So you've been downloading long and hard Windows image, and now you want to make sure that not a byte was lost along the way. Or the distribution package was brought to you by the good fairy, and you want to check if it is connected with pirates. To determine the integrity of the distribution, you will need two things - a checksum and a program to check it.
Windows image checksums
Upd. 2017. Microsoft has moved downloads from MSDN to a new site, https://my.visualstudio.com/downloads, where a subscription is required to access the images. Therefore, without subscribing using the method below, it is no longer possible to find out the checksum.
Microsoft publishes their product checksums on MSDN, specifying SHA1 as the hash type. Search for the language version and edition of your Windows and click Intelligence to see the checksum below.
That's half the battle.
Checksum verification using the built-in certutil utility
If you do not specify the parameter -sha1, the utility will calculate the MD5 hash.
As you can see, everything is very simple! You can use this method to verify the MD5 or SHA1 checksums of any files.
Checksum verification using HashTab program
If the command line scares you, there is an easier way to check the checksum.
- Download and install the HashTab program.
- Click right click mouse on the image file and select "Properties".
- Go to the "File Hashes" tab.
In our digital age, even one measly byte can cost a lot. If the ISO image file is missing even a byte, then the benefit of such a file will be doubtful. At one point, when you want to install a new operating system for yourself, the process will be interrupted at a certain stage of the installation, due to the fact that the image turned out to be broken. Therefore any ISO file should be scanned for integrity before burning it into a blank. Thus, you save your precious time and warn yourself against ridiculous incidents that arose in the process of using discs on which this or that ISO image was recorded. And one more important point, the ISO image may be broken due to a reason beyond your control - for example, the file itself was uploaded by the author already broken. And also due to the instability of your Internet connection, which ultimately led to the loss of data when downloading a file to your computer.
To scan the checksum of an ISO image, you should sequentially run next steps. There is no point in describing it in detail, since the program is quite simple and does not require deep knowledge or a serious description. However, let's take it step by step:
- We are looking for the HashTab program on the World Wide Web (or a similar program designed to check checksums (or hash sums) ISO images), download it to your computer and install it. You can download the program, for example, from here http://www.softportal.com/get-19546-hashtab.html, or from the official website. The installation process is quite simple and does not require description;
- Next, right-click on the ISO image file and select “Properties” from the pop-up context menu, where the new tab created by the HashTab program will be located;
- Go to the “File hash sums” tab, the hash sum of the downloaded file will be indicated there. This sum is a checksum for the file that you downloaded and even if it is not complete, it will still have a checksum;
- We copy the hash sum from the description of the ISO file (usually, the checksum of the ISO image is indicated in the topic from which you download the file, and the checksum must also be present on the reverse side of the disk if the image is copied from the disk and if the disk is licensed), paste it in the “Hash comparison” field and click the “Compare file...” button.
Ready! This way we will know if the checksums match and make sure the ISO image is ready for burning. If the checksums differ, then you need to download the ISO file again and check its integrity again. If it turns out that the ISO image downloaded again is still broken, then it’s better for you to look on the Internet for another image, preferably from a different author.
The most interesting thing is that the HashTab program is available both for operating system users Windows systems, and for connoisseurs of MacOs. Therefore, HashTab is a universal tool for checking ISO image checksums. And even if you have several computers with different operating systems installed, you will be much more accustomed to using one software rather than looking for separate programs designed for different operating systems. There are quite a few similar solutions on the Internet, which allows you to choose among an abundance of almost identical programs, differing from each other only in the interface. However, all of these programs are quite simple and not very broad in terms of their functionality, so no matter what you choose, it will all be about the same. Good luck to you and the integrity of the information!
Hello, friends! As the practice of many users shows, when getting to know a computer in more detail, the question of interest is: what is check sum? And how to calculate it? In this article we will tell you what it is and why. We will also provide several ways to check the checksum or hash of files.
Checksum (hash) - specific value calculated for data using known algorithms. Designed to check the integrity of data during transmission. The most common algorithms are: CRC32, MD5 and SHA-1.
CRC32 - (Cyclic redundancy code) Cyclic redundancy code. used in archiving programs.
MD5 is used not only to check data integrity, but also allows you to obtain a fairly reliable file identifier. The latter is often used when searching for identical files on a computer, so as not to compare all the contents, but to compare only the hash.
SHA-1 - used to check the integrity of downloaded data by the BitTorrent program.
We've sorted out the HashTab program. It’s easier just not to compare checksums)
Conclusion
In this article we figured out what it is check sum, what it is used for. In our case, this is a simple option for checking files for integrity and identity to the original.
We got acquainted with the HashTab and MD5 programs File Checker.
HashTab can compare various checksums, unlike MD5 File Checker. But the latter does not require installation, which is especially important if you do not have administrative rights.
If you have any questions, be sure to write a comment.
Video - Checksum
In some situations, it may be necessary to calculate the MD5 hash for a file that you have downloaded to your computer. For example, to be sure that you downloaded exactly the file you wanted and the attacker did not modify it. In this article we will look at 2 different ways do this: through the extension for Explorer, and also through command line.
There is a great program for Windows Explorer called Hashtab that is free for non-commercial use. You can download it from . Select the free version and click on the "Download" button.
After installing the program, in context menu Explorer, a new tab “File hashes” will appear, by selecting which, the program will automatically calculate hashes for the selected file depending on which algorithms are selected in its settings. 
Command line option (with program installation)
If we need to calculate the hash amount of a file via the command line, we can use a utility from Microsoft, which is suitable just for such cases. Download it from and install it. To do this, you will need to create a folder on your hard drive and specify it during the installation process. In our example, the program was installed in the C:\Program Files (x86)\FCIV folder. In order to calculate the MD5 hash of a file, we need to launch the command line and type the following command in it:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\FCIV\fciv.exe" -md5 C:\Users\Admin\Downloads\HashTab_v6.0.0.34_Setup.exe
As you can see, the MD5 hash sum is the same for both the first and second options.
"C:\Program Files (x86)\FCIV\fciv.exe" is the path to the fciv.exe file
-md5 - specifying the algorithm by which fciv.exe will calculate the hash sum
C:\Users\Admin\Downloads\HashTab_v6.0.0.34_Setup.exe - path to the file for which we calculate the hash sum.
Command line option (without installing programs)
In the event that you do not want to install any programs, you can get by with the built-in ones. using Windows, for this you can use the CertUtil utility.
To check the MD5 hash, just enter the following command:
Certutil -hashfile C:\Users\Admin\Downloads\HashTab_v6.0.0.34_Setup.exe MD5
C:\Users\Admin\Downloads\HashTab_v6.0.0.34_Setup.exe- this is the path to the file whose hash we want to calculate.
As you can see in the screenshot, the hash of our file is 62130c3964... is completely identical to the one we obtained using the first and second methods.
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How to find out the hash of a file in Windows will help you with a small free program called HashTab, which is designed to check the hash, the so-called checksum of a file.
The program is an extension for Windows Explorer. HashTab will allow you to determine the checksum (hash or hash) of a file to verify the authenticity and integrity of the file being checked.
Quite often, users come across files in which the original files have been replaced with false copies. Such copies may contain malware.
In order to provide the user with the opportunity to verify the authenticity of a file, image or program, manufacturers provide its hash sums next to the links to download the file.
You've probably come across when downloading files from the Internet that after the characteristics and system requirements, there is often an item with file checksums that look something like this.
A hash is a specific code corresponding to a given unit of information, a unique mathematically calculated image of a specific file. With the slightest change to a file, the hash sum of this file immediately changes. This check ensures that a specific file is protected from modification.
Checksums must be checked if you are downloading files not from the official developer website or other important files, such as an image operating system. By comparing the checksums of an image or file, you can immediately find out whether this file has been modified or not.
If there is a checksum error, the checksum does not match the required one, this means that the file has been modified (perhaps a virus was introduced into it, or some other action was performed).
To check the checksum (hash) you can use free program HashTab.
HashTab download
How to use HashTab
When installed, HashTab is integrated into the Explorer properties window. After installing the HashTab program on your computer, you can check the hash sums of files. To do this, right-click on any file.
Select "Properties" from the context menu. After opening the window, in the Properties window you will see new tab"File hash sums."
When you click on the “File Hash Sums” tab, a window appears with the checksum values of this file.
To scan files, it will be enough to select the main scanning algorithms: CRC32, MD5, SHA-1. After selecting the verification algorithms, click on the “OK” button.
To compare the hash sums of files, you will need to drag the file into the “Hash comparison” field. If the hash values of the files match, a green flag will appear.
You can also check the hash in another way. To do this, click on the “Compare file…” button, and then select the file to compare in the Explorer window.
After that, click on the “Open” button, and then in the window that opens, you will see the result of comparing the checksum of the file.
By right-clicking on the corresponding checksum, you can copy this sum or all checksums, and also go to the program settings if you select the corresponding item in the context menu.
You can also simultaneously check two files one by one and compare the result in two windows. This image shows that the checksums of the two files are the same.
Conclusions of the article
The HashTab program is designed to check the checksums (hash) of a file. Using the free HashTab program, you will always know whether changes have been made to the file or not.
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