0

I've had my gateway computer for roughly seven years. I've never seen this CHKDSK program run before. It seemed to be a windows protocal based on how it was running and the names I saw.

It wanted to check my harddrive for consistency. I would've said no but the time expired before I could press a key so it ran. Luckily it wasn't ransomware. Still not convinced it wasn't a virus but if it isn't I would like to know why this program ran and what it is for.

It did three main steps:

  1. Verify files (can't quite remember exactly)

  2. Check file indexes

  3. Authenticate security? (it checked SD/SIDs)

During step 2 it kept correcting some index $I30 in various files. Then it moved a bunch of weird names files that were apparently "orphaned". The names were of the form _____-_____-_____-_____ and looked like alphanumeric IDs.

Is my harddrive about to go out or something or is this just maintenance windows does when it has a glitch? It seemed to be garbage collecting the file structure based on the names but im just not sure.

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

When your OS prompts you to do a disk-check on startup its normally a good idea to do it. These are normally required when the computer was not shut down properly (eg power outage), or if the computer believes the filesystem might be corrupt.

If this happens regularly (and you are shutting down the computer properly), it is a very good idea to get your hard disk checked out, as it means that it is failing.

Improve this answer
5
  • Yesterday as I was bringing it out of sleep mode it locked up and I had to do a forced shutdown. I did then use it yesterday and shut it doen normally. Could something from that have caused the file issues?
    – user64742
    Commented Nov 5, 2017 at 22:36
  • 1
    Yes, if you did a forced shutdown it is normal to expect the system to do a chkdsk on restart, and you should let it complete. Basically the filesystem is in an inconsistent state because it was not properly shut down, and a chkdsk trys (and normally succeeds) in fixing this.
    – davidgo
    Commented Nov 5, 2017 at 22:40
  • Well actually it wasnt on restart. I turned back on the pc and didnt get a chkdsk until shutting it off normally and rebooting it the next day. Is it normal for such a delayed reaction to occur? If so, that is a relief!
    – user64742
    Commented Nov 6, 2017 at 2:25
  • I don't use Windows (much), but it would be unusual for the chkdsk to be delayed - although I can hypothesis reasons why this would be the case - most likely the OS did not realize the file-system was suffering corruption until you started using it.
    – davidgo
    Commented Nov 6, 2017 at 2:29
  • 1
    Its likely the unexpected shutdown caused some disk errors, and then maintenance mode found them requiring a restart to fix them. So in that case, yes, it takes 2 shutdowns for the chkdsk to occur.
    – LPChip
    Commented Nov 6, 2017 at 7:39
1

During windows maintenance, your harddrive is being scanned for errors.

When it finds errors, it will log these in the eventlog and will attempt to repair them. It cannot always repair these errors, especially if they're at locations that windows has a lock on, for example, the swap file.

In these cases, a chkdsk is scheduled to run on next boot.

Given that the scan ran and found some files, it is safe to say that the chances are high that your harddisk is dying.

You can check the eventlog for disk errors if you want to be sure. If your harddisk and bios are S.M.A.R.T. compatible, you can use a SMART reading tool to read out the lifecycle of the harddisk. Do note, S.M.A.R.T. does not always detect a faulty harddisk.

Also, if windows is shutdown incorrectly, it may also trigger a chkdsk scan, but usually it would not find anything, like it did in your scan.

Improve this answer
2
  • Yesterday as I was bringing it out of sleep mode it locked up and I had to do a forced shutdown. I did then use it yesterday and shut it doen normally. Could something from that have caused the file issues?
    – user64742
    Commented Nov 5, 2017 at 22:36
  • I will certainly look into getting the harddrive checked for issues.
    – user64742
    Commented Nov 5, 2017 at 22:37

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .