Chromebook Diagnostics App Guide: How to Use It? Check Your Google Laptop's Battery, CPU, and Memory Now

Sieeka Khan, Tech Times 25 April 2021, 07:04 pm

Most people use their computers every day for hours, which means that it is important to keep an eye on the device's health. Chromebooks have a handy Diagnostics app that makes the process very easy.

The Diagnostics app was first introduced in Chrome OS 90 in April. It is a massive upgrade over the previous method that required viewing an internal system page.

There are also some useful tests that you can use to make sure that everything is running smoothly, according to Review Geek.

Opening the Diagnostics Apps

You won't find the Diagnostics app in the launcher app drawer, but there are two other ways to launch it. First, select the circle launcher icon in the taskbar.

Enter the search box or just type "Diagnostics." Select the "Diagnostics" app when it appears in the results.

For the second method, open the app from the Chrome OS Settings. Click the clock icon in the taskbar to bring up the Quick Settings panel.

Then, select the gear icon to open the Settings menu. Select "About Chrome OS" in the Settings sidebar and choose "Diagnostics" to launch the app.

Also Read: Chromebook: Google's OS Adds 'Trash Bin' To Recycle Accidentally Deleted Files

What Does the Diagnostics App Do?

The Diagnostics app is broken up into three sections: CPU, Battery, and Memory. Each one provides an overview of information and can run a health test, according to Slash Gear.

The Battery section shows the size of your device's battery and tells you how long you have left at the current battery level. Underneath that are three metrics.

First is the Battery Health. The capacity of batteries can decline over time--this means that they won't stay charged so long. This number also tells you how healthy the battery is. Users need to see a high number here.

Second is the cycle count. The number of times that your Chromebook has gone through a full charging cycle, from 0-100%. Lastly is the current, the rate at which the Chromebook is currently being charged or discharged.

You will see the option to Run Discharge Test or Run Charge Test, depending on if your Chromebook is plugged in. These tests will measure the rate at which your device charges or discharges.

Next is the CPU section. It shows information about your device's processor at the top, and you can also see a real-time graph of CPU usage underneath. There are three metrics too.

First is the current usage. An aggregate percentage of how much CPU is currently being used. The second is temperature, which is the current temperature of the CPU. Lastly is the current speed, which is about how fast the CPU is currently running.

To get more information, just click on Run CPU Test. This will run a number of tests to make sure the CPU is running fine. You want to see green Success messages in this area.

The last section is 'Memory.' A blue progress bar shows how much of the total available memory is being used. Click 'Run Memory Test' for some additional details. This test will take 15 minutes. You also want to see the green 'Success' mark here.

You can click the Save Session Log button to get a readout of all the diagnostic data at the bottom of the page. Bluetooth can also help you keep an eye on your device's health and troubleshoot issues if any happens.