Important Notice

The pages on this site contain documentation for very old MS-DOS software, purely for historical purposes. If you're looking for up-to-date documentation, particularly for programming, you should not rely on the information found here, as it will be woefully out of date.

◄Syntax►
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
                        An Introduction to ScanDisk
 
ScanDisk is a full-featured disk analysis and repair program. It is designed
to work on both uncompressed drives and compressed drives.
 
Starting ScanDisk
 
To start ScanDisk, type the following command:
 
    scandisk
 
ScanDisk begins checking the current drive. If ScanDisk finds any problems,
it displays a dialog explaining the problem.
 
To check a specific drive, type the drive letter after the ScanDisk command.
For example, to check drive D, type the following command:
 
    scandisk d:
 
Running ScanDisk
 
If ScanDisk doesn't find any problems with your drive, you don't have to do
much. Just let it run, and when it completes, choose the Exit button at the
bottom of the screen by typing X or by clicking Exit with the mouse.
 
If ScanDisk finds a problem, it displays a Problem Found dialog that briefly
explains the problem and what will happen if you fix it. Most Problem Found
dialogs have a Fix It button, a Don't Fix It button, and a More Info button.
To have ScanDisk correct the problem, choose the Fix It button.
 
Using the More Info dialogs
 
Most ScanDisk screens and dialogs include a More Info button. This displays
another dialog with more information ── usually additional technical details
── about the current screen. For some types of problems, the More Info
dialog lists the names of affected files.
 
ScanDisk and compressed drives
 
If you run ScanDisk on a mounted or unmounted compressed drive, it offers to
check the host (physical) drive first. In general, you should allow it to do
so, since an error on the host drive could cause problems with the
compressed drive.
 
Note:  To run ScanDisk on a DriveSpace compressed drive, DriveSpace must be
       installed.
 
Creating an Undo disk
 
If ScanDisk finds a problem and you choose Fix It, ScanDisk offers to create
an Undo floppy disk that you can later use to restore your disk to its
previous state. You can restore your disk's previous state only if you
haven't changed it since making repairs. Creating an Undo disk is easy ──
you just insert a blank, formatted floppy disk in drive A or drive B, and
then choose the Drive A or Drive B button in the dialog ScanDisk displays.
 
Customizing ScanDisk by using the SCANDISK.INI file
 
The SCANDISK.INI file contains settings that determine many aspects of
ScanDisk's behavior. Most of the settings determine how ScanDisk will behave
if you start it with the /CUSTOM switch. You can also use the settings in
SCANDISK.INI to control other aspects of ScanDisk's behavior; for example,
to prevent ScanDisk from prompting you for an Undo disk, just change the
Undo setting in SCANDISK.INI to "Never". For more information about
SCANDISK.INI, see the comments within the file.
 
                                      ♦