This free utility sits in the system tray and displays the real-time temperature of your hard drive. You can choose to display the temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit, and you can specify the temperature at which you receive warnings.

There is also a setting for specifying the maximum temperature you would like your hard drive to reach before preventative measures kick in. Should the temperature exceed this maximum, the software will switch your PC to standby mode, giving the hard drive time to cool.

This free version only works with one hard drive, but upgrade to the professional edition for support for up to four drives and the ability to send alerts across a network or via email.

Hard drive failure due to overheating may not be that common, but it does happen. This helps prevent such an occurrence.