HDD Guardian 0.7

Get a graphical interface to smartctl, part of Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. Get device overview, including temperature, last test result, overall health, and bad sectors. View an optional icon into the tray area for each fixed device. Export smartctl output into a specified folder, monitor virtual devices loaded from a shared smartctl output, perform self-test and view their results.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. This is a monitoring system designed for hard drives and is meant to warn the user when hard disk failure is imminent. Most modern hard disks incorporate this technology and continuously update statistical data internally. To be able to see and use this information, you can use software like HDD Guardian.

This program offers a complete set of tools to help you use S.M.A.R.T. data. Besides live monitoring of that data, it offers advanced information about your disks. It can also run tests for more accurate reports and enable or disable certain features on your devices.

The application’s interface is attractive and easy to use. However, understanding the reported data requires some experience and knowledge. There are no tips or offline help files that explain how to interpret the information. However, online help is available on the developer’s site but it’s centered around the application itself so if you want to learn how to interpret data, you will have to research it yourself.

In conclusion, this is a well-made S.M.A.R.T. data analysis tool, intended for more advanced users.