DiskSmartView 1.21

Overview

DiskSmartView is a hard drive utility for both IDE and SATA platter drives. The software can retrieve the S.M.A.R.T information about the hard drive.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. This is an established standard for IDE and SATA hard drives. The information from hard drives can include their disk model number, the firmware type and firmware number, the rate of disk errors, how many cylinders and how many heads are present in the hard drive, the temperature inside the hard drive, how long the drive has been operational since power-up, and many more pieces of useful information.

The DiskSmartView application can extract a host of information about a selected hard drive system. This can be useful in verifying current performance, whether values have differed from a previous reading, and even help with making buying decisions between an existing hard drive and a possible upgrade.

S.M.A.R.T. information is also useful in providing an early indication of a problem with the hard drive performance itself.

Installation

The package comes in an archive. Once unpacked, the application can be run directly. It is a portable app and so it technically doesn't get installed to a Windows system.

There was no adware, toolbars or other unwanted extras with the archive package.

DiskSmartView requires Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 or Windows Server.

Interface

The interface has a basic menu system and a minimal toolbar below the menu system with some tiny buttons.

Once a hard drive has been specified, it can be read. Then the S.M.A.R.T. values will be shown in the main information pane. The main pane is divided into columns for Description, Raw Value, Normalized Value, Worst Value, Threshold Value, and Status.

Following a S.M.A.R.T. review, it is possible to look through the findings to determine if the status is OK on every test and if not, what aspect failed. The findings of a S.M.A.R.T test can also show the different values that arise and be compared against the threshold value to see that they fall inside or outside the accepted range.

Pros

• S.M.A.R.T. test findings can be shown for different IDE or SATA platter drives
• Review the findings for which tests marked OK and which failed
• Look at different values generated to determine how close to the minimum acceptable threshold each value was
• Run as many S.M.A.R.T. tests are needed

Cons

• Basic application with no detailed explanation about each S.M.A.R.T. value which will leave less experienced users confused.

Alternatives

CrystalDiskInfo is a testing tool for hard drives.

Conclusion

DiskSmartView is a useful S.M.A.R.T. information reader and tester for IDE and SATA hard drives. The software provides a basic readout but not that much more beyond that.