Last updated on April 22, 2024

HDDs are the most affordable way to increase your system's storage space. If your computer has been running slower than usual lately, the problem might be with your hard drive. The fastest and best way to verify this assumption is by performing an HDD read and write speed test. If you don't know how to test the speed of your HDD, don't worry – this article will explain it in detail.

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In this article, you will learn:
  • Does read or write speed matter for an HDD?
  • How can I check the read/write speed of an HDD? [3 Methods]

Does HDD read/write speed matter?

HDD Read/Write Speed Test

Yes, HDD read and write speed is crucial because it is one of the main factors determining the system's performance. As the primary storage medium, file transfer rates, program loading times, system boot-up time, and other processes depend on the disk speed. You can use an HDD benchmark tool to evaluate your computer's performance. Here are some significant reasons why you should regularly run a HDD read/write speed test:

  • System Performance: Testing your hard drive's read and write speeds can give you an idea of how well your system is performing. These speeds roughly correspond to how quickly your computer can access and store data.
  • Solve hard drive issues: If your system's HDD is not working properly, running an HDD read and write speed test can help you identify the problem. Through it, you can take appropriate measures to resolve the bothering issue.
  • Drive tests: When purchasing a new hard drive, running read and write speed tests can help determine its quality. You can also compare the speeds to your old drive to see how much of a performance boost you can expect.
  • Hard drive health check: Hard drive read and write speed tests are also an important indicator of your system hard drive's current health status. Through it, you can know when your computer hard drive is reaching the end of its lifespan. A hard drive speed test can also detect any sudden hard drive failures or issues.

How to Check the Read and Write Speed of Your HDD [3 Methods]

Testing the speed of your computer's hard drive isn't a difficult task. You can use built-in Windows tools or third-party software to run a hard drive read and write speed test. To help you out, we've picked three of the most accurate methods to check HDD speed.

Using a third-party program to check your computer's hard drive speed is the recommended method, as it will give you the most accurate speed results.

There are many dedicated tools for this purpose that can help us tackle significant issues. Among them, Partition Master is an ideal choice for running an HDD read and write speed test.

Guide 1: Use a Free Disk Speed Test Tool to Measure HDD Read/Write Speeds

As mentioned above, using a third-party tool is the best way, and you won't find a more reliable free one than tools Partition Master. It's a tool designed to solve all sorts of hard drive-related issues. Its “Disk Mark” feature will help you get the most accurate results in your HDD read and write speed test.

With it, you can also check the read and write speeds of many other storage drives, such as SSD, NVMe, M.2, USB, SD cards, and more. You can download and use it for free to test your computer's HDD speed.

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Steps to perform HDD read/write speed test using Partition Master tool

Due to the user-friendly interface of Partition Master, checking the speed of your computer's hard disk is very simple. Here are the steps needed to run an HDD read/write speed test:

< strong > Step 1. < /strong > Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. Then click the "Download" button to activate the "Disk Benchmark" feature under the "Discovery" section.

Click the Download button for DiskMark

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

Choose a disk to test its speed.

Step 3: Once you've configured all the settings, click on the “Start” button to begin the disk benchmarking process. You'll now be able to see the read and write speeds for sequential or random I/O, as well as latency figures.

Click to Start

Note: Apart from testing the read and write speed on HDD, you can also use the Disk Mark feature in Partition Master to test the speed of an SSD disk as per this guide:

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Test SSD Read/Write Speed on Windows

Read and follow this article to learn more about SSD read/write speed and how to test the SSD read/write speed on your system.

Image showing how to test SSD read and write speed

Main features of the Partition Master tool that you may like

Here are some features that can be used for managing and optimizing disk performance in addition to testing disk speed:

  • Resize/Move Partition: Using this tool, you can easily resize or reallocate partition size at any time. No data will be lost during the resizing or moving process since there is no need for formatting.
    • Create New Partition: If you're planning to add a new hard drive to your computer, Partition Master is the tool for you. It will help you create as many partitions as you need with your preferred partitioning scheme.
  • Hidden Partition: To protect your sensitive and private data, this tool allows you to hide an entire partition. You can create a specific partition to store personal data and hide it to prevent others from accessing it.
    Check file system: tools Partition Master allows you to fix file system errors on the hard drive. It supports file systems like NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, EXT4, etc. to repair file system errors.

【Guide 2】Using CMD to Check and Run HDD Read/Write Speed Test

When it comes to figuring out the exact speed of your computer hard drive using the built-in tools of Windows, CMD is the best choice. However, its command-line interface may not be for everyone and can be confusing for new users.

You can check your computer's hard drive speed using the WinSAT command in Command Prompt. Here's how to run a Hard Disk Read and Write Speed Test through CMD:

Step 1: Click the "Start" button at the bottom right of your desktop, then navigate to the "Windows System" folder. Here, right-click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as administrator" from "More options" to launch CMD with admin privileges.

Open cmd

Step 2: Run the following command lines in the Command Prompt to test your HDD's read/write speed:

The Chinese translation for "winsat disk -ran -write -drive C" is "WinSAT Disk Assessment - Run - Write - Drive C".

The "C" in this command stands for the name of your hard drive, which you'll need to replace with the name of your computer's hard drive.

Use CMD to test the disk speed Use CMD to test the disk speed

Guide 3: Use the Task Manager to Run an HDD Read/Write Speed Test

In Windows, you can find all running applications and processes in the Task Manager, which you can also use to check your hard drive's read and write speed. While the speeds displayed may not be completely accurate, they will give you a good idea of how fast your hard drive is. To do a Hard Drive Read/Write Speed Test using the Task Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click on your Taskbar and select "Task Manager" from the menu. Here, click on the "Performance" tab.

Open Task Manager

Step 2: Go to the "Performance" tab and select your computer's hard drive from there. This will allow you to view its read and write speeds, along with other important information.

Check the hard drive speed in the Task Manager

Final Award

Monitoring your computer's hard drive speed and health is essential for keeping it in top shape. Since the entire operating system is stored on the hard drive, slow performance can severely impact your system. Luckily, after downloading the free tool Partition Master, you can run an efficient Hard Disk Read and Write Speed Test and address other hard drive issues.

Frequently Asked Questions About HDD Read/Write Speed Tests

As you know, the speed of a hard drive plays a significant role in a computer's overall performance. Hence, having a basic understanding of it is crucial. If you're interested in hard drive read and write speed testing, we've addressed some common questions on this topic below:

1. What is the best SSD speed test tool for Windows 10?

"Partition Master" is the best tool to test SSD speed in Windows 10. This SSD speed checker can be downloaded and used for free. When you use this tool, you'll get the most accurate details about your computer's SSD speed.

2. Can I run an SSD read and write speed test online?

No, it's not possible to test the read and write speed of an SSD online. An SSD is a hardware component, and you need to download a tool or use built-in Windows utilities to check its performance. If you're looking for a reliable free SSD speed testing tool, AOMEI Partition Assistant might be a good option.

Why is my HDD read/write speed so slow?

While HDDs are generally slower at reading and writing data than other types of storage, your computer's hard drive should not be unreasonably slow. A slow hard drive can be the result of wear and tear, bad sectors, disk fragmentation, file system errors, or structural damage.