Want to clean up hard disk drive with scandisk

I want to clean up my Hard disk because some files got damage, Please guide me how can i do this?

You can clean up your hard disk with Scan disk and I recommend you this bcz through normal use of your computer, your hard disk drive can become cluttered and a bit messy. And folders can become cross-linked, file names can contain invalid or unknown characters or become damaged, and file names can become disassociated with their files.Running ScanDisk on a regular basis can fix this and other many problems.

In Windows 98/ME:-

1. Since any open programs that are running in the back ground can slow this process down, it's best to restart the computer in Safe mode then proceed with the Disk defragmentation.

2. Click the Start button.

3. Point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click ScanDisk.

4. Click the drive you want to scan, and choose either the Standard or
Thorough test.

5. Click Start.

6. The Standard test checks the files and folders on the selected drives for errors.

7. The Thorough test will give you further options. It performs the Standard test plus checks your hard disk drive for physical damage. You can even specify to scan areas of your disk containing only data files, or just the areas with system files, or both.

8. Both Standard and Thorough have a set of Advanced options that help you to deal with lost file fragments, invalid files, and files that overlap the same disk space. You can also choose to keep a log file of what ScanDisk finds.



If you are using Windows 2000 and XP,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. Click on the Start button.

2. Open the My Computer icon

3. Right click on the C: drive and select Properties

4. Click on the Tools Tab

5. In the Error-checking section, click on the Check Now button.

6. Put a check mark on the Scan for and Attempt recovery of bad sectors then click Start. This will scan the drive immediately.

7. To perform a complete scan, put a check mark in each of the two choices then click on Start. You will see a message that it cannot perform these tasks until the next system restart, Click on Yes then at a convenient time, restart the computer and the complete scan will run. When it is complete, Windows will continue to start normally. The only time you will see a message after the scan is if there was a problem.

:rolleyes:

Some operating systems don't have Scandisk. If yours does not, you don’t have to run scandisk or defrag, you just need to reboot your PC and you’re done. Check for Scandisk by double-clicking My Computer, then right-click your hard drive and choose Properties. Then click on the Tools tab. You may find Error Checking (Scandisk) there. Choose Error Checking. You may be advised that you'll have to run it after restarting your PC. Do so. Be warned it may take a half hour or more to run it when you've booted your PC.

Double-click My Computer
Then right-click the C drive (or your hard drive)
Choose hit Properties, then Tools.
Hit the Check Now button.
Likely, you'll be told that it will run next time you restart your machine, say OK and restart your PC now.

In older versions of Windows, you need to hit Start-Programs-Accessories-System tools-Scandisk. Run it on the C: drive, choose Standard test, and choose to Automatically fix errors. Hit Start.

When Scandisk has completed, it will tell you whether it found problems or not.

On pre-Windows XP PCs, scandisk can also be run by restarting the computer in MS-DOS mode and typing “scandisk” at the DOS prompt and hitting enter. This is particularly useful if you get the message “Scandisk has restarted 10 times."

If you're using these steps to troubleshoot a specific problem, you can skip the next step, but you should definitely do it as soon as you can.

Hit Start-Programs-Accessories-System tools-Disk Defragmenter. Run it on the C: drive whether it needs it or not. If you have never run Defrag before, or if you have not run it in a long time, this could take hours! When it’s done, hit the Yes button to exit the disk defragmenter, and restart your PC.

Some operating systems don't have Disk Defragmenter. Check for Defrag by double-clicking My Computer, then right-click your hard drive and choose Properties. Then click on the Tools tab. You may find Disk Defragmenter there.

It is a good idea to run a scandisk check which will test the Hard drive for any errors. To perform a scandisk follow the steps:-

1. For Windows 95, 98, ME Users:

Go to Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Scandisk.

2. For Windows NT, 2000, XP Users:

Right click on My Computer - Select Properties - Tools - Error Checking - Check Now. Select both options and press start to begin the scan.

3.For Windows Vista Users:

Hit the "Start" button, and in the "Start Search" box, type "scan disk". This should give you the menu option for the ScanDisk.

Once you have run a scandisk check, you may now run a disk defragment. To start this, go to Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Defragmenter. Choose which drive you wish to defrag and the scan will run automatically.

Always close down any other running applications before doing a disk defrag as this will interfere with its operation:rolleyes: