How to Spot Failing Hard Drives on Windows 11 – A Practical UK Guide

Why you should care about drive health on a Windows PC

Even if you’re primarily an Android phone buyer, many of us keep a Windows laptop or desktop for backing up photos, flashing firmware or running Android‑studio. A failing hard drive can corrupt those precious files or even render the machine unusable at the worst possible moment – for example, when you need to transfer a new phone backup. The good news is that Windows 11 already ships with a few ways to gauge whether your HDD or SSD is on its last legs, and there are free utilities that dig deeper into the drive’s own diagnostics.

The simplest built‑in check (no command line required)

1. Open Settings – Click the Start menu, select the gear icon, then choose System.
2. Navigate to Storage – Under Advanced storage settings click Disks & volumes.
3. Select a drive – Pick the drive you want to inspect and hit Properties.
4. Read the health data – For supported NVMe SSDs Windows will show:
   • Estimated remaining life (percentage of write cycles left)
   • Available spare capacity
   • Current temperature
   • Alerts if spare capacity drops, reliability degrades, or the drive has switched to read‑only mode.

"Windows can display estimated remaining life, available spare capacity and temperature for supported NVMe SSDs" – Engadget

Note for UK readers: This view does not cover SATA‑based SSDs or classic spinning hard drives, so a blank health panel does not guarantee the drive is fine.

PowerShell: a quick one‑liner for any drive type

If you’re comfortable opening a terminal, PowerShell gives a concise health status for every physical disk recognised by the OS.

Get-PhysicalDisk | Format-Table FriendlyName, HealthStatus

The HealthStatus column will return one of four values:

• Healthy – No obvious issues detected.
• Warning – Something is amiss; keep an eye on it.
• Unhealthy – Immediate action required.
• Unknown – The drive does not report SMART data in a way PowerShell can interpret.

Older tutorials still mention the wmic diskdrive get status command, but Microsoft has retired WMIC from current Windows 11 builds, favouring PowerShell instead.

When built‑in tools fall short: third‑party SMART readers

For a more detailed picture you’ll want to read the drive’s Self‑Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) attributes. The most popular free option is CrystalDiskInfo:

• Download from the official site (portable version works without installation).
• Run the program – It automatically detects all attached HDDs, SATA SSDs and NVMe drives.
• Interpret the colour‑coded status – Green = Good, Yellow = Caution, Red = Bad, Grey = Unknown.
• Key SMART counters – Pay particular attention to:
  • Reallocated sectors (how many bad sectors have been remapped)
  • Pending sectors (sectors that may fail soon)
  • Uncorrectable sectors (data that can’t be recovered)

If CrystalDiskInfo flags Caution or Bad, treat the drive as a ticking time‑bomb. Back up everything you can’t afford to lose, then run the vendor’s own diagnostic suite – Seagate SeaTools, Western Digital Dashboard, Samsung Magician, etc. Those tools can sometimes perform low‑level repairs or at least confirm the failure.

Using CHKDSK for file‑system sanity, not hardware health

Windows also includes the classic CHKDSK utility, which checks the logical integrity of a volume:

chkdsk C: /f /r

• /f fixes file‑system errors.
• /r locates bad sectors and attempts to recover readable data.

While CHKDSK can rescue corrupted files, it does not repair a physically deteriorating platter or a dying NAND chip. Think of it as a way to clean up after a SMART warning, not a cure for the underlying hardware problem.

Practical steps for UK Android‑phone enthusiasts

1. Schedule a monthly health check – Open Settings or run the PowerShell one‑liner once a month. It takes less than a minute and can catch early wear before you notice sluggish file transfers.
2. Keep a backup routine – Use OneDrive, Google Drive or an external USB‑C SSD to store your Android photos and app data. A failing PC drive is the most common cause of lost phone backups.
3. Consider the drive’s age – NVMe SSDs typically last 5‑7 years under normal consumer workloads. If your device is older than that, treat any warning as a sign to replace it pre‑emptively.
4. Know the warranty – Many UK retailers (e.g., Currys, Argos) and manufacturers offer 3‑year warranties on SSDs. A SMART warning within that period may qualify you for a free replacement.
5. Plan for the future – When you next upgrade your Android phone, think about pairing it with a fresh, healthy SSD. Faster storage means quicker ADB pulls, smoother Android‑studio builds, and less chance of data loss.

Bottom line

Windows 11 gives you a quick health snapshot for modern NVMe SSDs, PowerShell adds a universal status line, and CrystalDiskInfo provides the deep‑dive SMART data most users need. Treat any Caution or Bad reading as a cue to back up immediately and consider a replacement – the cost of a new drive is far lower than the price of lost photos, contacts and Android app data.

All the steps described above work on the latest Windows 11 builds as of September 2026. For older Windows 10 machines, the Settings path is similar, but you may need to install PowerShell 7 or use third‑party tools to read SMART data.