Hard Drive Health Monitoring

Active Hard Disk Monitor is a hard drive health monitoring software that displays information about a computer system's hard drive state. It analyzes and displays S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) information provided by compatible hard drives. Other features are hard drive performance monitoring and control, bad sector scanning as well as event logs and reports. The software program displays all connected and supported in the left sidebar and detailed information about the active hard drive in the larger right window.

Additional information and tabs are provided at the bottom which display information about a hard drive's work time, model, temperature and health status. The first tab which is the active tab after selecting a hard drive will display detailed basic information about the selected drive including serial number and the firmware version. The next two tabs contain information about the S.M.A.R.T. status of the active hard drive and a temperature graph that displays the hard drive's temperature changes over time.

The fourth tab can be used to scan the selected hard drive for bad sectors. The very same menu offers to schedule disk scans. A viable alternative is Speedfan which combines all of the possibilities offered by Active Hard Disk Monitor with advanced information and options including the display of all relevant system temperatures and fan speeds. The information and options are however not presented that clearly as in Active Hard Disk Monitor.

Active Hard Disk Monitor is compatible with many Microsoft operating systems including 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 / 2008.

Update: Active Hard Disk Monitor is no longer freeware. Users who visit the developer page will note that only a commercial version of the program is available. I suggest you use Speedfan as an alternative, which remains free to use. Users interested in the Hard Disk Monitor application can download a free trial version at the developer website.

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