CHKDSK vs. SCANNOW

[SRD]

1. I understand Microsoft's CheckDisk is actually a precursor of ScanDisk,
and I assume Microsoft retains CheckDisk for its efficiency. So, is it
necessary to run both, or are all of the ChkDsk test included in ScanDisk
(sfc /scannow)?

2. When I run CheckDisk (by typing CHKDSK in Run), I get a warning that
the mode is 'read only,' because I didn't specify parameters. What do I
need to specify to have to try to correct any errors. (If it found any in
'read only' mode, it would have told me, right? But how? Does it leave a
log somewhere, or would it provide the information on the screen?)

srdiamond


--

[Colin Nash [MVP]]

There is no scandisk in Windows XP. Scandisk was a DOS and Windows 9x
utility used to check for problems with disks and the filesystem.

The Windows NT/2000/XP equivalent has always been chkdsk. (There was a DOS
utility by that name as well.)

If you want CHKDSK to actually fix problems, type CHKDSK /F ... it will take
affect next time you reboot because it cannot get full access to the disk
while Windows is running. Run CHKDSK /? for a list of other options.

SFC is the system file scanner which is completely unrelated. It checks for
missing or corrupted Windows system files. Windows will protect these files
anyway so its not usually necessary to run SFC.


--
Colin Nash
Microsoft MVP
Windows Printing/Imaging/Hardware




"SRD" > wrote in message
...
> 1. I understand Microsoft's CheckDisk is actually a precursor of ScanDisk,
> and I assume Microsoft retains CheckDisk for its efficiency. So, is it
> necessary to run both, or are all of the ChkDsk test included in ScanDisk
> (sfc /scannow)?
>
> 2. When I run CheckDisk (by typing CHKDSK in Run), I get a warning that
> the mode is 'read only,' because I didn't specify parameters. What do I
> need to specify to have to try to correct any errors. (If it found any in
> 'read only' mode, it would have told me, right? But how? Does it leave a
> log somewhere, or would it provide the information on the screen?)
>
> srdiamond
>
>
> --

[SRD]

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 04:16:31 -0500, Colin Nash [MVP]
> wrote:

<Very enlightening material snipped>
>
> If you want CHKDSK to actually fix problems, type CHKDSK /F ... it will
> take affect next time you reboot because it cannot get full access to
> the disk while Windows is running. Run CHKDSK /? for a list of other
> options.

> SFC is the system file scanner which is completely unrelated. It checks
> for missing or corrupted Windows system files. Windows will protect
> these files anyway so its not usually necessary to run SFC.


Someone here said to run SCANNOW to replace a critical system file, such
as NTLDR. Your comment would seem to imply that this error message does
not usually mean the file has been deleted or become corrupted. Then what
should be the user's first response to the missing NTLDR error message,
after trivial causes (like a floppy) have been ruled out?

srdiamond



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