So why should you run Scandisk and what is Scandisk anyway?Scandisk does just what it sounds like, it scans your hard drive looking for errors and correcting them.
The hard drive is where Windows (or what they call your Operating System) is installed, and all of your programs and any files you may have created.
If you ever turned off your computer by just turning off the power (You should try NOT to do this!See the article on Down shut off the power! ) then errors can occur on your hard drive. If you get errors in the wrong place, then some programs won't work right, maybe they won't even open or even files seem to be gone!
So after awhile you need to run Scandisk. Before you open Scandisk, make sure you don't have any programs open. If you have a Screensaver, make sure it is turned off. Turning off Screensaver applies to older Operating Systems.
Now click on your Start button and select Programs. In the Programs menu select 'Accessories', then select System Tools.
Now click on Scandisk. When the Scandisk Program opens, put a check mark in the little square at the bottom to automatically fix errors.
Then start the program & go find something else to do for a while. Scandisk can take a long time to run, so don't do this if you have something else you want to do on your computer right away. If you are using Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE or Windows ME, you need to run Scandisk once a month.
Once completed, you can go back and put your screen saver and background back to where you had it. You should perform a disk defragment after performing a ScanDisk.
Here is a video on how to Scan Disk on Windows XP
Scan Disk on Vista
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