scandisk & charmap

[John]

Seems like scandisk & charmap have beemn removed from XP. Any ideas on how
to run scandisk or a similar disk repair utility from the command prompt, or
how to run charmap at all (or more specifically how to copy & paste special
characters like the copyright symbol)?

Thanks

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Seems like scandisk & charmap have beemn removed from XP. Any ideas on how
to run scandisk or a similar disk repair utility from the command prompt,

WinXP has never had a program called "Scandisk," as this was a
Win9x/Me program. Instead, because WinXP is descended from the
WinNT/2K OS family, it has a command line utility called "Chkdsk,"
which performs much better.

Start > Run > Cmd > Chkdsk.exe /? for the correct syntax and
available options.

Alternatively, double-click My Computer > right-click the desired
hard drive > Properties > Tools > Error-checking/Check Now. This will
run Chkdsk, normally on the next reboot. However, unless you are
actually experiencing a specific problem related to your hard drive's
file system, there's no real need to run Chkdsk. The utility is not
designed to be used as part of any period maintenance plan. If a file
system or hard drive error is detected during the boot process, Chkdsk
will also launch automatically.

.... or
how to run charmap at all (or more specifically how to copy & paste special
characters like the copyright symbol)?

The Character Map is still there, under Start > All Programs >
Accessories. Or Start > Run > Charmap.exe.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Seems like scandisk & charmap have beemn removed from XP.

sorry, that's *not* correct.

Any ideas on how
to run scandisk or a similar disk repair utility from the command prompt, or
how to run charmap at all (or more specifically how to copy & paste special
characters like the copyright symbol)?

Scandisk has never been in Windows XP. However, the XP version of the
program is called chkdsk.

Charmap is still there, but it's not the best way to do what you want.
I use and recommend a little freeware background program called
AllChars. This lets me (in all applications) type many common special
characters (many of these are used in other languages) by pressing the
ctrl key followed by a two character mnemonic combination.

For example, for ñ the two characters are ~ and n. For ç it's c and ,
For ü it's u and ". For © it's c and o.

Go to http://allchars.zwolnet.com/

 

[John]

Thanks Bruce. Chkdsk.exe works for me (I forgot it was changed to chkdsk w/
XP). I was asking because a friend can't get it to run from within Windows.

charmap.exe still doesn't work for me from the command prompt and is not in
the Accessories menu. It used to be.

 

[John]

Thanks Ken. Chkdsk works for me but charmap is gone.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thanks Bruce. Chkdsk.exe works for me (I forgot it was changed to chkdsk w/
XP). I was asking because a friend can't get it to run from within Windows.

charmap.exe still doesn't work for me from the command prompt and is not in
the Accessories menu. It used to be.

Then someone uninstalled it. Reinstall it from the Control Panel's
Add/Remove Programs applet.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[John]

Thanks Bruce. Charmap had been taken off somehow.

 

[Bill in Co.]

It's in the i386 and system32 directories.

Thanks Ken. Chkdsk works for me but charmap is gone.

 

[Richard]

Seems like scandisk & charmap have been removed from XP. Any ideas on how
to run scandisk or a similar disk repair utility from the command prompt,
or how to run charmap at all (or more specifically how to copy & paste
special characters like the copyright symbol)?

Thanks

Hi John,

In a previous version of Windows, the Character Map was in the Accessories
area of the Start Menu, but in my current XP-pro setup, it was in the System
Tools sub-folder of the Accessories folder. (What it has to do with the
"system" is a mystery past finding out.

As for scandisk, you are aware it is called "chkdsk" now, and can still be
accessed by double-clicking My Computer on your desktop, and then
right-click whichever drive you want to check, and click Properties, and
click the Tools tab, and under Error-checking, click Check Now.
(Then twiddle your thumbs umpteen jillion times until it completes

The Error-checking right-click "What's This" says:
"Click to open the Check Disk tool, which scans the selected drive for
damage. The disk is not available for use when it is being scanned.
The disk-checking process can take a long time for a drive that contains an
extremely large number of files."

So, it is best to not start chkdsk when a storm is approaching and power
loss is possible, or late afternoon in the summer when a lot of people
arrive home from work and all boost their air conditioners to maximum,
producing power brown outs.

You're welcome. --Richard