| To schedule a Windows XP chkdsk task with task scheduler
you need a Windows administrator account with a non-blank password.
- In Explorer (Right-click on Start, and select Explore), navigate to
c:\Program Files
- If you see a message that this is a folder with hidden files, just click
the link to show the files
- Right-click an empty area in the right part of the Explorer window and
select new -> text document
- Windows creates a file named New Text Document.txt
- Rename the file to "Restart and perform chkdsk.bat" (without the quotes)
- Windows warns about changing the filename extension : click yes
- Right-click your newly created file and select "edit"
- Windows opens the new blank file in your default text editor : type the
following lines and make sure not to press the enter key after the last
line
- Save the file and close your text editor
- Close all other programs except the Eplorer window where the newly created
file is listed
- Double-click the new file and see what happens (don't touch anything from
this point on until your computer is ready with chkdsk, and then you can press
any key to abort running chkdsk or wait until it finishes)
Now that you know that your batch file is working it's time to automatically
schedule it.
- Click Start -> Control Panel -> Scheduled Tasks -> Add Scheduled
Task
- Navigate to Program Files and Double-click, then select the Restart and
perform chkdsk.bat file that you created in the previous step and click
"open"
- Choose the frequency for this task (monthly would be a good
choice)
- Click Next and enter the day and time to perform the task
Note: Since Windows Update on my machine(s)
is(are) scheduled for 3AM, I tried to avoid scheduling anything that would
conflict with these sometimes critical updates. And, since I get up at 5AM, I
adjusted the start time for these scheduled events so I wouldn't have to wait
for them to finish. That is, after all, the whole point of scheduling these
things. ;-)
- Click Next and Enter the (administrator) password twice. Be careful to
enter the password correctly because Windows doesn't verify it here.
- Click next and select open advanced properties for this task and then
click finish
You can then verify the task is setup correctly and
when you are done click OK 
Your fully automatic Windows XP chkdsk task is now ready!
You are here: Home-PC Help-PC Maintenance Lab-Schedule ChkDsk
Next Topic: Schedule DiskCleanup
| 
New PC? @Home setup! · 
PC Help · 
PC Maintenance Lab · 
