A common disk scan is the operation of checking the operability of clusters and sectors - "cells" designed to store information written to the disk. In the event of an abnormal shutdown of the computer, this procedure is automatically performed by the system at the next boot. However, even during normal operation, you may need to scan hard drives, and this option is provided in Windows.
Instructions
Step 1
Log in as an administrator - this is a prerequisite to access the scan operation. If you are using versions of Windows Vista or Windows 7, the system may require you to enter the administrator password later - directly when starting the component that performs scanning.
Step 2
Start Explorer - the standard Windows file manager. This can be done by double-clicking on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop, by selecting "Computer" in the main menu on the "Start" button, or by pressing the key combination win + e.
Step 3
Right-click the icon of the hard drive that you want to scan for bad cells. In the drop-down context menu, select the very bottom line - "Properties".
Step 4
Go to the "Service" tab and click on the "Run Check" button located in the "Check Disk" section.
Step 5
Check the box "Automatically fix system errors." If this is not done, then the hard disk scanning program will only display a report on the defects found, without fixing them. In order to instruct the program to try to fix defects on the medium itself, and not only in the file system, check the box "Check and repair bad sectors". However, this will significantly increase the time of the scan operation.
Step 6
Click the "Start" button and the program will start working. The time that will be spent depends on the size of the disk being scanned and the parameters you selected. The results of the operation will be displayed on the screen by the program. If you set to scan a disk that is currently used by the system or applications, and at the same time activated the option "Automatically fix system errors", the program will display a dialog box in which you will be prompted to perform this operation the next time the computer boots.
