How to check hard disks for errors - Windows XP

[Tobius]

Hi
I have SATA 60 GB HD . I'm using Windows XP. My Hard disk these days giving really slow performance. So I want to know how to check my HD for errors?

[Driscoll]

The ScanDisk utility is not available in Windows XP. However, you can use the Error-Checking tool in Windows XP to check the integrity of your hard disk. To check for file system errors and bad sectors on your hard disk, follow these steps:

1. Double-click My Computer, and then right-click the local disk that you want to check.

2. Click Properties, and then click Tools.

3. Under Error-checking, click Check Now.

4. Under Check disk options, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box.

5. Click Start.

[Curt]

Chkdsk (Chkdsk.exe) is a command-line tool that checks volumes for problems. The tool then tries to repair any that it finds. For example, Chkdsk can repair problems related to bad sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files, and directory errors. To use Chkdsk, you must log on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.

You can also run Chkdsk from My Computer or from Windows Explorer.

[Owen]

Hard drives eventually go bad. Sometimes it is due to age, sometimes due to bad craftsmanship, and other times due to random errors. To help keep your files and Windows XP software free from crashes and other miscellaneous computer problems, it is a good idea to scan your hard drives for errors from time to time. Luckily this is easy to do.

1. Double-click "My Computer" on the desktop.

2. Now, right-click on a drive that you want to check for errors and choose "Properties".

3. When the "Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "Tools" tab.

4. Underneath "Error-checking", click the "Check Now" button.

5. A new dialog box will appear, asking you for check disk options. Normally, Windows XP will just scan a drive for errors and report the results. However, if you check "Automatically fix file system errors", it will attempt to fix the problems. Also, Windows XP normally does a quick scan of the file system that discovers the majority of errors. However, to do a deeper file system scan, click "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors".

6. When you are done making your selections, click the "Start" button. The disk checking will go in phases. If there are problems, Windows XP will notify you.