The type of SSD you have in your system directly determines the performance of the Operating System and applications. It’s an essential question to consider, especially if you have a prebuilt system or you do not know the components used in your PC.
Obtaining details about the SSD is a simple task that requires just a few clicks. However, if you want to know the form factor of the SSD, you either need to search through the internet or physically open the PC to check the SSD type.
Check SSD Details from Windows
There are numerous ways to check SSD details from within Windows settings. If you just want the name of the SSD, you can use any one of the methods below. Here are the extra SSD details that you can get using the methods explained below.
- SSD Name
- Serial Number
- Bus Type (SATA or NVMe)
- Advertised and actual capacity
- Current status
Through Windows Settings
First and foremost, let us look at the type of SSDs in your system using Windows settings. Here, you will be able to view device names, whether it is an SSD, it’s capacity, and the bus type.
- Press Windows + I key.
- Here navigate to System > Storage.
- Scroll down and click on Advanced storage settings.
- Click on Disk & Volumes.
- Click on the drive that says Disk 0.
- Click on Properties.
- Check if the Media says SSD. If it does, the selected disk is the SSD. Make sure that you note the full name of the SSD.
- In my case, it is a WD PC SN810 SDCPNRY-256G-1006. The first part of the SSD’s device name is the manufacturer’s name. You can see that I have an SSD from a company called WD. The model name also mentions the total advertised capacity of the SSD, which is 256GB.
- If you have multiple storage devices, there should be Disk 1, Disk 2, and so on. View its properties to check the SSD properties.
Through Powershell
Aside from Windows settings, you can use PowerShell to determine the disk name, serial number, media type, Operational Status, and Health Status.
- Press the Windows + R key.
- Type
powershelland press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
- Type
Get-PhysicalDisk | Format-Table -AutoSizeand press Enter.
Alternatively, you can also type wmic diskdrive get model, serial number, status in Command Prompt to get the SSD model, Serial Number, and Status.
Use Third-party Application
If you are having issues getting the right information from the above methods, you can try free applications that display the entire details about the SSD.
Applications like HWiNFO and SSD-Z are free and allow users to access numerous hard drive information that you cannot access from Windows.
Once you have the SSD details, you can use the internet to check its details and specification.
Check SSD Form-Factor
Besides checking the internet for SSD detail, there is only one way to get the detail about the form factor of your SSD—physically taking the PC apart and inspecting the SSD.
- Turn off the PC
- Remove all the screws that hold the PC case’s side panel.
- Gently remove the PC’s side panel to access the motherboard
For laptops,
- Turn off the laptop
- Remove all the screws that hold the back panel.
- Take a pry tool and insert it between the back panel and the laptop.
- Turn the pry tool until you hear the laptop’s back panel unclip.
- Repeat this process on all sides. The laptop’s back panel should detach.
Check 2.5” SATA SSD
Check the system for a flat rectangular storage device that is about 2.5”. It should look something like the picture below.
On desktop computers, the SSD is usually located in the storage slot. You can check the picture below to locate the SATA SSD on your laptop.
Check M.2 SSD
If you cannot find the 2.5” SSD, check the motherboard for an M.2. It is a long-thin chip that is screwed into the motherboard and looks like the picture above.
On desktop PCs, bigger components like the graphics card or CPU fan may block you from accessing the SSD. Some motherboards may even come with a heatsink that stays on top of the M.2, and you need to remove it to access the SSD.
Compact desktop PC with a Mini-ITX motherboard may even have the M.2 on the back of the motherboard.
M.2 SSD’s laptop variant might be smaller than its desktop counterpart, depending on the available SSD slot.
Check for Add-on SSD Card
These SSDs are separate PCIe card that goes on the PCIe slot on the motherboard. And since laptops do not have PCIe slots, you cannot find these cards on laptops.
Check if the motherboard has a PCIe SSD card. This card will look like any other network or Bluetooth card and sits on a PCIe slot on the motherboard.
