---
id: external-drives.how-does-the-drive-speed-test-work
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-does-the-drive-speed-test-work
category: "External drives"
subcategory: "Setting up your drive"
question: "How does the drive speed test in Storage Studio work?"
alt_questions:
  - "What does Run benchmark do?"
  - "Is the speed test safe for my drive?"
  - "How long does the drive benchmark take?"
  - "storage studio benchmark external ssd"
  - "Why does Storage Studio test my drive speed?"
  - "Does the speed test delete anything?"
short_answer: "Run benchmark briefly writes a test file to the drive, reads it back and deletes it — about 5–10 seconds — then shows read and write speeds with a verdict. Your own files aren't touched."
tags: ["benchmark", "speed test", "choose drive"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/does-the-speed-test-wear-out-my-ssd", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-set-up-my-external-drive", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/what-do-looks-good-warnings-and-not-suitable-mean"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# How does the drive speed test in Storage Studio work?

Click **Run benchmark** in Choose Drive and Storage Studio briefly writes a test file to the drive, reads it back, then deletes it. It takes about 5–10 seconds and shows two bars — **Read** and **Write** — coloured green, orange or red, with a combined verdict underneath.

The test only touches its own temporary file; nothing of yours is read, changed or removed. It needs a little free space on the drive to run. Transfer Drive and Backup Drive run the same quick check on the destination before copying.