ChkDsk won't run

[W C Hull]

I'm having trouble with my system (again). I installed the latest version
of System Mechanic (version 6) on my PC and it kept telling me that my HD
had errors. I ran chkdsk in read only mode and it says that there are
errors in the Volume Bitmap and specifies that to fix the problem run CHKDSK
with the /F parameter.

I ran chkdsk with the /F and /R parameters and nothing fixes the errors but
my new problem is that chkdsk stopped working. I can request a chkdsk
though the command window and the message says it will run on the next
reboot but no chkdsk is occuring.

I read somewhere that you could use the fsutil to set the dirty bit and
autochk will trip the trigger on the chkdsk. I did this and chkdsk does
start and run but I cannot invoke chkdsk by itself using the /F parameter.

Anyone have any clues as to what has happened and/or how to fix the issue?

P.S. I removed System Mechanc 6 because of this problem but chkdsk still
doesn't work by invoking CHKDSK /F

 

[S.Sengupta]

Do you get any messages during restarting the system?
Sometimes a third party application locking the partition such as a
virus checker or disk monitor tool.So disable those applications which
you think might be causing this problem.You may do this by:-
Start>Run>Services.msc>ok
Right click on the suspected application>select properties>change the
start up type to 'disabled'>ok/apply.

If that doesn't help then download and install hard disk diagnostic tool
from the manufacturer's website to diagnose the health of the hard disk.

regards,
S.Sengupta[MS-MVP]

 

[Tim.T]

Hmm...only thing I can think of is be cautious of using any kind of software
that says it can work wonders for your pc's health. A lot of the time they
haven't a clue what they're on about and end up making pc users
unncecessarily worried about their pc's condition, often resulting in them
making a problem out of nothing; deleting crucial files, registry entries,
etc. You're best bet for good pc health is to have a good firewall,
antivirus scanner, anti-spyware software, defrag your drive(s) regularly,
and leave the registry alone. Scanners like System Mechanic often just pick
up the pieces left behind when you fail to do all those things in the first
place . So with the right security regime, such scanners can be made
irrelevant. Trust me, I've used quite a few of them, and more often than not
I needed help to reverse something they changed which they flagged as a
"problem"! Idiots.

Additional: Back up all your stuff on C: drive, and convert the drive to
FAT32 (converting implies formatting data, wiping it clean) . Speaking from
personal experience, I would often get chkdsk-related errors on C:, like "
there are errors in the Volume Bitmap" and the moment I went from NTFS to
FAT32 on C:, all those issues disappeared. NTFS is not as stable as some
people would like us to think...from my experience anyway (at least not for
the OS drive). If I really had the will I'd have all my 11 partitions FAT32!

It just seems to me that all the "errors" you are getting are simply the
result of C: drive being NTFS file format. I really do think if you went to
FAT32, chkdsk would work fine. Slower, but fine. My C: drive is FAT32 I've
still had cases where chkdsk wouldn't run when it said it would, either. But
for 99% of the time it works well, and I don't worry about it. I don't think
you should either. When chkdsk fails to run when it said it would, that is
not a problem with chkdsk; it's more to do with the fact there probably
wasn't a problem it needed to fix in the first place.

Tim. T