Test SSD/HDD Health using Gnome Disks
With GNOME disks utility you can get a quick review of your SSD drives, format your drives, create a disk image, run standard tests against SSD drives, and restore a disk image.
Install Gnome Disks
In Ubuntu 20.04, the GNOME Disks application comes with the GNOME disk tool installed. If you are unable to find the tool, use the following command to install it.
sudo apt-get install gnome-disk-utility
GNOME Disk is now installed, now you can go to your desktop menu navigate to the application, and launch. From the application, you can overview all your attached drives. You can also use the following command to launch the GNOME Disk application.
sudo gnome-disks
GNOME Disks GUINow the test can be performed on the drives. To do so, launch the GNOME disks and select the disk which you want to test. You can find the quick assessment of the drives such as size, partitioning, Serial number, temp, and health. Click on the gear icon and select SMART Data & Self-tests.
GNOME Disks SMART Data and self testsIn the new window you can find the results of the last test. In the top right of the window, you can find that the SMART option is enabled. If SMART is disabled, it can be enabled by clicking on the slider. To start the new test click on the Start Self-test button.
GNOME Disks running Self-testOnce the Start Self-test button is clicked, a drop down menu will be appeared to select the type of the tests which are Short, Extended and Conveyance. Select the test type and provide your sudo password to continue the test. From the progress meter, percentage of the test complete can be seen.
GNOME Disks self test resultConclusion
In this tutorial, I have explained the basic concept of the S.M.A.R.T technology including its uses in the Linux system. Also, I have covered how to install the smartctl command-line utility tool in the Linux machine and how it can be used to monitor the health of hard drives. You have also got an idea about the GNOME Disks utility tool to monitor SSD drives. I hope this article will help you to monitor your SSD drives using smartctl and GNOME Disks utility.