If you are having problems installing Windows, there are several tools you can use to try and fix these problems. In case of hard disk errors, you can run a disk check (chkdsk), and for damaged or corrupted system files, you can run a system file check (sfc).
You can launch both from within Windows itself, saving you the trouble of booting to an extended startup screen.
Run Chkdsk in Windows 8/10
To run chkdsk, go to Computer, right-click the drive you want to check, and select Properties.
Click the Tools tab and then click the Check button in the Error Checking section.
Windows will start scanning your drive for errors. This may take several minutes.
When finished, you will see a message indicating whether any errors were found on the hard drive.
Finally, you can click Show Details to load the Event Viewer and show that chkdsk is actually running on the system.
If you want finer control over the error checking process, I suggest you run chkdsk from the command line It includes many advanced options that allow you to perform a deeper analysis of the disk for errors or bad sectors.
I wrote another post that details the command line version of chkdsk and explains the various options.
Run System File Checker in Windows 8/10
The System File Checker is a great tool that will check all the original files installed with Windows and make sure none of them have been removed, replaced, or otherwise damaged. If a problem is found, it downloads the original system file to replace the deleted or damaged one.
If Windows frequently freezes or crashes, you might want to try running the System File Checker tool as it could be a problem with corrupted or missing system files. Also, if you see other strange problems in Windows like missing apps or apps not opening, etc., then launching SFC won’t do any harm.
You can launch SFC in Windows 8 by going to the Start screen, right-clicking an empty space and choosing All Apps. Scroll to the right and right click on Command Prompt.
Select “Run as administrator” from the pop-up panel at the bottom of the screen. In Windows 10, you just click Start and type cmd. Right click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
Now, at the command prompt, enter the following command:
sfc / scannow
This will start the check process for all system files in Windows.
When finished, it will either display a message that everything is fine, or it will tell you which files had problems and were replaced by the system. These are two easy-to-use Windows tools that help you troubleshoot different types of problems.
Also check out my other post on third-party hard drive diagnostic tools designed for specific hardware manufacturers such as Toshiba or Seagate. If you are having problems with your hard drive, these programs can provide you with additional information. If you have any questions, please leave a comment. Enjoy!
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