The CHKDSK command was already included in the early MS-DOS versions of Microsoft operating systems. Since Windows NT 3.1, CHKDSK runs as a 32-bit program, also compatible with NTFS-formatted disks. Additionally, since the Windows XP version, there is the option of checking disks with a simple graphical interface that uses the disk service in the background, but that only offers two of its many options. Discover in the following paragraphs the different CHKDSK commands and parameters and how you can use the tool..
So you can start CHKDSK:
If you want to start CHKDSK via file explorer, right-click on a disk and select the context menu item? Properties ?. Then switch to the tab? Tools ?, where you will find the section? Error checking? together with the button? Check ?, which you should click.
After a short check, Windows 10 will automatically propose the necessary repair measures (in Windows 7 the repair options still had to be chosen manually). In principle, you can choose between two possibilities:
Selecting one of these repair options will greatly increase the time required. Also, the unit being tested cannot be used during this time . For this reason, you should close all programs and also any browser windows that are using or displaying data from this unit..
You should avoid, as far as possible, accessing the drive being tested, even in read-only mode, otherwise the testing time will be significantly increased. It is best to close all programs and even third-party virus scanners to prevent their activities in the background.
If you start CHKDSK from the command line, you can choose from many more verification options. In Windows 10, you can enter the CHKDSK commands at the command prompt or the new PowerShell, depending on your preferences. The latter option was not available in older versions of the operating system, such as Windows 7 or Windows 8. You can find out exactly how the tool is handled through the command line in the following step-by-step instructions ..
From there, CHKDSK will run without any other parameters in read-only mode, so it won't change anything on the hard drive.
By means of additional parameters, test phases or special repair options can be activated. The basic syntax to consider when introducing CHKDSK commands is as follows:
chksdk [unidad[[ruta]nombre de archivo]]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L[:tamaño]] [/B] [/scan] [/spotfix]
If no drive is entered, CHKDSK will run in the currently selected drive. The drive can be specified by the drive letter or, in the case of NTFS drives, it can also be specified as a directory path in which another drive is embedded.
On FAT32 drives, you can check individual directories or even just specific files. In NTFS, the indication of a directory is only possible when this directory is represented by its own partition in the directory tree.
The following table summarizes the basic CHKDSK commands and parameters and clarifies their meaning . Furthermore, the different commands are available for which file system and from which version of Windows .
CHKDSK command / parameter
Meaning
FAT32 / extFAT
NTFS
From the Windows version
Volume
Specifies the drive letter or volume (followed by a colon) or the mount point.
x
filename
Specifies the specific files to check.
/F
Fix disk errors.
/ V
Displays the full path and name of each file on disk.
Displays cleaning messages if any.
/ R
Finds bad sectors and recovers readable information (implies use of / F if / scan is not specified ).
/ L: size
Changes the size of the log file to the specified number of KB. If no size is specified, it shows the current size.
/ X
Forces the volume to be unmounted first. No open processes on the volume will be valid (implies the use of / F ).
/ I
Performs index entry checking (less exhaustive).
/ C
Skip checking cycles within the folder structure.
/ B
Reassess the bad clusters on the volume (involves the use of / R ).
Windows 7
/ scan
Run an online exam.
Windows 10
/ forceofflinefix
Skip all online repairs (must be used with / scan ), all found defects are queued for offline repair (i.e chkdsk / spotfix ).
/ perf
Use more system resources to speed up the exam. This could adversely affect the performance of other tasks running on the system (must be used with / scan ).
/ spotfix
Repair the volume.
/ sdcleanup
Runs a garbage memory cleanup in the security descriptor's unnecessary data (involves the use of / F ).
/ offlinescanandfix
Run an offline scan and repair on the volume.
/ freeorphanedchains
Releases cluster strings that are no longer needed instead of reclaiming their content.
/ markclean
Mark the volume as error free.
Running CHKDSK with one of the repair options ( / F or / R ) usually increases the time required for the check. Even in standard read-only mode, you should access the inspected drive as little as possible during execution. The CHKDSK check can be canceled at any time with the key combination [Control] + [C].
The / I and / C options shorten the time required to run CHKDSK by skipping some checks.
There are constantly open files on the system drive , so CHKDSK cannot run repair options on them. In this case, the option is offered to check the system drive at the next system startup with AutoChk.
