GSmartControl 2.0

GSmartControl is a software utility developed to perform hard disk analysis and diagnosis, to help users better evaluate the hard disk condition and prevent future failures.
It has a basic GUI, very common on old operating systems, a few customizations options, and a poorly crafted theme.

The program is able to perform SMART self-tests, it offers extensive information and guidance, and it automatically highlights and reports anomalies. The retrieved information, such as device model, serial number, storage capacity, ATA version, or firmware version, is displayed to the user so he can take actions regarding the provided data.

Also, GSmartControl is compatible with PATA and SATA drives, USB, ATA and other types of storage mediums. If the Automatic Offline Data Collection is enabled, the application will perform a disk check every four hours without impacting the system performance.

Furthermore, this utility is able to read smartctl output from a saved file and interpret it as a read-only virtual device.

Overall, GSmartControl is a reliable tool for performing hard disk analysis, not to mention is free. Yet, the diagnosing process does take a while and the navigation is sometimes sluggish.