ChkDsk is a Microsoft command-line utility present in Windows operating systems that scans your PC’s volumes for potential problems and errors. It can also automatically repair problems like directory errors, bad sectors, lost clusters, etc.

Running the ChkDsk Utility can easily take an hour or two so don’t plan to run the scan in the middle of your peak computer-using hours.

To Access ChkDsk:

1.    Go to your Start menu and click on My Computer.
2.    Right click on your hard drive and then click on Properties.
3.    In the window that opens, click on the Tools tab.
4.    Under “Error-checking,” click “Check Now.”

5.    The Check Disk window will open with two options, “Automatically fix file system errors,” and “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.” For the deepest scan, put a check in both of those boxes. For a read-only scan, leave the boxes unchecked. To skip scanning the volumes, check only “Automatically fix file system errors.” To find bad sectors and repair errors check “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.”
6.    Click Start.
7.    A new message will appear and ask you if you want to schedule the utility to run a scan. Click yes.
8.    Close all of your open programs, files, and menus. Restart your computer.
9.    ChkDsk will run upon start up and then return you to your desktop once the scan is complete. This can take over an hour!

Command Line Prompt ChkDsk

If you’re more of the hands on type, you can also run your ChkDsk utility from a command-line prompt window.
1.    Go to Start and in the Run text field type “cmd.”
2.    Type any of the following into the prompt:
CHKDSK x: /F /R - performs a full scan (including bad sectors) and attempts to fix them

• /R - Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information.
• /F - Fixes errors on the disk.
• /V On FAT/FAT32 - Displays the full path and name of every file on the disk.
• /V On NTFS - Displays cleanup messages if any.
• /L: [size] NTFS only - Changes the log file size to the specified number of kilobytes. If size is not specified it will display current size.
• /X - Forces the volume to become inaccessible (dismount) first if necessary during the scan.
• /I NTFS only - Performs a less intensive check of index entries.
• /C NTFS only - Skips the checking of any cycles within the folder structure.
• /B NTFS only- Re-evaluates bad clusters on the volume.

ChkDsk Results

After your scan is finished, you will see an “exit code.”

• 0 means no errors were detected.
• 1 means errors were found and fixed.
• 2 means that disk cleanup was performed or that it was not performed because /f (check errors) wasn’t specified.
• 3 means that ChkDsk could not check the disk or fix errors because /f (check for errors) wasn’t specified.