Even the most polished and most secure operating system is by no means guaranteed against failures perceived by the user as errors. Particularly annoying are unknown and unexpectedly occurring errors, sometimes fraught with extremely unpleasant consequences.
It is not difficult to imagine the emotions of a person working on a complex document that is lost as a result of a Windows system crash. To avoid such problems, it is better to prepare for them in advance. And to do this, you need to be aware of how Windows 7 OS is checked for errors. Let us consider separately two serious questions related to the stated topic:
- Examination system files and the Windows registry.
- Control hard state computer disk.
Old timers computer world People well remember the utilities of the world-famous Peter Norton, not only the author of excellent books, but also the creator of programs under the “Norton utilities” brand. The first versions of these programs worked before appearance of windows- popular at the time operating system MS DOS. These utilities made it possible to detect the presence of errors on the hard drive and identify the presence of other DOS problems. We will be interested in similar tools for Windows.
Files and Registry
Checking OS files can be done in two ways: either using standard Windows tools, or using third-party software. The OS has built-in file monitoring tools. To use their capabilities, you need to open a command line window and type the sfc command in it with the /scannow parameter, like this:
As a result, system files will be scanned to detect errors in them. The result will be displayed immediately in the command line window.
The information obtained can be analyzed (at least using the Internet), which can be useful for determining the degree of wear and tear of the OS and equipment. During operation, the program will try to correct all detected violations in system files on the disk.
Additional service, more high quality scanning and reliable adjustments are provided by third-party software.
For example, the same package “Norton Utilities” (NU) for Windows. Although this remedy and is the most popular and powerful software package for dealing with OS and computer faults - it still costs a lot of money. Especially in its “professional” configuration. Nowadays, you can find many free analogues of this creation on the Internet.
The Windows registry is the very place where, in addition to the information needed by the OS, a lot of all sorts of rubbish and garbage accumulates. Periodic cleaning of the registry is our direct responsibility. For this purpose, it is worth installing and periodically running the time-tested CCleaner utility (although NU also copes well with this task). Search for it online and download it.
Hard drive
Errors appearing in file structure on the hard drive is caused by wear on the disk surface, malfunctions of Windows disk services (drivers) and positioning errors of the laser subsystem of the hard drive. You can check and disinfect your hard drive using methods similar to the previous ones. We will look at the easiest way - launch standard program disk error checker that comes with Windows. To do this:
- Open the “My Computer” shortcut, select the icon for any of the sections (for example, “ Local disk WITH").
- Open context menu right click mice.
- Select Properties. A window with tabs will open.
- Go to the "Service" tab
- Click on the “Run check” button.
The program will examine the partition and fix any problems. Perform the same operation with the remaining partitions.
). In this case, some begin to worry and look for all sorts of reasons and ways to eliminate freezes.
I will not repeat myself and write why this happens, because... The article is not about this and I have already given a link to solving problems above.
I’d rather show you one interesting way that will help you check your system for errors.
Few people know, but in Windows OS there is one useful “little thing” that can search And correct errors in the system itself. Moreover, it will not touch third-party programs, but will only check its system files. This is useful and interesting because many do not think that the reason may be hidden in the system itself, but feverishly begin, and so on. All in all . Yes, this is useful and can lead to good results, but with all these actions it is good to remember what I will write about below.
I already wrote a little about this function in the article, which can also arise due to a failure in system files, which are often forgotten. But still, within the framework of this article, I will repeat...
So, let's run:
and enter it into sfc /scannow:
The system check will begin:
All you have to do is wait.
For those interested, here is a description of the command and keys.
sfc
Where:
/scannow – immediately scans all protected system files.
/scanonce – scans all protected system files once at the next system boot.
/scanboot – scans all protected system files at every boot
/REVERT – Sets the initial parameters to default.
/ENABLE – Enable normal operation of Windows file protection
/PURGECACHE – Clear file cache and check files immediately
/CACHESIZE=x – Sets the file cache size
In the command line (Start -> Run -> cmd) we write the command sfc / and the desired key.
After the check is completed, the system will report the results and ask you to reboot.
That's all I have. Thank you all for your attention.
Nobody likes it when the usual customized Windows 10 starts to crash and freeze. Let's figure out what reasons this may be associated with, and learn how to identify and correct the problems that have arisen.
Checking Windows 10 for errors
There are two types of errors in the operation of computer devices:
- hardware - physical damage to the device’s hardware is to blame for their appearance;
- software - associated exclusively with the software component.
Let's figure out how to identify these failures and correct them using various means.
If hardware errors can be “cured” only by replacing or repairing the damaged part, then software failures can be corrected using special built-in or third-party utilities.
Diagnostics Windows 10 using SFC
SFC.exe is a system utility built into Windows 10, which is responsible for checking the integrity and functionality of system files. If any of them are damaged, the program automatically repairs them. SFC is not omnipotent: it is recommended to use it in conjunction with DISM, which will be discussed later. However, using this utility is practically the first thing to do in case of system failures.
For some (sometimes quite a long) time, the utility will check system files for integrity. After completion of the work, it will give the user the result.
SFC cannot repair some of the system files while Windows is running, because at the moment they are used by the system. If SFC check showed that there are problems, but it cannot solve them, the utility must be launched again, but not from the system, but from the tool Windows recovery.
You can open the Windows Recovery Tool in the following ways:
- go to “Start” - “Settings” - “Update and Security” - “Recovery” - “Special boot options” - “Restart now”;
“Update and Security” item in Windows settings allows you to access the special boot options menu
- select the "System Restore" option when booting from installation media(or from a recovery disk);
Click on the "System Restore" button when booting from installation media
- instead of the start button, click on a special button that allows you to enter recovery mode. It is available on some laptops, for example Lenovo. As a rule, such a button is located either next to the system start button or next to the charger connector.
Some laptops have a button that opens the recovery menu
From the recovery menu, do the following:
This time, the SFC utility will be able to repair all files, even those that are usually inaccessible to it.
Video: how to run the SFC utility
Scan and repair Windows 10 using DISM
DISM is another utility for recovering damaged files. Its scope of application is much wider than that of SFC. With its help you can even do backups systems. DISM and SFC are responsible for different groups of system files, and they sharing more effective than using alone.
Diagnostics and repair of system files using DISM are also carried out through the “Command Line”. How to enter it is described above. There are several options for using the command:
- dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth - no check is performed, the utility displays the latest saved data on the status of the files;
The command dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth shows what results the disk check gave last time
- dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth - checks the integrity of files without “fixing” the problems found;
The command dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth starts checking all system files through DISM without “repairing”
- dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth - starts checking the integrity of files and then restoring damaged files.
Checking system files in DISM and then repairing damage is started with the command dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Scanning and restoring files takes quite a long time. It is also a completely normal feature of the DISM utility that the status bar freezes at 20%.
Video: how to check the integrity of Windows 10 using SFC and DISM
Checking the hard drive for failures
In addition to physical damage to the hard drive, there are also errors that can be “cured” using the built-in diagnostic tools of Windows 10. To fix more serious problems (for example, bad sectors), you can use third party utilities, but after a while the disk will still have to be changed.
Using the Command Line
Using the Command Line, you can run the built-in Check Disk utility, which checks the disk for errors and, if possible, corrects them. IN Windows environment This program will not be able to check the system disk (drive C): it will prompt you to reboot and will check during the reboot before the OS starts.
If the chkdsk utility receives a system disk as input, it suggests rebooting the system to check it
The utility is launched in the “Command Line” (how to enter there is described above) using the chkdsk command<имя диска с двоеточием>with the given parameters:
- /f - auto-correction of found errors;
- /r - check for bad sectors and attempt to restore damaged information;
- /offlinescanandfix - offline scan, in which the program first “disconnects” the disk from processes in the system, and then checks it. Applies if the disk is in use and a “simple” run of Check Disk cannot fix the errors;
- /? - help on the command.
The command with the /r option can take up to several hours to complete.
As a result, chkdsk will display the disk data obtained during the scan
Video: how to check your hard drive for failures using chkdsk
Using StorDiag
The storage diagnostic utility is present only in Windows 10 and is not used in other versions of the system. Just like Check Disk, it is launched via the “Command Line” using the command stordiag.exe -collectEtw -checkfsconsistency -out<путь к папке, куда сохранится отчёт>.
StorDiag does not correct the errors found, but only diagnoses them and writes the received data to a report file. However, its diagnostic scope is wider than that of Check Disk, and if you are an advanced user, you can use this program to more accurately determine the cause of problems with your device.
Checking the disk using the StorDiag storage diagnostic utility will allow you to diagnose problems and write the resulting data to a separate file
Using PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is a “Command Line” shell used in Windows as another management tool. It is distinguished from a regular console by a wider range of applications, the ability to use scripts and other improvements.
PowerShell is located at Start - All Programs - Windows PowerShell. The console can also be found by simply typing its name in the Start menu search.
To check the disk, enter one of the following commands in the PowerShell “Command Prompt” running as administrator (right-click on the PowerShell icon - “Run as administrator”):
- Repair-Volume-DriveLetter<буква диска без двоеточия>- normal check with recovery;
- Repair-Volume-DriveLetter<буква диска без двоеточия>-OfflineScanAndFix - offline check (what it is was described above).
The specified commands entered in PowerShell will launch the disk diagnostic and treatment tool
Using Explorer and Control Panel
Diagnose hard drive To check for errors, you can run the diagnostic utility through Explorer. To do this, follow the path: “My Computer” - right mouse button on the disk that needs checking - “Properties” - “Service” - “Check for errors”. The check performed is similar to Check Disk.
Diagnostics and error correction can be started from the disk properties window
In addition, through the “Control Panel” you can activate system maintenance, which includes checking hard drives. It is located along the path “Start” - “Control Panel” - “Security and Service Center” - “Maintenance”. In the maintenance window, you can view the results of the previous scan or start it again using the “Start maintenance” button.
To start disk maintenance, you need to click on the corresponding button
Video: how to check your hard drive for errors using the built-in diagnostic utility
Windows Registry Diagnostics
Registry - another one Windows component, which often gets damaged, leading to crashes, glitches and freezes. To prevent this from happening, you need to periodically clean it, removing outdated branches, consequences of failures and erroneous entries.
Manually cleaning the registry is very labor-intensive and time-consuming. In addition, when carrying out it it is easy to make a mistake, which can lead to negative consequences(until the system crashes). Therefore the topic manual cleaning We'll touch on it briefly.
If you don’t want to waste time on manual cleaning, use one of special programs, which will automatically clean the registry of unnecessary and erroneous entries. The most popular of them is CCleaner - free utility, which not only corrects registry errors, but also cleans the computer of garbage and accumulated temporary files. Let's figure out how to work with it.
You can download CCleaner from the official website of the developer.
Video: how to clean the Windows 10 registry manually and using CCleaner
When system failures are corrected, Windows begins to “fly” and delight the user with its impeccable work. Check the system for errors in a timely manner so as not to miss any problems that have started, and it will serve you for a long time.
Over time, the Windows 10 operating system, like any other, begins to work slower, all sorts of errors arise, and programs take a long time to load. In this case, after manually optimizing the work of the “tens” using tools built into the system itself, it also makes sense check the "ten" for availability internal errors and OS integrity.
Of course, for most of us it would be much more convenient to carry out all such checks with one click, which is why all sorts of optimizer applications are so incredibly popular. However my personal experience suggests that when solving problems with Windows 10 (and other versions), it is best to use built-in utilities and system methods. This method ensures that the operating system will not be damaged, and also protects against all kinds of threats from third party programs. In general, the work of all kinds of optimization applications reminds me of the behavior of a bull in a china shop: without really understanding the details, they try to speed up the computer at any cost. The result, as a rule, is quite disastrous: the speed of the system first increases and then decreases again, unknown errors appear, services needed by a particular user are disabled, etc. As a result, the integrity of Windows 10 itself is violated, and as a result, the system begins to slow down and “glitch” even more.
So, in order to check "ten" for errors there is a built-in utility. It's called SFC and works in all versions of the Windows operating system starting from XP. To launch it, you first need to open a new Command Prompt window in Windows 10. To do this, click on the Start menu with the RIGHT mouse button and select “Windows PowerShell (Administrator)”.
The previous familiar version of the Command Prompt is launched through the search (magnifying glass icon on the Taskbar). Enter letters cmd and right-click to launch the found tool “Command Line. Classic App" as an administrator.
Next, in the command line that opens, type the command “ sfc /scannow" (without quotes and with a space before the slash) and press Enter. After this, a system scan will begin, which, depending on the performance of the computer, can last from several minutes on fast machines to an hour or more on outdated ones. Progress can be observed in the form of percentage of operation completion.
In most cases, the operation will be completed successfully and a window will appear as in the screenshot below. In the best case, damage will not be detected at all. If everything turned out exactly like this for you, then no further actions you don't have to do anything.
If the message “ Protection program Windows resources found damaged files, but cannot restore some of them", then you can continue the recovery operation using the utility DISM, which will try to correct existing errors.
Before you launch it, you need to prepare. First, turn off the computer and disconnect everything unnecessary from it: flash drives, other removable drives, etc. Turn it on and wait for the system to boot. When Windows 10 has fully started, we look at what programs we have launched along with the system and close them. To do this, hold Alt key, press Tab and use the mouse to close all active programs. We also close everything running applications on the right side of the taskbar (for example, antivirus or Google Chrome, which continues to run in the background even when the window is closed). To do this, hover the cursor over the program logo in the lower right corner, right-click and select “Exit”.
Now you need to make sure that the computer is connected to the network, and also that the power supply mode does not provide for turning off hard drives from power supply during prolonged user inactivity. The fact is that the recovery process is not very fast (it took me 10-15 minutes), so you need to protect your computer from turning off during work. The Internet connection must remain active, since Windows may use Update during the recovery process. You can check your power settings by RIGHT-clicking on the Start menu and selecting the third item, “Power Management.”
After all this you can run command line. (I remind you: cmd in the search bar and run as Administrator or Windows PowerShell (administrator) in the Start menu with the right mouse button) Next, copy from here and paste the following command there with the right mouse button:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /ScanHealth
The utility begins scanning the Windows 10 operating system for errors and integrity damage. This process, as I wrote above, took about 10-15 minutes on my computer. Stuck on certain time at 20.0% is completely normal. Then, as in the image below, a message will appear indicating that the component store is subject to recovery. (If not, then we are unlikely to be able to cope without the help of specialists - perhaps reinstall Windows 10 completely) .
To try to restore damaged parts of our operating system, enter the following command into the Command Prompt and, as always, press Enter:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth
A process begins that is similar to the previous one both in appearance and in duration. Again about 10-15 minutes, again freezing at 20.0%.
In most cases, the DISM utility manages to fix everything. A message appears: “ Restore completed successfully" Finally, you can double-check whether errors in the operating system remain with the utility SFC (see the beginning of the article).
However, it also happens that it is not possible to restore the integrity and fix Windows 10 errors using DISM. This is what happened to me when I wrote this article and did everything described above on my own computer. As a result of the work, the DISM utility gave me a message in the Command Line that it was impossible to find the source files for recovery and, therefore, it did not correct the error.
In this case, of course, you can continue trying to restore the integrity of Windows 10 and fix errors in the system. To do this, as a rule, you need to have a clean image previously saved somewhere, from which the OS was installed. Personally, I decided not to go further into the jungle and just reinstalled "top ten" completely. But if you have the time and desire to figure out how to restore components without a complete reinstallation, then perhaps reading the comments in the corresponding topic on the Microsoft forum.
Despite the fact that there are many programs for identifying errors in the operating room Windows system, you can check the top ten for malfunctions enough in simple ways without using software.
Ways to check Windows 10 for errors
The Windows 10 operating system has several standard utilities that can help you not only identify the error, but also fix it. Let's look at each of them.
The first is chkdsk. It is designed to scan the disk and its sectors for errors. The utility only works with hard drives, which are formatted in FAT32 and NTFS format. New file systems Not yet available for this firmware. To run chkdsk do the following:
- Click “Start”, “Command Prompt (Administrator)”.
- Enter the command “chkdsk C: /F /R”, where C is the system drive letter. However, if you run a check on a disk that is currently in use by the system, the utility will fail. Therefore, with this command you can check drive D.
- But, if you need to perform a system check, press “Y”. After the system reboots, the PC scan will start.
- To view the scan results, press “Win + R” and enter “msc”.
- The events window will open. Go to the “Application” section and enter “chkdsk” into the search.
- Let's look at the scan results.
You can also check the disk in Windows 10 using Explorer. To do this we do the following:
- Open Explorer. Select the disk and right-click on it. Select "Properties". A new window will open.
- Go to the “Service” tab and click “Check”.
To check system files for errors in Windows 10, use the “sfc /scannow” command. It checks and fixes system files that have become corrupted under various circumstances.
To run the utility, you need to open a command prompt with administrator rights, enter “sfc /scannow” and wait for the scan results.
If this command cannot be executed, it can be run in safe mode or with installation disk. To do this we do the following:
- Reboot the computer in safe mode;
- Select the “Diagnostics” section.
- In the next window, click on the “Advanced options” section.
- In "Advanced Options" select "Command Line".
- The console will open. We enter the following commands in order: “diskpart” and “list volume”.
- Here you need to select and remember the system partition and the system-reserved partition.
- Enter exit.
- We set the command to scan: “sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=E:\Windows”, where C is the system partition, and E is the address to the folder with Windows 10.
If you cannot fix errors in Windows 10 using the “sfc /scannow” command, you should use the “DISM.exe” utility.
- Launch a command prompt with administrator rights and enter “dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth” to check the disk for errors.
- To check the integrity of the storage files, run the command “dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth”.
- If errors were found, enter “dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth”.
- You can find the report log at “Windows”, “Logs”, “DISM”, “log”.
The same commands can be used to edit the registry. Errors will be corrected correctly.