What does Scandisk do?

@crook-0PFkJv • Oct 25, 2024

Oct 25, 2024

1.8K

This post is inspired by Neha's thread about Disk Defragmentator
#-Link-Snipped-#

I remember the old Windows 98 days when improper shutdown would result in the 'Scandisk' program run at next boot. I wonder what the scandisk actually did?

If it was useful, why was it discontinued in Windows XP? Can anyone explain this?

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desijays

@desijays-2SqnUc • Nov 20, 2006

scan disk is an error checking program that helps to determine if a hard disk has any errors. In a normal run, scan disk checks the entire capacity of the hard disk and then digitally marks those sectors and clusters that are not usable by the OS or any other program. In essence scandisk marks that part of the hard disk unusable.

Scan disk, i presume is also capable of predicting if the hard disk is in any danger of imminent failure.

And by the way, scan disk hasn't been discontinued. It still exists in XP. Right click any one of your hard disks. Then click on properties. Now click on the 2nd tab called tools. What you get after you click "Check Now" in that tab is an advanced version of scandisk.

the initial version of NT was the only OS that didn't have scan disk included.
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Neha

@neha-3vibjn • Nov 20, 2006

crook
If it was useful, why was it discontinued in Windows XP? Can anyone explain this?
And if you turn off your computer(with Windows Xp) without shutting it down, it will ask whether you want to scan your disk or not..it hasn't been discontinued.
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Jerry

@jerry-5wPKU7 • Nov 28, 2006

desijays
scan disk is an error checking program that helps to determine if a hard disk has any errors. In a normal run, scan disk checks the entire capacity of the hard disk and then digitally marks those sectors and clusters that are not usable by the OS or any other program. In essence scandisk marks that part of the hard disk unusable.

Scan disk, i presume is also capable of predicting if the hard disk is in any danger of imminent failure.

And by the way, scan disk hasn't been discontinued. It still exists in XP. Right click any one of your hard disks. Then click on properties. Now click on the 2nd tab called tools. What you get after you click "Check Now" in that tab is an advanced version of scandisk.

the initial version of NT was the only OS that didn't have scan disk included.
Neha
And if you turn off your computer(with Windows Xp) without shutting it down, it will ask whether you want to scan your disk or not..it hasn't been discontinued.
Thanks for the information desijays and neha. I want to know about scandisk alternative in Vista. Any idea about it?

Jerry
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Neha

@neha-3vibjn • Nov 30, 2006

well I haven't used Vista yet..so don't have any idea regarding that.
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SudhaKar Arjunan

@sudhakar-iXoJlR • Jan 5, 2007

While during shut down,

The system show that scaning you disk,

bcoz, it will update the changes made to the disk during the current windows session.

In olden day on windows 3 serious,

The scan disk is the important , which shows all errors like disk error, writing space error and even bad clusters.

Regards,
A.SK...
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vinci

@vinci-e4PtMU • Oct 10, 2011

thanks for nice information .as i used to shut down pc improperly .I have understood scan disc now
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pradeep.pawar

@pradeeppawar-RAMDdD • Jan 24, 2012

it checks for errors and fixes the file system errorrs
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pradeep.pawar

@pradeeppawar-RAMDdD • Jan 24, 2012

scandisk is available in all windows OSes
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vinci

@vinci-e4PtMU • Jan 24, 2012

its successor is chkdsk .works before starting windows to check errors in system/kernel
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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

@praveenkumar-66Ze92 • Jan 25, 2012

Well, in Windows XP, the ScanDisk is replaced by CheckDisk... 😀 Haven't you seen this???

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vinci

@vinci-e4PtMU • Jan 26, 2012

yeah !!! I have seen it checks drives for any errors.
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Anoop Kumar

@anoop-kumar-GDGRCn • Jan 26, 2012

when XP finds any possible error while reading disk it invokes Chkdisk on next start.
Most possible situations are:
shutting down computer while copying data/downloadin
forcing application when it try to write data.
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in CHKDisk it just dump/fix that memory adress which might cause bad sector.
Never seen on Windows 7, quite possible they made it background process. and only a only popup shows "Windows has just recovered from serious error"
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