How to use the CHKDSK command in Windows

by Edward Harper October 12, 2024

It's never fun when your storage drive decides to stop working correctly. While you may be looking around for a new SSD or HDD to replace it with, there are some things you can still do on Windows to attempt to fix your drive.

The easiest way to scan, fix, and repair a drive is the CHKDSK command. This way, you can access and attempt to repair your storage device, and possibly even recover your documents.

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What does the CHKDSK command do, and how do you use it?

Screenshot of Windows Terminal running a CHKDSK command

The CHKDSK command, or the "Check Disk" command, checks a disk (storage drive) and repairs the drive if it has bad sectors, or restores and recovers data if needed. The command also marks damaged parts of the drive as "bad sectors" and sequesters the damaged parts of the drive into a new section.

The "Check Disk" command is a mainstay of the Windows operating system. It has been available for multiple versions of Windows and continues through today. The CHKDSK command is used in the Command Prompt of Windows version 7/8/10/11. The CHKDSK command was also available on Windows 2000/XP by using the recovery console.

The Check Disk syntax

The CHKDSK command can be used in multiple ways, depending on the syntax you use at the end of the command. The syntax will change if the command scans, repairs, or searches for and restores damaged sections.

Command Prompt: chkdsk {Drive} : / {Syntax}

Example: chkdsk C: /F

Drive: This is the drive letter of the storage device that you'd like to use CHKDSK on (the C: drive is always the drive you have your Windows OS installed on).
/F: This syntax will repair any error found on the disk by fixing inconsistencies in names/paths between the File System and Directory.
/R: Locates corrupted sectors on the hard drive and tries to read and recover any data it possibly can from the sector. This command runs /F as well.
/X: This command will force the volume of the drive to dismount so that you can repair it. This command runs /F as well.
/V: Shows the path and name of every file in the "bad sector" on the drive.
/I: This command performs a quick scan of the drive where it skims over files rather than inspecting each one independently.
/C: This is the same as the previous command, but it scans your drive even faster, as it will also skip certain folder types.
/B: This command scans your drive and re-evaluates your list of bad clusters on the disk.

There are, of course, way too many different and niche commands to list them all here. But these are the most commonly used and most important commands that can help you to fix a variety of different errors and issues.