fsutil

The fsutil command-line utility is used in Windows to perform file system tasks such as querying the dirty bit on drives. In the WindowsForum.com discussions, users run fsutil dirty query to check if a volume is marked as dirty, often when troubleshooting boot-time disk checks or corruption issues. One thread describes using fsutil to verify HMAC authentication on CLFS log files after Microsoft's hardening update, where administrative re-authentication is required. Another user reports that fsutil dirty query returns both C: and D: drives as dirty after an improper shutdown, leading to cyclic redundancy check errors. A third user encounters an access denied error when running the command despite being an administrator, indicating permission or UAC issues. These examples show fsutil as a diagnostic tool for file system integrity and log file security.