Skip to main content

How Autocheck & PerfectDisk Work Together

Posted October 2004 by Steve Sinchak

Autocheck always runs at boot.  Only if it detects that the dirty bit has been set on a partition (indicating an abnormal shutdown of the system OR that the file system has detected an inconsistency during normal operation and automatically scheduled chkdsk to run) will it actually run CHKDSK on the indicated partitions. Chkdsk as run by Autocheck does not do as comprehensive a repair as chkdsk /r.

PerfectDisk is first in the bootexecute list.  When the system boots, here's what happens:

  • PD's boot time defrag code runs.
  • It looks to see if it is even supposed to run.  If not, it exits.
  • It checks to see if the dirty bit has been set - if so, it exits to let CHKDSK run.
  • If volume is "clean", then PD performs it's own consistency check of the file system to make sure that things are "ok" (as CHKDSK doesn't always fix errors with the file system).  If this check passes, then PD's boot time defrag actually runs.  If not, then it exits.

Related Posts


If you own a Google Chromecast streaming device, you can easily share a browser tab in Chrome browser or even your entire desktop.  This can be very useful when presenting from your laptop or if you just want to watch something on a big screen that is only on your PC.  The only requirement is you must be on the same network as your Chromecast...

Read More

If you are a fan of minimalist desktop experiences, hiding the desktop icons are an easy way to clean up the Windows interface.  Instead of saving everything to your desktop, use the default profile folders such as downloads and documents.  Actually hiding all the icons on your desktop is a very simple customization hidden in the right-click context menu.  Just right-click on the desktop, select View...

Read More

Google security researchers have published details about a major security flaw found in the SSL protocol that is used to encrypt data transferred between your browser and a web server. SSL is typically used in situations where logon credentials are validated...

Read More

Enabling two-factor authentication is a great way to add an additional level of protection to your Microsoft account.  Even if your password is stolen, your account is still protected because two-factor authetication requires an additional level of verification to log in. Microsoft calls their version of two-factor authentication "two-step verification" and it works by providing you with a random code...

Read More