If you own an old PC, you must have noticed a drop in its performance levels. Older computers generally tend to be laggy and are more likely to crash than newer machines. If you don’t want to upgrade the entire PC, you can perform certain tests to check the status of its essential components. Then you can easily replace the parts that are malfunctioning. In this article, we bring you the essential tests you can perform to check your Windows PC or laptop for failing hardware.
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Table of Contents
Test your PC’s RAM
Windows has a native Memory Diagnostic Tool that you can use to check if the RAM on your PC is malfunctioning. Your PC uses the RAM to read and write temporary information. If you observe frequent app crashes on your PC, the RAM may be the culprit. The Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool performs a thorough reading and writing test on your PC’s RAM to determine its health status. Here’s how you can run the tool on your PC.
Step 1: Press Windows + R to launch the Run box.
Step 2: Type mdsched.exe and hit Enter.
Step 3: You will be asked to restart your PC. Go through with the request.
Step 3: Windows will perform a RAM test on your PC. You will be able to see the results when your PC starts up again.
Step 4: If Windows does not automatically load the results, right-click on the Start icon and select Event Viewer.
Step 5: Expand the Windows Logs section in the side menu and select System.
Step 6: Open the MemoryDiagnostic file.
Use Performance Monitor
Windows Performance Monitor is another native tool that can be used to view real-time performance statistics of your PC as well as the overall usage data. You can also use the Resource Monitor from Monitoring Tools to see how the system resources are being used. Here’s how you can access Performance Monitor on your PC.
Step 1: Click the search box on the taskbar and type Performance Monitor. Open the app from the search results.
Step 2: You will be able to view the real-time system summary (memory usage, network usage, disk usage) on the first page itself.
Step 3: Use Reliability Monitor to check the history of critical events.
Step 4: Click on Resource Monitor to check how system resources are being utilised.
Use CrystalDiskInfo to check your PC’s hard drive
CrystalDiskInfo’s S.M.A.R.T. test gives you a detailed status report of your PC’s hard drive. SMART stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. Using this feature, you can check attributes like read error rate, spin-up time, seek error rate, seek time performance, and more. CrystalDiskInfo also lets you know about the temperature of your PC’s hard drive in real-time
Use Command Prompt to get battery report
If you own a Windows laptop, there’s a very quick way to check its battery health using Command Prompt. Here’s how you can go about the process.
Step 1: Click on the search bar at the bottom toolbar and search for Command Prompt.
Step 2: Right-click on the Command Prompt icon and select Run as Administrator.
Step 3: Type the following command and hit Enter.
powercfg /batteryreport
Step 4: Your laptop’s battery report will be saved to the System32 folder in the C drive. Locate the report and open it.
Step 5: Check the original and current battery capacity under the Installed Batteries section.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I check my PC’s RAM health?
To check the condition of your PC’s RAM, press Windows + R, type mdsched.exe, and hit enter. Your PC will restart to run a RAM test and show you the results upon startup.
How do I check the performance of my PC?
Search for the Performance Monitor app to check the performance stats in real-time.
How do I check my laptop’s battery health?
Launch Command Prompt and enter the powercfg /batteryreport command to generate a battery report. Go to the System 32 folder in C drive to access the report.
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Conclusion
These are the essential tests you can perform on your Windows PC or laptop to check it for failing hardware. Apart from the tests mentioned in this article, there are several other third-party applications like BatteryCat, HWinfo, and RWEverything that perform deep checkups on your PC and generate thorough status reports.
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