Tech-Ease: Hardware Questions and Answers

Quick answers to real classroom technology questions. An online service of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse.

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How do I scan my hard drive for errors?

Over time your computer may become sluggish because of problems with the way files are stored on your hard drive. Files may have become corrupted if your computer is not shut down properly while it is writing to the disk, for example. Windows XP (and 2000) provide a tool that will allow you to scan your hard drive for errors. This tool is called Check Disk (chkdsk). To run Check Disk on a drive:

Open My Computer (Start, My Computer) then right click on the drive you want to scan and select Properties.

Local Disk Properties

Select the Tools tab, then click on the Check Now button.

Error-checking

Click on Start to begin the scan.

Check Disk

You can also select the Automatically fix errors and Attempt recovery of bad sectors options to have Windows fix any errors it finds during the scan. If you select these two options, you will get an error message telling you that you can't run the scan because files are in use. In order to run the scan with these options selected you will have to agree to run the scan the next time Windows boots up, before the operating system has completely loaded.

Error window

Check Disk should be run on your computer on a regular basis (such as once a month) to keep your system running optimally.

Additional Websites

An Educator's Guide to Computer Networks

Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101

How Stuff Works: Computer Stuff

The Elder Geek on Windows

Paul Thurrott's Windows Supersite

Annoyances.org

Windows Update

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Tech-Ease for Windows is your source for just-in-time answers for classroom technology questions. A companion Tech-Ease for Mac site is also available. This collection is a part of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse and is funded in part by a grant from the Florida Department of Education. Copyright 2008 by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida.

			Quick answers to real classroom technology questions. An online service of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse.
ETC HOME	TECH-EASE HOME	HARDWARE FAQ	SEARCH
How do I scan my hard drive for errors? Over time your computer may become sluggish because of problems with the way files are stored on your hard drive. Files may have become corrupted if your computer is not shut down properly while it is writing to the disk, for example. Windows XP (and 2000) provide a tool that will allow you to scan your hard drive for errors. This tool is called Check Disk (chkdsk). To run Check Disk on a drive: Open My Computer (Start, My Computer) then right click on the drive you want to scan and select Properties. Select the Tools tab, then click on the Check Now button. Click on Start to begin the scan. You can also select the Automatically fix errors and Attempt recovery of bad sectors options to have Windows fix any errors it finds during the scan. If you select these two options, you will get an error message telling you that you can't run the scan because files are in use. In order to run the scan with these options selected you will have to agree to run the scan the next time Windows boots up, before the operating system has completely loaded. Check Disk should be run on your computer on a regular basis (such as once a month) to keep your system running optimally.			Additional Websites An Educator's Guide to Computer Networks Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101 How Stuff Works: Computer Stuff The Elder Geek on Windows Paul Thurrott's Windows Supersite Annoyances.org Windows Update
ETC HOME	TECH-EASE HOME	HARDWARE FAQ	SEARCH
Site Map \| Submit a Question \| About Tech-Ease \| Privacy Policy \| ETC Home Tech-Ease for Windows is your source for just-in-time answers for classroom technology questions. A companion Tech-Ease for Mac site is also available. This collection is a part of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse and is funded in part by a grant from the Florida Department of Education. Copyright 2008 by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida.