Recommended process

  1. Install all critical updates to ensure your operating system is up to date.
  2. Install the latest approved drivers for your hardware.
  3. Close other programs.
  4. Run the benchmark.

Expert process

  1. Install all critical updates to ensure your operating system is up to date.
  2. Install the latest approved drivers for your hardware.
  3. Restart the computer or device.
  4. Wait 2 minutes for startup to complete.
  5. Close other programs, including those that may be running in the background.
  6. Wait for 15 minutes.
  7. Run the benchmark.
  8. Repeat from step 3 at least three times to verify your results.


The expected useful life of some storage devices is based on the number of write-erase cycles they perform. Running storage benchmarks repeatedly may shorten the life time of some drives. This is especially true of the long-running and extremely demanding PCMark 10 Drive Performance Consistency Test.