Checking a drive usually means installing a utility onto a working operating system — awkward when the machine is being decommissioned, when the OS no longer boots, or when writing anything to the disk is unacceptable.
Boot the checker instead of installing one
A bootable toolkit brings its own environment. The machine boots it over the network or from USB, reads the drive's stored SMART data, and reports it. The installed operating system is never started and never modified.
What gets reported
- Drive model, serial, firmware, capacity and interface
- Power-on hours and power cycle count
- Temperature
- Reallocated, current pending and uncorrectable sector counts
- For SSDs, a wear indicator, remaining health figure and total bytes written
Why read-only matters here
On hardware pulled for disposition, the drive may still hold data that has not been wiped, or evidence needed for a chain-of-custody record. A read-only check inspects the drive without altering it, so health can be assessed before any decision about wiping or destruction is made.
Running it
- Network boot, or write the image to a USB stick.
- Select Drive Health Check from the boot menu, then choose Quick Health Check to read SMART attributes only, or Full Health Check to also run a short self-test.
- Read the reported values, or submit them with an organisation key to keep a per-serial record.
No account is needed to run the check. The optional submission path, which retains results per drive serial, is gated on an organisation key.
Run the free bootable Drive Health Check
The ITAD Tools iPXE toolkit reads SMART data read-only, with no installed operating system and nothing to install on the machine.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check drive health without installing anything?
Yes. Booting a read-only toolkit from USB or over the network reads the drive's SMART data without touching the installed operating system.
Does this work if the machine will not boot to Windows?
Yes. The toolkit provides its own boot environment, so the state of the installed OS does not matter.
Is it safe to run on drives that have not been wiped?
Yes. The Drive Health Check is read-only. It does not write to, repair, or remap the drive.
Do I need an account?
No. The bootable check runs without one. Submitting results with an organisation key is optional and enables per-serial history.
Can I check several machines in a batch?
Yes. Network booting suits benches processing many machines, and results submitted with an organisation key are retained per drive serial.