On a supported NVM SSD, Windows 11 can show critical warnings and health attributes without a separate diagnostic app. Open Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Disks & volumes, select the physical disk, then choose Properties. This view does not cover SATA SSDs or hard drives, so missing health data is not proof that a drive is healthy.
Check an SSD’s health in Windows 11
- Open Settings.
- Go to System > Storage.
- Expand Advanced storage settings, then select Disks & volumes.
- Select the physical disk that contains the SSD, rather than identifying it only by a drive letter, and open Properties.
- Review the health status, any critical warnings, and the attributes Windows makes available.
Microsoft documents this route for viewing details about a critical storage warning in its storage-device warning guidance. Menu labels can differ by Windows version; Microsoft describes the Windows 10 route separately as Manage disks and volumes.
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Which SSDs Windows can monitor
Microsoft says this health monitoring applies to NVM SSDs, not SATA SSDs or HDDs. Therefore, a SATA SSD may not show these health attributes even when Windows can use the drive normally. A missing panel or missing values should be treated as unavailable information, not a passing health test.
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Hardware and connection details can also affect what Windows recognizes. Microsoft notes that some USB enclosures and hubs can hide or abstract physical-drive identity in its Storage Spaces guidance; that statement concerns Storage Spaces eligibility and does not establish how every enclosure reports health attributes.
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How to interpret the health attributes
Critical warnings
Microsoft identifies low available spare capacity, degraded reliability, and read-only status as critical-warning types. Low spare means the drive’s available spare storage has dropped below the manufacturer’s safety threshold. Degraded reliability is associated with significant media-related errors or an internal error in the NVM subsystem. Read-only status means data may still be accessible, but the drive cannot accept writes.
If Windows displays a critical warning, back up important files as soon as you can. Microsoft specifically recommends backing up data when this warning appears. Avoid risky repair attempts or continued reliance on the drive before protecting files you cannot replace.
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Estimated remaining life
This is an approximate estimate based on the manufacturer’s prediction, not a countdown to a known failure date. Microsoft says the displayed value is capped at 0%; seeing 0% does not by itself mean the SSD has already failed or will fail immediately. The value cannot be converted into a reliable number of days remaining.
Available spare
Available spare is a normalized percentage representing remaining spare capacity. Microsoft defines the displayed range as 0% to 100%. Interpret it as a drive health attribute, not as free disk space.
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Temperature
Windows may show the overall device temperature in degrees Celsius. There is no single safe threshold established for every SSD here; if a reading seems unusual, compare it with guidance for that specific drive.
Built-in Windows checks that answer different questions
| Windows view | What it tells you | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Disks & volumes > disk Properties | For supported NVM SSDs, critical warnings and attributes such as estimated remaining life, available spare, and temperature. | Microsoft says this view does not monitor SATA SSDs or HDDs; missing values are not a clean bill of health. |
| Storage settings | Disk type, capacity, and current usage. See Microsoft’s Storage settings guidance. | Capacity and usage describe space, not SSD wear or reliability attributes. |
| Windows Security > Device performance & health | A broad report covering areas such as storage capacity, battery, software, and Windows Time. Details are in Microsoft’s Device performance & health guidance. | It is not the dedicated SSD critical-warning and wear-attribute view. |
| Optimize Drives | Windows performs TRIM for SSDs during drive optimization, as described in the Storage settings guidance. | TRIM is a maintenance operation, not a test of health attributes or critical warnings. |
If Windows shows no health information
- Check whether the drive is SATA rather than NVM; Microsoft’s documented health view does not monitor SATA SSDs or HDDs.
- Confirm that you selected the physical disk in Disks & volumes, not just a volume or drive letter.
- Consider whether a USB enclosure, hub, controller, or connection path may be obscuring drive identity. The exact reporting behavior for a particular setup is not established by Microsoft’s general guidance.
- If your Windows version or hardware exposes no useful attributes, Windows alone may not be able to answer whether that drive is wearing out. The SSD maker’s documentation or diagnostic utility may be a next step, though it is outside this software-free method.
What a full SSD, a green health report, or TRIM cannot tell you
A nearly full drive is a capacity issue, not by itself evidence that the SSD is wearing out. Likewise, a reassuring result in Device performance & health does not replace the dedicated NVM SSD warning view, and running Optimize Drives does not read the same wear attributes. Use each Windows feature for the question it is designed to answer.
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