How do you CHKDSK the boot drive?

[Len Cuff]

Suspecting that my boot drive has an error somewhere, I tried to run
CHKDSK /F on it and as expected it said it would schedule on next
reboot. Rebooted and during startup got a message that said it had
finished checking it without actually doing anything! and continued to
boot correctly. Tried booting from DVD and got into command prompt but
when I try to run CHKDSK from here, it says that the drive is in use
my another program? I know in the days of XP you could boot from CD
and select Recovery Console and run it happily from there so how's it
done in Vista?

Reason I think there is a problem is that I am trying to clone it to
another disk using AcronisTrue Image Workstation 9 and as soon as it
starts to copy it comes up with an error stating it cannot write to
Disk 4 Sector 1265125. This also puzzles me as Disk 4 is the source
disk? Why would Acronis try to write to the source disk?

TIA


cheers,
Len

 

[Michael Solomon]

Suspecting that my boot drive has an error somewhere, I tried to run
CHKDSK /F on it and as expected it said it would schedule on next
reboot. Rebooted and during startup got a message that said it had
finished checking it without actually doing anything! and continued to
boot correctly. Tried booting from DVD and got into command prompt but
when I try to run CHKDSK from here, it says that the drive is in use
my another program? I know in the days of XP you could boot from CD
and select Recovery Console and run it happily from there so how's it
done in Vista?

Reason I think there is a problem is that I am trying to clone it to
another disk using AcronisTrue Image Workstation 9 and as soon as it
starts to copy it comes up with an error stating it cannot write to
Disk 4 Sector 1265125. This also puzzles me as Disk 4 is the source
disk? Why would Acronis try to write to the source disk?

TIA


cheers,
Len

Len, if you suspect a problem with your hard drive, it's much better to use
the diagnostic tools from the drive manufacturer's web site. Check the
instructions they provide for creation of the boot disk and note, if you
don't have a floppy drive, modify the instructions to create a boot CD or
DVD. Once complete, boot from the disk and run their diagnostic.

CHKDSK might find file system errors but it's best to run the manufacturer's
diagnostics in order to determine the true health of your hard drive.

 

[Julian]

"Michael Solomon" ...

Len, if you suspect a problem with your hard drive, it's much better to
use the diagnostic tools from the drive manufacturer's web site. Check
the instructions they provide for creation of the boot disk and note, if
you don't have a floppy drive, modify the instructions to create a boot CD
or DVD. Once complete, boot from the disk and run their diagnostic.

CHKDSK might find file system errors but it's best to run the
manufacturer's diagnostics in order to determine the true health of your
hard drive.

Dell systems have a very strong diagnostic utility built in
that is accessed by hitting F12 when rebooting.

 

[Len Cuff]

Suspecting that my boot drive has an error somewhere, I tried to run
CHKDSK /F on it and as expected it said it would schedule on next
reboot. Rebooted and during startup got a message that said it had
finished checking it without actually doing anything! and continued to
boot correctly. Tried booting from DVD and got into command prompt but
when I try to run CHKDSK from here, it says that the drive is in use
my another program? I know in the days of XP you could boot from CD
and select Recovery Console and run it happily from there so how's it
done in Vista?

Reason I think there is a problem is that I am trying to clone it to
another disk using AcronisTrue Image Workstation 9 and as soon as it
starts to copy it comes up with an error stating it cannot write to
Disk 4 Sector 1265125. This also puzzles me as Disk 4 is the source
disk? Why would Acronis try to write to the source disk?

TIA


cheers,
Len

Thanks, I'll have a look at the website, it's a Seagate Barracuda SATA
drive but all runs of CHKDSK (can't do the /F mode) show no errors and
it seems to be working fine. It's just Acronis that comes up with this
wierd error. I've posted on their forums to see if it's a know
problem. I did wonder if version 9 is not compatible with Vista maybe?
This program worked fine before I upgraded from XP Home.

cheers,
Len

 

[Michael Solomon]

Thanks, I'll have a look at the website, it's a Seagate Barracuda SATA
drive but all runs of CHKDSK (can't do the /F mode) show no errors and
it seems to be working fine. It's just Acronis that comes up with this
wierd error. I've posted on their forums to see if it's a know
problem. I did wonder if version 9 is not compatible with Vista maybe?
This program worked fine before I upgraded from XP Home.

cheers,
Len

I'm not sure if version 9 is fully compatible though there might be updates
available at the Acronis site that would make it compatible, you'd have to
check. I'm using Version 10. You did mention that fact about what version
you are using at the Acronis forum didn't you?

 

[Len Cuff]

I'm not sure if version 9 is fully compatible though there might be updates
available at the Acronis site that would make it compatible, you'd have to
check. I'm using Version 10. You did mention that fact about what version
you are using at the Acronis forum didn't you?

Yes I did and it seems that V10 is the only one that supports Vista
although I've read somewhere that it can screw up the bootloader? Have
you cloned disks on Vista using V10? Did you use the boot/rescue CD to
do it?

cheers,
Len

 

[Michael Solomon]

Yes I did and it seems that V10 is the only one that supports Vista
although I've read somewhere that it can screw up the bootloader? Have
you cloned disks on Vista using V10? Did you use the boot/rescue CD to
do it?

cheers,
Len

I've only created images but I did use the emergency disk to do it. I
usually prefer to make images outside the OS. I don't use the Acronis
bootloader. If you are using the Vista bootloader, assuming the bootloader
has been compromised, you can boot from the Vista DVD and run the startup
repair from the setup screen and this usually resolves the issue.

Since you have posted on the Acronis forum, you might ask about this issue
in a separate thread.

 

[Len Cuff]

I've only created images but I did use the emergency disk to do it. I
usually prefer to make images outside the OS. I don't use the Acronis
bootloader. If you are using the Vista bootloader, assuming the bootloader
has been compromised, you can boot from the Vista DVD and run the startup
repair from the setup screen and this usually resolves the issue.

Since you have posted on the Acronis forum, you might ask about this issue
in a separate thread.

Version 10 did the trick BUT only when I booted from the Acronis
recovery disk ?


cheers,
Len

 

[Michael Solomon]

Version 10 did the trick BUT only when I booted from the Acronis
recovery disk ?


cheers,
Len

I'm glad it worked for you, Len. I find there's less chance of anything
from the OS interfering with the process when using the emergency disk
because when booted, both XP and Vista have a tendency to lock the volume.

 

[Leo]

Bingo! As I understand it, Acronis Version 9 is not compatible with Vista,
Acronis Version 10 is compatible with Vista.

--
Leo

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability
to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable
for their apparent disinclination to do so.