Last February I described how to automate hard-disk scans in Windows 98 and Me. Several readers have written to ask for the lowdown on automatic disk scans in Windows 2000 and XP. You can create a shortcut and automate disk scans in these operating systems, though doing so takes a little work and know-how.

Unlike previous Windows versions, 2000 and XP won't let you fix errors as you check a disk whose files are in use. Windows can override this in some cases (as I describe below). But checking your Windows drive while Windows itself is running is out of the question: Windows simply asks whether you want to schedule the process to occur the next time you restart your computer.

The Windows approach: If you're new to Windows 2000 or XP, you may have difficulty finding the error-checking feature at all, since the ScanDisk icon doesn't appear in the System Tools menu as it does in other Windows versions. To get to this feature, double-click My Computer or open an Explorer window, right-click the icon for the drive you want to check, and choose Properties. (Alternatively, you can open Properties by Alt-double-clicking a drive icon or by selecting it and pressing Alt-Enter.) Click the Tools tab, and under 'Error-checking', click Check Now. For many drives, that button is misnamed, if you choose to fix file system errors; when you tell the utility to begin, instead of "checking now" it will ask to schedule the scan at the next restart.

In the Check Disk dialog box, select your options and click Start. If you leave both check boxes empty, the scan will begin immediately, as it will only be checking the disk and not fixing any errors it finds. If you mark one of the check boxes, the program may say that you need to restart your PC before the process can begin. If that's okay, click Yes. If it isn't, try the shortcut approach described below. To schedule several disks for error-checking the next time you reboot, repeat the steps above for each drive.

The shortcut approach: If you prefer not to open Properties for every drive that needs checking--and then futz with various tabs, buttons, and prompts--you can launch the error-checking process from a shortcut icon, complete with the settings you use most often. You may have to answer prompts in some cases, but this technique entails a lot less clicking.

To create a batch file that launches the Chkdsk program, click Start, Programs (All Programs in XP), Accessories, Notepad, and type chkdsk followed by a space, the letter of the drive you want to check, and a colon (for example, chkdsk d:).

Add to this line the appropriate switches for the options you want, separated by spaces. Among the most useful switches is /f, which has the same effect as the Automatically fix file system errors option in the Check Disk dialog box described earlier. If the drive you're checking is already in use, you can add the /x switch to allow Windows to lock the drive for its exclusive use while it performs the error check (a feature you get only by employing this technique). You won't be able to save files to that drive until the error check is complete, at which time everything returns to normal. Unfortunately, even with the /x switch, you can't run Chkdsk on a Windows drive. Windows will ask if you want to schedule the procedure for the next reboot, just as in the previous method. Take it (enter y) or leave it (enter n).

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