Can You Run CHKDSK on SSD?

Brief intro of CHKDSK

CHKDSK is the most often used program for checking hard drives in Windows, although many people believe that CHKDSK is not good for SSD. The possible reason for this might be that CHKDSK was designed for HDDs and there is no dedicated SSD checking tool. But, if you have this conclusion without knowing this tool, it might be a little prejudiced. Therefore, first, let's learn some basic information about CHKDSK.

CHKDSK is an abbreviation for "check disk" in computers. It is a disk repair tool and scanning in Windows OS that may be used in Command Prompt to check and repair disk issues. After you use this utility, you can scan and show the disk status depending on the partition file system. If the machine isn't working properly, users can perform the precise CHKDSK instructions from a Windows installation tool.

In the picture, you can see, there are many CHKDSK commands that are used in different tasks. If users use without particular parameters, CHKDSK displays only the status of the volume and doesn’t fix any errors.

Is it safe to run CHKDSK on SSD?

You see, CHKDSK is a checking tool for hard disks, while SSD is a type of storage device that stores data using integrated circuit assemblies as memory. Although it is faster and more durable than HDD, it’s still a kind of hard disk used on your PC for data storage. Thus, it is safe to run CHKDSK on SSD in Windows.

Then, why do many users suspect that CHKDSK may not be safe for SSD?

According to the feedback, several users reported having problems after running the CHKDSK command on their C disk. Well, safety doesn't mean appropriate. Although CHKDSK can detect corrupt sectors on SSD, it does not function on C drives on SSD as it does on HDDs. It may experience the issue of CHKDSK being stuck or not operating. SSDs have powerful leveling and regulating technology that can identify and rectify some disk problems automatically via the drive controller.

This is why some customers have unexpected issues while running CHKDSK on their SSDs. If you already have stuck in CHKDSK when you use it on your SSD, you can try Advanced Startup in Settings.

Step 1. Press the Win + I keys to open the Setting app, and then navigate to the Update & Security section.

Step 2. Select Recovery from the left side, go to the Advanced Startup section, and click on Restart now.

Step 3. In the pop-up window, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt in order.

Step 4. Type the disk checking command chkdsk /f in the elevated command prompt and hit Enter.

Step 5. Wait for the CHKDSK utility to complete the scan. Once done, type Exit and hit Enter.

Step 6. Now, your computer should start up as expected. If it restarts in the Recovery Console, you can select Exit and start Windows 10.

In all words, CHKDSK is still a great tool for disk checking. You can run it for your SSD if there’s any problem on your disk. It has many CHKDSK commands for various cases. You can still try some of them, Microsoft has detailed disk checking commands file for users.

How to check SSD on Windows PC

But if you really don’t want to use CHKDSK, or if you can’t understand how to use those commands and syntax, there are other options for you.

The first option is the disk check tools developed by disk companies. If you’re using the Samsung disk, you can download Samsung Magician Software. Users can check the disk and optimize the SSD with various functions. Intel disk is the same as Samsung. You can search for your SSD on the internet to check if there is a specific tool for your SSD. The only limit of these tools is that they can’t be used for disks from other brands.

Another way is to choose a third-party tool. This kind of tool won’t have a brand limitation, and the functions of checking disks are easy to use. In this case, if you’re using an SSD from some other brands, you can turn to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, it is a comprehensive disk management tool for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7/XP.

To check SSD, this tool offers more than one service:

• Test disk speed: This function gives users an accurate test of disk speed. It has two modes to check SSD or HDD speed: Simple Mode and Export Mode. The latter one is more comprehensive and powerful.

• Disk health check: This feature will automatically read the result of the S.M.A.R.T test and show you more details of the disk, then give some advice to protect your disks and data. With this tool, you can easily monitor your disk status on your Windows PC.

▶ Test disk speed

If there are some problems with your SSD, you may feel your SSD slow during daily usage. In this case, testing disk speed can show your SSD status in some ways.

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Click "Test" and select "Disk Speed Test".

Step 2. You can select the partition you want to test and the Simple Mode is selected by default, which will just report the write-read speed of the selected SSD drive. For a more comprehensive result, please click on “Pro Mode”.

Step 3. After launching the Pro Mode, you can alter the default settings: partition, Average/Maximum speed, Size, Test Duration, and Test Number.

After everything is set as you wish, just click on the "Start" button to begin testing the SSD partition speed. Wait for a while and you can see the result, and you can also export the result as a screenshot or TXT file.

▶ Disk health check

Step 1. Right-click the target SSD, and hit "Properties" > "Health(SMART)" to see the state of the disk.

Step 2. Then, you will see different three situations of your SSD.

◤ Health Status: Good
It means your disk is in a good condition and can be used with confidence. So you can continue to use it as usual.

◤ Health Status: Caution
It refers to one or more attributes that are close to the threshold. The disk still can be used normally, but it is recommended to back up data in case of some accidents.

◤ Health Status: Bad
This situation means one or more attributes are equal to or less than the threshold. The disk may be damaged soon and cause data loss. Thus, you’d better replace it with a new one as soon as possible.

Step 3. In each interface, you can click "View details" to see specific S.M.A.R.T. values, red text indicates that the value of the item is equal to or exceeds the threshold.

Ending lines

Using CHKDSK on SSD is safe, but it is not the only way to check your SSD and keep it healthy. If it can’t reach your needs, you can also choose other tools. AOMEI Partition Assistant is a practical tool for Windows users to manage their disks and drives. It has many helpful functions such as MBR/GPT data-safe conversion, converting file systems between FAT32 and NTFS without formatting, resizing partition size, etc. And you can choose the Server Edition to efficiently manage your Windows Server PC.