Windows 10: How to Run System Scan and Keep Your PC Healthy

Is your Windows 10 computer acting sluggish, displaying strange errors, or potentially infected with malware? Regular system and disk scans are vital maintenance steps that can help diagnose and fix many common PC problems before they lead to more serious issues like data loss or system crashes. Knowing Windows 10 how to run system scan is a fundamental skill for any PC user looking to maintain a healthy and efficient computer.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the essential methods built into Windows 10 for scanning system files and your hard disk for errors, including using powerful Windows system scan command-line tools and graphical interfaces. We'll also introduce a versatile third-party solution that offers advanced scan disk on Windows 10 and testing capabilities.

Why Do You Need to Run System Scan & Disk Scan?

Performing regular system and disk scans is crucial for the longevity and performance of your Windows 10 computer. These scans act as preventative maintenance and diagnostic tools, helping you identify potential problems early.

System files, which are the core components of the Windows operating system, can become corrupted due to improper shutdowns, software installations, updates, or even malware. Corrupted system files can lead to instability, errors, and application malfunctions, preventing Windows from starting.

Running a Windows scan targeting system files helps verify their integrity and replace damaged disks. Similarly, your hard disk or SSD, where all your data and the operating system are stored, can develop errors. These could be logical file system errors, where the structure for storing and accessing files is damaged, or physical bad sectors on the drive's surface. Disk errors can cause file corruption, slow access times, program crashes, and data loss.

Therefore, knowing the scan disk on Windows 10 procedures is equally important to ensure the health and reliability of your storage drives.

Understanding Different Types of Windows Scans

Windows 10 how to run system scan, it's helpful to realize that there are different types of scans targeting different aspects of your system:

• System File Integrity Scan: Tools like SFC (System File Checker) focus on verifying and repairing the core Windows system files. They check if these protected files have been modified, corrupted, or deleted and attempt to restore them to their original state. This is often done using a Windows system scan command.
• Disk Error Scan (File System & Bad Sectors): Tools like CHKDSK (Check Disk) examine the file system on your hard drive or SSD for logical errors and can also scan the physical surface for bad sectors. Repairing file system errors can fix issues with accessing files and improve stability.
• Malware Scan: Antivirus software like Windows Defender scans your system files, programs, and documents for malicious software. This type of Windows scan focuses on security threats rather than file integrity or disk health.

Utilizing a combination of these Windows scan types provides a more comprehensive approach to maintaining a healthy Windows 10 system.

Windows 10: How to Run System Scan & Disk Scan Using Built-in Tools

Windows 10 provides several powerful built-in utilities to help you perform system and disk scans. These tools are accessible via the Command Prompt, PowerShell, or graphical interfaces, offering different levels of checks. Mastering Windows 10 and how to run system scans begins with understanding these native options.

Let's look at the most common and effective built-in methods for running a Windows scan.

Way 1. Scanning System Files with SFC

The System File Checker is a Windows system scan command-line utility that scans for and replaces corrupted or missing Windows system files. If your system is experiencing instability or strange errors that seem related to core Windows functions, SFC is the first tool you should try.

Here's how to run an SFC Windows scan using the command prompt:

Step 1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator: Click the Start button, type "cmd", right-click on "Command Prompt" in the search results, and select "Run as administrator". You might need to confirm the User Account Control prompt.

Step 2. Enter the SFC Command: In the administrator Command Prompt window, type the following Windows system scan command and press Enter:

sfc /scannow

Step 3. Wait for the Scan to Complete: The SFC utility will now scan all protected system files and replace corrupted files with cached copies. This process can take some time, usually between 10 to 30 minutes depending on your system speed and the number of files checked. Do not close the Command Prompt window until the verification is 100% complete.

Step 4. Review Results: Once the scan is finished, you will see one of the following messages:

• "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations." - Your system files are healthy.
• "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them." - SFC found and fixed issues.
• "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them." - Issues were found, but SFC couldn't fix everything. You might need to use DISM or other methods.
• "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation." - There might be an issue preventing SFC from running.

Restart your computer after the scan, especially if errors were found and repaired.

Way 2. Checking and Repairing Disk Errors with CHKDSK

CHKDSK (Check Disk) is a utility that can scan disk on Windows 10 for logical file system errors and bad sectors. It's essential for maintaining the health of your hard drives and SSDs. You can run CHKDSK from the Command Prompt or through a graphical interface in File Explorer. Using the Windows system scan command allows for more control over the scan parameters.

Here's how to run CHKDSK using the Command Prompt:

Step 1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator: Follow the steps above to open an administrator Command Prompt.

Step 2. Enter the CHKDSK Command: The basic command is chkdsk [drive_letter]:.

To check and automatically fix file system errors, use the /f parameter. To scan for bad sectors and recover readable information, use the /r parameter (which also includes /f). The /r parameter takes much longer but is more thorough.

For example, to scan disk on Windows 10 for your C: drive and fix errors:

chkdsk C: /f

To scan for bad sectors and fix errors on C: 

chkdsk C: /r 

Step 3. Handle Locked Drive: If you are scanning the drive where Windows is installed (usually C:), you will likely receive a message stating that CHKDSK cannot run because the volume is in use. It will ask if you want to schedule the scan for the next time the system restarts. Type Y and press Enter to schedule it.

Step 4. If you scheduled the scan, restart your computer. CHKDSK will run before Windows loads, which can take a significant amount of time depending on the size and speed of the drive and the parameters used (especially /r). Do not interrupt the scan.

Once the scan is complete, your computer will boot into Windows. You can find the CHKDSK results in the Windows Event Viewer (under Windows Logs > Application, look for Wininit or Chkdsk entries).

Way 3. Scanning for Malware with Windows Defender

While not a system file repair tool or a disk health tool, running a malware Windows scan is a critical part of maintaining a healthy system. Windows Defender (now integrated into Windows Security) is the built-in antivirus solution in Windows 10.

Step 1. Click the Start button and type "Windows Security", then click on the app in the search results.

Step 2. Click on "Virus & threat protection".

Step 3. Click "Quick scan" for a fast check of common locations.

Click "Scan options" for more choices:

• Full scan: Performs a thorough Windows scan of all files and running programs (takes a long time).
• Custom scan: Allows you to select specific files or folders to scan.
• Microsoft Defender Offline scan: Restarts your PC and runs a scan from a trusted minimal environment, useful for persistent malware.

Windows Defender will show you the results after the scan is complete and quarantine or remove any threats found.

Powerful Disk Scan & Test Tool: AOMEI Partition Assistant

While often recognized for its comprehensive disk and partition management features, AOMEI Partition Assistant also serves as an excellent Disk scan tool and test tool for Windows 10. It provides advanced functionalities that complement or go beyond the built-in Windows utilities, allowing for deeper diagnostics and more precise control over disk health checks and testing.

AOMEI Partition Assistant empowers users to perform thorough scan disk on Windows 10 tasks, including detailed checks for file system errors and physical bad sectors, as well as performance evaluations. Its graphical interface makes complex operations accessible, and crucially, it can be used from its bootable media environment, allowing you to scan and test disks even when Windows won't boot.

1. Check Partition for errors in Windows 10/11

Step 1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant on your Windows 10/11. Right-click the drive you want to check and go to Advanced > Check Partition. In the pop-out window, you have three options available, check the error only, check and fix the error, and find bad sectors. Choose the one that suits you.

Step 2. It will pop up a small window where you can select the way of checking errors to perform. Choose one according to your needs and click OK. It will proceed immediately.

To check a disk, you can click the target disk and select Test > Disk Surface Test.

2. Evaluate Performance with Disk Speed Test

Sometimes, performance issues aren't due to errors but simply a drive that isn't performing optimally, or you might want to verify the speed of a new drive. AOMEI Partition Assistant includes a "Disk Speed Test" function that allows you to benchmark the read and write speeds of your hard drives or SSDs. This scan helps you understand your disk's performance capabilities.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. Click the "Test" main tab and select the "Disk Speed Test" tool.

Step 2. All partitions will be listed here and you can choose the one you want to test and click "Start" to start the process.

Step 3. After the speed test is complete, you can export the results.

• Copy to clipboard:  Copy the test results to the clipboard.
• Export to text: Export the test results as a txt file.
• Export to screenshot: Export the test results as a PNG image.

Step 4.  If you need a more comprehensive test, please click the "Pro Mode" button to check more info.

In the Pro Mode detail interface, more information will be displayed and you can click "Simple Mode" to return to the Simple Mode interface.

3. Finding Lost Data via Recovery

While AOMEI Partition Assistant is primarily a partition manager, it includes a "Partition Recovery Wizard" which can be crucial when you've accidentally deleted a partition containing important data. While this isn't a scan disk on Windows 10 for individual files, recovering the lost partition makes the data on it accessible again, effectively helping with data loss scenarios caused by partition deletion. In the Main Tab, please click "Recover"> "Recover Data". And you can start to scan to retrieve lost files.

Ending

Maintaining a healthy and smoothly running Windows 10 system requires proactive steps, and knowing Windows 10 how to run system scan and disk checks is fundamental. We've explored how to use built-in Windows tools like SFC for system file integrity,

For situations requiring more advanced diagnostics or when native tools are insufficient, a robust utility like AOMEI Partition Assistant serves as an excellent Disk scan tool and test tool. Its ability to perform detailed partition checks, surface tests, disk speed evaluations, and even aid in recovering lost partitions provides powerful capabilities.