BurnInTest Standard for Windows

This diagnostic tool gives your computer a proper tune-up by testing your hard drive's subsystems. We appreciate its thoroughness and its fully functional trial, but wished for a working Help file.

BurnInTest Standard's easy-to-read user interface will appeal to even the most novice users. You'll find intuitive command buttons, and a list of all of the subsystems to be scanned. A small screen pops up for each system and you can watch the detailed scan in progress. The whole scan process took about 15 minutes on average for our testers, but considering its thoroughness, that isn't overly long. We were able to save a log of the results to our location of choice, and print them. The extensive Preferences menu allows you to go into each subsystem and run individual tests, and even set test cycle times.

The only problem we encountered with the program was a faulty Help option, which might scare away novice users. Still, even users with some experience should be able to pick up this app. And not only do you get an ample, 30-day trial period with BurnInTest Standard, it also allows you to try all of its features without restriction, which is a definite plus in our book.

Version 7.1 build 1009 updated CPU system information for newer CPUs, added system time zone information to activity trace logs, and corrected crash on start-up.