CrystalDiskInfo 9.6.3

Overview

CrystalDiskInfo is a hard drive health maintenance application that is designed to continually monitor HDD performance attributes and temperature levels. Through detailed analysis the software provides invaluable insight to the overall health of your hard drive, while also giving you the information needed to make appropriate repairs when necessary.

Installation

With a file size of a little more than 1.5 MB, CrystalDiskInfo is compact yet extremely powerful. This program is compatible with nearly all versions of Windows, from 2000 up, including 2003, 2008, XP, Vista, and 7. Before the installation process ends you may be asked whether you want to install a third-party toolbar. You don't have to check the box to install the additional software if you don't need it - to install CrystalDiskInfo; simply check “I do not want to install” and the installation will proceed.

Interface

The main window of the CrystalDiskInfo user interface is split into seven main submenus – file, edit, function, theme, desk, help, and language. Exiting the application must be done through the file menu. The function menu is where most of the real functionality lies, letting you refresh/auto refresh entire information menus or specific targets, rescan the hard drive, open the graph window, hide various statistics, and select your temperature type preference. The function menu also gives you access to disk management, device manager options, and health status settings, as well as a plethora of other advanced features.

Pros

• Simple, yet extensive user interface that constantly displays a slew of performance statistics

• Rescanning the hard drive for health analysis is as easy as pressing F6

• Fully customizable settings give you complete control over every feature, including advanced power management (APM)

• An integrated temperature alarm automatically notifies you when a drive reaches a certain temperature

• Lets you use automated commandline inquiries to request hardware performance statistics

• Displays drive temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit

• Offers comprehensive graphs that provide S.M.A.R.T. (Self Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) information about your hard drive

• Supports various advanced features including automatic acoustic management, and native command queuing

• Utilizes 48-bit block addressing to ensure maximum efficiency during operation

Cons

• Users may need to posses intermediate knowledge about hard drives to understand what some of the more advanced statistics mean. However, comprehensive help documentation simplifies the learning curve even for novice computer users.

Alternatives

There are several other free, open-source HDD analysis applications available online, the most notable of which are SpeedFan, HD Tune, and HDDScan. SpeedFan is the most popular of the three and has the most robust feature set, with fan speed, temperature, and electronic voltage monitoring capabilities.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a way to diagnose the current health of your hard drive, and gain more insight to improve your computer maintenance practices, CrystalDiskInfo provides an ideal solution. The software is compact, easy to install and use, and requires no additional configuration or input by the user. Simply open the main interface and review the status of your hard drive's health.