5 Best PC Hardware Diagnostic Tools for PC Tested by Experts

Hardware diagnostic tools help you prevent hardware malfunctioning

Reading time icon 7 min. read


Readers help support Windows Report. We may get a commission if you buy through our links. Tooltip Icon

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial team. Read more

A message from our partner

Resolve multiple Windows PC issues and speed up your PC effortlessly with specialized software.

  • Download HelpSoft PC Cleaner and install it on your PC.
  • Click on Start Scan button to find corrupt or broken files that affect your PC.
  • Now the software will start the fixing process and boost your PC performance.
Download now HelpSoft PC Cleaner has been downloaded by 0 readers this month

To prevent errors like BSoD and system crashes you need to monitor your PC with a reliable hardware diagnostic tools. The information from a hardware diagnostic tool can be used as a preemptive measure, and to resolve any ongoing issues.

What are the best hardware diagnostic tools for Windows?

Note icon NOTE
Important! Some of the special data as the CPU fan speed and temperature of various components can only be shown if certain hardware comes with the sensor for it.

AIDA64 Extreme – Best hardware monitoring tool

AIDA64 is a hardware monitoring software for Windows 10 and that caters to home users, corporate engineers, and businesses. It offers detailed information for over 185,000 hardware devices.

The System Stability Test uses a 64-bit multi-threaded stress testing module to drive your PC to its limits.

Even more, SSD, hard disk, and OpenCL GPGPU video adapter stress testing are all part of the package. Even more, it can easily provide detailed information on the PC’s internals in no time. This is possible thanks to a generous hardware database holding more than 200,000 entries.

Check out the main features that this tool brings to the table:

  • Over 50 pages of information on software licenses, installed programs, and Windows settings
  • Implements a set of 64-bit benchmarks
  • Supports over 250 various sensor devices to measure temperatures, fan speeds, and not only
  • Custom panel that perfectly fits the design of your rig
  • CPU PhotoWorxx Benchmark for accurate color space conversion

AIDA64 Extreme

This is a great system information tool that allows you to monitor the performance of your computer.
Check price Get it now

CrystalDiskInfo – Good for SSD diagnostics

If you want to know if your SSD or hard drive is in good condition, the tool to use is no other than CrystalDiskInfo. It performs a complete analysis of the state of your data drives, including USB drives, SSDs, and HDDs.

It will give you details about error rates, uptime, spin-up time, and temperature.

What we found extremely useful is that you can configure CrystalDiskInfo to send you alerts if there is any issue identified in one of the systems being monitored. 

Check out the main features that this tool brings to the table:

  • Straightforward interface, with Temperature, Health Status, and Smart information displayed
  • Auto-detection feature that can be easily turned On or Off
  • Ideal for reading and monitoring disk drive status
  • Provides a health rating based on your drive’s Smart status
  • Completely free to use by anyone

⇒ Get CrystalDiskInfo

Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool – Best for Intel CPUs

Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool performs various stress tests on the processor, verifies the processor’s operating efficiency, and checks for brand identification.

Even more, feel free to configure it by accessing Tools > Config > Edit. You will immediately receive a note about the effect of changing Intel PDT parameters from the default configuration. 

We also want to share a useful tip with you. You can get more details on how to use the utility by clicking on About > Help to view the Help Documentation file.

Check out the main features that this tool brings to the table:

  • Verifies the functionality of all the cores of Intel processors
  • Tests specific processor features
  • Brand identification is included
  • Verifies the processor’s operating frequency
  • Lets you save the test results files after the test 

⇒ Get Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool

JScreenFix – Best for identifying LCD issues

If the stuck pixels are not a result of defects in the screen, then JScreenFix can fix the problem. The program uses HTML5 and JavaScript directly in your web browser, so there’s nothing that you are supposed to install.

Quite the opposite, just launch it by using the link below and note that it works by flushing the affected area with hundreds of different colors every minute. This way, it takes only a few minutes to unstick the pixels.

Besides the fact that it has an intuitive interface and it’s very easy to use, this web app is suitable for both LCD and OLED screens.

Check out the main features that this tool brings to the table:

  • Easy to use, clean, and crisp interface
  • Repairs stuck pixels in less than 10 minutes
  • Pixel fixing algorithm that has been applied to over four million screens
  • Provided free of charge
  • Over 60% success rate

⇒ Get JScreenFix

How do I scan for hardware errors in Windows 11?

  1. Click the Start button and select Settings.
  2. Next, click on Privacy & security from the left pane and select Diagnostics & feedback from the right.
  3. Now, turn On the Diagnostic Data Viewer and click on the Open Diagnostic Data Viewer button.
  4. By default, you don’t have the Diagnostic Data Viewer installed so you will be redirected to the Microsoft Store app where you need to click the Get button to download and install the app.
  5. After the app is installed, open the app and if you click the Problem Reports tab, you will see all the recent hardware issue reports with detailed information.

If you didn’t upgrade your machine with the latest OS, below you can see how you can do that on Windows.

How do I scan for hardware errors on PC?

  1. Click the Start button and select Settings.
  2. Choose Privacy.
  3. Now, select Diagnostic & feedback from the left, turn On the View diagnostic data option and click on the Open Diagnostic Data Viewer button.
  4. By default, this app is not installed so you will be redirected to Microsoft Store where you need to click the Get button to download and install it.
  5. After the process is finished, open the app and click on the Program Reports tab from the left to see a detailed situation of all the latest hardware and software issues.

Do Windows 10 and 11 have a hardware diagnostic tool?

Although they offer a Memory Diagnostic Tool, it doesn’t offer too much information.

In comparison with Windows 10, the updated version of troubleshooting software has been improved on Windows 11. But it still doesn’t offer the entire range of features or the amount of information a good third-party software can.

How do I use the Memory Diagnostic Tool?

  1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialogue box.
  2. Type mdsched.exe and press Enter to run it.
  3. Choose either to restart the computer and check for problems or to check for problems the next time you restart the computer.

Also known as mdsched.exe, the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool runs comprehensive tests on your computer’s memory checking for any error that may stifle proper functioning.

To be more precise, it tests memory for defects and displays the results so that you can take action.

Keep in mind that no intervention is required on your part at this point since the verification is completely automatic. As for the actual memory test sets, they will continue to repeat until the PC is powered off.

The Memory Diagnostic Tool will run tests on your machine and will notify you of any memory module issues.

We also have a guide on how to fix Memory Diagnostic Tool if it doesn’t return any results.

Are hardware diagnostic tools safe?

Yes, legit hardware diagnostic tools are safe. However, hackers and other third parties have used the disguise of such tools to pack malware and bloatware. So always make sure to use reputable tools and only download them from their official sites.

There are many diagnostic tools that you can use to fix hardware problems and since we could not cover all of them in one lot, we hope that you will find the above tools useful.

You can bookmark this page as you might need to visit it again if you come across the same problem or a different one in the future.

For more information, you may also read our guide with 7 ways to run complete hardware diagnostics on Windows 10.

If you have any other questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.

More about the topics: windows 10

User forum

4 messages