How to Run a Disk Performance Test on Windows: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you need help running disk performance tests on Windows, I'm here to assist. In this article, I'll try to clear any confusion around disk performance and show you two amazing ways to run disk performance tests on Windows.

But before we do, let's talk about hard drive performance and how it affects your system and your overall computer experience.

What is disk performance?

You may be familiar with the term "speed up computer performance". But do you know what disk performance means? All software applications and data on your computer are stored on the hard drive. And, the hard drive is much slower than RAM, which means that your computer will run slower when accessing data from it. Besides, there are several factors that can affect the overall performance of a hard drive:

• Command overhead: This is the time it takes for the disk controller to process an input/output request.
• Seek time: The seek time measures how long it takes for the actuator arm's head assembly to move to the track on the disk where data needs to be read from or written to.
• Rotational latency: This is the time it takes for the disk to rotate so that the necessary sectors are beneath the read/write heads.
• Data transfer time: This is the rate at which data is transferred from the disk surface to the drive controller, and then from the controller to the host system.

It's a good idea to regularly perform a Windows disk performance test or an SSD performance test. The next section will show you how to do that.

How to Run a Disk Performance Test in Windows

Now that you understand the impact of disk performance on your overall PC performance, let's discuss how to run Windows' built-in disk performance tests and how to improve your system's performance.

Method 1: Run a Disk Performance Test on Windows with Partition Master Tool

Partition Master, a hard disk management tool, can handle all disk management tasks. Its "Disk Label" feature is perfect for assessing your hard drive's performance and checking all properties related to disk performance effectively.

Let's see how it works. To optimize your hard drive performance, follow these steps:

Step 1: Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and then click the Download button to activate the "DiskMark" feature under "Discovery".

Click the Download button of DiskMark.

Step 2: Select the target drive, test data, and block size from the drop-down menus.

Step 3: Once all settings are configured, click on “Start” to begin the hard drive test. You will then see readings for sequential or random read/write speed, I/O, and latency.

Click Start.

Partition Master software also offers many other benefits, including:

• Disk Surface Test: This feature helps you identify bad sectors on your hard drive and repair them quickly.
• Check Hard Disk Health: You can use this tool to manage and monitor the health status and overall performance of your hard disk.
• Check SSD Health on Windows 10: This tool offers a "Disk Health" feature that effectively checks the health status of your hard drive.
• Disk Partitioning: The app assists you in managing disk partitions, making it easy to manage your storage space.
• Disk Formatting: You can use this software to clean or erase a hard drive before selling, removing any unwanted errors or issues.
• Disk Conversion: This allows you to change a dynamic disk to basic or vice versa.
• Speed up hard drive by extending partitions:

Partition Master tools allow you to optimize hard disk performance without losing any data. Additionally, you can recover any lost data by scanning your drives.

So what are you waiting for? Download this tool to help you out.

Method 2: Run the Disk Performance Test on Windows using Command Prompt

The Command Prompt (Command Prompt, or CMD) is a terminal app built into Windows that allows you to check your hard drive's performance and get real-time stats. To use this tool, follow these instructions:

Step 1. Click the "Start" button, then type "cmd" into the search box. Alternatively, you can open the "Run" dialog by pressing "Windows + R", then type "cmd" to open the terminal.

Step 2. Right-click on “cmd” and select “Run as administrator.”

Step 3: Type "winsat disk -drive c" in the Command Prompt, then hit "Enter." Replace "c" with the letter of the drive you want to test.

After pressing Enter, you'll see an overview of everything that's happening on the target disk. If you suspect that your disk access was compromised at a certain time, you can schedule a new scan and compare it with one performed at a more secure time.

By the way, if you're interested in the various computational commands, you might enjoy this topic:

This method is super easy, but it can be risky. If you don't know what you're doing, this process could result in permanent data loss.

However, if you run the Windows disk performance test with the Partition Master tool, your data will not be lost.

Conclusions

The speed of your hard drive is crucial for sending data to the processor quickly and providing a faster, smoother overall experience. Thus, regularly managing its performance is a safer bet.

This guide offers two effective methods for testing disk performance on Windows. However, to prevent data loss and run the tests more efficiently, I recommend using the Partition Master tool. It also aids in customizing hard disk partitions and provides a user-friendly interface for managing your drives.

Frequently Asked Questions about Windows Disk Performance Testing

This guide covers everything you need to know about testing Windows disk performance. If you still have questions, check out the FAQ below.

**1. How can I check my hard drive performance in Windows 10?** To check your hard drive's performance in Windows 10, follow these steps: 1. **Using "Resource Monitor":** - Press `Win + R` to open the "Run" dialog. - Type `resmon` and click "OK" or press Enter. - In the "Resource Monitor" window, select the "Disk" tab. Here, you'll see read/write speeds, active time, and other relevant information for each disk. 2. **Using "Disk Management":** - Right-click the Start button on the taskbar and choose "Disk Management." - In the opened window, you can view the type and size of each disk, but not direct performance data. 3. **Using "Defragment and Optimize Drives":** - Search for "defragment" or "optimize drives" in the search bar. - Open the "Defragment and Optimize Drives" tool, select a disk, and click "Analyze" to assess the fragmentation level. While this doesn't directly measure performance, it can help determine if defragmentation is needed. 4. **Install third-party software:** - You can also download and install third-party tools like CrystalDiskMark, HD Tune, or PassMark DiskCheckup to get detailed hard drive performance tests. Please note that for SSDs (solid-state drives), defragmentation is generally not necessary, as they operate differently from traditional HDDs (hard disk drives).

Download the Partition Master tool to check your disk performance without the fear of losing data. You can also choose to use the Windows Command Prompt. Here's how to test your disk with CMD:

Step 1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 2: Type "winsat disc -drive d" and press "Enter." Replace the letter "d" with the drive letter of the disk you want to check.

All the disk performance statistics are displayed on the screen.

Why is my computer running slow with a 100% disk usage?

100% disk usage can cause your computer to run slowly, affecting the performance of all operations. This happens when several background and foreground apps are running on your system simultaneously. As a temporary fix, try suspending background programs and restarting to clear everything from memory.

Can CHKDSK improve performance?

You can use CHKDSK to scan for damaged files on your hard drive, help fix your computer, and do a deep clean to keep your drive in good working order. While CHKDSK might not directly speed up your computer, it can help free up storage space, which often has a similar effect.