It’s important to ensure your HDD and SSD drives are in good health. If they’re not, you’re at risk of losing all the data they contain if they get completely damaged.
With a tool like SeaTools, you can monitor your drives and stay informed on their health. There are several other software programs like SeaTools and in this post, we’ll be looking at those alternatives.
Why You Should Use A SeaTools Alternative
The SeaTools for Windows software is a reliable one. However, there are different situations where you may need an alternative software to diagnose and test your drives.
Notably, SeaTools is a free-to-use software. Hence, you’re likely to find more features with a premium or freemium disk diagnostic tool compared to SeaTools.
Likewise, most users have complained that the SeaTools software isn’t portable. This is because the software requires .NET 4 framework, which consumes space and relatively takes time to install/update.
Furthermore, SeaTools is a Windows software so you’ll need an alternative if you use a Mac, Linux, or another major operating system.
Below are the 10 best SeaTools alternatives.
10 Best SeaTools Alternatives
CrystalDiskInfo
CrystalDiskInfo is a system utility software that ensures your hard drive is in good health. It uses SMART technology and can detect possible errors on your hard drive before they occur, so you can take necessary precautions to avoid data loss.
Just like SeaTools, the CrystalDiskInfo software also serves information. When used, you can view all information about your hard drive such as its firmware, cache size, brand, model, serial number, etc.
With CrystalDiskInfo, it’s hard to miss any possible error on your hard disk. This is because the software uses different color schemes to rate how bad or good your hard disk is. Hence, this makes CrystalDiskInfo a little more convenient to use than SeaTools.
If your hard disk is bad, you’ll get a red color, while you’ll get yellow for caution, and blue if it’s in a good state. Sometimes, the software is unable to analyze the health state of your hard disk and you’ll get the gray color.
Both CrystalDiskInfo and SeaTools support checking of external drives like USB drives. CrystalDiskInfo also supports checking of controllers including Microsoft, AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, etc.
This software supports event logs allowing you to keep track of all your disk checking activities. SeaTools doesn’t support Alert Mail but CrystalDiskInfo info does. With this feature, you’ll get an email whenever the system detects any major error in your hard disk. However, to use the Alert Mail, you must have the .NET Framework 2.0 or a later version; SeaTools requires version 4 or later.
CrystalDiskInfo info works only on Windows, just like SeaTools. Also, with an MIT License, the software is free to use.
GSmartControl
First released in 2008, this software is a graphical user interface for controlling SMART data on the hard disk and other drives. It’s a software off the smartmontools package. GSmart is recommended as a SeaTools alternative as it does the job, is fast, and is not difficult to use.
As software that supports SMART data, you can use GSmartControl to inspect your hard disk health and determine its state. Also, you can run various tests on your hard disks using this software to get results. The software interface is somewhat native but reading information off it is seamless. It features a temperature log, physical, directory, and error recovery tabs.
A notable feature of GSmartControl is the Automatic Offline Data Collection. The software performs a soft check on your drive every four hours. This is done automatically and won’t impact your PC performance in any way. However, you can disable this feature.
GSmartControl performs SMART self-tests but the software also allows you to enable or disable SMART. Apart from the hard disk, you can also check various USB and controller devices for errors. Once an issue is detected, you get an automatic report so you can take the quickest action.
GSmartControl is a free hard disk monitoring tool like SeaTools but, while SeaTools is proprietary, GSmartControl is open-source software. Hence, if you’re a programmer, you can do more with GSmartControl than with SeaTools.
Furthermore, SeaTools supports just Windows, while GSmartControl supports Windows, Linux, Mac, and FreeBSD. Therefore, if you don’t use Windows OS, GSmartControl is the ideal SeaTools alternative to consider. However, installation on other operating systems aside from Windows OS is very technical.
HD Tune
HD Tune is a multi-functional hard disk and SSD utility software program. It was launched in 2008 by EFD Software Company. The software will work on external and internal hard disks, SSD, USB Sticks, and memory card readers.
Basically, HD Tune can scan your hard disks and other drives for errors, measure their performance, check their SMART health status and securely wipe all data.
As a multi-functional software, you can do a lot more with HD Tune than with SeaTools. This includes advanced features like AAM setting, write benchmark, file benchmark, command line parameters, and folder usage view, amongst others.
This tool has an interface similar to Windows native tools. SeaTools has a relatively friendlier user interface, but you still won’t have difficulties navigating through the HD Tune Environment.
HD Tune is a good hard disk utility software, but you can do more with the HD Tune Pro version. With the normal version, you can perform functions like disk monitoring, secure erase, SMART self-tests, check the status of multiple drives, etc. Meanwhile, you can do all of these with the HD Tune Pro version.
This software is ideal if you’re looking for a lightweight SeaTools alternative. The SeaTools software for Windows is about 26 MB in size meanwhile HD Tune is just 628 KB – less than 1 MB. The HD Tune Pro is lightweight too as the file size is just about 2.2 MB. Like SeaTools, you can only use HD Tune on Windows.
HD Tune Pricing
HD Tune is a free-to-use software. However, the HD Tune Pro version is premium.
- Single User License – $34.95 per license (one-time payment)
Hard Disk Sentinel
This is a HDD and SSD monitoring and analysis tool. It’s a multi-OS software as it supports Windows, Linux, and MS-DOS environments. This gives it an edge over SeaTools which only supports Windows. Hard Disk Sentinel was developed to aid users detect, examine, diagnose, and solve possible problems with their hard disks.
The advantage of using Hard Disk Sentinel is that you can check almost any HDD and SSD drive. You can also check hybrid drives (SSHD), NAS drives, etc. Plus, Hard Disk Sentinel features various options for getting reports and alerts.
You get alerts and reports on your hard disk and SSD status which includes information on SMART values, health, and temperature. The software rates your disk health and you get warnings along with appropriate actions whenever any problem is detected.
With the SMART monitoring technology, Hard Disk Sentinel can analyze your hard disk for future failures. You can also predict possible disk failure using the real-time disk transfer speed.
SeaTools allows you to backup only FDE drives. With Hard Disk Sentinel, you can backup any drive manually or set the software to backup automatically whenever any problem is detected. This protects you from data loss as you can restore files you accidentally deleted or files corrupted by malware.
Hard Disk Sentinel Pricing
Unlike SeaTools, Hard Disk Sentinel has a free trial available. After the trial expires, you can purchase any of the following licenses:
- Standard License – $19.50 one-time payment
- Professional License – $29.95 one-time payment
- Enterprise License – $199.50 one-time payment
- Family License – $53.00 one-time payment
Victoria
Victoria is a Russian tool for professional information technology. It’s an ideal SeaTools alternative if you want a simpler software. Although it comes in Russian, it can be translated into either Ukrainian or the English language. You can use this tool to diagnose, research, test, and repair hard drives, memory cards, SSDs, etc.
As stated, Victoria is a very simple tool compared to SeaTools. It’s best for minor repairs on drives which are more common than the major ones. If your hard disk or SSD has a major problem, Victoria might not be the best SeaTools alternative to use.
This program features a powerful HDD surface scanner. The scanner will scan your drives at maximum speeds to find out faulty areas and errors. It checks at maximum speeds, but with the use of a special algorithm, you can adjust the timeout for fast and slow disks.
Victoria has a feature similar to the SeaTools short drive self test – the Quick Surface Test. A normal full scan with the program could take up to four hours depending on the volume. Meanwhile, a quick surface test takes just three minutes to complete irrespective of the disk’s volume.
Like SeaTools, the Victoria program features a SMART monitor. You can use the SMART monitor on modern SSD and HDD drives. The program monitors each SMART attribute and brings you the status of each one. With this, you can know the health status of your drives.
Victoria allows you to view, analyze, read, and write internal SMART SSD and HDD logs. This gives it an advantage over SeaTools which only lets you view the logs. Just like SeaTools, the Victoria program is free to use and supports only Windows computers.
HDDScan
HDDScan is a hard drive testing software for Windows. It checks your drives for damaged sectors and bad blocks. The program supports reading and analyzing SMART parameters and temperature monitoring which you get on SeaTools.
If you’re interested in convenience, HDDScan is a SeaTools alternative you should consider. This is because the software features a better user interface than SeaTools and most other alternatives. The program’s interface is not very technical compared to others.
When you launch the program, all you have to do is to select your hard drive from the drop-down list and select what task you want to run – SMART, TESTS, or TOOLS.
The featured task manager window makes HDDScan even easier to use. From here, you get a task queue of all tests you’re running in real-time. You can immediately view information about any of the tasks by double-clicking.
In testing your drives, HDDScan makes use of linear mode for verification, reading, and erasing. This mode is utilized so these tasks are performed in the fastest way. Other things you can do with HDDScan include reading and analyzing identity information, changing APM, PM, and AAM parameters, and reporting defect information.
In terms of reports, HDDScan has a slight edge over SeaTools. HDDScan generates SSD Identity and SMART reports which can be saved in MHT file format. The reports can also be directly printed if you need a hard copy. SeaTools and HDDScan both support command lines for executing tasks.
Like SeaTools, you can run HDDScan on Windows XP and later versions. However, there are some restrictions when running the program on Windows Server 2003.
DriveDX
From BinaryFruit, this is an advanced drive health diagnosis and monitoring tool. DriveDX is more advanced compared to SeaTools; hence, it’s an ideal alternative for handling advanced disk health tasks. The tool was developed to prevent data loss and disk downtime.
This software tracks every possible failure indicator in an SSD or HDD drive; much more than SeaTools. The tool dashboard consists of a general information section, problem summary, and important health indicators.
DriveDX has a built-in early warning system that alerts you of any possible drive failure so you can secure your data to avoid loss. You can analyze both modern SSD and HDD drives. The software features different algorithms for evaluating drives depending on their models.
Getting reports with DriveDX is more convenient than with SeaTools. As you scan your drive, you can instantly save all the information as a file using the Save As option. In addition, DriveDX sends you automatic email reports. You can set the kind of report emails you want to receive and how you’ll receive them.
DriveDX is always running in the background so you get real-time health monitoring. It supports drive self-tests similar to the long and short drive self-tests that SeaTools features.
DriveDX is a recommended premium SeaTools alternative for Mac users. Unlike SeaTools, the software doesn’t support Windows.
DriveDx Pricing
DriveDX is a premium software and requires a one-time license.
- Personal License – $19.99 one-time payment
- Family License – $39.99 one-time payment
Note: DriveDX features different license prices for businesses and IT consultants. The plans are flexible and based on the number of computers.
MHDD
MHDD is another SeaTools alternative for handling minor hardware issues. This tool is a very popular one and for many people, it’s the best free tool for low-level HDD diagnostics. You can diagnose SCSI, IDE, and Serial ATA interfaces with MHDD. The tool also supports USB but only via emulation drivers.
MHDD doesn’t repair errors like SeaTools, but it’s as good when it comes to diagnosis and testing. With this tool, you can view SMART attributes and get a rundown of the mechanical parts of your drive. If there are errors in your disk, the tool marks the corrupted blocks with letters like A, S, x, etc.
You can use MHDD to repair your drive if the percentage of bad blocks is about 40% and below. The tool won’t be reliable for repairing bad blocks over 50%. Nevertheless, you can low-level erase any hard drive with MHDD using the erase function.
MHDD allows you to limit the size of a drive, lock a drive with a password, read drive sectors or the whole drive to a file, change drive configuration, and supports acoustic management. You don’t get most of these features with SeaTools.
This software was first released in 2000, hence its interface is somewhat very technical. Nevertheless, if you know how disk drives work, you will have no problem using MHDD. There are commands to help you do things faster.
For instance, you can run a scan by simply pressing F4, get SMART parameters with F8, run a batch with F5, etc.
MHDD and SeaTools are Windows-only programs. Due to its nature, MHDD is a very lightweight tool and requires just 4 MB RAM space to work.
StableBit Scanner
Here’s another entry on our list of the best SeaTools alternatives.
The StableBit Scanner can be used to scan, monitor, recover files, and access damage of hard disks on Windows PC. It’s a fully premium software so it has more advanced features than SeaTools.
This software constantly scans all your hard drives to make sure that it’s always readable. It monitors your disk health and you get alerted if there is any sign of error or damage. You’ll be able to identify which particular part of your hard drives or files are damaged. If you’re dealing with damaged files, you can partially or fully recover them.
As an advanced tool, you’ll find StableBit Scanner easier to use than SeaTools. The tool features different color themes and will automatically select one that matches your Windows version.
Notably, the software features cloud storage – StableBit Cloud. With this, you can sync your application settings on different computers.
You can run a quick disk check using the Fast Disk Surface Scanner feature. This feature lets you optimize your scan speed such that scanning is completed faster but all sectors of your disk are still checked.
The StableBit Scanner is one of the best SeaTools alternatives when it comes to getting notifications. You get notifications on any error via email, SMS, Twitter, and on your mobile phone with the Pushover and NMA mobile apps.
StableBit Scanner Pricing
StableBit Scanner licenses are priced based on your number of computers. They include:
- For 1 Computer – $29.95
- For 10 Computers – $149.95
- For 50 Computers – $499.95
You can purchase the StableBit Scanner along with other StableBit products in a bundle for $59.95 for one computer.
Smart Utility
Developed by Volitans Software, SMART Utility is an easy-to-use diagnostic software for hard drives. Contrary to SeaTools that supports just Windows, SMART Utility was developed for just Mac computers. It’s a proprietary software and also unlike SeaTools, SMART Utility is a premium software.
SMART Utility allows you to diagnose both SSDs and HDDs. The software was developed primarily to diagnose hard disk SMART attributes. It lets you view and read these attributes. With an internal algorithm, SMART Utility can detect and warn you about failing disks before they fail.
You can’t use this tool to repair disks and files as you could with SeaTools. Nevertheless, since it warns you before your disks fail, you have enough time to transfer and backup your data.
It’s easy to read the information the tool generates as each SMART attribute is accompanied by a color-coded text. You can directly print drive reports and keep track of all your scan activities by saving them in a log file.
SMART Utility Pricing
Like most premium SeaTools alternatives listed, SMART Utility uses a license pricing model. Available licenses include:
- Personal License – $25 one-time payment
- Family License – $40 one-time payment
- Business License – $100 one-time payment
- Educational Site License – $65 one-time payment
- Consultant License – $350 one-time payment
Wrapping Up – What Is The Best SeaTools Alternative?
Listed above are the 10 best SeaTools alternatives; out of the 10, CrystalDiskInfo is the best alternative to SeaTools.
This is because CrystalDiskInfo incorporates advanced disk checking features. Also, it supports alerts functionality, which enables you to get an email notification whenever an error is detected.
