CHKDSK /F /R/X Command to Fix Hard Drive Errors Win 10/11

What does CHKDSK /F /R /X mean? How to use CHKDSK? In this article, you will learn the difference between CHKDSK /F, CHKDSK /R, and CHKDSK /R as well as how to run CHKDSK /F/R/X to fix hard drive errors on Windows 10.

What does CHKDSK /F /R do? How to use CHKDSK to repair the hard drive errors on Windows 10/8/7? Here is the full guide. 

What Is CHKDSK Command

CHKDSK, also known as Microsoft Check Disk, is a utility that can be used in almost all Windows versions. The CHKDSK command is used to scan through your entire hard drive to find and fix any errors. For example, when your computer freezes, you cannot access a certain disk due to a corrupted file system, then you can use the CHKDSK commands to check and fix the drive errors.

💡💡💡It can be difficult to run CHKDSK /f /r /x commands for beginners. Hence, for beginners, you can use a professional alternative. Without giving any commands, you can check the disk for errors, check bad sectors, and check file system errors. Click the blue button to obtain the CHKDSK alternative - EaseUS Partition Master.

What Does CHKDSK /F /R /X Command Mean  

What is CHKDSK /F /R /X? The primary function of CHKDSK /F /R /X is to scan the integrity of the file system and file system metadata on a disk volume and fix any logical file system errors that it finds. Besides, CHKDSK also can be used for detecting bad sectors on the target disk that occur because of physical damage. Then, it automatically fixes these errors as well.

CHKDSK /F VS CHKDSK /R VS CHKDSK /X, What's The Difference

CHKDSK can fix two types of disk errors: logical errors and physical errors. Based on the disk error types, you can use the different CHKDSK commands and switches to fix hard drive errors. CHKDSK /F, CHKDSK /R, and CHKDSK /X are the most commonly used CHKDSK commands. What is the difference between CHKDSK /F /R and /X?

• CHKDSK /F: Check for disk errors, not bad sectors. 
• CHKDSK /R: Locate the bad sectors on the target hard disk and try to recover the readable information from the bad sectors (implies /F).
• CHKDSK /X: Forces the volume to dismount first, if necessary. It also includes the functionality of /f.

When to use chkdsk /f, chkdsk /r, and chkdsk/x? You want to see existing errors, use CHKDSK /f command, you want recover readable information from back sectors, use CHKDSK /R, and dismount problematic disk, use CHKDSK /X.

If you feel like the provided information about CHKDSK, and it did help you have a better undersanding CHKDSK command lines, please share this guide to help more people around you!

What Does Each CHKDSK Parameter Means? 

The syntax of the CHKDSK command is: chkdsk volume /f /v /r /x /i /c

• If used without parameters, CHKDSK displays only the volume's status and does not fix any errors.
• If used with the /f, /r, /x, or /b parameters, it fixes errors on the volume.

What do the parameters ( /f /r /x... ) mean? Here are some common CHKDSK parameters and their meanings:

Run CHKDSK /F /R /X Alternative Tool to Fix and Repair Disk Errors

If you are not so tech-savvy and know little about computers, we highly recommend you try a professional CHKDSK /f /r /x alternative tool - EaseUS Partition Master to fix hard drive errors efficiently. It perfectly replaces CMD as reliable disk management tool and releases you from typing the commands manually.

EaseUS partition tool makes it effortless to repair disk errors. Follow the steps to check and repair your file system error:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then, locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose "Advanced" > "Check File System".

Step 2. In the Check File System window, keep the "Try to fix errors if found" option selected and click "Start".

Step 3. The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it completes, click "Finish".

Fixing disk error and repair internal file system error with EaseUS Partitoin Master is so easy It is one of the best repair tool for hard drives, especially the best Toshiba External Hard Drive Repair Tool and Seagate Hard Drive Repair Tool. Share this tip to help more of your friends to rescue their problematic storage devices now:

How to Run CHKDSK /F /R /X Command to Fix Disk Errors on Windows 10/8/7

If you don't like to use the simple third-party CHKDSK tool, you can run CHKDSK in a harder way via 3 methods: using Command prompt, Windows PowerShell, and disk check tool.

1. Run CHKDSK in Command Prompt

Whenever you find your hard drive performs poorly or Windows asks you to repair drive errors, you can try to run CHKDSK to do the job. Here's how to run CHKDSK /f on Windows 10/8.1/8/7.

Use CHKDSK /F /R on Windows 10 

Note: If you can't boot into Windows 10 to run CHKDSK, fix the UEFI boot issue in Windows 10 with 5+ solutions.

Step 1. Press the Windows key and type cmd.

Step 2. Right-click "Command Prompt" and choose "Run as administrator".

Step 3. Enter the following command and press Enter: chkdsk C: /f /r /x. Replace "C" with the drive letter of the partition you want to repair.

Do not interrupt CHKDSK and wait patiently for the process to end. 

Aside from applying CHKDSK to fix disk errors, here are some tutorials that you may follow to learn more details about this command:

Run CHKDSK on Windows 8.1/8 

To run the utility from Command Prompt for Windows 8.1/8 users, here are the instructions:

Step 1. Press the Windows and C key to open the Charm bar.

Step 2. Select "Search" and type cmd.

Step 3. Right-click on "Command Prompt" and click "Run as administrator."

Step 4. When Command Prompt launches, type the command below and press "Enter": chkdsk E: /f /r /x.

Run CHKDSK on Windows 7 CMD

If you are a Windows 7 user, you can run the CHKDSK command by the following steps:

Step 1. Click "Start". Type cmd at the search box.

Step 2. Right-click on cmd.exe and click "Run as Administrator". Enter your Administrator password if necessary.

Step 3. When cmd.exe opens, type the command below and press "Enter": chkdsk c /f /r.   

If you receive the "Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process." message, type Y to restart the computer and let the utility to run a scan at the next boot of your PC.

Extended Reading:

If you are looking for a guide to run CHKDSK to check and fix disk errors on Wnidows 11, try this recommended guide page and you'll learn how to do so.

2. Use CHKDSK/F/R in Windows PowerShell

If the Command Prompt not working in Windows 10, you can also run the CHKDSK /F or /R command in Windows PowerShell to fix hard drive errors.

Step 1. Click the Search button and type PowerShell.

Step 2. Right-click the PowerShell and choose Run as administrator.

Step 3. Type chkdsk c /f /r to start fixing disk error. Replace C with the drive letter of the target disk.

3. Run CHKDSK Alternative - CheckDisk in Properties Window

Running the Check Disk tool from the Windows desktop is easy. Follow the steps below to run CHKDSK in Windows 10. It works the same way on Windows 8 and Windows 7.

Step 1. Open This PC in File Explorer > right-click the HDD/SSD you want to scan > choose "Properties".

Step 2. Under the Tools tab > click the "Check" button under the Error-checking section.

Step 3. Next, you can choose to Scan drive if wanted or Repair drive if errors were found.

Step 4. When the scanning finishes, click on the Show Details link to see the CHKDSK log in Event Viewer.

Conclusion

Any time you have hard drive errors or corrupted files, the CHKDSK can be a lifesaver. You can use the disk error checker that comes with every Windows version with the full guide above.

Or you can use the ultimate disk management tool - EaseUS Partition Master to repair organize your hard drive to enhance system performance easily.

FAQs About CHKDSK /F /R That You May Be Interested In

You may encounter CHKDSK related problems; what to do then? Here are the common issues of CHKDSK errors; read on to figure out the solutions.

1. Is CHKDSK R safe?

It's safe to run the CHKDSK /R command under normal circumstances as long as you're using the syntax properly. There are different parameters with CHKDSK; you can check the CHKDSK parameters and choose the one that suits your problem to fix disk errors.

2. How long does chkdsk /f /r take?

It depends.

• chkdsk -f should take under an hour on that hard drive.
• chkdsk -r will take some time. It could take over an hour, maybe two, three, or more, depending on your partitioning.

You can interrupt the scan, but not recommended. Canceling or interrupting CHKDSK should not leave the volume any more corrupt than it was before CHKDSK was run. You can start it again, and it will check and repair any remaining corruption on the volume.

3. What to do when CHKDSK is stuck or frozen?

• Restart your computer.
• Press Esc or Enter to stop chkdsk from running.
• Run the Disk Cleanup utility to clear out junk files.
• Open an elevated CMD, type sfc /scannow, and press Enter to run the System File Checker. 
• Restart and exit chkdsk again during the startup by pressing Esc or Enter.
• Open CMD as admin, type Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, and press Enter to repair the Windows image.
• Run CHKDSK again.

The scan should be able to run to completion this time.

4. CHKDSK /F /R VS CHKDSK /R /F on Windows

What's the difference between CHKDSK /F /R and CHKDSK /R /F commands on Windows computer?

This is no much difference between chkdsk /f /r and chkdsk /r /f. The only difference is the sequence of two parameters /f and /r. /f means to fix errors on target disk and /r means to locate bad sectors and recover readable information. Mostly, the correct form should be chkdsk /f /r. Basically, when we don't know if the target drive contains bad sectors, we would suggest that you run the overall CHKDSK command: chkdsk /f /r /x together.