Maintaining Windows 7 : Check Your Hard Drive for Errors

Because hard drive errors can cause files to become corrupted, which may prevent you from running a program or opening a document, you can use the Check Disk program to look for and fix hard drive errors.

A standard Check Disk operation makes sure that each of your files and folders is accessible and readable. However, you can also perform a more thorough check that examines the hard drive itself to look for physical errors in the drive.

Check Your Hard Drive for Errors

1 Click Start.

2 Click Computer (not shown).

The Computer window appears.

3 Click the hard drive that you want to check.

4 Click Properties.

The hard drive's Properties dialog box appears.

5 Click the Tools tab.

6 Click Check now to open the Check Disk dialog box.

7 If you want Check Disk to fix any errors it finds, click Automatically fix file system errors ( changes to ).

8 If you want Check Disk to look for bad sectors, check Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors ( changes to ).

9 Click Start.

If you are checking the drive where Windows 7 is installed, Check Disk asks whether you want to check the disk the next time you start your computer.

10 Click Schedule disk check.

11 Click OK.

Windows 7 checks your hard drive the next time you start your computer.

Simplify It

What is a "bad sector"?

A sector is a small storage location on your hard drive. When Windows 7 saves a file on the drive, it divides the file into pieces and stores each piece in a separate sector. A bad sector is one that, through physical damage or some other cause, can no longer be used to reliably store data.

How often should I check for hard drive errors?

You should perform the basic hard drive check about once a week. Perform the more thorough bad sector check once a month. Note that the bad sector check can take several hours, depending on the size of the drive, so perform this check only when you will not need your computer for a while.