How to Run Chkdsk Utility on Vista

Chkdsk is a Windows Vista utility that searches for problems and errors on a computer's disk volume and attempts to fix them. It looks for things like lost clusters, bad sector related problems and directory errors, to name a few. If you're running into some problems on your system, and you have not made recent changes to your system, running the Windows Vista Chkdsk utility may help to find and resolve your problem.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Access Chkddsk Through the Command Line

1. Sign onto your computer as an administrator. You need to have administrative rights in order to run the Windows Vista Chkdsk utility.

2. Navigate to the Windows Vista Chkdsk utility through the command line via the "Start" menu. From the "All Programs" menu click on "Accessories." Select the "Run" menu item which will open a text box in which you will type the instructions for running Chkdsk.

3. Type "cmd" in the Run textbox and click "OK." Doing so will open a DOS Window.

4. Insert "chkdsk c:\ "at the flashing prompt to begin the Chkdsk utility. Replace "c:\" with the letter of the drive for which you want to run the Chkdsk utility. If your hard drive is "d:\", then type that instead.

5. After the "chkdsk c:\" command insert "\f" to fix errors on the disc volume or "\r" to recover bad sectors. For more Chkdsk DOS commands visit the Microsoft website.

Access Chkdsk Through Windows Explore

6. Place your mouse over the "Start" button and right-click to invoke a set of menu options. Click on "Explore" to open the Explore file management system.

7. Select the hard drive letter for which you want to run the Chkdsk utility. Right-click on the driver letter to invoke a set of menu options and select "Properties."

8. Click on the "Tools" tab in the "Properties" window. Under the "Error-Checking" section of the window, click the "Check Now" button. If you have User Account Controls enabled, a window will pop up asking permission to continue. Click "Continue."

9. Decide if you want Chkdsk to "Automatically fix file system errors" and to "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors," and click "Start."

10. Chkdsk will not run if your Windows Vista computer is in use, therefore it will request you to schedule Chkdsk. If you click "Schedule Check Disk," it will run the next time you boot your computer before Windows is actually loaded. Turn off the computer and then turn it back on. At that point Chkdsk will run.

Tips & Warnings

• Running Windows Vista Chkdsk is not a quick process. It can take several hours to complete depending on the size of the computer's hard drive.
• For best results, it is strongly recommended that you do not interrupt the Chkdsk process.

Resources

• Microsoft DOS Commands

[AVTrailBlazers]

on 7/5/2009 I like the Chkdsk abbreviation