Unfortunately, a hard disk, which is one of the most important components of a computer system, is more often than other equipment prone to software crashes or even physical damage, which leads to the loss of important information or causes a dysfunction of the operating system and the programs installed in it. Timely detection of problems with their subsequent elimination avoids the occurrence of critical failures. That is why it is often necessary to check the disk for errors.
We will consider Windows 10 as an example only for the reason that, unlike its predecessors, this operating system has acquired many additional tools, the use of which was previously not provided at all. The use of such methods will allow the system to remain operational and not lose important data that can be stored on the HDD.
Possible hard drive issues
If we talk about possible problems, the following situations are usually included in the list of the most common:
- file system errors;
- the appearance of bad sectors and blocks;
- physical damage, including equipment failure due to the natural obsolescence of the hard drive, when the drive began to “crumble”.
Despite the possible physical damage to the HDD, it is generally accepted that most known failures are fixed by software methods. And then we’ll look at how to check the hard disk for errors and damage in Windows 10, with the main emphasis on the tools of the operating system itself. Additionally, of course, the most powerful utilities from third-party developers will be presented, but without a detailed description of the principles of their operation and use, since at the right time you may not have such programs at hand.
How to check the hard drive for errors and bad sectors in Windows 10: a standard system tool
Apparently, there is no need to remind that in any modification of Windows, regardless of the year of its release, there are several built-in means of checking the hard drive. The standard Windows 10 tool allows you to check the disk for errors by calling it through a graphical interface (however, as with any other OS of the entire family).
To do this, you need to use the "Explorer": through RMB on the selected section, call up the properties item, then go to the service tab, click the test button and wait for it to complete.
Note: unlike legacy systems, you do not need to set additional automatic troubleshooting options.
The simplest verification method from the command console
I must say that the use of the tool just described very often does not give the desired result. Sometimes the system may even report that a check is not required at the moment, but in fact there are still errors on the disk.
To perform in-depth testing in full, it is necessary to use other methods that allow you to use the command console and the CHKDSK toolkit in different variations. It is believed that it is the command line that checks the disk for errors in Windows 10 or similar versions of the OS makes it much more efficient.
Usually, to activate the check with automatic correction of the errors found, it is recommended to start the console as administrator, for which you can use the PCM menu on the start button, and then run the chkdsk c: / f / r command .
It should be noted right away that this will not give an instant result, since it will be reported that the disk is currently in use, but there will be a proposal to perform a check at the next start of the system. For consent, you need to press the Y key and restart the stationary computer terminal or laptop.
If you want to check not only one partition, but the entire HDD, while disabling partitions used by the system, you can use the start from removable media, calling the command line and executing the above command. However, to optimize scanning and disconnecting a volume, it is better to set the combination / x / f / r as attributes , and after entering the main command, do not specify the drive letter.
View scan results
As you can see, checking the disk for errors the command line of Windows 10 is quite simple. But sometimes it is sometimes necessary to review the results of a check to find out exactly which problems have been fixed, which to some extent will make it possible to get rid of their appearance in the future. To do this, you can use special report files that are opened when the Event Viewer Toolkit (eventvwr.msc) is called.
Here you need to expand the Windows logs section, and through RMB on the application point, search for the name of the scan tool (Chkdsk). After that, in a detailed report it will be possible to see exactly which problems have been identified and fixed (or not fixed).
Offline verification with volume shutdown
As already mentioned, it is impossible to disable the system partition using the standard command. That is why without using start from removable media in the Windows 10 command console (cmd), you can check the disk for errors by entering a slightly modified command, which is used for the so-called offline testing.
Call up the command line with access rights at the administrator level and enter the combination shown in the image above, then wait for the results to appear. If the message that the operation is not possible appears again, accept the scan at restart.
Checking a drive in PowerShell
In Windows 10, you can check the disk for errors through the PowerShell console, which is a command line resemblance, but with more features.
Run it on behalf of the administrator, using either the search for the applet through the PCM menu on the start button, or the creation of a new task in the “Task Manager”, and then set the combination shown in the picture above to execute.
Note: an example is given to check the system partition (drive "C"), so if you need to perform a scan and fix errors on logical drives, write the letters corresponding to them.
How to check the hard disk for errors and damage in Windows 10: storage diagnostic tools
In the tenth modification of Windows, one interesting tool appeared, which in previous versions did not exist at all. This is a special applet designed for storage diagnostics, also working through the command console.
Make sure that the check is really needed, you can through the security and maintenance section in the "Control Panel". Expand your facility.
If at the very bottom for the state of the disk it is indicated that all the disks are working normally, and the check is not required, naturally, it can be omitted.
Otherwise, call the command console on behalf of the administrator, and then perform the combination shown in the image above, where instead of PATH, specify the full path to the directory where you want to save the report files. Upon completion of the scan, you can open the created objects in the specified folder and look at the information you are interested in.
Note: the scanning process can be very long, and sometimes it will seem that the system has completely hung, so be patient.
Third Party Verification Programs
Finally, if you are not satisfied with the means of the system itself, you can check the disk for errors in Windows 10, as well as in any other modification, using third-party software products specially developed for this. Among the countless variety of such applications, the following universal utilities can be recommended as the most powerful:
- HDD Victoria;
- HDDScan;
- Crystal Disk Info (or a similar CrystalDiskMark applet);
- DiskCheckup;
- HD Tune etc.
In most of these applications, you can perform SMART testing, and on the basis of some of them you can even create bootable media that allow you to check the hard drive without loading the installed OS.
Is it possible to restore a “crumbled” hard drive?
Finally, if the hard drive, due to objective reasons or due to physical damage, began to deteriorate, you can use the unique HDD Regenerator program, which not only performs disk check with error correction, but also allows (according to the assurances of the developers) even to remagnetize hard drives to return the drive to a healthy state and not lose important information present on it. Of course, the question of using this application seems rather controversial to many, nevertheless, if no other methods can restore a sprinkled disk to life, you can try to perform resuscitation using this program. At least there will be nothing wrong with that.