CHKDSK- A Command Line tool of Windows to Fix Disk Errors

When users have trouble accessing their hard drive then CHKDSK or Check disk utility is always recommended. Besides, every computer user must run this tool periodically so that hard drive can work smoothly. The Check Disk or CHKDSK utility is used to scan hard drive for errors in Windows operating system. Check disk program is there to make sure that the computer’s file system and file systems are working properly. We are going to discuss how to run CHKDSK in Command prompt using various CHKDSK switches by scanning the disk and fix the errors.

What is CHKDSK Utility?

 

Check disk (Chkdsk.exe) is a utility for windows operating system, it’s an inbuilt tool that runs in Command prompt. CHKDSK examines the volume on the disk & verify if there is any error in the file system structure and if the problem is found then CHKDSK repairs disk-related error like lost clusters, cross-linked files etc. Check Disk is a popular tool since MS-DOS, it upgraded with two new switches in Windows NT and Windows 2000 /C & /I, now it is being used in every Windows OS such as Windows 7, 8, 10, XP, Vista.

 

Why Check Disk run at startup?

 

Sometimes users perform hard shutdown means turning off a system directly by power button instead of shutting it down through start menu. CHKDSK runs on startup next time because it checks that every file and file system is in order or not. It also checks the physical disk to see if there is any damaged sectors and try to recover the data from them.

Several CHKDSK Parameters to find and fix the errors

 

If check disk is run in command prompt without switches then it displays only the status of volume and does not fix any error. If CHKDSK is run with parameters then it will display volume errors and also fix those errors.

Syntax of CHKDSK:

Chkdsk [volume [[path] filename]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L [:size]]

Various Parameters of Check Disk tool

 

CHKDSK parameters help to perform the operation on it, Some CHKDSK Parameters or CHKDSK Switches that execute in command line are:

<Volume>	Specifies the volume Name
[Path name] <FileName>	Specifies the location of file and name of a file or set of files
/F	This CHKDSK /F switch helps to fix the errors
/v	Displays the name of each file in every directory as the disk is checked.
/r	Recovers the bad sectors.
/x	It forces the volume to dismount first it is necessary.
/l[:<Size>]	Only with NTFS where /l displays the current size of volume, and including size parameter it changes the log file size to the size you type
/c	NTFS Only: This option is mainly used to skip the checks that detect cycle within the folder so as to minimize the time required by Check Disk.
/i	NTFS Only: The /I CHKDSK parameter is also used to reduce the time needed by Check Disk as it skips the checks that compare index entries to their associate file record.
/b	Switch /b clears the list of bad clusters and rescan all allocated and free clusters for errors.
/?	Provides help at command prompt.

Some Errors while using CHKDSK in command prompt

• To run CHKDSK utility, you need to open the command prompt in administrator mode otherwise you will get the following error:

•  If that drive which is going to be checked is a system drive or any file of that drive is being used by system then CHKDSK ask to schedule the check next time when system restarts as shown in below figure: 

Chkdsk /f /r C: -  It is the recommended way to perform check disk but if you do not want a   check in-depth just remove the /R switch from command.

• Sometimes a damaged volume may lose their file system, means Windows operating system stops recognizing its file system. In this case various messages are shown, most common are:

The volume X: is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?
The disk in drive X: is not formatted.
Drive X:\ not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

 And if you try to run the CHKDSK in command prompt for raw drive, you will receive the following message:
“The type of the file system is RAW. CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives”