Engadget has published a guide explaining how MacBook users can check the health of their SSD or hard drive, warning that storage failure without a backup can mean permanent data loss. The article stresses that prevention is the priority, recommending Apple's Time Machine tool alongside iCloud for a full backup, since iCloud alone only syncs and does not fully back up a Mac's drive. It also lists warning signs of drive trouble, such as corrupted or disappearing files, frozen apps, or on-screen storage warnings from macOS.

For diagnosing existing problems, the guide points to Disk Utility's First Aid feature, accessed via Applications > Utilities, which checks a drive's volumes, container and the drive itself for file-system errors. It also explains how to view a drive's S.M.A.R.T. status for a basic hardware health check, and notes that paid third-party tools like DriveDx offer more detailed diagnostics, particularly useful for external drives where Disk Utility's S.M.A.R.T. data may be limited.