External drives · Setting up your drive
Does running the drive speed test wear out my SSD?
Short answer: Not meaningfully. One test writes a single temporary file and deletes it — small compared with everyday use. It needs a little free space; a full or read-only drive can't run it.
Not meaningfully. A single test writes one temporary file, reads it back and deletes it — a small amount of writing compared with everyday use such as copying a folder or installing an app. Running it now and then, for example after changing cables, is fine.
If the test can't run, the drive is usually nearly full (it needs a little free space for the test file) or not writable.