How to find out the real capacity of a hard drive, its size and capacity. How to find out which drive is on your computer: SSD or HDD

Hard drive capacity is one of the critical parameters of a computer. Sometimes the time comes to replace storage media. The decisive characteristic for making such a decision is the size of the hard drive.

1. To get a quick look at your PC's available storage capacity, open File Explorer and click This PC. Follow these steps:

• Press Win + E.
• A File Explorer window will open.
• Select "this PC" from the items listed on the left side of the window.
• You see an overview of all hard drives and their partitions used in this PC.
• PC Storage Review.

2. At a glance, you can determine the storage capacity of your PC. The blue part of the thermometer shows the part of the disk being used; the gray part represents the available space.

3. When the available space becomes too low, the thermometer turns red, which helps you quickly identify low capacity hard drives. You must respond to this situation in some way if you want to continue using the drive.

4. For more information about your hard drive partition, right-click the drive and select Properties. The Storage Properties dialog box appears. The General tab shows detailed information about the used and free space of the drive, as shown here.

5. When free space drops below 10 percent, Windows displays a free capacity warning. If you see this message, act immediately. Look for what part of your existing content you can safely delete or transfer to other media.

6. You can also find out the data we are interested in without starting the operating system. The necessary information is available in the BIOS. To find out, turn on the power of the computer, and during the startup process, hold down the key to enter the BIOS (this can be del, or F10, depending on the motherboard model). You will go to the menu. I use the arrow and Tab keys to navigate through the tabs and find the IDE menu. Select the hard drive you are interested in (there can only be one) and press the enter key. A window will open with the characteristics of the media, including its capacity.

7. In addition, you can use special diagnostic utilities that provide complete information about a particular type of equipment. For our task, something like HDD Life is suitable. After installing and launching the program, you will see a window with detailed information about the status, characteristics and condition of your hard drives.

Video: Find out the amount of RAM, video memory and hard drive size

Greetings everyone! Let's start with what a hard drive is. This is the disk on which everything you have on your computer is stored. programs, photos, music, videos, games and the operating system are also installed on the hard drive. In general, everything is stored on the hard drive. If the disk flies, then all yours will be irretrievably lost. They are almost impossible to restore. Therefore, the disc must be handled with care, not hitting the disc, especially when it is running. Hard drives come in different shapes factors, well these are the sizes of the drives. There are 2.5 and 3.5. Usually 2.5 is installed on laptops, but sometimes collective farms install such a disk on a regular computer.

There are many ways to find out what hard drive is on your computer. You can find out both through the program and without it. You can find out whether ssd or hdd is installed, 2.5 or 3.5 form factor and all its characteristics. Do you know what their pros and cons are? If not, go to the article and learn a lot of new things for yourself. Well, let's get started :)

Through computer control

To find out what kind of hard drive is installed, we need to get into computer management. But how to get there?

To do this, look for the shortcut on the desktop “My Computer” and right-click and select “Manage”.

If you don’t have a “My Computer” shortcut on your desktop, like me, I don’t know where it went, then this is not a problem. I have such a mess on my desktop that maybe I just didn’t find it).

Then click on the “Start” button and there will definitely be “My Computer”, right-click on it and select “Manage”. That's it, half the job is done. Let's move on.

In the window that appears on the left side, look for the tab “ storage devices ", open it and click " disk management «.

The right side will display information about the installed hard drives and SD drives on the computer.

To find out the exact model of the installed hard drive on your computer, right-click on the drive as in the screenshot and select “Properties”

A window will open with information about the hard drive, where the model is indicated.

Now you know the name of your hard drive and to get more detailed information, to do this, turn to the search engine and enter the model name there.

Go to the website and find out information about the disk. It's very simple, isn't it?)

Via task manager

This method is also very easy to find out what kind of hard drive you have.

To do this, right-click on the “My Computer” shortcut and click on “Device Manager.”

We look for the “Disk devices” tab, open it and see the installed hard drives.

Using the Aida64 program

This method requires downloading and installing the Aida64 program, which you don’t really want to do) because you can find out what hard drive is on your computer without unnecessary programs. But for those who are not looking for easy ways, this method is dedicated to you :)

But besides this data, the processor and other components.

After launching the software, open the item in the “Data Storage” menu -> “ATA”.

A laptop can have either a hard drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD). These are two devices with fundamentally different approaches to storing information, so if you, for example, decide to upgrade a laptop, then you need to find out what type of disk is currently in use. For convenience, we will simply call both types of media disks.

Physical examination

If the hard drive has failed and you want to remove it or are simply not afraid to disassemble the laptop, then you can find out the type of media as a result of a physical inspection. But first you need to get to the disk:

The hard drive is mounted inside the laptop on a special slide. Unscrew them and carefully remove the device from the case. Now you can find out the model, volume, speed and other important parameters.

Using Monitoring Utilities

There are two serious disadvantages to physically examining a hard drive:

1. You have to disassemble the laptop just to find out which drive is installed and see its model.
2. The disk casing may not contain the necessary information.

To resolve these shortcomings, use the software method of viewing hard drive information. It consists of using Windows tools or special utilities to monitor your computer. For example, to find out the size of your hard drive, just go to “My Computer” and add together the volumes of partitions C and D. You can also find out the full size using the “Disk Management” utility.

If you want to find out the exact model of the drive, then in the same “Management” window, go to the “Device Manager” tab. Open the “Disk devices” section and you will see the names of the connected media.

If you want to find out all the technical parameters of the disk, including the number of heads, file system and firmware version, then use computer monitoring utilities - Speccy or AIDA64.

In Speccy (a free program), the necessary information is located on the “Data Storage” tab. Among other things, it shows the current temperature of the disk and its general condition.

A comparable amount of disk data can be found in the Data Storage section of AIDA64. By selecting the subsection with the name of the interface that is used to connect the media, you will receive a complete specification of the disk.

What kind of discs are there?

When you find information about the disk, you will have to interpret it somehow, because for an unprepared person all these meanings and terms do not make any sense. Therefore, let's first figure out what types of drives for laptops there are:

• SSD (solid state drive) is a new type of storage device that uses memory chips, which makes it look like a regular flash drive. Does not make noise, does not heat up, does not vibrate, consumes little energy, and demonstrates high read and write speeds.
• HDD (hard disk, hard disk) is an outdated type of media that uses an electronic-mechanical operating principle. It is equipped with a head that reads data from magnetic disks, so the read and write speed is significantly lower than that of an SSD.

HDD is noisy, hot, vibrates and consumes more power than SSD. The only advantage is its low cost compared to a solid-state drive. But SSD is gradually pushing HDD out of the market, so soon no one will remember about hard drives.

In addition to types and capacity, you need to know a few more important information about disks. For example, operating mode:

• SATA 150 - practically not used in modern laptops, bandwidth does not exceed 1.5 Gb/s.
• SATA 300 – operating mode with a bandwidth of 300 Gb/s.
• SATA 600 – operating mode with a bandwidth of 600 Gb/s.

It is preferable to buy drives that support SATA III mode (SATA 600). The difference in performance between SATA II and SATA III can reach 1.5-2 times, this is noticeable to the naked eye when loading the system and performing other tasks.

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 ☺

What is a hard drive?
HDD (Hard Disk Drive), hard drive, screw, hard disk, hard - here is a small list of words by which it is called. This is a device that constantly records information and has a rewrite function.
It stores all information, including the operating system. It is on it that you install, write and overwrite all files on the computer.

How to see the hard drive?
If you enter My computer, then you will see local disks - this is the hard drive. More precisely, this is a little wrong. If you have one local drive, this may also mean that it is a hard drive. But if you have more than one local one, this does not mean at all that you have the same number of hard drives. The hard drive was simply divided into .

Well, externally the hard drive looks like this:

What types of hard drives are there?
They are primarily divided into External And Domestic.

External hard drive- This portable, portable hard drive, enclosed in a special box for easy transportation:

They differ in both volume and connection interface. If the first point is clear, then they have the same connection interface - USB. But now more and more are being released with the USB 3.0 interface, which is several times faster (claimed to be 10 times, but in reality less) than the outdated 2.0. 3.0 is distinguished by its blue connector.

Internal hard drive- this is the one that is on the computer. Everything is logical. Internal HDDs (hard drives) are divided into PCs (Personal Computers) and laptops.
The difference between them is mainly in size.
For a PC it is 3.55 inches, for a laptop it is 2.5 inches.

There is also 1.8, but more on that below.

Hard drive device.
Information in the hard drive is recorded on special magnetic disks. If you remove the cover by unscrewing the bolts, you will see the following picture:

These round pieces are magnetic disks on which information is located. It is read by a special spindle, which is located on top.

Nowadays they are increasingly producing railways using a different technology - using a circuit board. Such disks are more durable both in terms of operation and in the event of mechanical damage (after all, they have no moving elements) and have higher read and write speeds. Other advantages include: noiselessness, thermal properties, low energy consumption, weight and size. They have a name solid state SSD drives and have a form factor of 1.8 inches.
There are both internal:

and external ones:

Such disks (internal) are used to install the operating system on them. This is the right approach. From them it will load much faster, and all processes of copying, recording, installation and other work in general will also be faster compared to a regular hard drive.
Of the minuses, two main factors can be identified - the price (from $200 to $800) and the amount of memory. There are no terabyte SSDs available yet. And the price directly depends on the volume. Well, you don’t need much for the OS.

But now they are starting to release new versions of railways that have received all the best from others - this hybrid hard drives:

They allow you to perform operations just as quickly, but have a large amount of memory and a relatively low price (500 GB magnetic disk + 60 GB SSD flash memory = $350).

How can I find out what hard drive is installed on my computer?
Go to Device Manager and look.

RMB on My Computer - Properties - Device Manager

What are the characteristics of a hard drive? How to choose a hard drive?
When choosing a railway, you need to pay attention to the following indicators:

Interface- this is the connection and connectors. There are SATA and IDE. The former are more common, the latter are already becoming a thing of the past. SATA comes in different speeds: SATA I (up to 1.5 Gbit/s), SATA II (up to 3 Gbit/s), SATA III (up to 6 Gbit/s). When choosing, you need to know what connectors you have on your motherboard, so that there is no confusion later. You can read about this in the article.

Volume- how much memory will be contained in your disk. Here you should proceed from your preferences and look forward, because very often there is simply not enough memory and you have to delete something. I recommend reading the article that describes disk space. so that later they would not be surprised that they bought a 500 GB disk, but in fact it turned out to be 465 GB.
A good option would be to take 2-3 hard drives with a capacity of 500 GB. - 1 TB. Or one for 2 TB. , but here it should be taken into account that if it breaks, then not only the OS will fail, but also absolutely all the data on all local disks.
If you have several hard drives, this problem can be avoided.

Speed- gaining access to information. It is obtained by rotating its magnetic disks. This scale ranges from 4.5 thousand revolutions per minute to 10 thousand. The lower this figure, the less the disk will make noise, consume energy, emit heat, and reduce the speed of obtaining information. Usually they choose 5400 and 7200. These types of drives are still popular.
For storing information, you can choose 5400, and for the OS and programs - 7200.

Manufacturer- a company that produces railways. There is a lot of controversy here. I personally believe that any manufacturer has a defect rate. It’s just that some have more, and some have less. The most popular hard drive manufacturers to this day are Western Digital, Seagate and Hitachi.