Chkdsk won't run

[W C Hull]

I'm having a problem with Chkdsk running on my PC and was wondering if
anyone knows how to fix my problem.

I installed a new version of System Mechanic on my system and it told me
that my HD was having problems. Ran chkdsk in read-only mode and it
confirmed that I had a problem so I ran chkdsk /F and it ran clean.
Rebooted and ran chkdsk again and it still showed the same error so I ran a
chkdsk /R and it again ran clean. After running chkdsk /R however my system
tempoarily kept trying to run chkdsk again several times indicating that it
couldn't continue because it didn't have exclusive access to the volume.
After the machine finally rebooted I discovered that now neither chkdsk /F
or chkdsk /R will start on a restart/reboot. Each time I setup chkdsk to
run upon reboot I go straight to the log in screen. I finally uninstalled
System Mechanic 6 hoping that something in the software was causing the
issue but still no go.

I read somewhere on the Internet about a utility called FSUTIL program and I
used it to set the dirty bit and on the next reboot chkdsk /F ran but I
still can't initiate a chkdsk by invoking the command at the prompt.

Any ideas on how to get things working again?

 

[Richard in Va.]

Not sure I completely follow your delima, but maybe you should run "chkdsk
c: /r" from the XP recovery console.
Reboot your pc and enter the BIOS setup, most systems use the "F2" key
during post.
Set your boot order to boot from CD first.
Open the CD drive, insert your WinXP CD, and close the CD door.
Exit the BIOS settings saving the settings.
Allow your pc to boot to the WinXP install CD.
Select the option to run "Recovery Console".
When you get to the "a:\" or "c:\", whichever the default drive letter is,
type in your command...
"chkdsk c: /r" (without the quotes).
If you want, first run the command without the parameter "/r" just to see
what it finds.
I also suggest you read up on the recovery console before you start all
this.
(get some better info first so you know what to expect)

I do not suggest running any disk-surface diagnostic/repair utility while
Windows is running.

If you have more than one (1) HD or partition, maybe do the others while
your at it.
Also, visit a HD manufacturer web site like Seagate to see if you can
download a free (bootable) disk-surface repair utility.

when your through, don't forget to change the BIOS boot order back to the
way it was.

Hope some of this is helpful to you!
But let my reply set for awhile to see what someone else might add.
I always stand to be corrected!

Best regards,

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Richard in Va.]

Also....
When you get in the Recovery Console, I think you can type the command
"chkdsk ?" or "chkdsk help" to see a general description of how to use the
command and it's parameters.

You can also type "command ?" or something similar to get a listing of all
commands available from the Recovery Console.

But do a google search on "recovery console" first.

Best regards,
Richard in Va.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Forget the Recovery Console.

Do not bother running chkdsk in read-only mode. It is a waste of time.
Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode. If you
run chkdsk without the /f command-line option on an active partition, it
might report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive. In read-only
mode, CHKDSK quits before it completes all three phases if it encounters
errors in earlier phases, and CHKDSK is prone to falsely reporting errors.
There are more reasons, but those are enough to see that running chkdsk in
read-only mode is a waste of time.

You need to reboot your computer for chkdsk to work properly, it has to have
exclusive access to the volume and the only way it can get that is for you
to reboot.

1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the volume you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check *both* boxes or just Automatically fix file system errors:

o To run Chkdsk by using the /f parameter, select the Automatically fix file
system errors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

o To run Chkdsk by using the /r parameter, select the Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

4. Click the Start button.
5. Answer Yes to..
[[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?]]
6. *REBOOT*!

If you were to not select any options, that would be the same as
read-only mode. If you select just the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad
sectors check box you get the same problem.

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.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[W C Hull]

Thanks for the reply. My main problem is the fact that if I initiate a
chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R from an open command window and answer Y at the
prompt the utility will tell me that the check will occur at the next
reboot/restart. The plain and simple fact is that upon reboot, chkdsk
simply will not run and my system boots normally. As previously mentioned,
if I set the dirty bit using FSUTIL chkdsk will run on the next reboot but
will not if I try to set it to run it otherwise. What I would like to
determine is why it won't run and fix the issue.

Forget the Recovery Console.

Do not bother running chkdsk in read-only mode. It is a waste of time.
Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode. If you
run chkdsk without the /f command-line option on an active partition, it
might report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive. In
read-only
mode, CHKDSK quits before it completes all three phases if it encounters
errors in earlier phases, and CHKDSK is prone to falsely reporting errors.
There are more reasons, but those are enough to see that running chkdsk in
read-only mode is a waste of time.

You need to reboot your computer for chkdsk to work properly, it has to
have
exclusive access to the volume and the only way it can get that is for you
to reboot.

1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the volume you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check *both* boxes or just Automatically fix file system errors:

o To run Chkdsk by using the /f parameter, select the Automatically fix
file
system errors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

o To run Chkdsk by using the /r parameter, select the Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

4. Click the Start button.
5. Answer Yes to..
[[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?]]
6. *REBOOT*!

If you were to not select any options, that would be the same as
read-only mode. If you select just the Scan for and attempt recovery of
bad
sectors check box you get the same problem.

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.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In W C Hull <[email protected]> hunted
and
pecked:

I'm having a problem with Chkdsk running on my PC and was wondering if
anyone knows how to fix my problem.

I installed a new version of System Mechanic on my system and it told me
that my HD was having problems. Ran chkdsk in read-only mode and it
confirmed that I had a problem so I ran chkdsk /F and it ran clean.
Rebooted and ran chkdsk again and it still showed the same error so I ran
a chkdsk /R and it again ran clean. After running chkdsk /R however my
system tempoarily kept trying to run chkdsk again several times
indicating that it couldn't continue because it didn't have exclusive
access to the volume. After the machine finally rebooted I discovered
that now neither chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R will start on a restart/reboot.
Each time I setup chkdsk to run upon reboot I go straight to the log in
screen. I finally uninstalled System Mechanic 6 hoping that something in
the software was causing the issue but still no go.

I read somewhere on the Internet about a utility called FSUTIL program
and I used it to set the dirty bit and on the next reboot chkdsk /F ran
but I still can't initiate a chkdsk by invoking the command at the
prompt.

Any ideas on how to get things working again?

 

[Richard Urban]

The correct command is chkdsk c: /f OR chkdsk c: /r - where C: is the
Windows partition. Note the space between c: and /f or /r.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

Thanks for the reply. My main problem is the fact that if I initiate a
chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R from an open command window and answer Y at the
prompt the utility will tell me that the check will occur at the next
reboot/restart. The plain and simple fact is that upon reboot, chkdsk
simply will not run and my system boots normally. As previously
mentioned, if I set the dirty bit using FSUTIL chkdsk will run on the next
reboot but will not if I try to set it to run it otherwise. What I would
like to determine is why it won't run and fix the issue.

Forget the Recovery Console.

Do not bother running chkdsk in read-only mode. It is a waste of time.
Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode. If you
run chkdsk without the /f command-line option on an active partition, it
might report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive. In
read-only
mode, CHKDSK quits before it completes all three phases if it encounters
errors in earlier phases, and CHKDSK is prone to falsely reporting
errors.
There are more reasons, but those are enough to see that running chkdsk
in
read-only mode is a waste of time.

You need to reboot your computer for chkdsk to work properly, it has to
have
exclusive access to the volume and the only way it can get that is for
you
to reboot.

1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the volume you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check *both* boxes or just Automatically fix file system errors:

o To run Chkdsk by using the /f parameter, select the Automatically fix
file
system errors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

o To run Chkdsk by using the /r parameter, select the Scan for and
attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

4. Click the Start button.
5. Answer Yes to..
[[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?]]
6. *REBOOT*!

If you were to not select any options, that would be the same as
read-only mode. If you select just the Scan for and attempt recovery of
bad
sectors check box you get the same problem.

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.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In W C Hull <[email protected]> hunted
and
pecked:

I'm having a problem with Chkdsk running on my PC and was wondering if
anyone knows how to fix my problem.

I installed a new version of System Mechanic on my system and it told me
that my HD was having problems. Ran chkdsk in read-only mode and it
confirmed that I had a problem so I ran chkdsk /F and it ran clean.
Rebooted and ran chkdsk again and it still showed the same error so I
ran
a chkdsk /R and it again ran clean. After running chkdsk /R however my
system tempoarily kept trying to run chkdsk again several times
indicating that it couldn't continue because it didn't have exclusive
access to the volume. After the machine finally rebooted I discovered
that now neither chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R will start on a restart/reboot.
Each time I setup chkdsk to run upon reboot I go straight to the log in
screen. I finally uninstalled System Mechanic 6 hoping that something
in
the software was causing the issue but still no go.

I read somewhere on the Internet about a utility called FSUTIL program
and I used it to set the dirty bit and on the next reboot chkdsk /F ran
but I still can't initiate a chkdsk by invoking the command at the
prompt.

Any ideas on how to get things working again?

 

[W C Hull]

I guess I should have been more explicit. I did enter chkdsk c: /f and
chkdsk c: /r and chkdsk will not run upon restarting the system. Upon
restart my system immediately goes to the logon screen.

The correct command is chkdsk c: /f OR chkdsk c: /r - where C: is the
Windows partition. Note the space between c: and /f or /r.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

Thanks for the reply. My main problem is the fact that if I initiate a
chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R from an open command window and answer Y at the
prompt the utility will tell me that the check will occur at the next
reboot/restart. The plain and simple fact is that upon reboot, chkdsk
simply will not run and my system boots normally. As previously
mentioned, if I set the dirty bit using FSUTIL chkdsk will run on the
next reboot but will not if I try to set it to run it otherwise. What I
would like to determine is why it won't run and fix the issue.

Forget the Recovery Console.

Do not bother running chkdsk in read-only mode. It is a waste of time.
Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode. If
you
run chkdsk without the /f command-line option on an active partition, it
might report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive. In
read-only
mode, CHKDSK quits before it completes all three phases if it encounters
errors in earlier phases, and CHKDSK is prone to falsely reporting
errors.
There are more reasons, but those are enough to see that running chkdsk
in
read-only mode is a waste of time.

You need to reboot your computer for chkdsk to work properly, it has to
have
exclusive access to the volume and the only way it can get that is for
you
to reboot.

1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the volume you want
to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check *both* boxes or just Automatically fix file system errors:

o To run Chkdsk by using the /f parameter, select the Automatically fix
file
system errors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

o To run Chkdsk by using the /r parameter, select the Scan for and
attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

4. Click the Start button.
5. Answer Yes to..
[[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?]]
6. *REBOOT*!

If you were to not select any options, that would be the same as
read-only mode. If you select just the Scan for and attempt recovery of
bad
sectors check box you get the same problem.

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.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In W C Hull <[email protected]> hunted
and
pecked:
I'm having a problem with Chkdsk running on my PC and was wondering if
anyone knows how to fix my problem.

I installed a new version of System Mechanic on my system and it told
me
that my HD was having problems. Ran chkdsk in read-only mode and it
confirmed that I had a problem so I ran chkdsk /F and it ran clean.
Rebooted and ran chkdsk again and it still showed the same error so I
ran
a chkdsk /R and it again ran clean. After running chkdsk /R however my
system tempoarily kept trying to run chkdsk again several times
indicating that it couldn't continue because it didn't have exclusive
access to the volume. After the machine finally rebooted I discovered
that now neither chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R will start on a restart/reboot.
Each time I setup chkdsk to run upon reboot I go straight to the log in
screen. I finally uninstalled System Mechanic 6 hoping that something
in
the software was causing the issue but still no go.

I read somewhere on the Internet about a utility called FSUTIL program
and I used it to set the dirty bit and on the next reboot chkdsk /F ran
but I still can't initiate a chkdsk by invoking the command at the
prompt.

Any ideas on how to get things working again?

 

[W C Hull]

The info that Richard in VA gave in his reply was quite interesting. I
didn't realize that there was an XP recover console. The last time I was
successful in running chkdsk on a restart was a chkdisk using the /R
parameter but it either didn't find anything or aborted the scan early.
Running a chkdsk C: /R from the recovery console this time indicated that
errors were detected and corrected. Have not tried setting up another
chkdsk using the /F or /R parameter from a command prompt since I ran chkdsk
from the recovery console. I suspect, however, that there is still
something (a value or setting of some kind) stored on the PC that is not set
right or has been deleted that is not allowing the trigger for chkdsk to be
set. This is what I think is happening because if I can set the dirty bit
using FSUTIL and chkdsk will run on a reboot then what is preventing chkdsk
being setup from the command window?

 

[Richard in Va.]

Ah...
Last week my system crashed and I went through a similar problem.
I also tried running chkdsk from within Windows XP and it asked to schedule
to run at next boot.
Mine also would not run as scheduled.
But once I figured out how to use the recovery console successfully, I never
got concerned about it.
Never really gave it a second thought.
But I would be interested if someone else can explain it.

I still prefer to use chkdsk via the recovery console (booting from the
WinXP CD).

Hope you find an answer!

Best regards,
Richard in Va.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks for the reply. My main problem is the fact that if I initiate a
chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R from an open command window and answer Y at the
prompt the utility will tell me that the check will occur at the next
reboot/restart. The plain and simple fact is that upon reboot, chkdsk
simply will not run and my system boots normally. As previously
mentioned, if I set the dirty bit using FSUTIL chkdsk will run on the next
reboot but will not if I try to set it to run it otherwise. What I would
like to determine is why it won't run and fix the issue.

Forget the Recovery Console.

Do not bother running chkdsk in read-only mode. It is a waste of time.
Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode. If you
run chkdsk without the /f command-line option on an active partition, it
might report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive. In
read-only
mode, CHKDSK quits before it completes all three phases if it encounters
errors in earlier phases, and CHKDSK is prone to falsely reporting
errors.
There are more reasons, but those are enough to see that running chkdsk
in
read-only mode is a waste of time.

You need to reboot your computer for chkdsk to work properly, it has to
have
exclusive access to the volume and the only way it can get that is for
you
to reboot.

1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the volume you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check *both* boxes or just Automatically fix file system errors:

o To run Chkdsk by using the /f parameter, select the Automatically fix
file
system errors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

o To run Chkdsk by using the /r parameter, select the Scan for and
attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

4. Click the Start button.
5. Answer Yes to..
[[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?]]
6. *REBOOT*!

If you were to not select any options, that would be the same as
read-only mode. If you select just the Scan for and attempt recovery of
bad
sectors check box you get the same problem.

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.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In W C Hull <[email protected]> hunted
and
pecked:

I'm having a problem with Chkdsk running on my PC and was wondering if
anyone knows how to fix my problem.

I installed a new version of System Mechanic on my system and it told me
that my HD was having problems. Ran chkdsk in read-only mode and it
confirmed that I had a problem so I ran chkdsk /F and it ran clean.
Rebooted and ran chkdsk again and it still showed the same error so I
ran
a chkdsk /R and it again ran clean. After running chkdsk /R however my
system tempoarily kept trying to run chkdsk again several times
indicating that it couldn't continue because it didn't have exclusive
access to the volume. After the machine finally rebooted I discovered
that now neither chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R will start on a restart/reboot.
Each time I setup chkdsk to run upon reboot I go straight to the log in
screen. I finally uninstalled System Mechanic 6 hoping that something
in
the software was causing the issue but still no go.

I read somewhere on the Internet about a utility called FSUTIL program
and I used it to set the dirty bit and on the next reboot chkdsk /F ran
but I still can't initiate a chkdsk by invoking the command at the
prompt.

Any ideas on how to get things working again?

 

[Richard in Va.]

I'm not sure, but my belief is that chkdsk might work fine (from within
windows) if the target drive/partition is not the "system" drive.
If you have additional hard drives, or additional partitions that the OS is
not accessing or has open files.
It might work without a hitch. But then there would not be a request to
schedule the operation at next boot either.

Really don't know, once I figured out the recovery console via booting to
the XP CD, I convinced myself that that was the best and safest approach.

By the way... I have four (4) hard drives in my system. Each having multiple
partitions. I ran chkdsk on all drives one after the other and chkdsk found
and repaired more that one problem on all drives. At least that's what it
claimed.

I didn't have a clue that my other (non-system) drives had problems.

So, I think I've learned that it might be good to do this maybe once or
twice a year. Even if I don't notice any problems.

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Richard Urban]

Why not just install the recovery console in Windows XP. That way it is seen
as a boot option and you don't have to boot from the CD any longer.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

Ah...
Last week my system crashed and I went through a similar problem.
I also tried running chkdsk from within Windows XP and it asked to
schedule
to run at next boot.
Mine also would not run as scheduled.
But once I figured out how to use the recovery console successfully, I
never
got concerned about it.
Never really gave it a second thought.
But I would be interested if someone else can explain it.

I still prefer to use chkdsk via the recovery console (booting from the
WinXP CD).

Hope you find an answer!

Best regards,
Richard in Va.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks for the reply. My main problem is the fact that if I initiate a
chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R from an open command window and answer Y at the
prompt the utility will tell me that the check will occur at the next
reboot/restart. The plain and simple fact is that upon reboot, chkdsk
simply will not run and my system boots normally. As previously
mentioned, if I set the dirty bit using FSUTIL chkdsk will run on the
next reboot but will not if I try to set it to run it otherwise. What I
would like to determine is why it won't run and fix the issue.

Forget the Recovery Console.

Do not bother running chkdsk in read-only mode. It is a waste of time.
Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode. If
you
run chkdsk without the /f command-line option on an active partition, it
might report spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive. In
read-only
mode, CHKDSK quits before it completes all three phases if it encounters
errors in earlier phases, and CHKDSK is prone to falsely reporting
errors.
There are more reasons, but those are enough to see that running chkdsk
in
read-only mode is a waste of time.

You need to reboot your computer for chkdsk to work properly, it has to
have
exclusive access to the volume and the only way it can get that is for
you
to reboot.

1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the volume you want
to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check *both* boxes or just Automatically fix file system errors:

o To run Chkdsk by using the /f parameter, select the Automatically fix
file
system errors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

o To run Chkdsk by using the /r parameter, select the Scan for and
attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
[[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.]]

4. Click the Start button.
5. Answer Yes to..
[[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?]]
6. *REBOOT*!

If you were to not select any options, that would be the same as
read-only mode. If you select just the Scan for and attempt recovery of
bad
sectors check box you get the same problem.

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.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In W C Hull <[email protected]> hunted
and
pecked:
I'm having a problem with Chkdsk running on my PC and was wondering if
anyone knows how to fix my problem.

I installed a new version of System Mechanic on my system and it told
me
that my HD was having problems. Ran chkdsk in read-only mode and it
confirmed that I had a problem so I ran chkdsk /F and it ran clean.
Rebooted and ran chkdsk again and it still showed the same error so I
ran
a chkdsk /R and it again ran clean. After running chkdsk /R however my
system tempoarily kept trying to run chkdsk again several times
indicating that it couldn't continue because it didn't have exclusive
access to the volume. After the machine finally rebooted I discovered
that now neither chkdsk /F or chkdsk /R will start on a restart/reboot.
Each time I setup chkdsk to run upon reboot I go straight to the log in
screen. I finally uninstalled System Mechanic 6 hoping that something
in
the software was causing the issue but still no go.

I read somewhere on the Internet about a utility called FSUTIL program
and I used it to set the dirty bit and on the next reboot chkdsk /F ran
but I still can't initiate a chkdsk by invoking the command at the
prompt.

Any ideas on how to get things working again?