If you are running Windows 95/98/ME, it is very important to regularly check your hard drive for errors as a means of maintaining system performance and helping to prevent major problems. Scandisk is a program in Windows that, for the most part, verifies that the data on your hard drive matches what Windows "thinks" is there, ensures that the files do not contain corrupt data and can also verify the physical integrity of your hard disk drive.

Running Scandisk is a good way to troubleshoot ongoing problems in Windows, and is also an excellent way to prevent them. If you are receiving the "blue screen of death" (ie.. illegal operation errors, page fault errors, etc...) on a regular basis, you should run a Scandisk. You will note that windows does this automatically when starting up whenever you are forced to manually reboot (eg.. when your screen goes "dead" and you can't do anything).

• Click on the Start Button, and as shown below go to Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then click on ScanDisk

• Most users will only have Drive C as a choice, but should your hard disk have more than one partition or in the case you have more than one hard drive, you can select the drive you wish to scan. You will notice two options below: Standard and Thorough. Use the thorough option if Windows gives you warnings that you may have developed "bad sectors" or if you are running into a situation where Windows is repeatedly running scandisks on startup.
  
  

• Most individuals will want to check the "Automatically Fix Errors" box, but it is a personal choice dependent upon your comfort level with Windows.

• There is generally no need to go into the advanced settings, but the Windows default settings are displayed below.
  
  

• When Scandisk is complete, just press "Close" and you are done.