ChkDsk

[Steve]

A friend says he's getting this message every time he tries to run AIM
or itunes: The file or directory is corrupt and unreadable, run chk
dsk utility.

He says the programs run with no problems, but wants to know how to
stop the message from popping up each time - ?

 

[Lang Murphy]

A friend says he's getting this message every time he tries to run AIM
or itunes: The file or directory is corrupt and unreadable, run chk
dsk utility.

He says the programs run with no problems, but wants to know how to
stop the message from popping up each time - ?


--

Good breeding consists of concealing how much we think of ourselves and
how little we think of the other person.

...Mark Twain

The OS isn't throwing that error msg for no reason... quite likely that
neither program hits the questionable file or directory during everyday use.

The best way to get rid of the error msg is to... holy crap! Run chkdsk!
(Sorry, couldn't resist...)

It can be done either through the UI or in a cmd window. If the programs are
on the same partition as the OS, chkdsk will need to restart the system and
run the disk check prior to booting into the OS. And it may take a while,
depending on the size of the disk and whether it's really "crapped up" or
not.

If you need detailed instructions... post back...

Lang

 

[Steve]

Trying to run chkdsk. Vista says it's scheduled for next boot, but
then it boots normally, apparently without running chkdsk first. Any
way to force it to run?


--


When they discover the center of the universe,
a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.

....Bernard Bailey

 

[Steve]

Followed the instructions at
http://www.maximumpcguides.com/how-to-use-check-disk-in-windows-vista

Scheduled for next reboot, then rebooted. Normal reboot, chkdsk did
not appear to run. Is there a way to confirm whether or not it
actually ran?


--


When they discover the center of the universe,
a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.

....Bernard Bailey

 

[dean-dean]

If you have a Vista installation DVD, perhaps try booting from that. Then
use the "Repair your computer" > "System Recovery Options" > "Command
Prompt" on the DVD. If C is where Vista is installed, type:

chkdsk c: /f

See this as to how to get there:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial147.html

 

[Steve]

If you have a Vista installation DVD, perhaps try booting from that. Then
use the "Repair your computer" > "System Recovery Options" > "Command
Prompt" on the DVD. If C is where Vista is installed, type:
chkdsk c: /f

Thanks, I'll try that, but shouldn't it run normally from within Vista
or at reboot?


--


When they discover the center of the universe,
a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.

....Bernard Bailey

 

[dean-dean]

Yes, it should run normally. It would be hard to miss, at reboot, having a
big blue screen with some text, coming up shortly after you booted. It
finishes it's scan with a lot of text. But it's not working, as you say.
Given your original post, I think it's important to run chkdsk, one way or
another, or at least try. The error messages, and the failure of chkdsk to
run as scheduled, is not looking good.

You may also want to do this. Right click on Command Prompt (Start
Menu\Programs\Accessories), and choose
Run as Administrator. Copy the following, and Paste it after the prompt.

sfc /SCANFILE="C:\Windows\System32\chkdsk.exe"

Press Enter.

sfc /SCANFILE="C:\Windows\System32\autochk.exe"

Press Enter.

If everything's okay, you'll get a positive message from Windows Resource
Protection regarding each file. If you want to check all your system files,
and some pertinent registry keys, Copy and Paste this:

sfc /scannow

Press Enter. It may take a few minutes...

 

[Guest]

My computer was unable to do error checking (chkdsk) and errors began to
accumulate. System restore did not go back far enough to restore this
function. System File Check identified a corrupt system file "autochk.exe"
that sfc was unable to repair. Instead of doing a clean install, I was able
to do an Upgrade Install that preserved my programs, devices, settings, etc.
(see John Barnett Windows MVP).

I wanted to replace my corrupt system file with a good one from the Vista
Install DVD without having to do a complete install, but was unable to do
this until now. From multiple sources including contributors on Vista
Communities, Windows IT Pro, How-To Geek, and Vistax64 Forum, I have put
together a tutorial on how to access files from your Vista Install DVD that
you can use to replace corrupt files in your OS. See the link below:

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/86959-access-vista-install-dvd-files.html

System File Check will identify corrupt system files that it can't repair
(see CBS.log). You can replace your corrupt files with good copies from the
Vista Install DVD. Many thanks to those who contributed to this solution.