Unable to complete disk check

[Guest]

I am a fairly new puter user and routinely do the maintenance things...disk
clean,defrag...Today I did and a disk check and a message came up "windows
unable to complete the disk check".
I am running xp home and my method was going to my computer>right click on C
dick>tools>check now. Recently I bought an external hard drive,but it shows
up as E drive.
Any ideas why the disk check couldn't complete?
Thanx
TMacK

 

[Guest]

Were you on-line when you tried a disk check? You must be off-line (not
on the Internet) to run checkdisk.

 

[Guest]

Yes,I was off line. Just tried it again...same thing..unable to complete disk
check.Any advise as to what might be going on?

TMacK

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Did you reboot?

Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

Automatically fix file system errors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /f parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking. All files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is
currently in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule
the disk checking for the next time you restart your computer. Your drive is
not available to run other tasks while the disk is being checked.]]

Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /r parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking, locates bad sectors, and recovers readable information. All files
must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is currently in use, a
message asks if you want to reschedule the disk checking for the next time
you restart your computer. Your drive is not available to run other tasks
while the disk is being checked. If you select this option, you do not need
to select Automatically fix file system errors. Windows fixes any errors on
the disk.]]

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs
exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be
accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this disk check
to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled it or
because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output to a
file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The Winlogon
service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the Application
Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

Post back if you see one of these messages:
Cannot lock volume for direct access
Cannot open volume for direct access

Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...windows/xp/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_pwfd.asp

Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/chkdsk.mspx

Describes how to use the chkdsk command at the command line.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/chkdsk.asp

Understanding what CHKDSK does
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835/en-us#XSLTH3154121123120121120120
From...
An explanation of the new /C and /I Switches that are available to use with
Chkdsk.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

Thanx Wes,it ran exactly as you said it would and all is okay. The links are
a great resource. Am wondering if it didn't initially run because I did not
check the two "check disc" options? Before I posted,I never got the message
to schedule the chk disc after the computer was rebooted...just that it
windows was unable to complete the disk check...
The hard drive sure did alot of grinding while it was verifying the indexes!
Many thanx!
TMacK

Did you reboot?

Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

 Automatically fix file system errors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /f parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking. All files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is
currently in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule
the disk checking for the next time you restart your computer. Your drive is
not available to run other tasks while the disk is being checked.]]

 Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /r parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking, locates bad sectors, and recovers readable information. All files
must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is currently in use, a
message asks if you want to reschedule the disk checking for the next time
you restart your computer. Your drive is not available to run other tasks
while the disk is being checked. If you select this option, you do not need
to select Automatically fix file system errors. Windows fixes any errors on
the disk.]]

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs
exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be
accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this disk check
to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled it or
because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output to a
file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The Winlogon
service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the Application
Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

Post back if you see one of these messages:
Cannot lock volume for direct access
Cannot open volume for direct access

Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...windows/xp/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_pwfd.asp

Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/chkdsk.mspx

Describes how to use the chkdsk command at the command line.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/chkdsk.asp

Understanding what CHKDSK does
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835/en-us#XSLTH3154121123120121120120
From...
An explanation of the new /C and /I Switches that are available to use with
Chkdsk.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Yes,I was off line. Just tried it again...same thing..unable to complete
disk check.Any advise as to what might be going on?

TMacK

 

[Wesley Vogel]

TMacK,

If you were to select none of the two boxes, you would not get the "Do you
want to schedule this disk check to occur the next time you restart the
computer?" warning. Chkdsk.exe would run without having to reboot, but it
would run in the read-only mode and that doesn't run correctly. Chkdsk in
read-only mode is prone to not accurately reporting information, might
report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive and is waste of
time.

You can run Error Checking (Chkdsk.exe) by checking only one of the boxes,
but I always check both boxes and I have never had any problems.

Keep having fun.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Thanx Wes,it ran exactly as you said it would and all is okay. The links
are a great resource. Am wondering if it didn't initially run because I
did not check the two "check disc" options? Before I posted,I never got
the message to schedule the chk disc after the computer was
rebooted...just that it windows was unable to complete the disk check...
The hard drive sure did alot of grinding while it was verifying the
indexes! Many thanx!
TMacK

Did you reboot?

Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

 Automatically fix file system errors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /f parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking. All files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive
is currently in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule
the disk checking for the next time you restart your computer. Your
drive is not available to run other tasks while the disk is being
checked.]]

 Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /r parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking, locates bad sectors, and recovers readable information. All
files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is currently
in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule the disk checking for
the next time you restart your computer. Your drive is not available to
run other tasks while the disk is being checked. If you select this
option, you do not need to select Automatically fix file system errors.
Windows fixes any errors on the disk.]]

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility
needs exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files
can be accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this
disk check to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled
it or because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output
to a file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The
Winlogon service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the
Application Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

Post back if you see one of these messages:
Cannot lock volume for direct access
Cannot open volume for direct access

Chkdsk

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...umentation/windows/xp/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_t
ol_pwfd.asp

Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/chkdsk.mspx

Describes how to use the chkdsk command at the command line.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/chkdsk.asp

Understanding what CHKDSK does
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835/en-us#XSLTH3154121123120121120120
From...
An explanation of the new /C and /I Switches that are available to use
with Chkdsk.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[PrincessVic]

Hello

I am very new to this Forum business & is my very 1st post. Hope is goes
well. Just wanted to take the time to Thank Wesley Vogel & all the others in
this community who take the time to HELP other people like myself.

This was an issue I've been experiencing & after reading the instructions
that were explained so well. I felt confident in fixing my issue.

Thanks Again,
PrincessVic

--
Thanks,
PrincessVic

TMacK,

If you were to select none of the two boxes, you would not get the "Do you
want to schedule this disk check to occur the next time you restart the
computer?" warning. Chkdsk.exe would run without having to reboot, but it
would run in the read-only mode and that doesn't run correctly. Chkdsk in
read-only mode is prone to not accurately reporting information, might
report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive and is waste of
time.

You can run Error Checking (Chkdsk.exe) by checking only one of the boxes,
but I always check both boxes and I have never had any problems.

Keep having fun.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Thanx Wes,it ran exactly as you said it would and all is okay. The links
are a great resource. Am wondering if it didn't initially run because I
did not check the two "check disc" options? Before I posted,I never got
the message to schedule the chk disc after the computer was
rebooted...just that it windows was unable to complete the disk check...
The hard drive sure did alot of grinding while it was verifying the
indexes! Many thanx!
TMacK

Did you reboot?

Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

 Automatically fix file system errors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /f parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking. All files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive
is currently in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule
the disk checking for the next time you restart your computer. Your
drive is not available to run other tasks while the disk is being
checked.]]

 Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
Runs Chkdsk by using the /r parameter.
[[Specifies whether Windows repairs file-system errors found during disk
checking, locates bad sectors, and recovers readable information. All
files must be closed for this program to run. If the drive is currently
in use, a message asks if you want to reschedule the disk checking for
the next time you restart your computer. Your drive is not available to
run other tasks while the disk is being checked. If you select this
option, you do not need to select Automatically fix file system errors.
Windows fixes any errors on the disk.]]

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility
needs exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files
can be accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this
disk check to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled
it or because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output
to a file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The
Winlogon service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the
Application Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

Post back if you see one of these messages:
Cannot lock volume for direct access
Cannot open volume for direct access

Chkdsk

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...umentation/windows/xp/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_t
ol_pwfd.asp

Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/chkdsk.mspx

Describes how to use the chkdsk command at the command line.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/chkdsk.asp

Understanding what CHKDSK does
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835/en-us#XSLTH3154121123120121120120
From...
An explanation of the new /C and /I Switches that are available to use
with Chkdsk.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In TMacK <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Yes,I was off line. Just tried it again...same thing..unable to complete
disk check.Any advise as to what might be going on?

TMacK

:

Were you on-line when you tried a disk check? You must be off-line
(not on the Internet) to run checkdisk.
--
XP - WNP
Today is the first day of the
rest of your life.


:

I am a fairly new puter user and routinely do the maintenance
things...disk clean,defrag...Today I did and a disk check and a
message came up "windows unable to complete the disk check".
I am running xp home and my method was going to my computer>right
click on C dick>tools>check now. Recently I bought an external hard
drive,but it shows up as E drive.
Any ideas why the disk check couldn't complete?
Thanx
TMacK

 

[Danny Williams]

I am very new to this Forum business & is my very 1st post.

[snip]

You did well.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am very new to this Forum business & is my very 1st post. Hope is goes
well.

This isn't a web-based forum; it's a newsgroup. You are using the
awful web interface to participate in this newsgroup--it's the
slowest, clunkiest, most error-prone method of using the newsgroups
there is. Do yourself a favor and switch to a newsreader, such as
Outlook Express, which comes with Windows XP, or Windows Mail, which
comes with Vista. See
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

Just wanted to take the time to Thank Wesley Vogel & all the others in
this community who take the time to HELP other people like myself.

Let me point out that you found an *extremely* old message to reply
to. Wesley hasn't been active here for well over a year.