29
6
/F Fixes errors on the disk.
/R Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information (implies /F).
(from dir /?)
It just sounds like the same thing to me. I never know which one to use - is there even a difference? Or is it maybe for backwards compatibility with previous versions of Windows where there was a difference?
Kez
Posted 2011-07-27T18:29:11.257
Reputation: 15 359
42
chkdsk /r does the same thing as chkdsk /f only it also checks for bad sectors on the disk and recovers any readable information. Running chkdsk /r implies that also chkdsk /f is run.
chkdsk /f only checks for disk errors, not bad sectors.
Microsoft has a detailed page for chkdsk. The following is a snippet explaining /f and /r parameters.
Fixing disk errors:
Chkdsk corrects disk errors only if you specify the /f command-line option. Chkdsk must be able to lock the drive to correct errors. Because repairs usually change a disk's file allocation table and sometimes cause a loss of data, chkdsk sends a confirmation message.
Finding physical disk errors:
Use the /r command-line option to find physical disk errors in the file system.
Mehper C. Palavuzlar
Posted 2011-07-27T18:29:11.257
Reputation: 51 093
5Do not run a chkdsk /r unless you think your drive has physically bad sectors (e.g. Event Viewer > System... tells you). Checking a 1 terabyte hard drive could take a day depending on your drive performance. – Sun – 2016-11-08T23:57:40.070
1I have to be honest, I really didn't know that. So /r does a "physical" check on top of what's normally checked by /f. Clear as day now, thanks. – Kez – 2011-07-28T07:17:40.200
@kez: Exactly. You're welcome. – Mehper C. Palavuzlar – 2011-07-28T07:20:27.077
7Using "/F" only takes minutes and using "/R" takes hours ;) – Robert – 2011-07-29T11:28:54.817