Almost every user has at least once encountered a message appearing on their computer asking them to run chkdsk. This is a utility program whose purpose is to check hard drive for errors file system and then correcting them. By default, this utility is installed on every Windows OS, so you do not need to search for and download it. Everything is much simpler - we will only look at how to launch it.
Launch methods
In order to open the program you will need to open the Computer. In it, click the right side of the mouse, aiming at the disk that interests us. Select Properties from the drop-down list. Next, go to the Tools tab and click Run check. After this, the chkdsk utility window opens.
Before you run the chkdsk windows 7 utility, decide what exactly you want to do with it. The interface has a choice of utility actions. You just need to mark or deselect. If you are planning to check for errors the partition on which the operating system is installed, you may encounter a situation where the computer displays a message stating that this is impossible.
This situation does not indicate any serious problems. The check will simply be done when you restart the computer. This should not happen with partitions that do not have an OS.
In some versions of Windows, the program starts automatically. This is possible in XP, NT, 2000. Usually this happens when you turn on the computer, if the work was completed incorrectly. For example, a sudden power surge, etc. In version 7 operating system chkdsk only the user can start the service.
You can open the program using the command line. To do this, click Start and find Run. In the line, enter the command chkdsk d: /f, where d is the name of the disk that needs to be checked. Accordingly, if another section is needed, then we write its name.
The chkdsk program allows you to check your disk for file errors and then fix them. Its work can last from several minutes to hours. Sometimes she can get very a good helper. Of course, there are other programs that can perform similar functions, and they are often distributed free of charge. However, such utilities are usually not needed if chkdsk is installed. And it is supplied complete with all versions of the Windows operating system.
Video to help:
A GUI disk check tool has been described. However, it is not always possible to use it; for example, due to disk errors, Windows may stop starting. However, even in this case, you can check the disk using the command line utility сhkdsk.
To use the tool chkdsk from the Windows graphical environment, you can either use or open a command prompt window.
If Windows does not start in normal mode, try starting it in " ". If Windows does not start in "safe mode", try starting " safe mode» with command line support. IN this mode The Windows graphical environment will not be loaded, the command line will be loaded immediately. However, Windows may not start even in this mode. Then you should start recovery mode from the Windows boot disk, select recovery mode and go to the command line.
Team chkdsk has the following format
Chkdsk [drive:[\[path]filename]]] ]
Square brackets indicate that the parameter can be specified only if necessary. For example, the command can be used with all keys, with a few or without them at all.
Instead of disk You should specify the drive letter (letter) of the drive that needs to be checked. If in the parameters path And file name indicate accordingly, then this file will be checked for fragmentation. This check only works if FAT and FAT32 file systems are used. Key /F indicates that errors found should be automatically corrected. Key /V includes displaying the full path and file name when checking FAT and FAT32 file systems, and when checking the NTFS file system, messages about completed corrections. Key /R includes checking the disk surface and automatically recovering information that can be read from damaged sectors. Key Usage /R also implies the use of a key /F. Keys /X, /I, /C And /L[:size] work only when checking the file system NTFS. Key /X Forcibly disconnects the disk if necessary, so that other programs do not interfere with checking it. Key /I reduces the level of index checking. Key /C disables checking for cycles in the folder structure. Key /L[:size] allows you to change the log file size to the specified size in kilobytes.
It is recommended to always perform a full disk scan (similar to the enabled options Automatically fix system errors And Scan and repair bad sectors V ). To do this you need to run the program chkdsk with keys /F And /R.
To fully check drive “C” you should enter in the command line chkdsk/F /R.
When booting into recovery mode from a boot disk, the current drive assigned the letter “C” may not correspond to drive “C” during normal booting.
Friends, this article is about the Chkdsk utility program built into Windows, with its help you can fix file system errors. The Chkdsk utility can be successfully run on a running operating system and correct disk errors, but how can you run Chkdsk if your operating system does not boot precisely because of these errors? This is where, judging by your letters, many of you are making a mistake and I will tell you about it. Many people are also interested in the question - why sometimes, for no reason at all, when you turn on the computer, a hard drive scan starts. What is a dirty bit and how to get rid of it? The article is suitable for users of the operating systems Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10.
Letter from a reader.
Hello, please tell me why my operating system freezes when loading. This story began quite a long time ago. At the beginning of the system boot, various errors appeared on a black screen, but after that Windows still loaded, although it worked with freezes and even went to a blue screen a couple of times. A friend advised me to use the built-in Windows Chkdsk program and use it to check the partition with the installed operating system (C:) for errors. I agreed and entered chkdsk c: /f on the command line, followed by Windows prompting to check the disk the next time the system boots.
After the reboot, the drive (C:) was checked for errors; the check itself lasted forty minutes and completed successfully. After that, my computer worked great for two months and there was nothing to complain about, but then it turned out that I turned off the computer several times in a row and the problems started again.
Now I simply cannot log into Windows, the operating system freezes at the words “ Starting Windows” or “Welcome” and it’s almost impossible to do anything. If you press the F-8 key during boot, the Troubleshooting computer menu appears and everything stops there, that is, you cannot apply the Last Known Good Configuration option. Also unable to enter Troubleshooting or Safe Mode.
Many experienced users may notice that in such cases you can simply remove the hard drive, then connect it to another system unit with another Windows, it will check it for errors and correct them, then we return the hard drive to its place and the operating system boots perfectly, that’s all .
Okay, but if we are dealing with a laptop or we don’t have another system unit at hand, what should we do then? Again, an experienced user will correctly note that you can boot from installation disk Windows 7 or recovery disk, then enter the recovery environment, select Command Prompt and enter the command.
chkdsk c: /f , which means run a check of the system drive (C:) with the parameters
/f – checks for file system errors on the disk and corrects them
You can say everything correctly, but before entering the command chkdsk c: /f, First you need to determine the correct letters of all drives, since in the recovery environment they may differ from those that we see in a running operating system. And the disk with installed Windows may not belong to the letter (C:), but to any other. About everything in detail.
- File system errors can occur during repeated emergency shutdowns of the computer (information not completely written to disk), due to the destructive activity of viruses, when using software written with errors and incorrect drivers. As a result of all this, the work of the operating system with the hard drive and files is not completed or completed incorrectly, and then errors and destruction of the file system on the disk appear. For example, some clusters (pieces of information) do not belong to any file in the system (cluttering disk space), while other clusters, on the contrary, belong to two different files (files with a common cluster). The chkdsk program will help solve this problem; it will find and eliminate file system errors on the hard drive. In most cases, it will be enough to run the chkdsk utility with the /f parameter; the full command looks like this: chkdsk c: /f
chkdsk c: /f /r
The /r option finds bad sectors on the disk and restores the data that it can read. In total, several attempts are made to read information from the damaged sector.
Now friends a little attention. When using the /r switch, chkdsk will scan all sectors on the disk, which naturally will increase the program's running time on large disks.
- It is important to know, friends, that the minimum unit of space on a hard drive is a sector (512 bytes). Typically, the space belonging to eight sectors is occupied by one cluster (4 Kilobytes). For example, when installing an operating system, the hard drive is formatted into the NTFS file system and if the partition of the hard drive where you install Windows is no more than 16 Terabytes (usually less), then eight 512-byte sectors create one cluster with a capacity of 4 kilobytes.
Well, now let’s first look at how to run the chkdsk program from the Windows graphical interface, and then we’ll look at How to run chkdsk if your operating system does not boot at all. Run Chkdsk from the GUI. Open the Computer window and select, for example, the drive (C:), right-click on it and select Properties,
If you only check the box Automatically fix system errors, then the file system will be checked for errors. Having additionally noted the second point Scan and repair damaged sectors, you will also run a read test of all sectors of the disk being checked. Be aware that this double check will take a lot of time.
Next, click Launch. If a partition with Windows installed is selected for scanning, in most cases (C:), the scan will not start immediately and you will receive the following message: Windows cannot check a disk that is this moment used. Want to check your disk for failures the next time you start your computer?" Click " Disk check schedule"and the next time you boot the computer, the operating system will start checking the disk (C:) for errors.
How to run Chkdsk from the command line
For example, you and I intend to check the drive (C:) for errors.
In the command prompt window, enter chkdsk with: /f
A window will appear in front of us with the following content: " The Chkdsk command cannot be executed because the specified volume is in use by another process. Should I scan this volume the next time I reboot the system? Y(yes)/N(no)"
We agree and press Y. After the reboot, our system partition will be checked for errors.
How to run chkdsk if your computer won't boot and where novice users make mistakes
At work, friends, I very often have to deal with such situations. Well, the operating system does not load and that’s it, and most importantly, it freezes strangely at any stage of loading, the mouse and keyboard accordingly stop responding to user actions. You can get out of such a situation like this.
I will give an example for two operating systems: Windows 7 and XP, let's start with Windows 7.
Here, friends, we will need an installation disk or . Each of them has the Windows 7 recovery environment and you need to do the same thing. For example, we boot the computer from the Windows 7 installation disk. For those who don’t know how to boot a computer from the installation disk, read the article “”.
In the initial phase of booting the computer from the Windows 7 installation disk, the message “” will appear on the screen, immediately press any key on the keyboard (for example, spacebar), otherwise the message will disappear within 10 seconds and you will not boot from the Windows 7 installation disk or recovery disk.
You can choose a remedy first Startup recovery and if it does not help you boot the system, then select the tool Command line.
Now, friends, pay attention, many users, wanting to check the system drive (C:) for errors, make mistakes in this place, immediately entering the chkdsk command with: /f,
First of all, you and I need to determine the correct letters of all drives, since in the recovery environment they are usually different from those that we see in a running operating system. This means that the drive with Windows installed most likely does not belong to the letter (C:), but to some other letter.
To determine the correct system drive letter, in the command line we need to enter the command notepad and press Enter. Notepad will open. Next, select the File and Open menu.
The contents of the recovery disk open, it is always under the letter (X:). In this window, click the Computer button and enter the Computer window,
already here we can easily determine the disk on which the operating system is installed. In order to see the files located inside the partitions. Select the Files type item and in the All files drop-down menu
By the way, if you need, you can copy files located on any disk to your pre-connected flash drive, as well as move files from disk to disk. For example, you still decide to reinstall Windows, naturally your desire will be to transfer all the files you need from drive (C:) to another drive, you can do all this in this window.
So the drive (C:) turned out to be a hidden 100 MB partition (Main partition) System Reserved (Reserved by the system) this partition is needed primarily to locate Windows 7 boot files and protect them from careless user actions. If you and I go to this section, we will see absolutely nothing, since even in the recovery environment these files are not available to the user.
The Windows 7 installation disk on which the recovery environment is located (that is, the drive) always has the letter X.
But the drive on which Windows 7 is installed was assigned the letter (D:) by the recovery environment.
Therefore, to check the disk with the operating system installed, we need to enter in the command line
The system disk begins checking for file system errors.
If things are really bad and chkdsk D: /f does not help, try running the utility with the parameters
chkdsk D: /f /r
You may receive a warning " The Chkdsk command cannot be run on this volume because The volume is in use by another process. To run Chkdsk, you must first unmount the volume. ALL OPEN VOLUME DESCRIPTORS WILL CONTINUE TO BE INCORRECT. Volume disconnect confirmation". Enter the Latin letter Y and press Enter on the keyboard. The system disk will begin checking for damaged sectors.
How to run chkdsk on Windows XP if it won't start
You and I will need a Windows XP installation disk; we will boot the computer from it.
During the initial phase of booting from the Windows XP installation disk, the screen will display the message “ Press any key to boot from CD…", you must press any key at once, otherwise the message will disappear within 10 seconds and you will not boot from the installation Windows XP.
After a short process of copying files, the Windows XP Setup window appears. It will prompt you to install the system again or restore the existing one using the recovery console (press R). Select Recover using the recovery console and press “R”
If you have one operating system, choose No. 1
Enter administrator password. Enter the administrator password. If there is no password, then press Enter on the keyboard.
When using the Chkdsk program in the Windows XP Recovery Console, they mainly use the /R parameter, which includes the functions of another /P parameter. Therefore, we will use the /R parameter
Enter the command Chkdsk /r
and press Enter, that is, we look for damaged sectors and restore information.
By the way, can you enter the command Chkdsk /? and check out HELP
You can check whether a disk is marked with a “dirty bit” by entering the fsutil dirty query C: command at the command line, where “C:” is the letter of the disk being checked for a “dirty bit”.
As we see in my case, volume C: is not “dirty”
Every time Windows boots, a special program called Autochk.exe checks all volumes for the presence of a dirty bit. If the dirty bit is set, Autochk.exe runs chkdsk /f for that volume. That is, the problem volume is checked for errors.
chkdsk /f finds file system errors and tries to fix them.
It must be said that in rare cases, the check can occur every time you turn on the computer for several days.
This irritates many users. To get rid of this, for example, select the drive (C:), right-click on it and select Properties, then Tools and Run scan. Check both boxes Automatically correct system errors and the second box Scan and repair damaged sectors, press start, then restart the computer and wait until the scan is complete.
If this doesn't help, try the following. Let's try to disable disk check using the command line.
Press the key combination Win-R or Start -> Run => enter the cmd command -> click OK. In the window that opens, enter the command
chkntfs /X C: (where C: is the name of the drive that the operating system constantly checks for errors.
The check is now disabled.
If you want to turn it on again, you need to type the command
chkntfs /D
You can find out all the information about the parameters of the chkdsk program on this page
http://technet.microsoft.com/ru-ru/library/cc755829.aspx
I foresee that many experienced users may notice that ChkDsk does not always work correctly. I agree, then I can recommend the Runtime DiskExplorer utility.
Articles on this topic.
Scenario: You have system errors that need to be fixed.
The Microsoft CHKDSK (“Check Disk”) utility for checking and correcting hard disk errors was introduced more than 30 years ago, but is still used today. Even users latest versions Microsoft operating systems can use this command to check their hard drives for errors and fix them if necessary. Below are instructions for running CHKDSK on Windows 10.
If you still get errors after using CHKDSK, try .
First, select “Search Windows” and search for Command Prompt by typing “cmd”. Right-click on the shortcut and select “Run as administrator” from the context menu.
After logging in as an administrator, you will find yourself in the Windows Command Prompt, familiar to users of operating systems before Windows NT. Type the command “chkdsk”, press the spacebar and then the drive letter you want to check or fix. In our case, this is the external drive “L”.
Running the CHKDSK command without arguments will only show the status of the disk and will not fix any errors present on the partition. To ask CHKDSK to fix errors on the disk, you need to specify parameters. After entering the drive letter, enter the following parameters, each separated by a space: “/f /r /x”.
The “/f” parameter tells CHKDSK to fix any errors it finds; “/r” tells the program to detect bad sectors on the disk and restore readable information; “/x” causes the disk to be unmounted before the process begins. Additional options are available for more specialized jobs, and are detailed on the Microsoft website.
As a result, the complete command that needs to be entered into the Command Line looks like this:
chkdsk [Disk:] [options]
In our case:
chkdsk L: /f /r /x
It's worth noting that CHKDSK must lock the drive, so it will fail to check the system boot disk if the computer is running. In our case, the target disk is external, so the process will begin immediately after entering the command. If the target drive is bootable, the system will ask you if you want to run the command before the next boot. Type “yes”, reboot the computer, and the command will run before the operating system boots, receiving full access to disk.
The CHKDSK command can take a long time to complete, especially on large drives. When completed, the program will summarize the results, such as the total amount of disk space, byte placement, and most importantly, information about the errors found and corrected.
The CHKDSK command is available in all versions of Windows, so both Windows 7 and Windows XP users can follow the above steps to initiate a hard drive check. If you are using older versions of Windows, you can do the following:
- Click “Start – Run…”
- Enter cmd
- Enter chkdsk [Disk:] [options]
Stages of “CHKDSK”
The 5 main stages are described below:
Step 1: Checking the basic structure of the file system...
In the first stage, files with entries in the MFT (master file table) are compared and checked.
Stage 2. Checking file name associations...
At this stage, directories and structure are checked. They are checked to match the file size and timestamp information.
Step 3: Checking Security Descriptors...
In the last verification step (3), files and folders are checked for security descriptors, including NTFS rights owner information.
The fourth and fifth stages are executed only if the /r argument is present!
Stage 4. Search for damaged clusters in user file data...
Cluster sectors, including data, are checked for usability.
Stage 5. Search for damaged and free clusters...
At the fifth stage, the cluster sectors are checked for missing data.
If it is not possible to solve hard drive problems using “CHKDSK”, it is recommended to use the corresponding manufacturers.
Also on Windows you can access the CHKDSK GUI
To perform the test using the GUI, do the following:
Right-click on the drive you want to check. Select Properties – Tools – Run check.
This is the “CHKDSK” GUI. The two options correspond to the “/f” and “/r” parameters.
In today's article, we'll look at the built-in Windows Check Disk tool.
The Check Disk utility scans your hard drive to find and fix problems. This tool is not difficult to use and can help solve some problems and also prevent data loss in the future. Check Disk (Chkdsk) performs several functions, depending on the launch:
- Scan the file system integrity and metadata on a disk volume, and fix any file system logical errors it finds. Errors may include corrupt master file table (MFT) entries, bad security descriptors associated with files, or skewed timestamps or file size information about individual files.
- Can scan every sector on a disk volume looking for bad sectors. Bad sectors can appear due to poor data recording, or due to physical damage to the disk. Check Disk (Chkdsk) attempts to repair bad writes on bad sectors and mark physically corrupted bad sectors so that they are not used in the future.
Many resources recommend running a disk check (Chkdsk) every few months for routine maintenance. Also, if your computer rebooted after a crash or power loss, it is recommended to run Chkdsk. Sometimes Windows starts on its own this utility, but that rarely happens.
Check Disk (Chkdsk) works almost the same in all versions of Windows.
How to check a disk from Windows.
To check the desired drive: open Explorer => right-click on the drive you want to check and select "Properties"
In the "Service" tab, in the "Check for errors" item, click "Check". In Windows 7, everything is done the same way, only instead of “Check” you need to click “Run check”.
In Windows 8 and 10, it may write “Checking the disk is not required at this time. We found no errors on this disk..” You can simply close the window or still perform a scan by clicking on “Check disk.” First, a check will occur without attempts to repair, without the need to restart the computer. If any error is found, you will be offered the option to reboot to fix the problem.
If no errors are found, a window will pop up with the message “The disk was successfully verified. Windows successfully verified the disk. No errors were found.” Click "Close".
In Windows 7, when you click “Run scan,” you will be prompted to select additional disk scan options: automatically fix system errors, scan and repair bad sectors. To perform a full scan with recovery of bad sectors, check both options and click “Run”.
If you select “check and repair bad sectors”, the Windows system will not be able to perform the scan while the disk is in use; a reboot will be required. Select "Schedule disk scan" to start the scan after the computer restarts, or you can click "Cancel" to cancel the scan.
After restarting the computer, the disk check will begin, it can take a long time.
How to cancel a scheduled disk scan.
From the command line, you can check whether a disk scan is scheduled after rebooting the computer or not. You can also cancel the scan using the command or after a reboot before starting the scan; below we will describe how.
To check whether the scan is scheduled after reboot or not: one way is to right-click on the Start menu and select “Command Prompt (Admin)”
Enter the command chkntfs c: and press Enter. If the scan is scheduled to run after a reboot, you will see the message “Chkdsk has been scheduled to run manually for volume C: at the next reboot.”
If the scan is scheduled the next time you restart the computer, you can cancel it by entering the command chkntfs /x c: and pressing Enter. The check will be canceled without notification.
You can also cancel a scheduled scan after restarting your computer before it starts. That is, if we turn on the computer and it says that a check will begin and the time is counting down, it can be canceled by pressing the key X
How to use the ChkDsk command on the command line.
It is possible to run a disk check using the command line, both in the Windows system itself, and from if the system does not boot.
If you just and run the command ChkDsk- the search for errors will begin and as a result, errors will be reported if there are any, but the utility will not fix anything.
If you want logical file system errors to be restored during scanning, you need to run the command chkdsk /fc: If you run this command from a loaded Windows, you will be prompted to schedule a scan after reboot.
If you want to check the disk for bad sectors, run the command chkdsk /r c:
When you use the chkdsk /r command to check, a more thorough check is performed, it is recommended to run it periodically, but it takes the most time.
There are also other options for running chkdsk:
C:\WINDOWS\syste m32>chkdsk /?
Checking the disk and outputting a report.
CHKDSK [volume[[path]filename]]] ]
volume The drive letter (followed by a colon), mount point, or volume name.
filename Files checked for fragmentation (FAT/FAT32 only).
/F Corrects disk errors.
/V For FAT/FAT32: Displays the full path and name of each file on the disk. For NTFS: Displays cleanup messages (if available).
/R Searches for bad sectors and restores surviving information (requires /F when /scan is not specified).
/L:size NTFS only: Sets the size of the log file (in KB).
If the size is not specified, the current value is displayed.
/X Pre-dismounts the volume (if necessary).
All open handles for this volume will become invalid (requires /F).
/I For NTFS only: Performs a less stringent check of index entries.
/C For NTFS only: Skips checking for loops within the folder structure.
/B For NTFS only: Re-evaluates damaged clusters on the volume (requires /R).
/scan For NTFS only: Performs a proactive scan of the volume.
/forceofflinefix For NTFS only (must be used with "/scan"): cancels recovery while online; All problems found are added to a queue for offline recovery (for example, "chkdsk /spotfix").
/perf NTFS only (must be used with "/scan"): Uses more system resources to perform scans faster. This may adversely affect the performance of other tasks running on the system.
/spotfix NTFS only: Fixes errors on a volume in a targeted manner.
/sdcleanup NTFS only: Collects unnecessary security descriptor data as garbage (requires /F).
/offlinescanandf ix Runs an offline scan and repair of a volume.
/freeorphanedcha ins FAT/FAT32/exFAT only: Frees orphaned cluster chains instead of restoring their contents.
/markclean FAT/FAT32/exFAT only: Marks the volume as clean if no corruption is detected, even if the /F option is not specified.
The /I or /C option reduces Chkdsk execution time by skipping some volume checks.
I hope the Chkdsk function will help you solve your hard drive problems. That's all for today, if you have any additions - write comments! Good luck to you :)
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