Computer help forum: How long does a Thorough Scan Disk take?

I ran some tests on my computer earlier today from pcpitstop so I have some computer details available - my computer is (has?) an intel celeron, 1700 MHz, 256 MB ram ... I hope that's enough info.

Sandra

Grif: I won't be doing THAT again any time soon, unless I'm told that it's MUCH better for my system than doing it from regular mode!!
Bob: I found the option to disable the write test - is there much of an advantage to DOING the write test on a regular basis, or could it be saved for a once a year type deep cleaning?
Wiley: Can you elaborate? "I found other ways to do the job (cleaning, repairing and arranging files)in a heck of a lot less time."

Thank you for your posts - it's amazing how much housework I got done during that LONG time-out, LOL.

IS the scan in safe mode "deeper" than a regular scan?

Sandra

I only run a "thorough" Scandisk a couple of times a year..unless I start having hard drive problems...Then, the "thorough" Scandisk can help troubleshoot issues..Normally, then standard scandisk is sufficient for checking file integrity.

Hope this helps.

Grif

I've used scan disk "thorough" a couple of times on a 95 & 98's and I found other ways to do the job (cleaning, repairing and arranging files)in a heck of a lot less time.

If you remove files often, such as large computer games, large media files etc, then scan disk isn't such a bad idea. Also if you encounter a problem with a program that suddenly dosent want to run correctly this might also be an option, (although not always, its worth a shot sometimes)



If you are the type that installs a program and leaves it there, I would say running it every 6 months or so is a good idea.

6 months between scans? ouch, no wonder it takes so long.
I've got a 30gb drive, and it only takes around an hour or so.
I also had a 40gb drive on my last computer, and it only took no more than an hour and a half or so.
I can see where a really huge drive, like a 120gb, or larger might take a really long time.
While I'm not a certified/certifiable computer expert, I'd long been told that scandisk/defrag, etc... should be done once a month-- if you use your computer daily. Also if you use MSIE you should clean out your temp internet files first, along with all your *.tmp files.
I've been doing this since 1997, when I was first introduced to computers. I quit using MSIE last year, when told about Netscape. I prefer it now over MSIE.
Under Win98, it took as long as it took, but with XP, not more than 2 hours so far. And I emphasize SO FAR.
Good luck.

is the best way to do it in Win 98. The process won't be interrupted by background activity trying to access the HD as happens when running it in normal mode. If you do it once a month, it may not take so long each time, but 98 is a lot slower than XP when doing sys maint so I wouldn't count on it.

Yes, when you do a scandisk in save mode it takes more time.

You can start Windows in normal mode and then unload all programs in the system tray (besides the clock), it's easy, you have to click on every icon and look for the option "unload", "exit", "disable" or any other similar option, Try with left & right clicks, not all programs do the same with clicks, when most programs are unloaded or disabled, run scandisk, it will restart less & will run faster.

The other One, start your computer & while it starts press CTRL+F8, windows will show a menu, move the cursor with your keyboard, choose "command line", now you are at the MS-DOS prompt, you will see: C:\> , type: scandisk /all /surface & press the enter key, let it run until it finishes, reboot or shut down.

The second option only works in Windows '95 & '98.

Hope this helps.