How to Use the Chkdsk Command

You can repair lost or corrupted data with the disk error checking utility in Windows.

The disk error checking utility in Windows can be started by running a command in the command prompt called "chkdsk." This chkdsk command initiates a scan of your hard drive, looking for any bad sectors. You have the option of repairing them and recovering any lost or corrupted data in the sectors.

Instructions

1. Click the "Start" button, type out "cmd.exe" in the search box and then press "Enter".

2. Type "chkdsk drive_letter: /r" into the Command Prompt window. Note that the inclusion of the "/r" flag instructs the program to repair any errors found, so if you don't want to repair errors, don't include this flag. Type out the actual drive letter of the hard drive you want to scan instead of "drive_letter".

3. Press the "Enter" key and the chkdsk program will run, scanning your drive for errors.

References

• Microsoft: How to perform disk error checking