Nowadays, SSD and HDD are the most common hard drives for laptops and computers. However, many users are still confused on how to distinguish whether your computer is using SSD or HDD. This article will show you how to check it
The difference between SSD and HDD
SSD stands for Solid State Drive meaning the drive is in solid state and created as an alternative to the slow speed of traditional HDD. Besides the fast read and write speed, SSD also possesses a multitude of other advantages
HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is a traditional hard drive, in the middle of the drive there is a spinning motor to read/write data. This structure makes the HDD drive speed much slower than the SSD one
To be able tell them apart will be more proactively for you in the process of using the computer. For example, SSD hard drive performance will be utilized better on Windows 10 than Windows 7
Meanwhile, if your hard drive is HDD, you need to frequently defragment to ensure its stability and speed
How to check if your computer using SSD or HDD
Method 1: Check with Defragment and Optimize Drives
Pros: This tool is available on Windows, has high accuracy and is easy to use
Cons: Unable to provide other information related to the hard drive (hard drive health, capacity, temperature,ect.)
Step 1: Press the Windows key (the key with window icon)>Enter Optimize in the search box>Select Defragment and Optimize Drives.
Step 2: Optimize Drives window appears>Check information in the Media type column
- Solid state drive: SSD
- Hard disk drive: HDD
Method 2: Check with PowerShell
Pros: Fast operation, simple and no need to install more apps
Cons: Unable to provide other information related to the hard drive (hard drive health, temperature, ect.)
Step 1: Search on Windows>Enter PowerShell>Right-click and open PowerShell as Administrator (Run as Administrator).
Step 2: In the PowerShell window, enter Get-PhysicalDisk>Enter
Step 3: Check information in Media Type and you will know whether the hard drive on the device is an SSD or HDD
Method: Check with CrystalDiskInfo
Pros: Apart from the ability to recognize the SSD or HDD, this software can also provide a lot more helpful information such as: hard drive status (good, alert, about to fail), hard drive operating temperature and spinning speed)
Cons: Must install additional software
Step 1: Download and install CrystalDiskInfo (supported on Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10) here: https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/
Step 2: Check spinning speed
At the spinning speed section, if it displays 7200 or 5400, the hard drive is a HDD and if it’s another number, it’s a SSD
Or you can look up for the hard drive code name (it’s ST500LT012-1DG142 500 for the image above) on Google to know whether your hard drive is a SSD or HDD
How to check if a Mac or Macbook is using a SSD or HDD
Step 1: On the computer running on macOS, select menu Apple (apple icon)> About this Mac
Step 2: At the Overview tab, continue to select System Report
Step 3: At System Report>Select Storage on the left column. This time on the right will appear an entire report with your Mac hard drive information
Step 4: To check which hard drive is using, just look at Medium Type
Note: Some computer and laptop lines from Apple use the Fusion Drive drive (a hybrid hard drive between SSD and HDD), if you see this text in the Medium Type section, you should not be too surprised!
