How to Check if Windows Laptop Has HDD or SSD and Its Type

Quick Tips

• Windows PCs come with both SSDs and HDDs, and offers multiple ways to check which kind of storage it is using.
• There are 3rd-party solutions available as well for more advanced viewing.
• SSDs are of two types, namely SATA and NVMe. There are ways to view the SSDs type on your system too.

How to Check if Windows Laptop Has HDD or SSD

Method 1: Using Task Manager

Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar at the bottom and select Task Manager. Alternatively, use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut to open the Task Manager app.

Step 2: Click on the Performance tab from the left sidebar. It’s the icon that shows the graph.

Step 3: And that’s it. You will see the hard drive type i.e., HDD or SSD mentioned under the Disk.

Alternatively, you may also click on Disk 0 or others to see the disk type at the bottom.

Method 2: Using Optimize Drives Utility

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run app. Here, type dfrgui in the Run box and press Enter to open the Optimize Drives window.

Note: Alternatively, you can open Windows search and type defrag. Then, click on ‘Defragment & Optimize Drives’.

Step 2: Look at the Media type column next to your preferred drive. You will easily see whether it is a Solid state drive or Hard disk drive.  

Method 3: Using PowerShell

Step 1: Right-click on the Start Menu and select Terminal (Admin) from the menu.

Step 2: A confirmation pop-up will show up. Select Allow.

Step 3: In the PowerShell tab, type the below command and press Enter.

Get-PhysicalDisk

You will see the HDD and SSD model names under the FriendlyName column and their type listed under the MediaType column.

Method 4: Using Windows Settings

Step 1: Open Settings on your Windows PC. You can use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open settings.

Step 2: Head over to System > Storage.

Step 3: Expand the Advanced storage settings and go to Disks & volumes.

Step 4: Click on the Properties button next to the main disk i.e., Disk 0, Disk 1, etc., and not on their partitions.

You will know what kind of hard drive you have by the type mentioned next to the Media label. Look for the text next to the Bus type to know if your SSD is NVMe or not. If it’s NVMe, you will see NVMe or RAID as the Bus type, otherwise, you will see SATA.

How to Find HDD or SSD Model

In addition to the above methods, you can use the following ways to determine the model name and type of your hard drive on a Windows PC.

Method 1: Using This PC

Step 1: Open This PC folder on your computer.

Step 2: Right-click on the C Drive and select Properties from the menu.

Step 3: Select the Hardware tab. Here you will see the model name of your SSD or HDD.

Method 2: Using Device Manager

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Device Manager from the menu.

Step 2: Expand the Disk drives section to know the names of the disk types of your Windows PC.

Step 3: If you want to know whether the SSD is NVMe or not, right-click on the SSD and select Properties.

Step 4: Go to the Details tab and choose Hardware Ids from the drop-down box.

If SSD is NVMe, you will see NVMe written under the Value section.  

Method 3: Using System Information

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Type msinfo32 in the box and hit Enter.

Step 3: Expand Components followed by Storage.

Step 4: Click on Disks and look for the drive model name on the right side next to the Model label.

Tip: Know how to check the edition, version, and build of Windows.

Method 4: Using Third-Party Tools

Alternatively, you can also use free third-party tools to know if your laptop has an HDD or SSD. Many manufacturers like Lenovo, Samsung, etc., have pre-installed apps that will help you in knowing the specifications of your laptop. But if those don’t help, you can use the following tools:

• CrystalDiskInfo
• Speccy
• SSD Z

FAQs

1. Why does my laptop have both SSD and HDD?

Some laptops have both SSD and HDD. There’s no harm in that. The SSD is mainly the C drive and is used for booting, whereas, the cost-friendly HDD acts as your regular storage space.

2. How to check the SSD or HDD size in Windows?

You can check the total storage of your Windows computer from Settings, Task Manager, etc. Check our detailed guide to know your Windows PC’s SSD or HDD size.