Best Free Software for 2.5 HDD Health for HGST, WD, Seagate in USB 3.0 Enclosure

What's the best, 100% free software for analyzing the health of 2.5" HDDs? Is it necessary to have the HDD brand's software, or will another software provide the same results? I've used several: Victoria, gsmartcontrol, crystaldiskinfo, and HD Tune, but I wanted to simplify things by having only the best or the best free software.



I have 2.5" HDDs from HGST, WD, and Seagate, all of which are in a USB 3.0 case.



I access my HDDs once a week. Is it always necessary to repeat tests that take hours to prevent file loss and corruption?

https://victoria.en.lo4d.com/windows

gamemaniaco1987 wrote:

Is it always necessary to repeat hours of testing to prevent file loss and damage?

A full test is enough, as you do once every few months. You can't eliminate the risk of data loss 100% anyway - all it takes is for your drive to drop and so what if it was in working order a minute before? Victoria is the best. MHDD doesn't work with USB-connected drives and hasn't been developed for 20 years. It's still a very good programme, but because of its age, it's no longer the optimal choice in every situation - this gives Victoria the advantage. You can dispense with the other programmes. 20 years ago I also used disk manufacturers' software, but its diagnostic value was inferior to MHDD and Victoria and as I learned to interpret the results, I gave up on the manufacturers' software.

I would also recommend trying this program -> Clear Disk Info .
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https://www.elektroda.pl/rtvforum/topic4130224.html#21629794

>>21701085 If I have a new, unused 2.5" HDD and a used 2.5" HDD (smart reset or firmware modified), I turn them on once a year. Will a surface scan from HD Tune Pro or SeaTools reveal the real health status of these HDDs? If they result are OK, is a full surface scan necessary again after a few months or a year? A full surface scan takes many hours.