Quincy Center for Technical Education
Computer Technology Department

Chkntfs

Displays or specifies whether automatic system checking is scheduled to be run on a FAT, FAT32, or NTFS volume when the computer is started.

You must be a member of the local Administrators group to use the chkntfs command.

chkntfs [/t[:time]] [/x] [/c] volume: [...]

chkntfs /d

 

Parameters

volume:

Displays a message identifying the file system of the specified volume and, if automatic file checking is scheduled to be run, displays a message indicating whether the volume has been corrupted, requiring chkdsk to be run.

/d

Restores all chkntfs default settings, except the countdown time for automatic file checking. Default behavior is to check all volumes when the computer is started.

/t

Displays or changes the countdown time for automatic file checking. For example:

chkntfs /t Displays the countdown time for automatic file checking.

chkntfs /t:30 Changes the countdown time to 30 seconds.

Though you can set countdown time to zero, doing so prevents the user from cancelling a potentially time-consuming automatic file check.

/x

Excludes the specified volume from being checked when the computer starts, even if the volume is marked as requiring chkdsk to be run.

This command is not accumulative. If you enter it more than once, it overrides the previous entry. To exclude multiple volumes, list them all in one command. For example:

chkntfs /x e: f: excludes both the e and f volumes.

chkntfs /x e:, followed by chkntfs /x f:, will exclude only the f volume from being checked.

/c

Schedules the specified volume to be checked when the computer starts.

This command is accumulative. If you want only the specified volume to be checked, first reset the defaults to clear any previous commands, then, exclude all volumes from being checked, and finally, schedule automatic file-checking on the desired volume.

For example, to schedule automatic file checking on the d volume only, enter the following:

chkntfs /d (This restores the default settings.)

chkntfs /x c: d: e: (This excludes the c, d, and e volumes from being checked.)

chkntfs /c d: (This schedules automatic file checking on the d volume.)