Every time I start my Windows 11 PC, it displays "Scanning and Repairing Drive C." I'm also having issues such as the taskbar search box never finishing its loading process. Command Prompt reports that the C: drive is dirty, so I'm considering running CHKDSK from the Windows Recovery Environment. Should I back up my files before attempting the repair? CrystalDiskInfo reports that my SATA SSD is in "Good" condition with 80% health.
2 Answers
CHKDSK is supposed to clear the dirty flag after it completes successfully. If the scan runs on every boot, it may be failing, finding new filesystem errors, or the drive may have an underlying connection or hardware problem. The “Good” rating in CrystalDiskInfo does not guarantee that Windows has no filesystem problems. Back up first, then run the repair and check whether Windows reports any errors afterward.
Yes—back up your important files before running CHKDSK or making other repair changes. A dirty flag means Windows detected a filesystem issue, and although CHKDSK often fixes it successfully, you should not treat the drive as fully reliable until your data is safe. Copy important files to another physical drive or cloud storage and verify that the backup opens correctly.
Would copying everything to a separate drive before running the repair be the safest approach?
I haven’t run CHKDSK yet, so backing up first makes sense before letting it modify the filesystem.