r - The “r” stands for “repair.” /r finds corrupted parts of the hard drive and attempts to recover the files that were stored there. f - The “f” stands for “fix,” and here it means fixing the file system information so that it directs you to the right files. Want to know how to run check disk in even more ways? Here are some other commands you can use when performing a disk check in Command Prompt:Ĭhkdsk - Checks for issues on the default drive and file system without fixing or repairing.Ĭhkdsk : - Does the same, but for the specified drive. So the chkdsk /f function ensures that your disk’s “table of contents” lists all the right “chapters,” that every “chapter” has an entry, and that all entries point to the correct “page numbers.” CHKDSK commands glossary This is important because if Windows tries to access an important system file and it isn’t there, it can lead to a blue or black screen of death or cause other glitches and crashes.Ī computer hard drive can be thought of a bit like a book, except the information stored within it is constantly being added, updated, moved, and deleted. What does chkdsk /f do?Ĭhkdsk /f performs a whole disk check and rewrites the directory of folders to match what’s actually on the drive. If you're having trouble getting the scan to work, opening the command prompt as an administrator and running chkdsk /f /r /x should do the trick. If you’re wondering whether to do chkdsk /f or /r, you find out much more information doing /r. The safest method for data recovery is to use a previously created backup, or to ask an expert before executing chkdsk /r. There’s a small chance that if these files are located near a bad sector, chkdsk /r will identify them as corrupted and get rid of them.Ĭhkdsk /r is not meant to be a data recovery utility, and it sometimes doesn't recover corrupted files properly. This can serve as a reminder to back up important files so you don’t lose them to hard drive failure.īefore running chkdsk /r, you should backup any valuable files to another storage drive, as they may get deleted after the process completes. This means that you don’t have to run the command chkdsk /f /r.Ĭhkdsk /r is one of the most valuable check disk commands, because it can alert you to parts of your hard drive that are starting to malfunction.

It automatically runs chkdsk /f as part of this process to correct errors on your disk as well. Windows will run CHKDSK right after it’s restarted.Ĭhkdsk /r finds and attempts to repair corrupted portions of your hard drive.

The drive with Windows on it (usually C) will ask you to restart before CHKDSK can run. For example, to repair the D drive, enter chkdsk D: /f. To run CHKDSK on a different drive, type chkdsk : /f, replacing with the letter of the drive you want to scan. These commands will automatically run on the active drive shown next to your cursor. Running this command also runs /f.Ĭhkdsk /v shows the path and name of all files while running a check. It’s just a diagnostic and doesn’t try to fix anything.Ĭhkdsk /f fixes any structural issues with the file system and directory, correcting inconsistencies between the two.Ĭhkdsk /r searches for corrupted parts of the physical hard drive (while also running chkdsk /f) and tries to recover the data there to put it in a part of the drive that isn’t damaged.Ĭhkdsk /x dismounts a drive so that it can be checked and fixed. Here’s an overview of the CHKDSK commands:Ĭhkdsk cross-references the directory of files with the file system to verify that they match.

If your results tell you that “No further action is required,” you won’t need to use any other commands this time. The chkdsk command will search the disk drive for issues, but it won't fix any of them. You can choose different CHKDSK parameters to pinpoint specific problems. If so, you’ll likely need to work through the steps for repairing a drive in Windows 10 or troubleshooting CHKDSK. But repeated failure to complete is a sign that something may be seriously wrong. If it fails to complete, try canceling the scan and running CHKDSK again. If possible, let the CHKDSK scan finish before resuming other processes. Bear in mind that your computer will run slowly while CHKDSK is working. How long does CHKDSK take?ĬHKDSK can take between 20 minutes and several hours to complete, depending on the age and capacity of your hardware. And get rid of unnecessary apps on your PC to help it run faster, smoother, and longer. If you think your computer’s performance is lagging, test your PC’s battery life. Hard drive problems are one reason why PCs get slower over time. CHKDSK lets you check a hard drive for errors in Windows 10 or 11, specifically the kind of errors that arise when files aren't where they're supposed to be.

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