How to run Microsoft CHKDSK from the command line

Symantec.com > Home & Home Office > Support > Knowledge Base

How to run Microsoft CHKDSK from the command line

Note
Symantec does not offer support for getting the CHKDSK utility to run, nor does it support problems that may occur as a result of running the CHKDSK utility. Any support issues related to the CHKDSK utility should be directed to Microsoft. For additional information, visit Microsoft's support page.

Run CHKDSK to check for disk errors

1
Click Start > Run.

2
In the Run box, type the following text:

cmd

3
Click OK.

4
At the command prompt, type the drive letter of the drive you want to check (followed by a colon), and then press Enter.
For example, to check drive D, type the following text:

d:

5
Change to the root directory of the drive by typing the following text and pressing Enter:

cd\

6
Type the following text, and then press Enter:

chkdsk /<switch>

where <switch> is one of the following:

If you want to automatically repair file system errors, use the /f switch (for example, chkdsk /f).
If you want to both repair file system errors and scan for and recover bad sectors, use the /r switch (for example, chkdsk /r).

If you do not specify a switch when running CHKDSK, any errors that are found will not be fixed.

7
If you are prompted to schedule CHKDSK to run the next time the computer restarts (because CHKDSK may be unable to gain exclusive access to the drive under Windows), type the following text, and then press Enter:

y

8
At the command prompt, type the following text, and then press Enter:

exit

9
If you had to schedule the CHKDSK operation, then restart Windows NT/2000/XP.
While Windows is loading, CHKDSK should automatically run and check the drive that you specified earlier.

Note
Symantec recommends that you run CHKDSK a second time if any errors or bad sectors are found on the disk. Continue running CHKDSK until all errors and bad sectors have been fixed.

Available Translations:

RATE THIS SOLUTION: Was this solution helpful to you?
Yes
No; If any information was unclear, or the information you were seeking was not provided, please let us know. Your feedback will help us improve this service.
NOTE: Comments entered here will NOT recieve a personal email response.

Document ID: 2004066687571562
Last Modified: 03/19/2008
Date Created: 04/13/2004
Operating System(s): Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000
Product(s): Drive Image 2002, Drive Image 5.0, Drive Image 7.0, Drive Image Pro 4.0, Drive Image Special Edition 4.0, DriveCopy 4.0, Norton PartitionMagic 8.0, PartitionMagic 7.0, PartitionMagic 8.0, PartitionMagic Pro 7.0, ServerMagic for Netware 4.0, ServerMagic for Netware 6.5, V2i Protector Desktop Edition 2.0, V2i Protector Server Edition 2.0, V2i Protector Small Business Edition 2.0, VolumeManager 2.0