4 Ways to Determine Whether Your Drive Is an HDD or SSD
Find out if your PC has a hard drive or solid-state drive using built-in tools and PowerShell.
Overview
Knowing whether your drive is an HDD or SSD helps with performance expectations and upgrades. This guide shows four ways to check, using PowerShell, the Optimize Drives tool, System Information, and third-party utilities.
Determining HDD vs SSD.
Key Takeaways
- The Optimize Drives tool labels each drive’s media type.
- PowerShell’s Get-PhysicalDisk shows MediaType (HDD/SSD).
- System Information lists drive models you can look up.
- Tools like CrystalDiskInfo confirm the type and health.
Method 1: Optimize Drives (Defrag)
1. Search "Defragment and Optimize Drives" and open it.
2. Look at the "Media type" column.
3. It shows "Hard disk drive" or "Solid state drive" per volume.
The Optimize Drives tool shows media type.
Method 2: PowerShell
1. Open PowerShell.
2. Run: Get-PhysicalDisk | Select FriendlyName, MediaType, Size
3. Read the MediaType column (SSD or HDD).
Method 3: System Information
1. Run msinfo32 > Components > Storage > Disks.
2. Note the drive model name.
3. Search the model online to confirm HDD or SSD.
Method 4: Third-Party Tools
Note: Download tools like CrystalDiskInfo only from their official website.
1. Install CrystalDiskInfo (or HWiNFO).
2. It shows the drive type, interface, and health (S.M.A.R.T.).
3. Handy for confirming NVMe vs SATA SSDs too.
Troubleshooting
Problem: Optimize Drives shows "Unknown".
Solution: Use PowerShell Get-PhysicalDisk or CrystalDiskInfo, which read the drive type directly.
Problem: MediaType is "Unspecified".
Solution: Some drivers don’t report it — check the model in System Information or a tool like CrystalDiskInfo.
Problem: Want NVMe vs SATA.
Solution: CrystalDiskInfo/HWiNFO show the interface (NVMe/SATA) alongside the type.
Problem: Multiple drives.
Solution: Get-PhysicalDisk lists every drive with its MediaType at once.
Conclusion
The quickest checks are the Optimize Drives tool’s "Media type" column and PowerShell’s Get-PhysicalDisk. For interface and health details (NVMe vs SATA, S.M.A.R.T.), a tool like CrystalDiskInfo confirms exactly what drive you have.
