Contribution by Paul Apking

Many techs use CrystalDiskInfo as a tool for HDD diagnostics and call it a day. It’s a great tool to quickly identify issues with a suspect drive but it’s intended purpose is to monitor SMART data and report anything that may fail or has reached a certain threshold.

This tool shouldn’t be used for diagnostics, only for SMART monitoring. In many instances, unless the drive is failing or has multiple bad sectors, it won’t be flagged for drive failures in a monitoring tool. GSmartControl is a much better tool for getting the job done right!



GSmartControl is a great program that is open source, portable and is best used for identifying, testing and monitoring hard drives. The difference between CrystalDiskInfo and this product is that it monitors and runs tests on the SMART data giving the you, the Tech, a better picture on the state of the HDD. It gives you the option to run short small tests on the HDD (usually not enough for good diagnostics) but also has an extended test which can take up to 4 hours depending on the size of the drive. This will give a good diagnostic report of the drive.

In conclusion, CrystalDiskInfo is not a good tool for diagnostics and should only be used for monitoring the SMART data. Using a thorough tool like GSmartControl will create a better picture for yourself for good diagnostic testing which in turn will benefit your clients. A good reputation and repeat business is what every tech wants and by being diligent with drive diagnosis could save you major failures and lost data.

What application do you use for SMART Diagnostics?