Microsoft ScanDisk explained

Microsoft ScanDisk
Screenshot Size:	300px
Developer:	Microsoft
Other Names:	ScanDisk
Operating System:	MS-DOS 6.2 and Windows 9x
Genre:	Utility software
License:	Proprietary commercial software

Microsoft ScanDisk (also called ScanDisk) is a diagnostic utility program included in MS-DOS and Windows 9x. It checks and repairs file systems errors on a disk drive, while the system starts.

Overview

The program was first introduced in MS-DOS 6.2^[1] and succeeded its simpler predecessor, [[CHKDSK]]. It included a more user-friendly interface than CHKDSK, more configuration options,^{[2] [3]} and the ability to detect and (if possible) recover from physical errors on the disk. This replaced and improved upon the limited ability offered by the MS-DOS [[recover (command)|recover]] utility.^[4] Unlike CHKDSK, ScanDisk would also repair crosslinked files.^[5]

In Windows 95 onwards, ScanDisk also had a graphical user interface, although the text-based user interface continued to be available for use in single-tasking ("DOS") mode.^{[6] [7]}

However, ScanDisk cannot check NTFS disk drives, and therefore it is unavailable for computers that may be running NT based (including Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.) versions of Windows; for the purpose, a newer CHKDSK is provided instead.

On Unix-like systems, there are tools like fsck_msdosfs^[8] and dosfsck to do the same task.

See also

• fsck
• List of DOS commands

Further reading

• Book: Cooper. Jim. Special Edition Using MS-DOS 6.22, Third Edition. 2001. Que Publishing. 978-0789725738.
• Book: Stinson, Craig. Running Microsoft Windows 98. 1998. Microsoft Press. Redmond, Washington. 1-57231-681-0. 24 December 2011. ch. 16: Optimizing, Maintaining, and Troubleshooting. registration.

Notes and References

1. Book: Wolverton. Van. Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. 2003. Microsoft Press. 0-7356-1812-7.
2. Web site: ScanDisk command-line options . Microsoft Support . Microsoft Corporation . 2007-01-23 . 24 December 2011.
3. Web site: MS-DOS 6.2 ScanDisk.INI . Microsoft Support . Microsoft Corporation . 2003-10-14 . 24 December 2011.
4. Web site: What Does RECOVER Do? (Revision 3.0). Microsoft Support. Microsoft Corporation. 24 December 2011. 25 November 2003.
5. Web site: How to Fix Cross-linked Files (Revision: 2.0). Microsoft Support. Microsoft Corporation. 24 December 2011. 10 May 2003. If you are running MS-DOS 6.2 or later, run ScanDisk, instead of [~snip~].
6. Web site: Windows 95 Documentation . . Microsoft Corporation . 1996-03-03 . 24 December 2011.
7. Web site: Description of ScanDisk for Windows (Scandskw.exe) in Windows 98/Me (Revision: 1.3). Microsoft Support. Microsoft Corporation. 24 December 2011. 23 January 2007.
8. Web site: FSCK_MSDOSFS. FreeBSD System Manager's Manual. The FreeBSD Project. 13 August 1995. 24 December 2011.