Determining the hard drive model on a laptop. How to find out what hard drive is in a laptop

Good day!

How many things could be corrected if we knew in advance what awaits us...

And if in life it is almost impossible to predict some events, then in the case of a hard drive, some of the problems can still be predicted and foreseen!

For this, there are special utilities that can find out and analyze the SMART* readings of a disk (show them to you, if necessary), and based on this data, assess the health of your disk, simultaneously calculating how many years it can still serve.

The information is extremely useful, in addition, such utilities can monitor your disk online, and as soon as the first signs of unstable operation appear, they will immediately notify you. Accordingly, you will have time to make a backup in time and take action (although backups should always be done, even when everything is fine ☺).

And so, in this article I will consider several methods (and several utilities) for analyzing the status of HDDs and SSDs.

*Note:
S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) - a special technology for assessing the condition of a hard drive with an integrated hardware self-diagnosis/self-monitoring system. The main task is to determine the likelihood of device failure, preventing data loss.

Perhaps this is one of the most popular questions asked by all users who are encountering problems with their hard drive for the first time (or who are thinking about the safety of storing their data). Everyone is interested in the time it takes for the disk to work until it completely stops. Let's try to predict...

Therefore, in the first part of the article, I decided to show a couple of utilities that can receive all the readings from the disk and analyze them independently, and give you only the finished result (in the second part of the article, I will provide utilities for viewing SMART readings for independent analysis).

Method No. 1 - using Hard Disk Sentinel

One of the best utilities for monitoring the status of computer disks (both hard drives (HDD) and “newfangled” SSDs). What is most captivating about the program is that it will independently analyze all the data received about the state of the disk and show you the finished result (very convenient for novice users).

In order not to be unfounded, I will immediately show the main window of the program, which appears after the first launch (the disk analysis will be done immediately automatically). The health and performance of the disk are assessed as 100% (ideally, this is how it should be), the time that the disk will still work in normal mode is estimated by the program at approximately 1000 days (~3 years).

What's wrong with the disk according to Hard Disk Sentinel

In addition, the program allows you to monitor the temperature: both current, average and maximum during the day, week, month. If the temperature goes beyond the “normal” limits, the program will warn you about this (which is also very convenient).

Hard Disk Sentinel also allows you to view SMART readings (though to evaluate them, you need to have a good understanding of disks), get complete information about the hard drive (model, serial number, manufacturer, etc.), see what the hard drive is loaded with (i.e. .get performance information).

In general, in my humble opinion, Hard Disk Sentinel is one of the best utilities for monitoring the status of disks in the system. It is worth adding that there are several versions of the programs: professional and standard (for the professional version with extended functionality, there is a portable version of the program that does not require installation (for example, it can even be run from a flash drive)).

Hard Disk Sentinel works in all popular Windows (7, 8, 10 - 32|64 bits), supports the Russian language in full.

Method number 2 - using HDDlife

This program is similar to the first one; it also clearly shows the current state of the disk: its health and performance (in percentage terms), its temperature, the amount of time worked (in months). At the top of the window, based on all this data, HDDlife shows a summary of your disk, for example, in my case, “ALL RIGHT” (which means that everything is fine with the disk).

By the way, the program can work online, monitoring the state of your disk, and if something goes wrong (when the first signs of problems appear) it will immediately notify you about it.

As an example, the screenshot below shows an SSD disk has received a warning: its condition is still within acceptable limits, but reliability and performance are below average. In this case, you should not trust the disk with any important data, and if possible, you should prepare to replace it.

By the way, in the main window of the program, next to the amount of disk time worked, there is a link "Disk settings" (allows you to change some necessary parameters). By opening it, you can control the balance between noise/performance (very useful with drives that make a lot of noise), and adjust power consumption settings (relevant for laptops that quickly run out of battery).

Addition: HDDlife works on both PCs and laptops. Supports HDD and SSD drives. Portable versions of the program are available that do not require installation. You can configure the program to run alongside your Windows. HDDlife works on Windows: XP, 7, 8, 10 (32|64 bits).

How to view SMART readings

If previous utilities independently assessed the condition of the disk based on SMART data, then the utilities below will give you more freedom and data for independent analysis. In the reports you will be able to find a fairly large set of parameters, on the basis of which it will be possible to roughly assess the condition of the disk and make a forecast for its further operation.

Method No. 1 - using CrystalDiskInfo

СrystalDiskInfo

An excellent free utility for viewing the status and SMART readings of a hard drive (SSD drives are also supported). What’s so attractive about the utility is that it provides you with complete information about the temperature, technical condition of the disk, its characteristics, etc., and some of the data comes with notes (i.e., the utility is relevant for experienced users who themselves know “what-is- what" and for beginners who need a hint).

For example, if there is something wrong with the temperature, you will see a red indicator on it, i.e. СrystalDiskInfo will inform you about this.

The main window of the program can be roughly divided into 4 zones (see screenshot above):

1. "1" - all your physical disks installed in your computer (laptop) are listed here. Next to each one is shown its temperature, technical condition, and the number of sections on it (for example, “C: D: E: F:”);
2. "2" - the current temperature of the disk and its technical condition are shown here (the program performs an analysis based on all data received from the disk);
3. "3" - disk data: serial number, manufacturer, interface, rotation speed, etc.;
4. "4" - SMART readings. By the way, what’s so attractive about the program is that you don’t have to know what this or that parameter means - if something is wrong with any item, the program will mark it in yellow or red and notify you about it.

As an example to the above, I will give a screenshot that shows two disks: on the left - with which everything is fine, on the right - with which there are problems with reassigned sectors (technical condition - alarm!).

As a reference (about reassigned sectors):

when the hard drive detects, for example, a write error, it transfers the data to a specially designated spare area (and this sector will be considered “reassigned”). Therefore, on modern hard drives you cannot see bad blocks - they are hidden in reassigned sectors. This process is called remapping, and the reassigned sector is remap.

The higher the value of reassigned sectors, the worse the condition of the disk surface. Field "raw value" contains the total number of remapped sectors.

By the way, for many disk manufacturers, even one reassigned sector is already a warranty case!

To utility CrystalDiskInfo monitored the status of your hard drive online - in the "Service" menu, check two boxes: "Agent launch" and "Autostart"(see screenshot below).

Then you will see the temperature program icon next to the clock in the tray. In general, you can now be more confident about the condition of the disk ☺...

Method number 2 - using Victoria

Victoria- one of the most famous programs for working with hard drives. The main purpose of the program is to assess the technical condition of the drive and replace damaged sectors with spare working ones.

The utility is free and allows you to work both under Windows and under DOS (which in many cases shows much more accurate data about the state of the disk).

Of the minuses: working with Victoria is quite difficult; at least, I highly do not recommend pressing buttons on it at random (you can easily destroy all the data on the disk). I have one fairly large article on my blog that explains in detail how to check a disk using Victoria (including finding out the SMART readings - an example in the screenshot below (in which Victoria pointed out a possible problem with the temperature)).

Instructions for working with Victoria:

SMART Tab || Victoria utility

I'll call it a day, good luck to everyone!

Additions on the topic are welcome ☺

Hard disk capacity is a characteristic that is most often the decisive factor for the user when choosing or replacing a disk. So how can you find out the real volume, given that when marking hard drives, a gigabyte is equated not to 1024, but to 1000 megabytes. And if in the recent past, when the HDD size rarely exceeded 80 GB, this could be neglected, then with a disk size of more than a terabyte, the losses amount to significant figures. You can get information about the real size of your hard drive both from the BIOS and using the operating system and various third-party utilities.

You will need

• a computer running the Windows operating system, HDD Life Pro utility, Internet access.

Instructions

Greetings to all guests of the site, today we will talk about what the real capacity, size and volume of a hard drive actually is. Have you ever wondered where the difference in hard drive capacity comes from - between the value indicated by the manufacturer and the data in the operating system? This is not a mistake on either side, but only a difference in the payment system.

You may have noticed that after purchasing a 750 GB drive (as indicated on the label) and connecting it to the computer, the system showed only less than 700 GB of capacity. It's not about fraud, it's about the measurement system.

In fact, everything is not so simple. If we buy a drive for several hundred gigabytes, then the loss of a couple of tens of GB of space is not so noticeable. It’s a completely different matter if you need to load data of a fixed size (4-8 GB), in which case, a loss of even 100 KB can become a significant problem.

Currently, the capacity of hard drives, SSDs, memory cards or flash drives is most often indicated in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB). For example, if we buy a 500 GB SSD, we should theoretically have that much data available. After starting the computer, however, it turns out that the total size of the hard drive is 465 GB. Why is there such a big difference? It all comes down to the method of calculation. Every day we use the decimal system, where the base is the number 10. The computer uses the binary system, where, as the name suggests, the base is the number 2, and to write numbers there are only two values ​​- 0 and 1.

Since the computer uses a binary system, the value declared by the manufacturer is actually less. The explanation for this issue is very simple. For calculations, we will assume a drive with a capacity of 500 GB.

The basic unit of computer memory is the byte. According to the SI system, the prefixes sequentially look like: kilo (K) for thousand, mega (M) for million, giga (G) for billion, and tera (T) for trillion. So, we have, respectively, a kilobyte (1000 bytes), a megabyte (a million bytes), a gigabyte (billion bytes) and a terabyte (a trillion bytes). In theory, a 500GB hard drive should have a capacity of 500,000,000,000 bytes (500 bytes x 1000 x 1000 kilobytes megabytes x 1000 gigabytes).

The computer, however, calculates the values ​​in a slightly different way. Here 1 kilobyte is not equal to 1000 bytes, only 1024 bytes. A megabyte has 1048576 bytes (1024 x 1024), and a gigabyte has 1073731824 bytes (1024 x 1024 x 1024).

Thus, equating 500 GB, calculating the capacity of such a hard drive, according to the decimal system to the binary system, we get a value of 465.66 GB. We divide 500,000,000,000 bytes (500 GB) three times into 1024, not 1000. The action looks like this: 500,000,000,000 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 = 456.66 GB.

There are also other reasons why hard drives may be smaller than the calculations above. Thus, laptop manufacturers use so-called additional, hidden disk partitions, thanks to which it is possible to restore the operating system to the state after purchase - in the event of, for example, damage caused by viruses. Then the total size of the hard drive capacity is reduced, for example, by 10 GB, which were reserved for a copy of the system along with drivers and necessary software. Capacity may also be limited by the partitions being created, the write buffer area, or bad sectors.

How to calculate the actual size of a hard drive

As we remember from computer science lessons, all computers operate in a binary number system. All data is stored in the format of ones and zeros. The minimum unit of information is one bit, eight bits make one byte. Next comes the following math:

• 1 kB (kilobyte) = 1,024 B (byte)
• 1 MB (megabyte) = 1,024 kB (kilobyte) = 1,048,576 B (byte)
• 1 GB (gigabyte) = 1,024 MB (megabyte) = 1,073,741,824 B (byte)
• 1 TB (terabyte) = 1,024 GB (gigabyte) = 1,099,511,627,776 B (byte)

While a computer works in the binary number system, humans usually think in the decimal number system. If we look at the SI system of units, we see that the prefixes used to measure memory get a different meaning:

• kilo = 10^3 = 1,000 (thousand)
• mega = 10^6 = 1,000,000 (million)
• giga = 10^9 = 1,000,000,000 (billion)
• tera = 10^12 = 1,000,000,000,000 (trillion)

In the same way as a person thinks, the manufacturer of a hard drive thinks - for example, 5 GB, according to this system, the actual volume of the hard drive will be 5,000 MB.

And here we are at the core of the problem. On the drive box, you see the inscription 1,000 GB, but after connecting to the computer, it will show the actual volume of the hard drive size only 931.32 GB. The difference was obtained not by deception, but by using another number system - binary on the computer side and decimal on the human (manufacturer) side.

Considering all of the above, you can easily find out the real size of your computer hard drive. So, 1000 GB is 1 TB, which in the human number system contains 1 trillion bytes. The computer uses machine arithmetic and divides everything by 1024, resulting in:

• 1,000,000,000,000 bytes / 1024 = 976,562,500 kilobytes
• 976,562,500 kilobytes / 1024 = 953,674.316 megabytes
• 953,674.316 megabytes / 1024 = 931.322 gigabytes

As is the case throughout the world, even when displaying the actual capacity of a computer's hard drives, there are exceptions - some computers and operating systems operate differently; The average user, however, almost always encounters the above problem.

For clarity, let's look at the table for a quick overview of the indicated and actual capacity of a computer's hard drive:

Now let's move on to the next part of the article, which will allow us to understand in more detail not only the actual capacity of the computer drive, but also other aspects of measurement.

Real computer hard drive capacity and Internet speed

This topic is perfect for discussion on long autumn evenings, and, as a rule, is shrouded in many disputes and hypotheses. The disputants generally cannot come to a single input. It all starts with the fact that the memory size or the real capacity (size, volume) of a computer hard drive in the world is calculated in bytes. Which is pretty simple, a byte is a pretty simple thing (in English byte). One byte contains eight bits (bit, the main block of information that can take the value 1 or 0) and there is nothing complicated about it. Only then it all gets a little more complicated.

• Memory is more than a few bytes, so then kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte (and a few more larger quantities that I no longer remember) come into the picture. And here the problems of the actual capacity of the computer hard drive begin.
• The classic (original) kilobyte contains 1,024 bytes. Yes, not a thousand, but one thousand twenty-four. This is because everything in computers is binary, so to speak, and not decimal. And therefore there are 1,024.

But... for some hard drive manufacturers it was more practical to specify a different kilobyte, one that would contain 1,000 bytes. Maybe, but this is certainly a bad idea as it will allow manufacturers to deceive the buyer about the actual capacity of the computer's hard drive size. And the difference will be significant, given that the measurements are in megabytes, kilobytes and even terabytes. But manipulations exist, and it is important to look at the real state of affairs.

However, a catch regarding the actual volume and size of a computer’s hard drive can be determined by the markings. Let's look at the following example, which uses capacity markings for decimal and binary systems:

• b, bit (bit, binary digit) = basic unit of information.
• Byte, B(B) – 8 bits.
• Kilobyte, kB (KB) - 1000 bytes (10^3)
• Kibibyte, KiB (KiB) - 1024 bytes (2^10)
• Megabyte, MB (MB) - 1,000,000 bytes (10^6)
• Mebibyte, MiB (MiB) - 1,045,576 bytes (2^20)
• Gigabyte, GB (GB) - 1,000,000,000 bytes (10^9)
• Gibibyte, GiB (GiB) - 1,073,741,8224 bytes (2^30)

Attention, kb is a kilobit, kB is a kilobyte

Similar digressions apply to kbps = kilobits per second (Internet data rate) versus kBps = kilobytes per second (possibly Kibps and KiBps). And this is a fairly significant difference, since classic Ethernet Internet has a speed of 10 Mbps (Mbit/s) = 10 million bits per second, or 1,250,000 Bps or bytes per second.

It may even be good to know that computer memory today is calculated in gigabytes; the actual capacity of computer hard drives ranges from hundreds of gigabytes to terabytes. Memory cards in phones (tablets) - tens of gigabytes. Phones themselves, as a rule, have a gigabyte of RAM - and in general, the more, the better.

How to find out the real size of a hard drive using programs?

I have already gotten used to the fact that the operating system always shows the hard drive capacity is less than indicated on the packaging (this also applies to memory cards and flash drives). But now, I decided to test several programs AIDA64 and CrystalDiskInfo, which I reviewed in the article, to see what they show. To understand, the sticker from the manufacturer on my laptop says that my hard drive is 250GB in size, exactly 250, neither a byte more nor a byte less.

First of all, I decided to use my favorite program AIDA64. If you launch the program, an extensive list will be located in the main window on the left, which allows you to obtain detailed information on the system and equipment. To view the actual capacity and dimensions of the hard drive, and not its markings, you can look at one of two points:

• Data Storage/Physical Disks– in the upper right area, the name of the drive and its size, which is 232GB, will be displayed. As we understand, the manufacturer has gone crazy with 17 GB.
• Computer/Summary Information– in the long list on the right you need to find the item Partitions/Total Volume, according to the program, the size of my hard drive is 232.9 GB. Apparently, in the previous tab, AIDA64 cuts off the decimal value.

Okay, let's try to use the program CrystalDiskInfo, given the name, this tool should also show the real size of the hard drive. In the main window of the program the drive label was displayed, and... 250GB. Which is quite unpleasant.

Remember, to view the actual dimensions of a hard drive in Windows, simply right-click on the drive and select the Properties tab. If the disk was divided into partitions, then look at the properties for each partition, and then summarize. Although there may also be a catch here, since when creating partitions, some disk space may be wasted, but this value is not too large.

Users who have purchased a pre-assembled PC or laptop often do not know which drive is installed on their computer. In this material, we will look at several simple ways to determine the type of drive in the operating system Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10.

How to find out SSD or HDD in Windows 10

If you use the Windows 8 or operating system, then you can find out which drive is on your computer in just a couple of mouse clicks. To do this, open the Start menu or press the Windows-S key combination (if you have Windows 8) and enter the word “Defragmentation” into the search.

The program “and optimizing your drives” should appear in the search results. Open it and you will see a list of all the drives that are installed on your computer. In this case, next to each of these disks the type of this disk, SSD or HDD, will be indicated.

If “Solid State Drive” is indicated, then it is SSD, and if “ ”, then HDD.

How to find out SSD or HDD in Windows 7

If you use the Windows 7 operating system or the method described above did not work for you for some reason, then you can determine which disk is on your computer using third-party programs. For example, you can use the program. Launch this program on your computer, go to the “Drives” section and select the drive whose type you need to define as SSD or HDD.

If this drive is a hard drive, that is, an HDD, then on the right side of the window, in the “Media Rotation Rate” line, its rotation speed will be indicated (for example, 7200 RPM).

If the drive is a solid-state drive, that is, then in the “Media Rotation Rate” line it will be written “SSD Drive (Non-ratation)”.

You can also see what drive is installed on your computer using the program. Run this program on your computer and pay attention to the data in the “Storage” block. There will be information about all drives that are connected to the PC.

In this case, there will be a corresponding mark next to the solid-state drives (SSDs).

If it is not possible to install these programs, then you can simply find out the name of the disk model and search for information about it on the Internet. In order to use this option, you need to open “Device Manager”. This can be done in different ways, the simplest and most universal is to press the Windows-R key combination and execute the command “mmc devmgmt.msc”.

In the "Device Manager" window, open the "Disk Devices" section. Here you will see a list of all the drives on your computer.

Enter the name of the desired disk into any search engine and study information about it. This way you can easily determine the type of drive SSD or HDD.

Hello everyone A hard drive is exactly the device where everything you have on your computer is where it all lies. That is, this is a device for storing data, everything is stored on it, well, exactly everything you have, these are programs, games, music, videos and other files. Therefore, if he is covered with a copper basin, then you will lose it all. All I mean is that a hard drive is a very important device and should be handled with care, not subjecting the computer to any shaking, so to speak.

I'll tell you how to find out what kind of hard drive you have in your computer, and also tell you what reliable drives are and how to find out the temperature!

But in general, I started writing something about the wrong thing, I wanted to show you how to find out what kind of hard drive you have. I will show using Windows 10 as an example, but in other Windows everything will be the same. So, first you need to open the My Computer window, if in Windows 7 this is easy, well, there is such an item in Start, but in Windows 10 I no longer remember how to do this. I simply placed shortcuts to local drives in Start. But there is a trick, look, hold down Win + R and write the following command in the window:

explorer file://

And click OK. After this, the My Computer window will open, it works, I checked. Great, so here we have an open window, right-click on any disk there and select Properties:

A window will open, go to the Hardware tab and all the physical disks that you have will be listed there. For example, I have two here, these are WD & Hitachi:

The exact model of the disk is indicated here, exactly the model. If you need to find out how much space is on the disk, how much is free, then you need to hold down Win + R and enter the command in the window:

And click OK. A window will open, it has such an item as Disk Management, so select it:

And you will see this information:

I’ll say right away that there is nothing complicated here, it may just seem complicated to you. Look, down there it says Disk 0, Disk 1, these are just two disks and that’s what they are called in Windows. Opposite each disk you can see what partitions there are and what the physical volume of the entire disk is:

Well, it seems clear, I hope. Since I’m writing about the hard drive, I’ll answer two more questions that novice computer users often have

Which hard drive is the most reliable? A reliable drive is a relative concept; it just all depends on how it will be used. Nevertheless, the most reliable hard drives in the world are, of course, server hard drives, but they are noisy, expensive and often of medium capacity or less. They are not suitable for the home, but they can withstand a long load and nothing will happen to them. After this come home disks, they are also reliable, but my opinion is that the most reliable manufacturer is, of course, Western Digital (WD): no matter how many disks I have had from this manufacturer, they have never broken yet, despite the fact that I bought everything used . So my choice is WD

But recently I came across a disk at a good price, but the truth is that it is no longer WD, but Hitachi. For the third month now it has been working around the clock and everything seems to be ok. But still, the most reliable hard drives for me will remain under the WD brand, and the super-duper reliable ones are the WD VelociRaptor line of drives. These are not only the most reliable, but also super fast, by the way, really super fast! But their price is a little astronomical. Regarding regular drives, I recommend the WD Black series, these are high-speed drives, they even have two processors and the price is already normal...

By the way, this is what the VelociRaptor hard drive looks like:

As you can see, the disk here is actually small, 2.5 format, and everything else is a radiator that cools the disk. The whole trick of the disk is that it operates at high speeds, like server disks - at 10,000 rpm. But its price is too high...

Although the WD Blue line is also not bad, they are ordinary high-quality wheels and the price is not high. In general, see for yourself, but I think that many will agree with me that WD is most reliable..

What should the hard drive temperature be? But I don’t know about you, but this question is acute for me. Well, that is, this is important to me. The thing is that the hard drive does not like high temperatures. The maximum temperature for a hard drive is 40 degrees, and that’s not very good, the ideal is 30-35. Then it will work for a long time. It will work at 45, but believe me, it won’t be very good. It's still too hot for him