CHKDSK - checks the hard drive for errors. Utilities for resuscitation of damaged laser disks Fig.1. The main window of the VSO Inspector disk testing program

Video editors, converters, DVD recording.
Program overview

CD/DVD/Blu-Ray disc testing programs (part 1)

When we hear the phrase “counterfeit products,” the first associations that arise are DVDs and films. Unfortunately, when buying a DVD disc, we almost never can guarantee its quality. In this regard, the question of testing this blank arises. There are many paid, for example Nero, and free utilities for checking the quality of DVD discs. One of them is VSO Inspector Vso-Software allows you to determine the characteristics of a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drive, obtain information about the inserted disc (both blank and recorded) and perform surface analysis for read errors.

Free program VSO Inspector fully Russified, has a volume of about 3 MB, works with all OS Windows to 7 inclusive. You can download the latest version of the program from the download page of the developer’s website by following the link Download Latest version.

Installing the program VSO Inspector runs as usual, and before completion you will be asked to familiarize yourself with the basic capabilities of disk testing. The main program window is shown in Fig. 1:

Fig.1. Main window of the VSO Inspector disk testing program

On the bookmark Device the main parameters of the disk drive (disk drive) are displayed: general information, options, capabilities for reading and writing various disks, etc. (Fig. 1).

Next bookmark, Carrier, will provide information about the CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc inserted into the drive: media type, manufacturer, number of layers, maximum read/write speed, etc. - Fig. 2:

Fig.2. Bookmark disk (blank) parameters

On the bookmark Scanning You can check the quality of discs: scan the surface and test files if the disc contains recordings. The testing process is reflected in the diagram and numbers in the corresponding colored cells: Good, Bad and Errors. To select a test, check the box next to the desired item and press the button Start. If there are errors and bad sectors, testing the disk surface can take a long time - see Fig. 3.

Fig.3.

At the end of the scan, a summary of the test results is displayed, which can be saved as a file - button Save. Unlike similar programs, VSO Inspector allows you to check not only the quality of the surface, but also errors in the information already recorded on the disk - point File testing. In addition, you can view detailed information on each sector of the disk - tab View sectors(Fig. 4).

Fig.4. Tab "View disk sectors"

So the program VSO Inspector- a good tool for testing disks. It should be kept in mind that the presence of errors on rewritable CDs/DVDs does not mean that they should be thrown away. Sometimes after performing a full (not quick) erase, for example using a program Nero, the errors disappear and the disk can be used again.

CHKDSK is a standard application for checking a hard drive for errors, detecting bad sectors on a hard drive, and correcting file system errors. The CHKDSK application (short for Check Disk) is built into the Windows operating system.

The Chkdsk.exe program finds file system errors, bad sectors on the hard drive, and eliminates detected problems. If checking the disk for file system errors reveals problems, the CHKDSK check runs when the computer is turned on.

There are some differences when using Chkdsk.exe in different versions of Windows:

• In Windows XP, the chkdsk utility finds file system errors and repairs bad sectors on the disk.
• In Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, with default settings, the CHKDSK application finds file system errors, but does not fix them. To correct file system errors and check disk sectors, you must manually set certain parameters.

Problems with the Windows operating system affect its performance. File system errors occur in the following situations:

• Due to a power outage - if the computer suddenly turns off, an unexpected system failure may occur (to prevent such situations, use a UPS - uninterruptible power supply).
• If the system is infected with malware.
• Due to a computer hardware malfunction.

Bad sectors may appear on the surface of the hard drive. When checking a disk using chkdsk, bad bad sectors of the hard disk are marked as damaged, and the system no longer reads or writes information from bad sectors of the disk. The system will try to recover data from damaged sectors (clusters, directories), if possible.

The chkdsk disk scan runs in two modes:

• in the graphical interface using the system tool;
• using the command line.

If your computer does not boot due to a problem, you can check your hard drive using the Windows installation DVD. After booting from removable media, in the system recovery options, select the command line to run a disk error check.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to use the CHKDSK application using the Windows 10 operating system as an example.

CHKDSK check for file system troubleshooting in GUI

The easiest option for checking the file system for errors is to run the CHKDSK program in the graphical interface using system tools.

Follow these steps:

1. Launch Explorer.
2. Right-click on the local disk on which you want to scan.
3. In the “Properties: Local disk (X:)” window, go to the “Tools” tab.
4. In the “Check for errors” section, click on the “Check” button.

1. In the “Checking errors (Local disk (X:))” window that opens, select “Check disk”, despite the fact that the operating system writes that no errors were found when checking the disk.

In Windows 7, additional scanning options are available; to launch them, you need to check the boxes next to the items:

• Automatically fix system errors.
• Check and repair bad sectors.

1. The scanning process begins and will take some time. The scan time depends on the size of the local disk and the amount of data on the disk.

When checking file system errors, the status is scanned:

• The basic structure of the file system is checked.
• File name connections are checked.
• Security descriptors are checked.
• The USN log is checked.

1. After completing the verification process, information about its result will open. In this case, the disk was successfully scanned and no errors were detected. If errors are found, you will be asked to fix them.

For detailed information, click on the "Show Details" link.

In the Event Viewer window, click Details.

In the “Event Properties” window, in the “General” and “Details” tabs, detailed information about the result of the disk scan is available.

The information obtained about checking the disk for file system errors can be copied into Notepad or another text editor for further study.

How to run CHKDSK (check disk) on the command line

The chkdsk command to check a hard drive with the specified parameters is executed from the command line:

1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator. Read How to Find the Command Prompt in Windows
2. To check the system partition (system disk) in the command line interpreter window, enter the command:

1. Press the "Enter" key.
2. A message appears in the Command Prompt window indicating that the CHKDSK command cannot be executed because the specified volume is in use by a system process. To start checking the system disk after rebooting the system, press the “Y” key and then press the “Enter” key.
3. During the system reboot, the system disk will be checked and restored.

A sample command template looks like this: ["chkdsk" (application name)], space, [drive letter of the drive being checked followed by a colon ("c:", "d:", "f:", etc.), path, or filename], space, [command options].

Command parameters have the following meanings:

• /F - checks the file system and automatically corrects errors found.
• /R - search for bad sectors on the disk, restore the contents (the command requires the /F key, example: “chkdsk C: /F /R”).
• /V - displays full file paths, displays file names on the disk, in the NTFS file system - displays cleaning messages.
• /X - disable the disk before scanning, the descriptors of this disk will not be scanned (the mandatory /F key must be set, example command: “chkdsk C: /F /X”).
• /I - Performs a less stringent check of index items; CHKDSK performs a faster but less thorough check.
• /C - skips checking cycles within the folder structure.
• /L: size - Changes the log size to a value specified in kilobytes.
• /B - reset the scan results, re-check previously found damaged hard disk sectors (the /R key is required, example command: “chkdsk C: /F /R /B”).

In most cases, to check the file system and eliminate bad sectors on the hard drive, it is enough to use the “F” and “R” flags.

How to disable disk check in CHKDSK when Windows boots

In some cases, disk check runs when you turn on the computer, before loading the Windows operating system. In most cases, you need to wait until the check is completed; a restart will not follow.

Constantly checking the disk every time the system starts, indicates the presence of problems and the need to eliminate them. You may need to consider replacing your hard drive. There are programs, for example, that constantly monitor the status of computer disks.

To disable Chkdsk from starting when Windows boots, you can use 2 methods: changing values ​​in the operating system registry, or using the command line.

Disabling disk check on the command line:

1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. In the command line interpreter window, enter the command (“C:” is the name of the drive on which you want to disable the startup of Check Disk when the system boots), and then press the “Enter” key:

• If you need to disable scanning on several drives, add the corresponding drive letters to the command separated by spaces, for example, “chkntfs /x c: d:”.
• Using the command “chkntfs /d” you can return the original settings.

You can disable automatic disk check when loading the operating system in the following way:

1. Launch Registry Editor (type “regedit” in the search field, run the command).
2. Follow the path:

1. Click on the “Session Manager” option.
2. Find the “BootExecute” parameter, left-click on it.
3. The Edit Multiline window displays the default value.

1. To disable disk checking during Windows startup, add the following parameter before the asterisk:

1. To disable scanning on multiple partitions, add drive letters separated by a space. Example for drives “C:” and “D:”:

Conclusions of the article

The CHKDSK system application, built into the Windows operating system, is used to check the file system for errors and to detect bad sectors on the computer's hard drive. Using the utility, you can fix system errors and eliminate the negative impact (disable writing and reading) on ​​the system due to the presence of bad sectors of the hard drive.

Displays various information about installed CD/DVD drives, their characteristics and read/write capabilities for various types of media. In addition, VSO Inspector can scan disks for errors and check the readability of the data recorded on them. Free. (gcontent)Download VSO Inspector (/gcontent)

Nero CD-DVD Speed

Version: 4.7.15
Size: 807 KB
Status: free
(gcontent)Download Nero CD-DVD Speed ​​(/gcontent)

A free utility included with the paid Nero. More than one generation of testers has been convinced of the indisputability of the results of the benchmark test for checking the quality of an optical drive.

The program can test how well the drive copes with reading and writing disks of various types, how much time it spends searching for blocks of information, at what speed it can transfer data, how much it loads the central processor, how long it takes to spin up and stop the disk, and whether everything is in order with the interface .

There is also additional information, but it is of less interest. The report on the work done is presented in the form of a visual graph, where problem areas are immediately apparent. In addition, the utility is able to check at the same time the quality of the disks themselves and try to collect basic information about them. The latest versions have added and optimized support for Blu-ray and HD DVD, but this will not be as relevant in the coming months. You may have a natural question: why do you actually need to test your drive? I will answer.

For example, it is not uncommon for a drive to ideally record only one type of disc (for example, DVD+R is fine, but DVD-R is a mess). Having found out this not the most pleasant fact, you can choose the type of media that suits you.

How to do this?
1st stage.
Download the CD Checksum Calculator CDShot (1.6 MB) for free. No installation required.
If you have a x64-bit OS, then download: CDShot_x64.
Place the CD in the optical drive and run the downloaded file sdshot.exe.

Figure 1

Select the drive with our CD and press the button Hash.

Figure 2

If the message “Error: 32. The process cannot access the file because this file is occupied by another process” appears, close the message by clicking the button OK. We are looking for a process. ... Most likely, you will have to close the My Computer window. And press the button again Hash.

Figure 3

We are waiting for the end of hash calculations...

Figure 4

Let's look at the result.
If the CS (CRC32, MD5 and SHA-1) match those specified in the description, then everything is fine! Press the button OK, - then Exit.
If you don’t have checksums, then compare them with the checksums of the image from which you burned this CD. Let's look:
If everything is fine with the checksums, then you can proceed to the second stage - Scanning the disk (Surface Test).
2nd stage.
Download the Nero CD-DVD Speed ​​v4.7.7.16 utility. No installation required. Run the file CDSpeed.exe.

Figure 5

Select the drive with our disk, open the tab Scan disk, set the speed Maximum and press the button Start.
At the end of the test, the presence of yellow or red sectors indicates poor-quality “burning”! There is no point in installing anything from such a disk, since errors are possible during the installation process. Using the lower margin engine you can view damaged (hard to read) files.
If all sectors are green, the disc was written without errors and is ready for use.

The laser disc has undergone significant changes since its inception, evolving from a CD with a data capacity of 650 megabytes to a capacious Blu-ray capable of storing up to 50 gigabytes and more. However, despite such obvious progress, optical media has not gotten rid of many of the problems and shortcomings that have plagued it from the very beginning. For example, after recording another disc (even if the recording drive that was used was completely new), it is impossible to say with one hundred percent certainty that all the data was correctly copied to the disk. Another inconvenience of working with optical media is related to the growing volume of information. It has become many times more difficult to navigate which drive to look for a particular program or document on. And finally, the most important “disadvantages” of a laser disc are data loss due to mechanical damage (scratched surface of the disc) or as a result of a recording error. However, so far there is no serious alternative to optical media, so it is necessary to look for ways to solve these problems, at least partially. Utilities with which you can evaluate the condition of disks and recover data from them will be discussed in today’s review.

CDCheck 3.1

CDCheck works with different types of checksums - MD2, MD4, MD5, Adler32, CRC32, SHA (1, 256, 348, 512), Tiger (128, 160, 192), etc. Before burning a disc, the program can analyze the contents of the future media on the subject of compatibility of data recorded on CD/DVD with ISO image standards. Data verification can be performed either by checksum or by the “source-copy” principle. At the end of the scan, the program can launch an external anti-virus scanner, checking the content for viruses. CDCheck allows you to set the priority of a job, and also has a data recovery function by repeatedly reading disk sectors. When a certain percentage of reliability is reached, which can be set in the program settings, the data can be considered recovered.

By processing data with CDCheck, you can monitor detailed process statistics: average data reading speed, estimated data processing time, number of scanned files and folders. The utility supports command line operation and provides detailed information about the CD/DVD/BD media used.

DiskInternals CD & DVD Recovery 3.5

The operation of restoring damaged or deleted data is greatly simplified thanks to the step-by-step wizard that is available in the program. Following his instructions, you need to select the media whose contents are inaccessible, and then specify the parameters of the files to be restored. So, for example, for a more accurate data search result, you should determine the approximate size of the files to be resuscitated, as well as indicate the approximate time of their creation. These criteria are of particular importance when analyzing a disc with multiple recordings, on which there are many “traces” of old information once recorded on this medium. CD & DVD Recovery identifies the location of lost data on a disk and can work with long file names. The program provides access to files from any track, even if the session on the disk was not closed correctly.

CDRoller 8.0

The simplest example of such a situation is a damaged DVD with a movie recorded on it. As you know, the contents of the DVD-video format usually look like a Video_ts folder, where menu and navigation files are located, as well as large files with the .vob extension, which contain video and sound. If the unreadable area of ​​the disk is in the place where the vob file was recorded, this file will be partially damaged, resulting in a large fragment of the video being lost. It is possible to partially restore the remaining video. Firstly, for this you can use additional tools that can correct errors in the video file code. However, if the damaged area is large, then such utilities will not be able to cope with the recovery. Other programs that can fix a video file will use re-compression, which will inevitably lead to a loss of original quality. The CDRoller utility can solve this problem faster and more efficiently than many other programs. Having copied readable data from such a disk to the hard drive, CDRoller will analyze the vob file and divide it into separate fragments (movie scenes), saving them in the MPEG format familiar to the DVD video standard, without loss of quality. In this case, you can simply exclude the scene with the fragment where the defect is present, and burn a new disc with the surviving data.

Thanks to the built-in recording module, the disc burning procedure can be performed directly in CDRoller. The program allows you to burn recovered files and folders, videos, as well as ISO image files.

The disk cataloging tool built into the program uses so-called short images (Short CD/DVD Image). In fact, these are not real images, but only data about the contents of the indexed disk - a list of all files and directories on the disk, with a preserved structure. Each time a new disc is read, the program can automatically create such a short image and write it to a specific folder, thus compiling a library of all discs. In the future, if you need to quickly find a specific file, you can use CDRoller to search the entire library of images. The data search tool is implemented very flexibly; the search query can be refined using various search criteria. For example, you can set the minimum and maximum size of the file being searched, define the subject of the search (for example, only folders, files, or both), specify the creation date, etc. Another feature of CDRoller is the ability to work with audio discs. Despite the relative durability of audio discs, sometimes it only takes one tiny scratch for a CD player to refuse to play a particular track or even recognize the disc. In order to save the recording, the program uses digital data extraction (Digital Audio Extraction). During the audio reading process, CDRoller can use jitter correction and also use sector re-reading to detect errors or loss of synchronization. The read tracks can be immediately converted into various digital audio formats - WAV, MP3, MP2, OGG, etc. The program can encode audio CDs on the fly, without creating an intermediate WAV file. To evaluate the quality of optical media, CDRoller runs a series of tests (the test can be started by selecting the drive from the list of available devices and using a keyboard shortcut), selecting a test method depending on the type of data recorded. The program checks the ISO 9660 file system and also checks the disk surface, after which it displays a detailed generated report on various media properties - the number of detected sessions, the program in which the recording was made, the size of the file allocation table, the list of unreadable folders, etc.

Please note that this check cannot be applied to disks with the UDF file system. Errors on optical media with such a file system are detected automatically. This data recording format is widely used by various models of DVD camcorders, DVD recorders, as well as batch recording applications such as Roxio Drag-To-Disc and Nero InCD. Users who have to deal with such discs often encounter a situation where the captured and recorded video is not played back. Typically, data recording errors occur at the session closing stage. They can be found when working with devices from a variety of manufacturers - Lite-On, Thomson RCA, Philips, Panasonic, etc. In most cases, CDRoller allows you to partially or even completely recover this data.

IsoBuster 2.5

The secret of IsoBuster's popularity is, first of all, that this program understands all existing file systems that are used today to record data. The utility works with the contents of images; it can be used to mount images and extract data from them, as well as directly run files. The program supports the formats of all popular disc burning programs, such as CDRWin, CloneCD, DiscJuggler, BlindWrite, WinOnCD, NTI, Plextools and many others. IsoBuster can also be used to create an exact image of the source disk, and the image can be written in .iso, .bin, .tao formats, created with cue markings and a .md5 checksum to determine data integrity.

The program makes it possible to check the status of the media (you don’t even have to extract data to the hard drive) and can create a list of files containing read errors. If the program detects bad sectors when reading a disk image, IsoBuster can collect statistics of bad disk areas and save it to a separate file. If restrictions are imposed on the file system (for example, FAT), the created image files can be divided into parts, the size of which is specified in the IsoBuster settings.

Conclusion