Most of us are familiar with chkdsk (Check Disk Utility) which can be used in almost all versions of Windows. For those who don't know what chkdsk is, is pronounced as verification disk and is a command that can be run from the command prompt / power shell or via the Properties window. To use the chkdsk command, users must have Autochk.exe file on their systems.
Why use Chkdsk?
Now that you know what a chkdsk command is, you must be wondering about the scenario where you would use this command. The chkdsk command is used to check and correct any errors on the target disk. For example, if you cannot access a certain disk or suspect that a file may be corrupted, you can use chkdsk command to check for drive errors and fix them.
Basically, there are two things chkdsk can be used for:
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Disk errors: Chkdsk can be used to detect any problems with the integrity of a file system on the selected disk volume. If you encounter a problem with the integrity of the file system or file system metadata, fix those logic errors automatically.
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Physical errors: Chkdsk can be used to detect bad sectors on the selected disk volume. Bad sectors can be due to physical disk corruption or poorly written sectors. The first is known as the hard bad sector and the second as the soft bad sector.. Chkdsk also automatically fixes these errors.
Many people are skeptical about using the chkdsk commands, mainly because it is not the best disk checking tool and is very time consuming. Although this may be true, chkdsk can help prevent data loss and is very easy to use. It is already present in your operating system, so you don't have to download anything and, literally, it takes a few clicks to run chkdsk on the target disk.
Switches / Chkdsk options
There are several options that can be used with the chkdsk command. The options available with chkdsk have their specific functions.
Format
The format to use these commands is chkdsk [/?]. Where “?” will be replaced by the option you want to use.
Example
For example, using chkdsk command / r, will locate the bad sectors on the target drive and try to recover the readable information.
Note: these options are also known as switches.
Chkdsk volume and file path
Chkdsk can be run on specific drives and folders. Once a drive or folder is specified (giving your route), chkdsk will only check the drive / destination file. This will save you a lot of time if you suspect there are problems with a drive or file / specific folder. No need to run chkdsk on the entire hard drive.
Format
The format for specifying a volume or file path is: CHKDSK [volume[[route]file name]]]] [/Switch]
Example
For example, if you want to check drive D on your system, you must type this command: chkdsk d: / r
chkdsk / f / ro chkdsk / r / f? Which one to use?
One of the most common commands used today is chkdsk / f / r o chkdsk / r / f. Some people prefer to use the chkdsk command / f / r to correct errors, while other people use chkdsk / r / f to fix corruption problems. You may have already seen the purposes of modifiers / r y / f. The / r scans for bad sectors and recovers any readable information. Switch / f fixes drive errors. If you are investigating to repair a corrupted drive or some other file, you will see some people will advise you to use chkdsk / r / f, while others will tell you to use chkdsk / f / r.
Are both commands the same?
Then, What command should i use? Is there any benefit to using one over the other? The thing is, they are both quite similar commands. Both commands do the same but in a different order. El chkdsk / r / f locates bad sectors and recovers readable information and then fixes errors. El chkdsk / f / r does the same but in the opposite order.
Main difference
The main difference between the command / r y / f is that / r is used to locate physical disk errors while / f is used to locate disk errors.
Better option
The best option for you here is not to use any of these commands. This is because using the modifier / f before or after the modifier / r is useless. The command / r locates bad sectors and recovers any readable information related to / f. This makes the option / f is redundant when used with / r. Not a chkdsk / r, means it is automatically using chkdsk / r / f. The / r means that everything the / f is done, as well as anything else that the / r.
Then, the answer here is that you should use the chkdsk command / r. This command is sufficient and it is not necessary to include / f.
Note: If you just want to locate and fix disk errors, you just have to use the command / f.
How do you use chkdsk?
You can use chkdsk in two ways. The first way is through the command line or, in other words, the hard way. This is because you will have to type the commands and it may be a bit technical for you.. The second option is to use the graphical interface. This option is suitable for most users, especially for people who are not so tech savvy. The steps to use chkdsk through these two options are given below.
System Symbol or Power Shell
Follow the steps below to run chkdsk commands at command prompt
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Press the Windows key once
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Type command prompt in Start Search
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Right-click the command prompt in the search results and select Run as administrator to open an elevated command prompt.
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Now type chkdsk d: / r and hit Enter. Replace D with the letter of the drive you want to check.
Graphical user interface
You can also use the chkdsk utility without the command line or Power Shell. These are the steps to use the chkdsk utility
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Go to the folder or disk you want to check via chkdsk. In our example, we will check unit E
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Right click on the desired volume and select Properties
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Select the Tools tab
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Click the Check button in the Error Checking section. If you have Windows 7, the button name will be Check Now.
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You may see a dialog box telling you not to scan. You can close the dialog and go back to normal use, or you can click Scan Drive to forcibly run the chkdsk utility. Note: Once you click the button and you have Windows 7, you may see a new dialog with Automatically repair file system errors and Scan and attempt to recover bad sectors. You can select to deselect both options or select the appropriate one for you or select both options. Once this is done, click Start to start the scan. Note that running chkdsk with both options will take a long time, probably a few hours.
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Once the scan is complete, you will see a confirmation dialog. You can click View details to view the details or click cancel to close the dialog.
Note: Once the analysis starts, you may see the dialog box indicating that the disk is in use and that the scan will be performed on the next startup. Click the Schedule Check Disk button to confirm or click cancel if you don't want to scan on next startup.
Chkdsk issues
There will be cases where you will see an error message when trying to run the chkdsk command. Then, some very common error messages and steps to resolve these issues are displayed.
An unspecified error occurred
If chkdsk gives an error »An unspecified error occurred», then you won't be able to check your disk for errors. The error will look like this
Note: If the steps in the article do not solve the problem and you are using a low frequency AMD CPU, click here and download the review from Microsoft's official website. Once downloaded, run the hotfix and see if it solves the problem.
Unable to continue in read-only mode
You may see the error “Unable to continue in read-only mode” if you run the chkdsk command / f (Most of the time). The error will look like this
Solution
If you see this error, you must run the chkdsk command / r or the chkdsk command [drive letter] / r. Can view a message
Chkdsk cannot work because another process is using the volume. Would you like to schedule this volume to be verified the next time the system is rebooted? (S / N) »
If you see this message, just type Y and press Enter to schedule the scan. Once this is done, reboot and the scan will run at startup.
Can't lock current drive
Yes chkdsk from an error “Can't lock current drive”, you will not be able to check for disk errors. The error will look like this
