15 Windows Diagnostics Tools to Check Your PC's Health (2024)

Whether you're a Windows newbie or a grizzled veteran, your system will eventually run into problems that aren't easy to diagnose. Before you call tech support, there are plenty of PC diagnostic tools you can try.

Hardware problems can be a huge pain in the neck. They tend to occur when you're using an older version of the operating system or a new Windows Insider build.

If you need a reminder about what hardware is installed on your PC, here are some tools that can help with that.

1. HWiNFO

HWiNFO is the most comprehensive system summary tool by a long shot. It displays all information about your computer—from the CPU temperatures to fan voltages. In fact, if you're using a Ryzen processor, this should be your go-to PC checker as alternatives such as CPU-Z have been known to show incorrect readings.

It's good to have on your PC when you want the most accurate readouts from your computer's hardware.

Download: HWiNFO (Free)

2. Performance Monitor

As with older versions of the operating system, Windows 10 and 11 have a Performance Monitor. However, unlike the older versions, this is now a standalone PC diagnostic tool. Check out how to open the Performance Monitor if you're not familiar with it.

By default, the Monitor only shows Processor Time, which displays how much of your CPU is being used at any given time. However, you can add more counters such as disk usage, energy used, paging file size, search index size, and more.

3. Reliability Monitor

The Reliability Monitor is a lesser-known utility that's been around since Windows Vista. You can find it by opening Windows Search and typing "view reliability history." Despite the differing name, doing this will still launch the Reliability Monitor.

Here you'll see a history of your system and a timeline of events and errors that occurred during a given period. The blue line is an estimate (from 1 to 10) of how stable your system is over time. At the bottom, you can see which troublemakers are throwing errors, which you can look into to improve your system stability score.

Programs to Diagnose Network Issues on Windows

Whether you're using a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, there's a good chance you're going to run into network problems eventually. Fortunately, there are plenty of Windows diagnostics tools that make troubleshooting your internet connection a breeze.

4. WiFi Analyzer

WiFi Analyzer is a free tool that does exactly what its name says: it analyzes your Wi-Fi network's setup to see whether your wireless channel is interfering with other nearby Wi-Fi networks.

After the analysis, it will recommend a channel setting for you. It's not perfect, especially in crowded apartments and dense cities. However, it can boost your Wi-Fi speed and reliability significantly, so it's worth trying.

Download: WiFi Analyzer (Free, in-app purchases available)

5. SoftPerfect Network Scanner

SoftPerfect Network Scanner is an easy-to-use tool that detects any devices connected to your network. This utility supports both IPv4 and IPv6 discovery.

You can use it at home to see how many devices are connected to your network (to check if anyone is mooching off your connection) or find the IP address of a specific device (such as your smartphone). It allows you to initiate remote shutdowns as well.

The free version of the software lists up to 10 devices, which should be more than enough for home use.

Download: SoftPerfect Network Scanner (Free, premium version available)

Apps to Diagnose Storage Drive Issues on Windows

When checking your PC for faults, it's easy to overlook your storage device even though storage drives are one of the most important pieces of hardware to keep healthy. You can buy a new processor, RAM, or GPU, but losing personal files carries a cost you can't cover with cash.

6. CrystalDiskInfo

Ever wondered if your hard disk drive or solid-state drive was in good condition? While there are warning signs that your SSD is on the way out, you'll ideally want to identify a failing drive before these issues surface.

CrystalDiskInfo is the best PC diagnostic software for your storage drives. It gives you a complete overview of the state of your data drives, including HDDs, SSDs, and USB drives.

You can use the app to monitor the temperature, spin-up time, uptime, and error rates of your drives. All these factor into an overall "health score" that lets you know how your drive is doing.

Note that it has a sister program called CrystalDiskMark, which you can use to benchmark your data drives (i.e., see how fast they can read and write data).

Download: CrystalDiskInfo (Free)

7. WinDirStat

WinDirStat is a must-have application for anyone wanting a visual guide to their storage. WinDirStat stands for "Windows Directory Statistics", and it does exactly what the name promises.

WinDirStat scans your data drives and tells you how much space is used up by various folders and files, all displayed in a neat tree-based hierarchy and a detailed graph view. The bigger the file or folder is, the larger the square is on the graph.

Not only is WinDirStat perfect for visualizing where your data is stored, but it's also fantastic for cleaning up lost files and recovering disk space.

Download: WinDirStat (Free)

8. Windows Disk Management

Windows Disk Management is a built-in disk utility to manage disk partitions. The tool also allows you the check the health of your SSD or HDD and create new partitions.

Through this utility, you can also scan any partition for potential errors on your disks. To do this, open Disk Management, right-click the partition you want to scan, then go to Properties > Tools > Check. You'll need to use an administrator account to do this.

As apps become more memory-intensive, it's more important than ever that your computer's random access memory (RAM) is still healthy. If you're encountering RAM issues, try these tools to diagnose the problem.

9. Resource Monitor

The Resource Monitor is a Windows diagnostic tool that offers a full overview of your system. Traditionally, you'd have to launch it through the Task Manager, but now you can open the Resource Manager as a standalone tool.

The Resource Monitor is an advanced way to view real-time data about your system and is typically used in conjunction with the Performance Monitor. If you want to keep an eye on how processes use your computer's hardware, then the Resource Monitor is a great place to start.

10. Windows Memory Diagnostic

Windows has a built-in tool that can test your RAM modules to confirm they're free of errors. It's called the Windows Memory Diagnostic, and can give even the best computer diagnostic and repair software a run for its money.

Check out how to resolve memory problems with the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool for more information.

Utilities to Diagnose Display Issues on Windows

Does something look strange on your screen? If you notice a small black dot on your monitor that isn't dust or grime, it might be a dead pixel. Fortunately, some apps can help dislodge a saveable dead pixel.

11. JScreenFix

Using JScreenFix is a great way to fix a stuck pixel on your monitor. It flashes hundreds of different colors every second around the area of the screen containing the stuck pixel. This should unstick the pixel after about 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee it'll work. Sometimes a stuck pixel will be stuck forever due to a physical defect in the screen. But JScreenFix has a success rate of over 60 percent, so give it a try if you have a stuck pixel of your own.

Visit: Jscreen Fix (Free)

12. PixelHealer

PixelHealer, while free, is still one of the most highly effective software diagnostic tools you can use to revive a dead pixel. Unlike Jscreen Fix, this utility does require a download, but the file size is less than 100KB, so it shouldn't take much time.

Its sister app, InjuredPixels, can be used to detect dead, stuck, or hot pixels—these can in turn be fixed by PixelHealer. The application flashes RGB colors over dead pixels to revive them.

Both applications come with a portable installer that eliminates the need for installing them. You can simply unzip the file and run the program.

Download: PixelHealer | InjuredPixels (Free)

Apps to Scan for Malware on Windows

If you think you have a virus on your PC, don't fret. There are plenty of high-quality malware scanners on the market that are free to use.

13. AdwCleaner

Not many people know about AdwCleaner, which is a shame because it's fantastic and deserves more recognition. It's a simple malware scanner, but it's fast, efficient, and free, which is all anyone can ask for.

It's mainly designed to target malware that comes bundled with installer files, so it detects adware, toolbars, unwanted programs, browser hijackers, etc. Scan results are sorted as services, files, DLLs, scheduled tasks, registry entries, and more.

Download: AdwCleaner (Free)

14. Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes has been the king of malware scanners for many years. Most people have heard of it, but if you haven't, know that many consider this a must-have app on every computer.

Note that Malwarebytes comes in both Free and Premium versions. The Free version is great and is more than enough for most home users. However, the Premium version is worth the money if you fall in love with Malwarebytes.

Download: Malwarebytes (Free, subscription available)

15. ClamWin

ClamWin may look primitive, but don't let that fool you; it's a powerful tool to have in your digital toolbox. The scans can take a while, but they detect pretty much everything, so the trade-off is worth it.

Best of all, ClamWin is open-source, unlike the above-mentioned alternatives. This means that the code is available for anyone to review, so you can be certain that no hidden surprises are lurking within the app.

Download: ClamWin (Free)

We hope you'll find these Windows diagnostic tools useful. You'll likely never use every single one, so pick the ones that seem valuable to you and skip the rest until you need them.