Checking for and Repairing Damaged Files

Windows comes with a utility called ScanDisk that can test a disk, repair most problems on it, and refresh it if needed. What kind of problems? ScanDisk can find defective storage areas on a disk, retrieve any recoverable data, and block those areas to prevent your PC from using them. ScanDisk can also find and delete misplaced (usually useless) file fragments that might be causing your PC to crash.

Run ScanDisk regularly, at least once every month, and whenever your PC seems to be acting up and crashing for no apparent reason.

To run ScanDisk, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, Computer.
2. Right-click the icon for the drive you want to scan and click Properties.
3. Click the Tools tab and (under Error-Checking) click the Check now button. The Check Disk Local Disk dialog box appears.
4. Click the check box next to Automatically fix file system errors.
5. To check for bad areas on the disk, click the check box next to Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. Checking this option tells ScanDisk to do a thorough job, which might take several hours; turn on this option only if you don't plan to use your PC for a while.
6. When you're ready to begin the scan, click Start. ScanDisk either automatically starts to scan the drive or displays a message indicating that it will scan the drive the next time you restart Windows.