CheckDrive for Windows

Used CheckDrive for Windows?

Editors’ Review

Download.com staffOctober 3, 2025

It's an odd choice for a publisher to give up interface space to advertise other company's products, but it might be worthwhile if this freeware app to check and repair hard-drive errors offered more than Windows' built-in tool: Chkdsk.

CheckDrive's sleek, graphic-laden interface is more advertising than information. Two large panes offer ads for other companies' products. The remainder of the interface displays a graphic rendition of the hard drive that looks much like the old video game Breakout. Gold bricks turn green as the program checks the drive. The three-stage check resembles the process used by the Windows command Chkdsk, and we didn't find it any faster or more informative. In fact, the Windows command actually presents more information as it checks the drive. The app doesn't list problems or even the number of errors found. It simply flashes a message that errors were found and asks users to press a button to start repair.

Oddly, testers reported that the repair process often failed with the message that CheckDisk could not lock the drive. It was easy enough to click to repair the drive at next boot, but, again, that's no improvement over Chkdsk.

The other downside is that CheckDrive used considerably more overhead to run than similar drive-repair tools or even Chkdsk. Novices might appreciate this simple tool, but advanced users will almost certainly want to stick with the command-line program Chkdsk.

CheckDrive for Windows

Used CheckDrive for Windows?

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: April 5, 2016

Latest update: October 3, 2025

Version: 2023.5

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Windows

Operating System

Windows 8
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 7

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 35,818

Downloads Last Week: 16

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Program available in other languages

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Last Updated

User Reviews

3/5

6 User Votes

does what it says it will do.
TadlemAugust 22, 2011
Pros
it isn't supposed to defrag. it DOES give a list of errors at the bottom (scroll) & they seem accurate. no, it doesn't lock the disk, but why should it? it DOES repair as it says. maybe the other reviewers doen't understand the use of this program?
Cons
none. but i haven't compared it to Windows chkdsk.
Summary
it took about several minutes (no where close to thirty!) to do a scan on my computer and found three errors. it deleted a ton of .jpg's that i didn't need and cleaned my disk well. yes, it shows 'stacked gold bars', but this is simply this utility's 'progress bar'. i'm not sure why this was even mentioned in the review. at the bottom, all of the information about the disk, including free space, etc., is listed. overall, i think a decent program esp. for a new user.
Does What it says it is going to
xfire0384February 14, 2011
Pros
Recovered the drive I was loosing. Rebuilt the needed tables on the HD so I could access the data and pull the data off
Cons
Ads are scar-ware-esx. You have to signup with an email address and name to get the "unlock" key.
Summary
I wasn't looking for much when I downloaded it, especially from something free (I was looking to have to spend upwards of $80 to save this drive). Installed and signed up with a spam account (to get the unlock key) and let it run. It took about an hour to do the full scan of a 200GB drive. It prompted to fix errors on next reboot, and it did just that. It was able to recover the needed tables on the HD so I could access the data again.
Works at but misleading advertising
pyro226July 21, 2010
Pros
Simple tool for running a checkdisk, but defraggler also has this function and may find more disks (defraggler found and repaired disks that XP couldn't)
Cons
The ads in this product is definitely fake. It uses meters to "show" how fragmented the disk is or how many junk files are on the disk. After running a defrag program and ccleaner, the both "meters" were still in the bad red zone.
Summary
Worked fine for me
A904LEAApril 4, 2009
Pros
Unlock code arrived instantly. Fixed problem with hard disk drive when I couldn't get Windows error checking to run.
Cons
Adverts for other products suggest there are other problems that need their commercial software to fix. I know that this problems don't exist.
Summary
Does what it says on the tin. And it's free!
Not necessary.
Zane77December 29, 2008
Pros
You can check your own disk for errors. Click start click my computer right click on C or D drive click properties click tools and click check now this will check the hard drive you choose for errors.
Cons
Check Drive is a waste of disk space and a memory hog.
Summary
Need code to run it but cant get it
stick joeJune 7, 2008
Pros
Nothing.
Cons
Couldn't run this program. It says it will email you a free unlock code which you need to run the program but I tried 6 times using e different email acocunts and never got my unlock code, & there's no spport offered so I reached a dead end. Awww, I need a check disk program too, rats.
Summary

Developer’s Description

Check your hard disks for errors and correct them.

CheckDrive offers you an easy way to check your hard drives for errors. CheckDrive may detect and fix hard drive errors that might appear on system crashes or when switching off your PC without a proper Windows shutdown. If you ever had a system crash then CheckDrive is for you. CheckDrive offers you an easy way of checking your PCs hard drives for errors. Those errors can be fixed immediately if you like. CheckDrive shows info about your drives and determines if your hard drive needs to be cleaned or defragmented. Offers a user-friendly GUI.