Download and "Install" File Checksum Integrity Verifier, often simply referred t

o as FCIV. This program is freely available from Microsoft and works on all comm
only used versions of Windows.
FCIV is a command-line tool but don't let that scare you away. It's very easy to
use, especially with the tutorial below.
Tip: Obviously if you've followed the tutorial above in the past then you can sk
ip this step. The remainder of these steps assumes that you've downloaded FCIV a
nd placed it in the appropriate folder as described in the link above.
Navigate to the folder that contains the file that you want to create the checks
um value for.
Once there, hold down your Shift key while right-clicking on any empty space in
the folder. In the resulting menu, select the Open command window here option.
Command Prompt will open and the prompt will be preset to this folder.
For example, on my computer, the file I wanted to create the checksum for was in
my Downloads folder, so the prompt in my Command Prompt window reads C:\Users\T
im\Downloads> after following this step from my Downloads folder.
Next we need to make sure we know the exact file name of the file you want FCIV
to generate the checksum for. You may already know it but you should double-chec
k to be sure.
The easiest way to do this is to execute the dir command and then write down the
full file name. Type the following in Command Prompt:
dir
which should generate a list of files in that folder:
C:\Users\Tim\Downloads>dir
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is D4E8-E115
Directory of C:\Users\Tim\Downloads
11/11/2011 02:32 PM <DIR> .
11/11/2011 02:32 PM <DIR> ..
04/15/2011 05:50 AM 15,287,296 LogMeIn.msi
07/31/2011 12:50 PM 397,312 ProductKeyFinder.exe
08/29/2011 08:15 AM 595,672 R141246.EXE
09/23/2011 08:47 AM 6,759,840 setup.exe
09/14/2011 06:32 AM 91,779,376 VirtualBox-4.1.2-73507-Win.exe
5 File(s) 114,819,496 bytes
2 Dir(s) 22,241,402,880 bytes free
C:\Users\Tim\Downloads>
In this example, the file I want to create the checksum for is VirtualBox-4.1.2-
73507-Win.exe so I'll write that down exactly.
Now we can run one of the cryptographic hash functions supported by FCIV to crea
te a checksum value for this file.
Let's say that the website I downloaded the VirtualBox-4.1.2-73507-Win.exe file
from published an SHA-1 hash to compare to. This means that I also want to creat
e an SHA-1 checksum on my copy of the file.
To do this, execute FCIV as follows:
fciv VirtualBox-4.1.2-73507-Win.exe -sha1
Be sure you type the entire file name. Don't forget the file extension!
If you need to create an MD5 checksum, end the command with -md5 instead of -sha
1.
Tip: Did you get a "'fciv' is not recognized as an internal or external command.
.." message? Be sure you've placed the fciv.exe file in an appropriate folder as
described in the tutorial linked to in Step 1 above.
Continuing our example above, here's the result of using FCIV to create an SHA-1
checksum on my file:
//
// File Checksum Integrity Verifier version 2.05.
//
6b719836ab24ab48609276d32c32f46c980f98f1 virtualbox-4.1.2-73507-win.exe
The number/letter sequence before the file name in the Command Prompt window is
your checksum.
Note: Don't worry if it takes several seconds or longer to generate the checksum
value, especially if you're trying to generate one on a very large file.
Tip: You can save the checksum value produced by FCIV to a file by adding > file
name.txt to the end of the command you executed in Step 5. See How To Redirect C
ommand Output to a File if you need help.
Now that you've generated a checksum value for your file, you need to see if it
equals the checksum value the download source provided for comparison.
Do the Checksums Match?
Great! You can be completely certain that the file on your computer is an exact
copy of the one being provided.
This means that there were no errors during the download process and, as long as
you're using a checksum provided by the original author or a very trusted sourc
e, you can also be sure that the file hasn't been altered for malicious purposes
.
Do the Checksums NOT Match?
Download the file again. If you're not downloading the file from the original so
urce, do that instead.