So you’ve just bought a solid-state drive. First off, you’re probably already enjoying a significant speed boost in your computer, and second, you’re most likely eager to keep a close eye on it and learn some extra parameters. While there are many SSD diagnostic programs out there, SSD-Z is simple, compact, portable, and won’t cost you a cent.
Why keep an eye on your SSD?
Solid-state drives solve several of the “problems” that affect traditional hard drives, but that doesn’t mean they should be left unmonitored. There’s always the chance of a factory defect, an operating system issue that doesn’t take full advantage of its capabilities, or a BIOS/UEFI setting that makes it run with reduced performance. In short, what you want from your SSD, besides speed, is information. Its manufacturer, exact firmware version, controller type, and Flash memory used. Of course, this data should exist on the official product page, but a deeper look never hurts.
What does SSD-Z do?
This brings us to the little program called SSD-Z. Essentially, it follows in the footsteps of colleagues like CPU-Z and GPU-Z, presenting all the parameters the SSD can report. It includes a general tab, a dedicated SMART tab, another that reports partition status (and whether they are properly aligned), and one that contains a benchmark. The Identify tab presents low-level data about the drive, perhaps a bit more obscure and hard to interpret for the average user, but welcome nonetheless. Technically, SSD-Z is compatible with conventional hard drives, though the amount of information available will be smaller.
SSD-Z is in beta, is completely portable, and its total size doesn’t exceed one megabyte. If there’s any error in the information, the developer invites all users to send a report via the Submit tab. If you have an SSD or plan to get one soon, SSD-Z is an excellent ally.
