CHKDSK
| chkdsk | |
|---|---|
CHKDSK on boot in Windows XP | |
| Original author | Tim Paterson |
| Developers | SCP, Microsoft, IBM, DR, Datalight, Novell, Toshiba, PhysTechSoft, ReactOS Contributors |
| Initial release | 1980 |
| Written in | MS-DOS: x86 assembly language FreeDOS, ReactOS: C |
| Operating system | 86-DOS, MS-DOS, PC DOS, MSX-DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, FlexOS, DR-DOS, ROM-DOS, 4690 OS, PTS-DOS, Windows, FreeDOS, ReactOS |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Type | Command |
| License | MS-DOS: MIT FreeDOS, ReactOS: GPLv2 |
| Website | learn |
CHKDSK (short for "check disk") is a shell command that verifies the data integrity of the file system on a volume (usually a partition) and attempts to fix logical errors – software-level problems with a filesystem (or its metadata) as a result of prior software malfunction (e.g. crashes) or irregular use (e.g. hard resets). Logical errors are contrasted with and usually less severe than hardware-level errors, which can not be fixed with CHKDSK and may instead require specialized data recovery software or hardware service or replacement. Although the name ends with "DSK" as an abbreviation for "disk", the command supports storage media other than disk-based.
The command is available in DOS, Windows, FlexOS, 4690 OS, OS/2, DR DOS 6.0, and FreeDOS.
CHKDSK is similar to the fsck command in Unix and similar to Microsoft ScanDisk, which co-existed with CHKDSK in Windows 9x and MS-DOS 6.x.