Disk Self Test

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The Disk Self Test (DST) is a set of built-in routines implemented by the vendor to perform failure diagnostics on the disk. The execution of the DST and the retrieval of the test results are defined by the ATA industry standard. Most drives that conform to this standard implements this set of built-in routines, which includes the following:

Short test - A quick test that takes 1-2 minutes to perform
Extended test - A more comprehensive test that takes on the order of tens of minutes to perform

The "Disk Self Test" tab allows the user to execute and check the status of these self test routines.

Test Type
The self-test routine (ie. Short or Extended) to execute

Start Test/Abort
Execute/abort the self-test routine

Status
The status of the last executed or currently executing self-test routine

Disclaimer: It has been observed that some drives that claim to support the Disk Self Test (DST) standard don't in fact fully support the specification. Some drives report the percentage progress incorrectly, and some drives report their status incorrectly. Your mileage may vary.