Does CHKDSK delete files? What does CHKDSK do on earth? If you are struggling with this, this article is worth reading. And, if so, it can help you recover files deleted by CHKDSK in two ways.
Have you ever used CHKDSK to scan the hard disk for bad sectors? Users may consider using the CHKDSK command to fix disk errors and recover corrupted hard drive.
But, to their astonishment, it sometimes runs into errors like CHKDSK cannot continue in read only mode; what's worse, it is said to cause data loss.
“Windows 7 Chkdsk searched my external hard drive for bad sector recovery, and it deleted hundreds of my most important folders and files. Unfortunately, I do have not any new backup from them.” – Question from SevenForums
Many customers have reported missing data after running the CHKDSK command, and they were asking "does CHKDSK delete file"s on earth, and how to recover the files deleted by CHKDSK.
To begin with, it is necessary to figure out what does CHKDSK do.
CHKDSK is one of the Windows commands. It is used to check the physical and logical errors in the file system. The bad sectors will be displayed as well.
According to the Microsoft documentation, running chkdsk requires administrator authorization, and is only used for a local disk but not a net drive.
The chkdsk utility can work with parameters to execute some operations. When without any parameters, it only shows the status of the specified drive but won’t fix any problems.
The chkdsk process is divided into 5 stages:
Check and verify files, check volume indexes, check each volume's security description, data verification and free space verification. Note the last 2 stages are optional in most cases.
The command format is:
Among these parameters, /f, /r, /b, etc., are used more frequently. Check the brief introduction.
| /f | Fix the errors on the disk. |
| /r | Find and analyze the bad sectors on the disk and also recover readable info. |
| /b | Clear the list of the bad clusters on the NTFS drive, and check the allocated and free clusters for possible errors. |
The /r parameter is quite similar to the recover command in CMD, some users will use it to recover data from corrupted hard drives.
So, why do files disappear after running chkdsk? Data loss may occur as a result of:
Don't worry, we'll go through how to restore data erased by the chkdsk command in the next section.
2 methods can help you restore files deleted after using the chkdsk command.
After using the chkdsk command, you won’t notice any difference except the data loss, but a folder will be generated.
It is named FOUND.000, since it is a hidden system folder, you cannot access it normally as usual. But you could unhide it.
Step 1. Go to the source drive where the files were lost from > click View > toggle Hidden items.
Step 2. Find and open the FOUND.000 folder.
Step 3. Remember to tick the option File name extensions in View > right-click the CHK file > change the extension to the original extension of the lost files, e.g., jpg.
Thus the CHK files could be viewed and moved as normal.
If this method does not help, just move on to the next one.
The solution above only allows you to recover one file at a time, and the success rate is still questionable to some degree. For the sake of safety and efficiency, all users need a better, safer, and faster way to recover data after using the chkdsk command.
Given this, you might as well turn to a professional Windows data recovery app - MyRecover for help. Developed by the leading enterprise in the data security industry, it is dependable and effective in data recovery.
Step 1. Install this professional data recovery software for Windows - MyRecover and open it. Hover the mouse over the drive containing files deleted by chkdsk and click Scan.
Step 2. Then the scanning process will start automatically. The Quick Scan searches for deleted files while Deep Scan searches for other missing files.
Step 3. During the scanning process, you could use the Filter to narrow the search range or target the files you need with file names or extensions. Or Go to Deleted Files/ Other Missing Files > find the original location > select deleted files > click Recover x files.
Type: contain all the file types in the local drive, such as, images, videos, documents, mails, webpage, compressed files, etc.
Data Modified: support today, yesterday, last 7 days, last 30 days, and custom. To recover deleted files at a specific time, try the last option.
Size: filter file size from less than 128KB to 128KB ~1MB to 1MB ~ 512MB and above, or custom.
This powerful app also helps recover accidentally formatted hard drive, damaged disk, virus-infected, system crashes, lost partition, and more data loss scenarios.
Does CHKDSK delete files? The answer is yes in certain situations. But it does not matter, you can recover files deleted by chkdsk if you act quickly. Using professional Windows data recovery software will be a wise choice to recover a bunch of files easily and quickly, with a high success rate.
Professional data recovery software to recover chkdsk deleted files
With it, you can even filter the desired files and preview them before recovering, ensuring you get exactly what you want. In addition, you don't need to wait for the final result if you find the files need to be recovered. Meanwhile, it supports multiple recoverable data types, up to 200+ formats, and all the recognized storage devices.