The latter option conducts a more thorough examination of your drive to look for bad sectors and other such signs of failure. If you want to be a little more particular, you can opt for a quick or extended test.

And that's how it works here: if you don't know what type of test to run, click Self Test, and wait for the results. Testing your drive shouldn't be a complicated process - after all, most of it should be automatic. It allows users to test their drives in various ways, and it also offers a few options for formatting/erasing one's storage, among other things. Being proactive helps, and checking your drives for errors and bad sectors, as well as making periodic backups, is something that may help you in the long run.ĭrive manufacturers often have their own software to offer to help with that, and Seagate SeaTools is an offering from one such manufacturers. However, that does not exclude data loss events from occurring, but it's nice to be proactive. Taking care of your drives ensures that they will perform for years to come, and serve you and your data well.

Download seagate seatools for windows