How run chkdsk/scandisk and erase any recovered clusters?

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HS

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How do I run chkdsk/scandisk and how do I erase any recovered clusters. (I'm a non-techie so please walk me through it step by step specifically for Windows XP Home Edition. Thanks!)

Taken from Heidi Erase FAQ page:
In addition to never defragmenting
your drive before erasing you should run
chkdsk/scandisk to recover any lost
clusters and erase those first.
 
My computer > Right click the drive. In the dialog that apepars, click on the Tools tab, the click Check Now. Check the Scan For and attempt recovery of bad sectors checkbox and hit start. It will take a few hours to complete.

You don't have to do this EVERY time you erase unused space. Once a week is good if you erase often and have high disk load.

Joel
 
In regards to clusteres - how do I Erase those first?

Once I run the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors how do
I erase any lost clusters that are found? Will a box come come up telling me what was found and will there be a way to "Erase those first" + how? I'd like to know what to expect and what to do. From what I've read, running that Scan doesn't tell you at the end of the Scan what was found or a way to "Erase those first" but simply finds and repairs errors.
 
Eraser won't be able to erase bad clusters. Those are faults at the hardware level and cannot be cleaned through software.

Joel
 
Communication Problem Re: My Question: meant Lost Not Bad

Sorry, I think I may have misspoken.

I was referring to "Lost Clusters" Not "Bad Clusters". The words "Lost Clusters" are taken from the Heidi Erase FAQ page.

Heidi Erase FAQ page:
...you should run chkdsk/scandisk
to recover any lost clusters and
erase those first.

This passage states or implies that "Lost Clusters" can be erased "First". Please advise on how to do this after running your previously described "Scan For and attempt recovery of bad sectors". Or, please advise if there is some different chkdsk/scandisk I should be running that will allow this said Eraser of recovered clusters? Also, if that FAQ passage is simply misleading, I would appreciate a clarification on that as well.

Thank you!
 
OK I misread, sorry.

Lost clusters are clusters which your hard disk contains data but the file system thinks it doesn't. The procedure I told you about will recover lost clusters. These should appear as *.chk files on the disk so you can erase those files first.

Joel
 
Where on the Disk precisely do I find any *.chk files ?

Sorry to be so dense but just to make sure I know what to do before I get stuck mid process I need some clarification.

You said regarding recovered clusters:

These should appear as *.chk files
on the disk so you can erase those
files first.

Question: Where on the disk do the *.chk files appear so that I can be sure to find them? Please be Precise as I am not a techie. E.G. does a window pop up showing the *.chk files at the end of the "Scan For and attempt recovery of bad sectors checkbox" process or do I need to open "my computer" and click on the disk (right click or otherwise) and then click somewhere else etc.... Again, it would help me if you could be as precise and methodical as possible. Thank you.
 
They can appear anywhere on the disk, though they tend to appear in the root of the drive AFAIK. You'll have to look for them in My Computer and erase them.

Joel
 
That said, you could go to the Search button on your Explorer toolbar and type this for the filename: *.chk. Click search and if they show up you should see them all in one window.
 
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