Hardware Health Check Software

[Riitta Palazzo]

Ifyou've ever opened up your computer, you know there is a lot of hardware in there, and it's all a potential point of failure. Certain pieces of hardware are more prone to failure than others, but nothing lasts forever.

Did you note that CPUs are at the bottom of the list? CPUs can die, but they'll often be the last PC part to do so, and it's often caused by another issue, like power problems, overheating, or otherwise. Of all your PC hardware components, the CPU is the least likely part to have an issue, especially if you install it and then leave it alone (occasional thermal paste reapplications aside).

But no matter the hardware, the best way to avoid being caught out is to perform regular hardware diagnostic tests on your computer, and there are many ways to run hardware tests on Windows 10 and 11.

That's the easiest way to use the Windows Performance Monitor, but if you want more data, you'll find live performance graphs in Monitoring Tools > Performance Monitor and customizable data sets in Data Collector Sets > User Defined.

There are lots of warning signs when your RAM is close to failing. They include worsening performance, frequent crashes, video cards failing to load on boot, corrupted data files, and incorrect RAM information in the Windows System app.

If you're wondering how to run a memory test on the RAM, you need to use the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. It works by writing to, then reading, your computer's RAM. Differing values signal faulty hardware.

MemTest86+ is well-established as the best tool to test your RAM on Windows. It's more powerful than Microsoft's Windows Memory Diagnostic tool and is free and open source. Furthermore, unlike the Windows tool, MemTest86+ also has a full-featured graphical interface.

Memtest86+ uses two RAM testing algorithms and supports DDR5, DDR4, DDR3, and DDR2 RAM. You boot it directly from a USB flash drive or a CD, and Microsoft has signed the app's code for Secure Boot compatibility.

The app's key feature is the "Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology" (SMART) test. It provides data about several aspects of your drives, including the read error rate, a count of reallocated sectors, the spin-up time, and a whole lot more.

CrystalDiskInfo also includes advanced power and audio management tools for hard drives and SSDs. You can also configure CrystalDiskInfo to provide live alerts if drives become too hot or suffer from other failures. You have to keep CrystalDiskInfo running in the background to receive temperature alerts, but it's really not a problem as it requires very little processing power or system memory.

HWiNFO is way ahead of the hardware testing pack regarding the amount of information provided. But once you get up to speed with its extensive range of data, you'll appreciate it as one of the best computer diagnostic test apps out there.

From a hardware test standpoint, we are most interested in the app's system health monitoring features. They provide detailed real-time reports and graphs about your machine's CPUs, GPUs, mainboards, drives, and peripherals. Double-click any of the sections in the left-hand panel to open a new window filled with data specific to that hardware.

We've written about several tools that'll help you test the health of your laptop battery, but the best option for Windows users is the built-in tool, powercfg. The powerful command generates a precise report on your battery status and history, showing you its capacity and more.

The first part of the battery report details your hardware, current battery status, total capacity, and current capacity, which is all great information. If you scroll down, you'll find more information on charging status, periods, and more.

Another way to diagnose faulty hardware on a Windows system is with a Linux Live CD or USB. There are several rescue and recovery disks for Windows, but two useful distros for diagnosing faulty Windows hardware are PartedMagic and the Ultimate Boot CD.

PartedMagic is a paid tool but features several useful tools for benchmarking and checking your hardware, not to mention its disk partitioning, closing, rescue, and erasing tools, whereas the Ultimate Boot CD is completely free and also features numerous Windows hardware checking tools, testing and analytics options, plus fixes for common issues. As of Ultimate Boot CD version 5, the rescue disk also includes a version of PartedMagic (for partitioning and managing hard drives), so it's a very handy tool to keep around.

I want a report on my system health, so that I know that all my hardware components (CPU, memory, disks...) are functioning as expected. It would be easiest to read if the report listed only the problems found (if any). Is there a system tool that does this?

Another potential indicator of a degrading fan is CPU heat level. On a laptop means fan exhaust vents are clogged or RPM is too low. It could also mean CPU / motherboard needs a dust cleaning with compressed air (don't use your breath which contains moisture). It could also mean your CPU heat sink needs to be reseated with new thermal paste.

If you have an SSD they're life span is measured in trillions of writes. Your SMART utility already measures SSD life but not for NVMe SSDs. For that you need nvme-cli. To install it use:

The most important field is Percentage used which shows as 0%. This isn't disk usage percent but life used percent. The drive was purchased in October 2017 and it was still 0% in December 2018. The Percentage used hit 1% on October 2020. At this rate the NVMe SSD lifespan will be 300 years. Of course it will be obsolete well before then...

One thing you can check is the Hardware Health Sensor page, and make sure that the sensors are properly enabled: _center/orionplatform/content/core-enabling-and-disabling-or-adjusting-hardware-health-monitors-for-individual-nodes-sw3596.htm

If you know the OIDs that Extreme uses to report its Hardware Health in SNMP, you can also create custom pollers to pull that information - although they won't fill in the Hardware Health information directly. You can then use this custom data in alerts, dashboards, and reports as usual: _center/npm/content/core-monitoring-mibs-with-universal-device-pollers-sw548.htm

If you suspect a hardware issue, the KB might be able to help determine it. Please make sure that you schedule a maintenance window, as you would need to reconnect the cables on the fortigate and some of the tests cause outage, so the maintenance window is needed.

Checking the FortiGate firewall's hardware health is a prudent move to ensure the robustness of your network security infrastructure. I've had my fair share of encounters with FortiGate systems, and I'd be delighted to share some insights.

Firstly, initiating a diagnostic process through the Knowledge Base (KB) is an astute approach. The KB often contains valuable information and troubleshooting guides that can shed light on potential hardware issues. However, keep in mind that diagnosing hardware problems can sometimes be a complex task.

When conducting hardware health checks, remember to plan meticulously. Schedule a maintenance window to minimize disruptions, as some diagnostic tests might necessitate cable reconnections or even cause temporary outages. Being prepared and minimizing downtime is essential, especially for mission-critical environments.

Additionally, consider implementing proactive monitoring solutions that continuously assess hardware performance and alert you to potential issues before they become critical. Tools like SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) can provide real-time insights into the health of your FortiGate firewall.

Lastly, don't hesitate to reach out to Fortinet's support or consult with experienced colleagues if you encounter any uncertainties during the hardware health check. Collaboration and shared knowledge are powerful allies in the world of IT.

The Fortinet Security Fabric brings together the concepts of convergence and consolidation to provide comprehensive cybersecurity protection for all users, devices, and applications and across all network edges.

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Your computer hardware is the backbone of your system, but it can also be the source of many problems. If you want to avoid crashes, slowdowns, errors, or failures, you need to check your hardware's health regularly. In this article, we will show you how to use some simple tools and techniques to monitor and diagnose your hardware components.

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is the firmware that controls your hardware settings and boot process. It also provides some useful information and diagnostics for your hardware, such as CPU temperature, fan speed, voltage, memory, and hard drive status. To access your BIOS, you need to restart your computer and press a specific key (usually F2, F10, F12, or Delete) before the operating system loads. Once in the BIOS, you can navigate through the menus and look for any warnings, errors, or abnormal readings. You can also adjust some settings, such as fan speed or voltage, to optimize your hardware performance or stability. However, be careful not to change anything you are not sure about, as it may cause more problems or damage your hardware.

Windows has some built-in tools that can help you check your hardware's health, such as Task Manager, Device Manager, and Resource Monitor. You can access these tools by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and selecting them from the menu, or by typing their names in the search box. Task Manager shows you how much CPU, memory, disk, and network resources your system and applications are using, and allows you to end any processes that are hogging them. Device Manager lists all your hardware devices and drivers, and lets you update, disable, or uninstall them. You can also check for any devices that have a yellow exclamation mark, which indicates a problem or conflict. Resource Monitor gives you more detailed information and graphs about your hardware performance and activity, such as CPU frequency, disk queue length, memory usage, and network traffic.

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