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NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EaseUS Software released the Disk Health Insights Report 2026 H1 from 444,282 disk samples, highlighting differences in HDD and SSD health ratings, key warning indicators, and storage characteristics that may warrant closer monitoring.
According to this report, HDD samples were substantially more likely than SSD samples to receive a Caution or Bad health rating: 24.83% of sampled HDDs received one of these ratings, compared with 1.22% of sampled SSDs – a difference of approximately 20 times in the share of health warnings.
The findings highlight the importance of regular disk health checks and proactive data protection, particularly for users who continue to rely on hard disk drives.
How Did EaseUS Lab Conduct This Disk Health Report?
EaseUS Lab, in collaboration with the EaseUS Partition Master R&D and technical support teams, conducted this study and analyzed 444,828 HDD and SSD samples collected from February 1 through July 31, 2026.
The EaseUS Lab examined disk health ratings and S.M.A.R.T. diagnostic indicators, as well as drive capacity, power-on hours (POH), partition styles, and Windows system drive configurations. Rather than measuring actual failure rates or predicting the remaining lifespan of individual drives, the report identifies patterns in observed health ratings and characteristics associated with a higher share of warnings in the dataset.
Alongside the differences between HDDs and SSDs, the findings revealed several noteworthy patterns, including:
- HDDs with capacities below 500 GB showed a 35.89% share of Caution/Bad ratings, while those with more than 5,000 power-on hours recorded a 28.10% share.
- MBR HDDs also showed a higher share of Caution/Bad ratings than GPT HDDs, at 34.14% versus 19.29%.
- The share of HDDs receiving Caution/Bad ratings was nearly identical when C: drive utilization reached 90% or higher.
These findings help Windows users identify key disk health warning signs, protect important data, and prepare for migration or replacement when needed.
The following key findings offer a more thorough look at the report’s most notable disk health patterns and the factors that may warrant closer attention.
Core Findings: Five Key Insights Into Windows Disk Health
According to the report, EaseUS Lab identified five key findings to help users better understand disk health and prioritize maintenance.
1. HDDs Show a Higher Share of Caution and Bad Health Ratings
Among sampled HDDs, 74.73% were rated Good, 23.04% Caution, and 1.78% Bad. By comparison, 98.26% of sampled SSDs were rated Good, while 0.21% were rated Caution and 1.01% Bad.
Overall, 24.83% of HDDs were rated Caution or Bad, compared with 1.22% of SSDs.
Although SSDs show a much lower risk of getting Caution/Bad ratings, it still matters to run regular SSD health checks and take timely action when significant warnings remain.
2. Reallocated Sectors and Read Errors Stand Out Among HDD Warning Indicators
The report identifies S.M.A.R.T. attribute 05, Reallocated Sectors Count, and attribute 01, Read Error Rate, as notable HDD warning indicators.
Reallocated Sectors Count was reported in 5.06% of HDD samples, while Read Error Rate was reported in 1.62%. Among the warning indicators recorded in HDDs rated Bad, these attributes accounted for 70.00% and 22.47%, respectively.
These findings highlight the importance of combining overall health rating with significant diagnostic indicators. When significant warnings appear, users should prioritize protecting important data and determine whether disk cloning, migration, or replacement is appropriate.
3. Smaller-Capacity, Longer-Running, and MBR HDDs Show Higher Shares of Health Warnings
The report found higher Caution/Bad shares in several HDD groups:
- 35.89% of HDDs with capacities below 500 GB were rated Caution or Bad.
- 28.10% of HDDs with more than 5,000 power-on hours (POH) were rated Caution or Bad.
- 34.14% of MBR HDDs were rated Caution or Bad, compared with 19.29% of GPT HDDs.
These patterns identify scenarios that may warrant closer monitoring. However, the findings do not indicate that smaller capacity, longer operating hours, or MBR partitioning style may directly cause disk health to decline. Users should consider these characteristics alongside diagnostic results, device configuration, and usage history when planning maintenance or migration.
4. Low C: Drive Space Does Not Necessarily Indicate Poor HDD Health
This study also examined the relationship between C: drive utilization and disk health, using 90% utilization as the threshold for high storage pressure.
- Among HDDs, 29.04% of samples with C: drive utilization at or above 90% were rated Caution or Bad, compared with 29.32% of those below 90%. The similar result doesn’t show a direct relationship between C: drive utilization and poorer HDD health in this dataset.
- Among SSDs, the Caution/Bad share was 1.83% in the high-utilization group and 0.89% in the lower-utilization group. Although the high-utilization group showed a higher share of Caution/Bad ratings, the data do not show a causal relationship.
For Windows users, low disk space and disk health issues are distinct concerns and should be evaluated separately, even when both issues affect the same device.
5. HDDs Continue to Power a Meaningful Share of Windows Systems
Despite the growing adoption of SSDs, HDDs accounted for 17.79% of sampled Windows system drives. GPT accounted for 75.46% of system drives, while MBR remained in use on 24.54%.
These findings show effective disk health management requires more than mere disk diagnostics. Windows users with HDDs should also consider storage capacity, data protection, partition compatibility, and SSD migration operations.
Industry Implications: Disk Health Detection Is Shifting to Proactive Management
According to this report, disk health diagnostics are taking a broader role in Windows storage management.
A single health rating can indicate whether a further investigation is needed, but it can’t provide a complete picture of storage readiness or determine the remaining lifespan of a disk drive.
This report highlights three practical priorities for disk management providers, PC support teams, and individual users:
- Don’t ignore and check for early warning signs. Review overall health status along with S.M.A.R.T. indicators, power-on hours, and other drive details rather than relying on a single indicator.
- Back up data in advance. When a drive receives a Caution or Bad rating, confirm the reported issue and back up important files before making further decisions.
- Prepare for disk drive upgrade. If a drive is aging or running out of space, check the new drive’s capacity, partition style, and BIOS/UEFI compatibility before migrating or replacing a system drive.
This approach helps users understand disk health warnings and take appropriate action without assuming every warning signals an immediate drive failure.
Actionable Suggestions to Protect HDD and SSD Health in Windows
Based on the report’s findings, EaseUS Lab recommends a practical approach to disk health management tailored to the condition of each drive.
- Drives in Good Status: Continue normal use, back up data regularly, and check disk health periodically.
- Drives in Caution Status: Review warning indicators, back up important files, and monitor disk health.
- Drives in Bad Status: Back up data first and consider drive replacement or data recovery if needed.
- Using small or aging HDDs: Monitor disk health and consider upgrading to an SSD if appropriate.
- Disk with low C: drive space issue: Free up space or expand the partition; low space alone does not indicate disk failure.
- HDD-to-SSD migration: Check disk health, target capacity, and boot compatibility before migrating.
The report emphasizes a complete process to take as long as a user is using a disk drive on their devices: Check Disk Health → Protect Data → Prepare New Disk → Migrate or Replace Disk. The goal is not simply to label a drive as healthy or unhealthy, but to help users respond appropriately to the available evidence.
The full report, including detailed findings and practical recommendations, is available at: https://www.easeus.com/whitepapers/disk-health-insights-report-2026-h1.html
About EaseUS Software
Founded in 2004, EaseUS is a software provider specializing in data recovery, disk management, data backup, and multimedia solutions. Trusted by users in more than 160 countries and regions, EaseUS develops accessible software to help individuals and businesses manage, protect, and make the most of their digital data. For more information, visit https://www.easeus.com.
