scandsk

[srobin]

can someone post how to perform a thorough scan disk in XPhome
many thanks

[Richard Urban]

You can't as scandisk does not exist in Windows XP. Use chkdsk instead.

--
Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

"srobin" > wrote in message
...
> can someone post how to perform a thorough scan disk in XPhome
> many thanks
>
>

[Ron B]

Double-click My Computer. Right-click the drive you want to check. Choose Properties. Select the tools tab, then Error-checking. Check both box options and click the Start button. You will probably be asked if you want to run the program when you next rebo
ot. Answer Yes. Close all open programs and reboot.

[Steve Nielsen]

Xref: kermit microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:926772

Checkmark Automatically fix errors before the Start button, otherwise it
will not fix any errors it may find.

Steve

Ron B wrote:

> Double-click My Computer. Right-click the drive you want to check.
> Choose Properties. Select the tools tab, then Error-checking. Check
> both box options and click the Start button. You will probably be
> asked if you want to run the program when you next reboot. Answer
> Yes. Close all open programs and reboot.

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

WinXP does not have a program called "Scandisk," as this was a
Win9x/Me program. Instead, because WinXP is descended from the
WinNT/2K OS family, it has a command line utility called "Chkdsk,"
which performs much better, as it's not burdened with presenting a
pretty picture of moving blocks of color while it's working.

Start > Run > Cmd > Chkdsk.exe /? for the correct syntax and
available options.

Alternatively, double-click My Computer > right-click the desired
hard drive > Properties > Tools > Error-checking/Check Now. This will
run Chkdsk, normally on the next reboot.


Bruce Chambers

--
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having both at once. -- RAH


"srobin" > wrote in message
...
> can someone post how to perform a thorough scan disk in XPhome
> many thanks
>
>

[Incognitus]

That's not what the ?help file says:

"If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically fix file
system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."

Checking the bottom choice only (as above) does a surface scan without
rebooting. At least it does here.


"Steve Nielsen" > wrote in message
...
> Checkmark Automatically fix errors before the Start button, otherwise it
> will not fix any errors it may find.
>
> Steve
>
> Ron B wrote:
>
> > Double-click My Computer. Right-click the drive you want to check.
> > Choose Properties. Select the tools tab, then Error-checking. Check
> > both box options and click the Start button. You will probably be
> > asked if you want to run the program when you next reboot. Answer
> > Yes. Close all open programs and reboot.
>

[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:10:47 -0700, "Bruce Chambers"

Oh dear, you must be thinking I'm your nemesis :-)

> WinXP does not have a program called "Scandisk," as this was a
>Win9x/Me program. Instead, because WinXP is descended from the
>WinNT/2K OS family, it has a command line utility called "Chkdsk,"
>which performs much better, as it's not burdened with presenting a
>pretty picture of moving blocks of color while it's working.

Trouble is, it aslo doesn't give you any control whatsoever, and may
not even tell you what it's done unless you scratch in Event Viewer.

This is IMO a very serious limitation. If the auto-fixer (be it
stone-age ChkDsk more recent or Scandisk) wants to do something dumb,
like "fix" 50000 files out of 50000 (because incorrect CMOS geometry
makes them all "look wrong") or delete half of the Windows directory
because it has a null entry in the middle of it, I want to be able to
Just Say No. Scandisk gives that control; ChkDsk does not.

> Alternatively, double-click My Computer > right-click the desired
>hard drive > Properties > Tools > Error-checking/Check Now. This will
>run Chkdsk, normally on the next reboot.

That hasn't been my mileage, and I think there are some bodies buried
under the shiny grass there. Here's what I found...

I had a number of XP PCs on site, all of which have a mix of FAT32 and
FAT16 volumes. Because auto-ChkDsk is just as dangerous as the
auto-fixin' ChkDsk /F, it's disabled on these PCs. So I do an
elective file system check when I visit; usually by booting a DOS mode
instead and using Scandisk from there.

This time I thought I'd use the Rt-click, Properties, Tools, Check for
Errors facility to save time. Because I don't trust auto-tools that
have my nads between their teeth, I did so without checking the "fix
everything" or "check the disk surface" boxes.

Well, it was certainly fast, finding no errors at all. That made me a
bit suspicious, so I shut down and restarted, and double-checked with
a Scandisk from DOS mode. That found multiple file system errors of
many kinds; mainly the lost cluster chains and incorrect file lengths
you'd expect from bad exits on healthy systems, but also cross-links.

So it appears as if "Check for Errors" does absolutely nothing at all,
at least on FAT32 or FAT16 volumes. If it's that wobbly, do I
*really* want to trust it to fix everything, sight unseen?



>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Dreams are stack dumps of the soul
>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 18:21:51 -0600, "Incognitus"

>That's not what the ?help file says:

>"If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically fix file
>system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."

IOW, it's going to "autofix" whether you tell it to, or tell it NOT to

>Checking the bottom choice only (as above) does a surface scan without
>rebooting. At least it does here.

That's good to know. On C:, or some less-active volume?



>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Dreams are stack dumps of the soul
>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

[Steve Nielsen]

What help file?

I just re-read what Ron B. wrote (which was what I was replying to) and
he did say to check BOTH boxes anyhow. Sorry. This is what happens when
I get too busy :)

Steve


Incognitus wrote:
> That's not what the ?help file says:
>
> "If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically fix file
> system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."
>
> Checking the bottom choice only (as above) does a surface scan without
> rebooting. At least it does here.
>
>
> "Steve Nielsen" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Checkmark Automatically fix errors before the Start button, otherwise it
>>will not fix any errors it may find.
>>
>>Steve
>>
>>Ron B wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Double-click My Computer. Right-click the drive you want to check.
>>>Choose Properties. Select the tools tab, then Error-checking. Check
>>>both box options and click the Start button. You will probably be
>>>asked if you want to run the program when you next reboot. Answer
>>>Yes. Close all open programs and reboot.
>>
>

[Incognitus]

"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 18:21:51 -0600, "Incognitus"
>
> >That's not what the ?help file says:
>
> >"If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically fix
file
> >system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."
>
> IOW, it's going to "autofix" whether you tell it to, or tell it NOT to

Correct. However, it's never found anything to "autofix" here and has always
did a surface scan without requesting a reboot.

>
> >Checking the bottom choice only (as above) does a surface scan without
> >rebooting. At least it does here.
>
> That's good to know. On C:, or some less-active volume?

On D: the HDD that XP is installed on.

[Incognitus]

The one you get when you click the ? and then click one of the checkboxes in
the properties of the HDD, Tools | check now.

The top box results:
"Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking. All files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is
currently in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule the disk checking
for the next time you restart your computer. Your drive is not available to
run other tasks while the disk is being checked."

The bottom box results:
Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking, locates bad sectors, and recovers readable information. All files
must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is currently in use, a
message asks if you want to reschedule the disk checking for the next time
you restart your computer. Your drive is not available to run other tasks
while the disk is being checked.
If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically fix file
system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."

I know the bottom results say:
"All files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is currently
in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule the disk checking for the
next time you restart your computer"
But a surface scan has always ran here and never ask for a "reschedule" nor
did a chkdsk run on the next boot, only when the top box was checked did it
ever ask for a "reschedule".

"Steve Nielsen" > wrote in message
...
> What help file?
>
> I just re-read what Ron B. wrote (which was what I was replying to) and
> he did say to check BOTH boxes anyhow. Sorry. This is what happens when
> I get too busy :)
>
> Steve
>
>
> Incognitus wrote:
> > That's not what the ?help file says:
> >
> > "If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically fix
file
> > system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."
> >
> > Checking the bottom choice only (as above) does a surface scan without
> > rebooting. At least it does here.
> >
> >
> > "Steve Nielsen" > wrote in
message
> > ...
> >
> >>Checkmark Automatically fix errors before the Start button, otherwise it
> >>will not fix any errors it may find.
> >>
> >>Steve
> >>
> >>Ron B wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Double-click My Computer. Right-click the drive you want to check.
> >>>Choose Properties. Select the tools tab, then Error-checking. Check
> >>>both box options and click the Start button. You will probably be
> >>>asked if you want to run the program when you next reboot. Answer
> >>>Yes. Close all open programs and reboot.
> >>
> >
>

[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 15:09:46 -0600, "Incognitus"
>"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" > wrote in message
>> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 18:21:51 -0600, "Incognitus"

>> >"If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically fix
>> >file system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."

>> IOW, it's going to "autofix" whether you tell it to, or tell it NOT to

>Correct. However, it's never found anything to "autofix" here

How do you know - did you check the log in Event Viewer?
ChkDsk dosen't display a summary when done, unlike Scandisk.

>and has always did a surface scan without requesting a reboot.

That's cool. If that's on C: (and you aren't talking about a CD-based
Recovery Console boot) then that's quite remarkable, unless of course
NT's installed on a volume other than C: :-)

>> >Checking the bottom choice only (as above) does a surface scan without
>> >rebooting. At least it does here.
>>
>> That's good to know. On C:, or some less-active volume?
>
>On D: the HDD that XP is installed on.

OK. Impressive! Is pagefile in the same HD volume?



>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Dreams are stack dumps of the soul
>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

[Incognitus]

"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 15:09:46 -0600, "Incognitus"
> >"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" > wrote in message
> >> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 18:21:51 -0600, "Incognitus"
>
> >> >"If you select this option, you do not need to select Automatically
fix
> >> >file system errors. Windows fixes any errors on the disk."
>
> >> IOW, it's going to "autofix" whether you tell it to, or tell it NOT to
>
> >Correct. However, it's never found anything to "autofix" here
>
> How do you know - did you check the log in Event Viewer?

I can't say that I know 100%, only in the fact that there was no report
generated.
There is no log generated in Event Viewer like there is when chkdsk is ran
on the next boot.

> ChkDsk dosen't display a summary when done, unlike Scandisk.
>
> >and has always did a surface scan without requesting a reboot.
>
> That's cool. If that's on C: (and you aren't talking about a CD-based
> Recovery Console boot) then that's quite remarkable, unless of course
> NT's installed on a volume other than C: :-)

It's a dual boot:
HD0 C: Win9x
HD1 D: WinXP, ran from the properties of D:, it is D: HD1 that's being
scanned, the checkbox being used said: "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad
sectors".

>
> >> >Checking the bottom choice only (as above) does a surface scan without
> >> >rebooting. At least it does here.
> >>
> >> That's good to know. On C:, or some less-active volume?
> >
> >On D: the HDD that XP is installed on.
>
> OK. Impressive! Is pagefile in the same HD volume?

No, the page file is on HD0 C: win9x and is being shared by Win9x. However,
XP has been instructed to create a 2-50 pagefile on HD1 D: WinXP in case of
small memory dump, but it's never been created.

PS: don't get to technical, you'll easily get over my head. =)