was going to pay full price for this just last week
And in a similar thread, best freeware for cloning SSD, to a larger one?
Macrium Reflect
Minitool Partition Wizard, or Clonezilla if you need a bootable drive.
Easeus has never done me wrong for over a decade. it's freemium, but the free version should still give you what you need. works fine with SSDs
https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager-software/partition-…
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Forgot to install it, so I wentset my clock back to last week and installed it.
That's what I do with all these types of time based activations. I just keep a readme.txt in my download folder making note of the date to set PC when installing. Once installed and activated, it is fine to reset PC back to current date.
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does anybody have any experience with this software? is it any good?