4.4.3. Extended Self-test

Stellar Drive Monitor allows you to perform an Extended Self-test to deeply check the electrical and mechanical performance along with the read/write operations on the entire disk surface. The Extended Self-test is extensive and more time-consuming, requiring several hours to thoroughly scan the entire disk. 

Note: Extended Self-test feature is not available for external storage devices such as USB drives, NVMe, Memory Cards etc.

Note: If your computer has multiple hard disks connected to it, you can select the desired drive from the drop-down list, located at the top-right of the user interface.

Steps to Perform an Extended Self-test: 

1. Run Stellar Drive Monitor.

2. Select a hard disk you want to scan from the drop-down list, located at the top-right of the user interface.

3. Select Scan Disk from the left pane of the user interface.

4. Three options to scan your disk, i.e., Scan Disk, Short Self-test, and Extended Self-test, will appear. Choose Extended Self-test for an extensive scan.

5. Extended Self-test window appears with your selected disk's Model Number and Serial Number along with the Test Name and Status. Click Scan.

6. A Drive Test dialog box appears on the screen with a message "Extended Self-test can't be aborted". Click Yes to continue.

Note: If you click the Yes button, you won't be able to stop the scanning process once it starts.

7. A progess bar shows the scanning process along with the percentage and remaning time of the test.  

8. After the Extended Self-test is completed successfully the following screen appears with "Successfully Completed" status. 

Note: "Test failed by Read Element" status is displayed if Stellar Drive Monitor is unable to read any element of the disk.

Note: You can re-initiate scanning multiple times from the same screen by clicking the scan button. 

9. Navigate to the three options for scanning by clicking the Back button.

10. A Scan Disk dialog box appears on the screen with a message "Scan results will be lost if you move away from this screen." Click Yes to continue.

Note: When you click Yes, all the scan information about the drive will be lost.