Check Disk Utility or chkdsk.exe is a tool in Windows 10 that examines disk corruption. This tool turns on automatically when your computer encounters a sudden shutdown or detects a corrupted file system. In a few cases, it is recommended to run this tool, but in other cases, Windows itself launches it, depending on the nature of the errors. CHKDSK scans the disk space and verifies that the integrity of the file system has not been compromised - and if it finds any logical errors, it corrects them. Let's see how to use the CHKDSK tool to check and repair your hard drive in Windows 10/8/7.

Checking for errors and repairing bad sectors on the hard drive

What exactly does this tool check for? Everything is very simple, it checks in 5 stages: checking the basic structure of the file system, checking file name associations, checking security descriptors, searching for damaged clusters in user file data, searching for damaged and free clusters. The format of the commands specified on the command line is similar to chkdsk[Disk:] [options] and looks like chkdsk c: /f /r /x. Please note that the local drive C: is indicated, if you need to check the entire hard drive, then remove C: and the command will look like this chkdsk /f /r /x. If you need to check and restore a flash drive, then specify the volume letter instead of C:. Let's take a closer look at the advanced options that can greatly help fix errors on your hard drive.

• Open a command prompt as administrator and enter the command chkdsk C: /f /r /x to scan your hard drive for errors and press Enter.

1. C- Local disk or volume that you want to check. If you want to check the entire hard drive for errors, then simply issue the command chkdsk /f /r /x
2. /f- Corrects errors that it finds.
3. /r- Searches for damaged sectors and restores them.
4. /x- Dismounts the volume before checking it, if necessary.
5. I have listed the more significant commands in one place, but you can see additional commands by typing in the command line chkdsk /?.

As you know, all computer data is stored on a small, but often very capacious storage device - a hard drive, or hard drive, HDD (Hard Disk Drive). So, like any device, the hard drive gradually wears out, which affects its performance and performance. You can notice this: if your PC (laptop, netbook) is a “seasoned” friend who has been working for several years, it may begin to freeze, “think” for a long time when accessing certain folders, etc. These are sure signs of the appearance of “bad” sectors on the hard drive. In this case, he simply needs your help in the form of checking and, if possible, correcting errors in his work. This can be done in several ways, I’ll tell you about everything in order. If you decide to figure out how to check your hard drive for errors, then my recommendation is to read this article to the end, and only then start following the steps described in this article.

In order to properly maintain your hard drive and extend its life for many years, you need to understand some basics of how the drive works. Therefore, first I will try to tell you in as simple a language as possible what is happening inside the hard drive, and because of what it loses its “former grip” over time, and after that I will mention what programs will help you in maintaining and fixing your hard drive. If you don’t have the desire to delve into the problem literally from the inside, but plan to just go through instructions like “click here - click here” - move to the second part of the article with a description of methods and programs for checking the hard drive. The first section of the material will be devoted to theory, and I will try to make it as interesting and understandable as possible. Go!

How the hard drive works and formatting

A hard drive is a device consisting of several glass/aluminum plates coated with a ferromagnetic material. Above the surface of each platter (disk), at a distance of about ten nm, there are magnetic heads that read and write information to the disk.

During the production of hard drives, the final stage involves applying tracks, sectors and marks to the magnetic surface of the disk. This process is called low-level formatting. Thus, service information is written to the disk. In simple terms, the “magnetization” of service information is higher than that with which we will subsequently fill the disk. That is why user data and files can be written and erased many times, but service information cannot.

IMPORTANT: if you read/heard somewhere that low-level formatting will help fix hard drive errors, and this can be done using any program, remember: this operation is performed once and only at the factory using expensive equipment. It is impossible to perform low-level formatting using software at home! Of course, you can format it, but it won’t be the formatting we would like.

Sometimes I resort to such formatting (there are special utilities), but I do this procedure to format the disk when other programs refuse to do this. Ask why this happens? Because some programs, if they cannot format the disk, write a message, for example, “Format the hard disk could not be completed,” and if you use special programs that format several times in the same area, then sometimes this option works - when the disk cannot be easily formatted.

The hard drive is equipped with some semblance of an operating system (not Windows, which we all know about and use). With the help of marks and OS commands applied to the disk, the drive “understands” exactly where the magnetic head needs to be delivered at the current moment in time for reading/writing. The table of tracks, sectors and labels, as well as the disk OS - Firmware, firmware - is stored in a special section, closed from the BIOS and the operating systems we are familiar with, in a zone. Therefore, if you suddenly wonder whether you need to update the firmware of your hard drive, know: you don’t need to do this. After all, a hard drive is not an IPhone, and it doesn’t need updates for a modern hard drive to function properly.

Bad HDD sectors – physical, logical, software

We are getting closer to the problem - the hard drive is losing its functionality.

So, the disks are marked into tracks and the tracks are divided into sectors. By the way, the minimum hard disk sector size available to the user is 512 bytes. What happens if a sector suddenly becomes unreadable? The hard drive controller gives the command to make a few more reading attempts (at this moment we, on the other side of the monitor, can notice how the PC is slightly “stupid”), and if the operation is unsuccessful, the system marks the sector as faulty (failed, bad block ), and the information that should have been written to this sector is written to another working sector in the reserve section. At the same time, information is entered into the labels table that this sector is now considered non-working. The process of redirecting from bad sectors to spare ones is called “remapping”, or in slang “remap”.

Note: imagine: the magnetic head cannot always continuously move along the tracks sector by sector - due to bad sectors, it has to jump to the backup track and back every now and then. For this reason, by the way, you can hear extraneous sounds and crackling sounds from the HDD. Naturally, the more bad sectors there are on the disk, the slower the hard drive works.

There are several types of bad sectors:

1. Physical bad block. Such sectors arise as a result of physical, mechanical damage to the hard drive - shedding of a ferromagnetic material, cracks, chips. It is logical to assume that their occurrence is due to physical impact - vibration, impact or high temperature (overheating), dust penetrating inside the disk. A physical bad sector cannot be corrected by any software; the only solution is to enter it into the defect table and assign it a “deputy” on the backup track. Therefore, do not knock on your laptop and also be attentive to the computer system unit, which is usually placed under the table.
2. Logical bad block. They are a consequence of a violation of the logic of the hard drive and are divided into two categories: correctable and irreparable.
   1. Uncorrectable logical bad block. In this case, service information is violated - sector label, address, etc., which is sometimes possible to correct, but is only accessible to specialized specialists with expensive equipment.
   2. Correctable logical bad block. Along with the information, an additional parameter is written to the sector - a checksum, or Error Correction Code (ECC), which allows you to restore information even in the event of a failure. It happens that you turn off the computer (for example, from the outlet while the system was still running), information was written to the hard drive, but the checksum was not entered into the table. This is where HDD recovery programs come to the rescue, which, “without asking” the sectors, forcibly write zeros into them, and, accordingly, new checksums. After this, the sector returns to work, and the disk is formatted without problems using standard Windows tools. If formatting is not done, the hard drive will access the disk multiple times and your computer or laptop will freeze due to an incorrect checksum.

1. Software bad block. The name itself tells us that such blocks arise during the operation of the program, which means that such problems can be corrected with the help of any program. This includes incorrectly marked sectors and other “small things” that can be corrected by regular formatting.

IMPORTANT: I'm sure you all know this very well, but just in case I'll say it: formatting will destroy all your data on the disk. Therefore, before formatting a disk, make sure that all the necessary information from it is copied to another medium. Otherwise, you will simply lose it.

Standard Windows utilities for checking hard drives

We've sorted out the theory, let's move on to practice. There are several applications for working with “problem” hard drives that have proven themselves to be a powerful and reliable tool. First things first.

By tradition, I’ll say a few words about standard Windows tools. The functionality, of course, leaves much to be desired, but it will do for preventing disk errors. To check the disk using the OS, open Explorer, right-click on any of the disks and select “Properties” from the menu.

In the window that opens, go to the “Service” tab and see that we have few options - you can check for file system errors or run defragmentation. We won’t stop at checking (press the button and check), but I’ll say a few words about defragmentation. As the name implies, this process is the reverse of the process of disk fragmentation as a result of a remap (this was discussed in the theoretical part of the article above). Simply put, defragmentation is the organization of the disk table and spare sectors for faster access to the latter and speed up the response of the hard drive as a whole. It is recommended to run disk defragmenter occasionally. However, remember: any operation to check or repair a hard drive is a lengthy process, so you need to allow yourself some time.

Conclusion: you need to check the disk for errors in the file system and you can also defragment the disk.

Another way to check the disk using standard means is through the command line. We launch it - press “Win” + “R” on the keyboard, then enter “cmd” and click “OK”. Next, write the command “chkdsk C: /f /r”, where “C:” is the letter of the drive being checked, “/F” and “/R” are parameters indicating that it is necessary to automatically correct errors, as well as check for bad sectors and try recover information.

Attention! If you are unable to use this command, namely, you do not have enough privileges to use this command, then below I will tell you what to do in this situation.

Note: the method that I described above rarely helps, so I highly recommend the chkdsk utility, which saved me more than once.

You should also take into account that if your physical disk is divided into logical drives, for example, C, D, etc., then you need to check all your logical drives.

If the disk you are checking is currently in use, the system will prompt you to schedule a disk check the next time you restart the PC, you need to press the Y key: “Y” - “Yes”, and “N” - “No” ). After which you must reboot your device.

If the disk is free, a check will be carried out, the results of which will be displayed on the screen. The program may ask you to disconnect the volume (local disk), in which case you also press the “Y” key on the keyboard. Below I have shown an example of this message:

If you run the command “chkdsk /?”, the program will display a complete list of parameters that can be used with this utility, however, in most cases, the method described above is sufficient for diagnostics.

If the utility writes that you do not have privileges to execute the command, then you need to run it as an administrator. It's easy to do. For users who have Windows 8 or 10 installed, press the “Win” + “X” keys, a menu will open where you need to select “Command Prompt (Administrator)”. After this, you can safely enter the command you need. If Windows 7 or XP is installed on your computer, then you need to search for “cmd” or “command line”, right-click on it and select run as administrator.

By the way, you can return to the results of the disk scan later, even after closing the command line and restarting the PC. For this:

1. Press “Win” + “R”, write “eventvwr.msc” in the line, click “OK”.
2. In the “Event Viewer” window, open “Windows Logs”, right-click on “Application” and select “Find...” from the menu that appears.
3. Enter “chkdsk” into the search bar and find the corresponding log entry.

Well, we’ve sorted out the standard checking tools, now let’s look at software from third-party manufacturers.

If Windows does not boot for you, then connect the hard drive you are testing to another computer. This way, you will boot from another hard drive, and check your own (which may have errors).

Checking the drive using Seagate SeaTools

This program, as the name suggests, was released by the manufacturer of the HDDs of the same name - Seagate, but this does not prevent it from being “omnivorous” and working with any disks. You can download it from the official website, the software is free: . At the time of writing, you need to click on the link “SeaTools Diagnostic Software for Windows OS”, which is located on the left. After downloading and installing the program, you need to run it.

Next, select the disk that you are trying to restore to normal operation (by checking the box on the left) and click “Basic tests”. Here you can select options for working with your hard drive. In the picture below I showed what checking capabilities this utility has. You can use all the options this program offers. You can click on the picture below to see the program interface:

Like any self-respecting utility, there is a boot disk image (Seagate for DOS), launching from which will allow you to use the scanning functions before loading the OS. For example, when the system does not boot. It is advisable to check the hard drive in this mode. Because this way you will not have problems during verification.

In addition, the program has a “Help” section, which is entirely in Russian.

Checking Western Digital drives

The next utility is more narrowly focused and is designed to work exclusively with Western Digital HDDs. Its name is Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic. To download the program, go to the manufacturer’s website http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?lang=ru, find the program in the list and download it. Next, run the program, right-click on the desired drive and select “Run Diagnostics”.

Traditionally, there is a version of a bootable iso image and the capabilities are similar to previous software, the interface is elementary.

Disk analysis with HDDScan

I’ll mention another worthy representative of the “army” of fighters against hard drive errors. Particularly noteworthy here is the testing function in linear recording mode - “Test” - “Erase”. When launched, the program forcibly writes data sector by sector, thereby returning most of the bad sectors to work (this was also mentioned above). By the way, if it is possible to disconnect the hard drive from your PC and connect it to another with HDDScan installed on board, then use this verification option. This way you will achieve maximum scanning efficiency. You can download the program on the website. After downloading, you need to unpack the archive, go to the unpacked folder and run the “HDDScan.exe” file.

To run the test, select your hard drive on the left, then click on the picture with the hard drive and select “Surface Tests”.

In the window that opens, leave everything as default – “Read” and click “Add Test”. So, we have started the scan, now we can double-click on the “RD-Read” entry with the left mouse to open a window where there will be detailed information about working with the hard drive.

If you have a lot of delays - from 20ms and above, then this means that your disk is already very bad and you need to think about where to copy all the important data that is on hire. In the future, you need to replace the bad hard drive with a new one. It is advisable to use the program on another computer so that no processes interfere with checking your disk.

Recovering a hard drive in Victoria

So we get to, perhaps, the most popular tool for “revitalizing” magnetic data storage devices. This program is sometimes very problematic to download from the official website and therefore I will give you a link to another site where you can download this program http://www.softportal.com/software-3824-victoria.html. I always try to provide links only to official sites, but sometimes developer sites do not open for some reason and therefore I had to provide a link to a third-party resource. This site is popular and therefore you don’t have to worry about viruses.

After downloading the archive, unpack it and run the program as administrator. Be sure to take this step!

At the beginning of work, select the “Standard” tab, and in the window on the right, select the desired disk, and then click on the “Passport” button. In the log window below you will see how your HDD was identified. If an entry appears in the log, it means that the program was able to read information from this hard drive.

If this does not happen and you see “Get S.M.A.R.T. command... Error reading S.M.A.R.T!” — probably the HDD controller is not working in the mode we need. To change it, you will have to go to the BIOS and go through the following path: “Config” - “Serial ATA (SATA)” - “SATA Controller Mode Option” - change from “AHCI” to “Compatibility” (IDE). Save the changes to the BIOS and continue working with the program.

Note: do not forget to return everything to its place after finishing working with Victoria.

So we got to the disk test: go to the “Test” tab, click “Start”.

As the check progresses, the cells in the left window will be filled with multi-colored rectangles. It is in our interests that they are all gray - this is the color of the working sector. But the blue and red ones are an indication of the bad sectors of the disk. If after checking there are especially many blue cells, then you need to run the check again, first turning on the “Remap” option (located at the bottom right). As a result of such a check, the program will try to isolate broken blocks (I also talked about this in theory), hiding them. It is also worth noting that orange and green rectangles mean that there are sectors on your disk where there are very high delays. If they are present, then this is also very bad.

IMPORTANT: if the results of the disk check are disappointing, I recommend copying the information to a backup disk, or being prepared to replace it. Once the disk begins to “lose” sectors, then most likely this process will continue. It is impossible to predict how long the disk will serve you. If this hard drive does not have the necessary files, and you only use it for browsing the Internet, then of course you don’t have to buy a new storage medium. The next time you have problems with this hard drive, it means that it is already unstable and you will need to buy a hard drive.

I tried to describe theory and practice as simply as possible. Of course, it will be difficult for the average user to study the material in 5 minutes, and therefore give your disk enough time to resolve the issue of its unstable operation.

In this article, I gave examples of utilities that computer technicians use, and if you use other programs, then there is nothing wrong with that. After all, the most important thing in your case is the result. Namely, to understand what to do with your media – restore it or it’s time to buy a new hard drive.

I hope I and this article were useful to you. Good luck with your testing and only high-quality hard drives!

Video that will help you work with Victoria:

In this article you will find a guide to using chkdsk, links to programs that allow you to comprehensively test your hard drive, as well as instructions for them. In addition, the article describes how to scan your hard drive partitions using built-in Windows tools.

On this page

Windows Check Disk Utility (chkdsk)

Windows OS has its own disk checking utility. It can be launched from the GUI or from the command line.

Running disk check from the GUI

Open the window My computer, right-click on the disk or partition you want to scan and select from the context menu Properties. In the disk properties window, go to the tab Service and press the button Run check.

In the next window, click the button Launch.

The scan of the non-system partition will begin immediately. If you are checking system partition Windows 7, you may see a message saying that it cannot be completed at this time.

This is normal because the system partition is being used by the operating system. Click the button Disk check schedule. To run the scan, you must restart your computer. After the computer restarts, the disk check will be performed before the operating system starts.

Run disk check from the command line

Below is an example of running a partition check C from the command line.

Chkdsk c: /f /r

Note. The command line must be run with administrator rights.

In Windows 7, as in the case of checking the system partition from the GUI, after executing this command you will see a message stating that the scan cannot be completed.

Enter Y and restart your computer to start checking.

Additional information about the utility's command line parameters chkdsk you can get it by running it with the key /? , or on this page.

Run a disk check if the system won't boot

If the operating system does not boot due to errors on the disk, you can check the disk using the Windows installation disk.

Windows 7, 8.1, 10

1. Boot into the recovery environment and open a command prompt (instructions for Windows 8 and later, Windows 7)
2. At the command prompt, enter chkdsk c: /r

Windows XP

If the problem occurs in Windows XP, use the Recovery Console. After booting from the installation disk into the console, run the command

Chkdsk c: /r

For more information about the Recovery Console, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

• Installing and using the Recovery Console in Windows XP
• Enable automatic administrator login when using the Recovery Console

Hard drive diagnostics using third-party programs

If after checking the hard drive with the utility chkdsk If you continue to experience critical errors related to your equipment, it is worth carrying out more thorough testing using specialized programs. As a rule, hard drive manufacturers' utilities or programs such as Victoria or MHDD.

Attention! Before testing your hard drive using third-party programs, you must back up all your data.

Hard drive manufacturer utilities

Diagnostic utilities may be on the CD that came with your hard drive. In any case, they can be downloaded from the hard drive manufacturer's website. Links to some manufacturers' download pages are provided below.

• Western Digital: Data Lifeguard Tools (you must select the disk model).
• Seagate: SeaTools.
• Hitachi: Drive Fitness Test.
• Samsung: Shdiag.

Diagnostic tools from other manufacturers can be found on their websites.

Victoria

program Victoria, designed for in-depth testing of the health of the hard drive, can be found at this link on the website hdd-911.com.

• Excerpts from the official documentation of the Victoria hard drive test

MHDD

The MHDD program is also capable of comprehensively testing the hard drive and fixing errors on it. You can download it from this link from the website MHDD.ru.

You will find more information at the following links:

The disk is in perfect order - what next?

If no errors are detected on the hard drive, it is most likely not causing critical errors. It is possible that the problem lies in faulty RAM or the power supply does not have enough power to ensure the operation of all devices. You can check your RAM and drivers as described in the articles linked below.

You can mark fragments of text that interest you, which will be available via a unique link in the address bar of your browser.

about the author

I am interested in your opinion about these programs:

PC-3000 DiskAnalyzer, Ver1.02 Diagnostic utility for all types of drives (ATA-8, SATA, USB, SCSI, Flash, SSD), Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 S.M.A.R.T. Vision, Ver4.1 S.M.A.R.T utility. diagnostics HDD IDE (ATA-8, SATA, USB, SCSI, Flash, SSD), Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 http://www.acelab.ru/dep.pc/resource.php

aass, didn't use it. But I note that Victoria and MHDD are proven tools for serious diagnostics.

And Windows 7 can track SMART information. It will warn you if anything happens.

aass

Vadim Sterkin, Thanks for the answer and for the topic!
I agree with the assessment of the Victoria and MHDD programs, I myself use Victoria for serious diagnostics, but I try to test other programs, everything is learned by comparison.)

Dmitriy

When checking the hard drive with a standard program on Windows 7, it says that bad clusters were detected in null.sys... what kind of driver is this?

Dmitriy

Vadim Sterkin,

thanks...can the system slow down because of it?

Sanyok

Hello.
I ran (hypothetically) checking the C: drive from the graphical interface with parameters similar to your screenshot. Clicked the "Schedule disk check" button. Changed my mind. How can I cancel this one-time system disk check before rebooting the system?
I myself assume that it may be entered into the Task Scheduler.” But I want to know for sure. I see no point in experimenting. Since, after such a check was completed successfully once (in practical reality), it would be entered into the “Scheduler” even as a one-time check, and should, in theory, be saved. After all, tasks from the “Scheduler” do not have the ability to self-delete (I think so). But I didn’t find any traces in the “Planner”. As you probably know, I didn’t receive an answer on the Internet or on the forum.

Simply put, I want to know where this mythical “Check Schedule” is located and what methods and methods Windows 7 offers for adjusting it. And then it turns out like this - click, and ala-ulu...

Sanyok

Yeah…
There were graphics, but they all came out. This is some kind of graffiti, black and white, with a register. Just like Battleship Potemkin.
(Yes, I Googled, but really for a slightly different request). Thank you.
You can plan this by checking two boxes in the chart, and canceling by going to the register. They got smart here. Well, okay, there’s nothing to do - I’ll post in the forum.

Yes, by the way, does it make sense to check the second (bottom) checkbox if the system is on an SSD? After all, as far as my knowledge is sufficient, the SSD controller itself periodically (when idle) scans the memory for faulty cells.
And this second checkbox, by definition, is intended to check for broken cells on the surface of the HDD.

Sanyok

Sanyok,

You turn on your TV with the remote control and set the wake-up timer. The next morning you wake up to the music of your favorite music channel. And life flows smoothly and measuredly. But at one fine moment it dawns on you - after all, tomorrow is Sunday. No problem, you tell yourself. With a slight movement of your hand and a screwdriver, without unplugging the TV from the mains, you remove the back cover, quickly replace a couple of resistors on the board and you’re done. Tomorrow you can sleep peacefully until lunchtime.
Do you feel what I mean?

Vadim Sterkin: Sanya, what do you mean, wise? You don’t have to split hairs by pressing all sorts of strange buttons, and everything will be fine :)

It's really funny, but also of course, of course Truth.
Yes, but it’s not quite out of place. I don’t see anything unpredictable or completely incomprehensible in checking the disk. And the conversation was about the fact that if you have already provided a graphical opportunity to schedule such a task, then be kind enough to provide the same opportunity to disable it, and not through one place (the registry). Either remove graphics when planning (do planning only through CMD), or provide the ability to disable this task using the graphical interface. As an engineer, in my technical practice and in the practice of interfaces of various industrial programs and IT, this is the first time I have come across something like this. Yes, and in Windows OS too.
That’s what I wanted to convey when I said, “We’ve been clever.”
When faced with a question, I noticed that this function causes complaints from the user in terms of frequent independent launches. But let's not talk about that. As unrelated to the topic.
And of course, thanks for the comments. Everything is clear to me here.

Regarding the bottom daw:

To perform a thorough disk scan, select the Scan and repair bad sectors option. In this mode, the scanning program attempts to find and correct physical errors on the hard drive itself, which may take much longer.

It doesn't say anything about the file system. More about physical disabilities. Some of us are wrong. Or I didn't understand something.
And further in the text:

To check for both file and physical errors, select both options: Automatically fix system errors and Scan for and repair bad sectors.

Please comment. I would like clarity on the issue.
So as not to press “all sorts of strange buttons”, and everything was fine. :-)

Vyacheslav

I am very surprised by the capabilities of checking and restoring a disk under Windows 8. Changing the partition size upward using Acronis Disk Director 11 ended with errors. I wanted to increase the size of the system disk using the empty space on the adjacent partition by 200 GB. As a result, this program reports that everything is OK, and the disk size in Explorer has not changed. I checked the disk using the OS - it said that there were errors and needed to be rebooted. After the reboot, nothing changed and a request appeared to reboot to fix it. As you can already guess, this also did not help. As a result, we have lost 200 GB, despite the fact that Acronis says everything is ok, but the system is not able to correct the errors found. Sadness. Do I need to format it?

Vyacheslav

Vadim Sterkin,

In fact, under Windows 7, a similar operation was always performed without problems. I always perform the task of expanding/narrowing a partition in 2 stages: first, we cut off a piece of space from the partition being compressed and transfer it to the “unallocated space” status from the required end of the partition, and then we expand another partition using this space (I do everything manually in 2 reboots in case of "jambs", because Acronis performs a group of operations very strangely. There is a sad experience under Windows XP). So, if under Windows 7, after checking the disk, everything returned to normal and the free space did not disappear so easily, then under Windows 8 Acronis completed the first stage successfully, and when performing the second it broke down with errors, although then it reports that “everything is fine.” The problem was eventually resolved by booting from a Live CD from Acronis. It's a pity that this cannot be done under Windows 8. And I was counting so much on the “improved checking and correction of file system errors” promoted in the media. Of course, it is very difficult to trust that checking and background diagnostics of FS problems is working correctly. It is very confusing that the time to scan one partition under Windows 7 and under Windows 8 differs by orders of magnitude, for the better for the latter. Are all problems really so easily and quickly fixed? Maybe Windows 8 simply doesn’t notice most of them, or even worse, ignores them?

Vyacheslav

Vadim Sterkin,

Well, what option is there in Windows 8 to expand the partition size? I saw the Disk Management snap-in. Well, I didn’t see how it’s possible to cut the size of a logical volume from the desired end using “standard means”. There's also no way to move a partition within the unallocated space. If there is an analogue that I missed, tell me. Along the way, you did not quite correctly understand what I meant by the phrase “I had a bad experience under Windows XP.” And it was like this: after a reboot, this operation was performed and at that moment the electricity went out. Thus, I lost 2 partitions, although, in theory, there could have been 3 options: the second partition would have been lost, from which space was taken due to the incompleteness of the operation of moving NTFS service zones, or only the system partition would have been lost (although this is unlikely), or both partitions would be fine, and between them there would be some area of ​​unmarked space. But I was very “lucky”. Let’s skip the topic of uninterruptible power supplies and it turns out that Acronis is a reputable company, and their products are sometimes dangerous to use in any way in the absence of alternatives from the OS. And then another “surprise” emerged. And even here everything is fine with the power supply. But as I already noted, the last problem was solved by booting from a Live CD from Acronis and a classic disk check, and not the over-optimized one from Windows 8, the benefits of which I have not yet felt. It seems to be there, but there seems to be no point. Or maybe I was using the disk check tool wrong. Unfortunately, this “optimization” still raises more questions and mistrust in me than answers.

Vyacheslav

Vadim Sterkin,

Irina

Conducted Windows hard drive diagnostics (chkdsk). There were no messages, but later it turned out that there was no free space. Although before the check, less than 50% of the disk was full. And now it shows 931 GB occupied. Was all the free space wasted? The disc is six months old.

I forgot to say, after that I checked with Victoria and reported that there weren’t even any errors.

Irina

This is not the case for me. We are not talking about the system disk. And about the external drive. I’ve already found out that the system marked all the free space as bad blocks. Now I’m trying to figure out whether it’s a failure or whether the screw has died.

Sergey

Vadim, I have the following problem: After running the chkdsk disk check utility, if both “daws” are checked, it asks to reboot and the check is performed, I don’t know what to call it, but it looks like MS-DOS - lines run quickly on a black background. After the next reboot, I look at the information in the Windows Logs - Application, text in English, “there are many letters,” but the meaning can be understood from a single sentence: “Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.” At the same time, a few lines above I was kindly informed that, they say, “Cleaning up 31 unused security descriptors.” Sometimes it is not “31 unused security descriptors” that are cleared, but more or, conversely, less. That is, something is still not quite right, and the program corrects it a little. Like, overall everything is fine, but the Bug died. So, no matter how many times I run this chkdsk, it requires a reboot to correct these errors, nothing else is detected. Previously, on another machine in Windows XP this happened rarely, but now it happens time after time.
The SSD drive is about a quarter occupied. The system is legal Windows 7 x64 Professional and is automatically updated. If you don’t run disk check, then there is no reason to worry, everything works fine, doesn’t glitch or crash. So, in connection with this, the question is - maybe there is no need to spoil your mood. I didn’t find a solution to the problem of these file system errors on the Microsoft website, and are they really errors?

far_town2 Kulyasov

Are there any methods to check if the power supply is sufficient? And due to its insufficient power, can freezes/errors occur in games?

Every user knows and has definitely found himself in such situations when something on the computer broke, was incorrect or did not work well. There is nothing more annoying than poorly thinking technology that freezes every now and then or, for unknown reasons, controls itself. Of course, all parts can break, but the mechanical parts still preserved in modern computers are especially susceptible to destruction. These include the hard drive.

This review will cover more than just theory. The authors had a faulty disk on hand, the operating system of which took about 20 minutes to load. It was decided to fix this and quite successfully!

What could go wrong

In order to prevent breakdowns and repair your hard drive in time, or at least save the necessary information, you need to regularly monitor its condition. To do this, it is recommended to carefully monitor the “health” of your computer. Here are the points to pay close attention to:

• watch for errors. Technology, like humans, tends to make mistakes. There was one incident with the hard drive - nothing to worry about, but if errors appear constantly, you need to urgently contact a technician.
• friction or beating. Since reading occurs using the head, there is a chance that it will move and begin to damage the main disk with information. If you hear a suspicious knocking sound in the system unit, this may well mean that there is a problem with the hard drive.
• analyze the work. If your computer did not save the file or a recently saved document suddenly disappeared, you need to go to the wizard. If the computer's long-term memory does not work well, the hard drive is to blame.
• recognition. The computer didn't see the disk? The bad thing is, most likely, this is a problem with the disk, and not with the software, although this can also happen. Try placing the part in a different system unit. If it works, everything is fine.
• failures. Are you trying to upload a document, but the technology stubbornly refuses to do it? Problems with loading long-term memory files stem from breakdowns of the same part.
• long loading time. If you open each photo for half an hour and cannot delete a text document that weighs little, then this is also a problem with the hard drive.

It is not necessary to sit at the system unit all the time the computer is running and listen to how the problematic part is “doing” there. It’s enough just to periodically listen and carefully monitor the state of the entire computer, then everything will be fine.

How to check your hard drive for table of contents errors

In general, if your hard drive is in good condition and does not need emergency help, you can perform a preventative error check. This will speed up your computer and save your nerves. Let's look at the algorithm of this useful procedure under the Windows 7 operating system.

• In order for the computer to not only find problems, but also fix them, you need to check the “Automatically correct system errors” box.
• if you want to try to restore the physical structure of the disk itself, you need to select the “Scan and repair bad sectors” function. Please note that this procedure will take a lot of time.
• Any doubts? Select both options and perform prevention.

Another little tip. If you decide to “treat” a disk that is a system drive for your computer, do it immediately before shutting it down.

In order for any equipment to work well, and for you to easily operate it, you need to monitor and care for it. Moreover, when it comes to a device that is much more complex than a stove and it is sometimes quite difficult to figure it out on your own. Carry out preventative maintenance, and if necessary, call a technician, and then everything will be fine with your computer, and, therefore, with your data.

HDD Regenerator

This program is best downloaded from the portal (softportal.com). Let's launch the installer.

If you leave a checkmark in the last window, the program will start immediately. Let's not delay and get started.

What is this Full Version menu? It turns out that the program is paid, and our compatriot demands $90 for the key. In addition, when removed, it behaves worse than a virus. Requires a reboot of the operating system and takes a long time to think about.

R.tester

Some free utility for checking hard drives for errors, download it quickly. All executable files are archived, launch the program.

All hard drives are lined up in a column, select the one to be checked, and click Quick Dialog to set the parameters.

Everything is written in Russian, so comments are unnecessary.

Check the last box. This means that tests will continue even if one of them fails. After pressing Start, the hard drive begins to hum, and we wait for the results... And here they are:

The question is what to do now... Most likely, the utility read the SMART information. But that's not the question. R.tester will allow you to check disks, but how to restore them? Damaged sectors can be marked and not used for reading. What program does this?

What to do with an old hard drive

In the modern world, there are two types of working with damaged media. Such a hard drive contains so-called bad sectors. They cannot be read by the system due to disk corruption, viruses or software errors. In this case, two methods are used:

1. Erase the wrong sector. If only the CRC checksum is incorrect, this can save the area. For this purpose, information is deliberately erased. This is similar to low-level formatting of one sector.
2. Remapping marks faulty areas and instructs the controller not to access them again. The information located here will be irretrievably lost.

Remapping programs

Many people recommend using the Victoria software package to restore the disk. You must run this application as an administrator. In addition, you often have to copy the program driver to the system folder. The main actions are performed from the test window. It is here that there are two checkboxes, erase and remap, which attempt to restore the functioning of the equipment. A good place to start is to familiarize yourself with the SMART information. Here is an example for a healthy speaker.

Health is normal, but there are problems with fatal errors. However, this disc performs quite well considering its advanced age. Here is another example, where the system does not boot, and we will restore it.

The problem in the first line should be resolved. Let's try a test with erasing bad sectors on it to understand how good the program is.

At the moment the mashing starts, the interface informs you in a friendly manner about the procedure being performed. See the bottom line of the report.

Depending on the success of the operation, the log can be of two types. Complete and Fail. The first means that the cluster was brought back to life, the second means that remapping is needed.

In our case, the first 600 clusters produced about 9 errors, of which only two were eliminated by rewriting. This means that about 8 GB of space is faulty, of which 2 can be restored. But then you will still need remapping to reassign addresses. Unfortunately, the program does not support continuing after a pause; the process starts all over again. This is a big drawback. But you can set a certain starting point for scanning (after the end of the previous session, write down the address of the last used block). The selected Verify checkbox means that only verification is performed without transmitting information.

Remapping kills the entire cluster at once. The block will no longer be read, but will be replaced by a spare one, and therefore will not cause the disk to run slowly. There is confidence that a small part of the data will be lost in the partitions, but let's wait for the result. However, under the latest versions of Windows, this procedure does not work and errors are generated. The only possible way to recover is to overwrite sectors. This way you can save at least something. Most likely, there is no need to bother with searching for other programs, because it is the operating system that imposes restrictions.

Conclusion: hard drive remapping must be done from DOS. To do this, you need to create bootable media.

Creating bootable Victoria media

To work under DOS, you need media. Let it be a flash drive. The kind admin of the resource (remontcompa.ru) uploaded the finished image to Yandex.disk at yadi.sk/d/GpbxFHQed77nz, for which we should all thank him. The mentioned resource suggests creating a flash drive using WinSetupFromUSB, but this time we will use the Windows command line. Because this is a proven and reliable method.

• Launch the command line as administrator.

The utility and command line windows can be closed. The Victoria ISO image is then unpacked and the contents are transferred to the root directory. Through the BIOS, the computer must be configured to boot from the USB port. After this, you can restart to begin the scheduled disk remapping. The image is not simple, but it opens with the 7-zip archiver. After copying, the flash drive looks like this.

If it doesn't work out

Not everyone can create a flash drive from the command line. In this case, download the program from rufus.akeo.ie/. Follow the instructions given there to create the media. Select the file system type FAT32. After the process is completed, copy the unpacked Victoria image there, replacing all files of the same name.

How to work…

Subject

I had a disk with a suspected virus on hand. As it turned out later, the malware wiped out several dozen clusters at the very beginning of the media. And they were read every once in a while and with difficulty.

The disk barely lasts 4 years, half of which it has not been used at all, and throw it away? After processing under Windows, which consisted of correcting sectors by erasing, as expected, the system stopped loading on it.

Let's try to fix the situation...

Physical connection

A special feature of the Victoria program is that it can only work with vintage IDE disks. Those who want to use a modern system unit need to find a good PCI bus controller that simulates the presence of an IDE. In our case, the disk was connected to one of the four SATA ports, as shown in the picture.

This motherboard was released in the days when they still remembered that there were IDE hard drives in the world. Although there is no physical interface, there is an emulation option for compatibility with older software, which we found useful this time. To enter the “legacy of a difficult past” it was necessary to set a couple of settings (see photo).

After this, the four ports acquired values:

1. Master of the first channel
2. Servant of the first channel
3. Master of the second channel
4. Channel 2 Servant

Our hard drive turned out to be number three. And Victoria was able to see him.

Loading

In order for a flash drive to become a boot device, you need to inform DIOS about it. To do this, press DEL and set the media polling sequence.

Program interface

After loading from the flash drive, a menu will appear. You don’t need to touch anything, or click the option you like if you feel like it. The program's working window will appear.

After some time, the main program window will appear.

Using the Latin P on the keyboard (Russian letter “z”), select the carrier. In this case, the motherboard controller is seen by the program as an extension of the PCI bus.

Point the arrow to the fifth menu item and select it. A table appears with a list of IDE virtual channels, where our disk finally appears at number three (after three hours of torment).

Rather, press the number 3 on the keyboard and ENTER. The hard drive is connected to the program.

Remapping

To start the test, press F4 and scan options will appear. The first two digits are the starting and ending sectors; we don’t touch them. We leave linear reading. We change the fourth position with the cursor arrows left and right until Advanced REMAP appears (early assessment of the damaged area with blocking of only one cluster with the longest access time).

Press ENTER to start scanning. In the last line about graphics, it is recommended to put Off, not Quick Graphic. This way you can observe digital data:

1. In the upper right corner is the number of sectors with the specified access time.

Windows malfunctions, emergency shutdown of the computer, experiments with disk space management software, the consequences of viruses - these and other problems can lead to the automatic launch of the standard Windows Chkdsk utility, designed to correct errors in the file system of hard drives. Incorrectly completed operation of the operating system with files leads to file system errors, and sometimes even damage to the file system.

In emergency cases, the Chkdsk utility turns on itself before Windows starts, scans disk partitions and corrects errors. However, the fact that there are problems with the file system may not make itself felt during normal use of the computer and only become apparent when trying to manage disk space. So, for example, when trying to shrink a disk partition using standard Windows tools, we may receive the following notification: “It is possible that the volume selected for compression is damaged. Use Chkdsk to troubleshoot the problem, and then try shrinking the volume again."

In this case, disk check will not start automatically. How to run Chkdsk manually in Windows 7, 8.1 and 10? How can I use Chkdsk to fix disk errors if this problem is the reason the operating system is unable to boot?

Inside Windows, the Chkdsk utility can be launched in several ways.

1. Run Chkdsk using Windows GUI

To run Chkdsk, in the system explorer on drive C, right-click and open “Properties”.

In the disk partition properties window that opens, go to the “Services” tab, and in it click the “Check” button (or “Run check” for Windows 7).

In versions of Windows 8.1 and 10, if everything is in order with the disk file system, in the window that appears next, we will see a notification that checking is not required. But if you wish, you can start checking the disk with the Chkdsk utility by clicking “Check disk”.

If the system suspects file system errors, this window will contain a button to start scanning and repairing the disk.

For Chkdsk to work relative to drive C, you must restart the computer. You can do this immediately or delay running the scan until the next reboot.

After restarting the computer, we will be able to observe the operation of Chkdsk.

In Windows 7, launching Chkdsk is slightly different: to the preinstalled option of automatic error correction, you can add another possible option - checking and repairing bad sectors of the hard drive. When activating this option, it is worth considering that in this case Chkdsk may take longer to run.

As with Windows 8.1 and 10, in version 7 the system drive C cannot be scanned within a running operating system. To start the scan, the computer must be restarted. Click “Schedule disk check”.

When checking a non-system partition of a disk, if it is used by some programs, the situation is simpler than with the system partition. In the window with a notification that the disk is currently in use, you just need to click the “Disconnect” button to, accordingly, disable this partition for the duration of the scan.

2. Run Chkdsk using the command line

To run Chkdsk using the command line, first, accordingly, launch the latter.

In the command line enter a command like this:

In this command, instead of drive C, we each time substitute the letter of the desired partition on which the scan is required. If Chkdsk needs to check the system partition C, as with the GUI, you will need to restart the computer. When a message appears in the command line about the impossibility of locking the specified drive, you need to enter “Y”, then restart the computer.

In addition to the /f parameter, which is responsible for correcting disk errors, Chkdsk can be run with the /r parameter, designed to search for bad sectors and restore data. As a result of Chkdsk running with this parameter, hard disk clusters with unreadable sectors will be listed as damaged (bad blocks) and their functions will be transferred to a new cluster. Therefore, it is recommended to run Chkdsk with the /r parameter only when the usual error correction - running the utility with the /f parameter - does not bring the necessary results. Using the same drive C as an example, the command would look like this:

3. Running Chkdsk on a non-booting Windows

If Windows freezes at a certain point in the boot process, one of the possible causes of this problem is file system errors. In this case, you need to run Chkdsk by booting from the rescue media. As such, you can use regular installation media with versions of Windows 7, 8.1 or 10. With its help, we will launch the Chkdsk utility inside the command line. At the first stage of starting the system installation process, press the command line launch keys – Shift+F10.

In the command line that opens, before running the Chkdsk command, you need to clarify which letters define the disk partitions. This is easy to do using a notepad. I launch it with the command:

Click the notepad menu “File”, then “Open”.

In the explorer that opens, remember the new drive designations. As a rule, in Windows 8.1 and 10, the C drive partition (as it exists inside the running operating system) is listed as D, since the letter C is assigned to the first technical partition of the system. And all other sections are shifted by one letter of the alphabet.

Having decided on the letters of the disk partitions, close Notepad, then, returning to the command line, enter a command like this:

As with Chkdsk inside Windows, you must first try to fix disk errors by running the utility with the /f parameter. And only if the problem is not solved, only then run the command with the /r parameter, as indicated in the previous paragraph of the article.

In cases where Windows is unable to boot, you can pre-burn an emergency Live disk with a selection of various tools to restore the operating system. Among these, for example, is AdminPE based on WinPE. Its image for recording on a disk or flash drive can be downloaded from the official website of the project Adminpe.Ru. Using AdminPE, you can launch a command prompt and enter the Chkdsk launch commands discussed above. But in this Live disk, the Chkdsk utility has its own interface and is launched using a script. The shortcut to launch the utility is placed directly on the desktop.

In the drop-down list to check the disk, select the desired disk partition. Next, activate the checkboxes for restoring damaged sectors and forcibly disabling a partition (volume). Let's check the launches.

AdminPE's tools include a number of other utilities for working with hard drives, as well as the well-known programs Hard Disk Sentinel and Victoria.