DiskCheckup is a powerful utility designed to help you monitor and maintain the health of your SSDs. It is free, small, and has a minimalistic UI, but it does its job perfectly. Here are a few standout features that make it an essential tool for checking the health of your SSD.

5 S.M.A.R.T. monitoring

You can see the status of your SSD

Most SSDs and HDDs come with Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.), and DiskCheckup uses this functionality to track key indicators of your SSD's health, such as bad sectors, power cycles, and read/write errors.

These metrics provide an overall health status for your drive. To check them, you just have to go to the SMART Info tab. If you want to know about the level of wear and tear of your SSD, you should look at the Reallocated Sector Count, Wear Leveling Count, or Power-On Hours indicators.

Also, pay attention to any warning signs, such as thresholds being exceeded, which may indicate that your SSD needs attention or even replacement. Just keep in mind that the metrics are not always the same for all SSDs.

4 Get health status alerts and lifetime estimation

If there’s something wrong with your SSD, you’ll learn about it

As I mentioned above, thanks to the SMART capability, DiskCheckup continuously monitors your SSD's health. The app provides alerts if parameters fall below acceptable levels so you can take action before your SSD is at risk of failing.

This feature is not set as default, so you have to enable notifications in the DiskCheckup settings. You can choose to receive a notification on the screen or an email about it.

DiskCheckup can also give you an estimate of your SSD lifetime. For that, you have to enable the Record SMART attributed for TEC compilation option from Settings and run an extended test on your SSD. However, you should take this information with a grain of salt because not all manufacturers support the Disk Self Test (DST) standard. That’s why the test might not always display accurate data.

3 Temperature monitoring

Overheating can cause issues with your SSD

SSDs can overheat under intensive use, which can lead to reduced performance or permanent damage. DiskCheckup tracks your drive’s temperature in real time and warns you if it exceeds safe levels.

You can see the temperature of your SSD in the SMART Info tab, and you can configure the app to show the value in Celsius or Fahrenheit. Not only that, but you also get information about the highest temperature your drive reached.

This is not only a one-time measurement. If you keep DiskCheckup open, you will see if there are any temperature fluctuations and take action. You might need to improve ventilation on your PC or even use cooling pads.

2 Get customizable reports

Export pinpoint information at any point

If you notice any problems with your SSD and you have to ask for help, it’s always helpful to get information to troubleshoot the issue. DiskCheckup generates detailed reports that include metrics like health status, errors, and performance data.

You can actually tailor the reports to focus on specific data points according to your needs. For instance, you can export a report for load cycle count, throughout performance, power cycle count, or historical temperature data.

However, don’t expect a fancy PDF or CSV file. You get a TXT file that will contain all the requested information. If you send this to the manufacturer or the specialist who is helping you troubleshoot the problem, there’s a chance they can provide you with helpful solutions, if there are any.

1 Extensive compatibility with SATA, NVMe, and USB drives

The exceptions are RAID and SCSI drives

DiskCheckup is compatible with most SSD brands and models, ensuring seamless functionality regardless of the drive you're using. It also supports both SATA and NVMe drives but doesn’t support SCSI and RAID drives.

You can simply verify the compatibility of your drive or any of its features in the Device Info section. As mentioned above, even if your drive is supported, it might not show all the features. This is either because the manufacturer doesn’t support all the SMART features or you have an old SSD driver. Of course, if you have an old drive, it might not be supported at all.

Should you use DiskCheckup?

Honestly, DiskCheckup is not perfect. Some disk-checking tools offer more features or have a better-looking UI. However, for a free and small tool, DiskCheckup really packs a punch. It combines advanced monitoring and diagnostic features with a simple and efficient design, making it perfect for anyone who wants to monitor their SSD's health.

By using these features effectively, you can extend the lifespan of your drive, optimize performance, and prevent potential data loss. Whether you're a casual user or a tech enthusiast, DiskCheckup ensures your SSD operates at its best.