Like most previous versions of Windows, Vista has the functionality required to recover corrupted data and detect and block bad sectors. The program, called Checkdisk (or known by the actual program name, chkdsk) will scan your hard drive for errors or faults and attempt to repair those. Usually Checkdisk can successfully recover corrupted data and help your computer avoid using portions of the drive that are failing.

To run Checkdisk on a drive or partition first open Computer or Windows Explorer. From either interface right click on the partition you wish to scan and select Properties from the menu that comes up. In the Tool tab of the Properties window you will see the Error Checking Utility. Select Check Now to start the scan.

If you wish to scan the partition on which Vista is booted you will get the message that the disk is in use and Checkdisk can't run at that time. Select Schedule Disk Check to run the utility the next time the computer is rebooted. This will obviously delay the boot the next time the computer is started but it is really the only option as Checkdisk can't run on a partition that is locked by the file system.

The Checkdisk dialog box gives you two options, Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. If you are having problems with files it is recommended that you select both options. The first finds and fixes corrupted files from software errors. Unselecting this causes Checkdisk to find and report the corrupted files but will not fix them. The second finds bad sectors, hardware failure on the surface of your disk drive, attempts to recover the files from those sectors and then marks the bad sectors so they're not used in the future. This option can take a long time on a large drive but, if you're having problems, you should give it time to do the job.

Corrupted files can be caused by a number of factors. Generally it isn't a major concern if you have some corrupted files, Checkdisk will fix them for you and you can move on. As to bad sectors, it is quite normal for sectors on hard drives to fail over time. However, you should check the reported results of such a scan very carefully. A significant number of bad sectors, even as little as 1%, could indicate that your drive is near failure. If Checkdisk reports a large number of bad sectors you should backup your data as soon as possible and replace the drive.

Checkdisk is a powerful tool that can do wonders to save your data. I have even used Checkdisk successfully to recover damaged files that have prevented the system from booting. If you need to attempt this in Vista you should study how to get to the Command Line Interface from the Windows Recovery Environment. From that Command Line Interface you can run chkdsk.exe and see if that will allow your system to boot.

Learn more about this author, Keith Hamburger.
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