How to cancel a CHKDSK /F in progress?

[Guest]

If I am doing a chkdsk /f, and the power goes out, I will have a few
minutes to shut down the system before my UPS battery runs out. How
do I gracefully stop the chkdsk process? Let's say I'm running the
chkdsk from the recovery console.

What if I'm not doing it from the recovery console, but I had
scheduled it to run during a restart? Would it be possible to stop it
gracefully in that situation?

 

[Patrick Keenan]

If I am doing a chkdsk /f, and the power goes out, I will have a few
minutes to shut down the system before my UPS battery runs out. How
do I gracefully stop the chkdsk process? Let's say I'm running the
chkdsk from the recovery console.

What if I'm not doing it from the recovery console, but I had
scheduled it to run during a restart? Would it be possible to stop it
gracefully in that situation?

Try a control-C.

And if you're concerned about that, have the UPS sending shutdown signals to
the PC and be sure it is large enough to run the system for long enough.

AS well, note that monitors can draw a lot of power from a UPS and it's not
necessarily a good idea to plug them in there.

HTH
-pk

 

[M.I.5¾]

If I am doing a chkdsk /f, and the power goes out, I will have a few
minutes to shut down the system before my UPS battery runs out. How
do I gracefully stop the chkdsk process? Let's say I'm running the
chkdsk from the recovery console.

What if I'm not doing it from the recovery console, but I had
scheduled it to run during a restart? Would it be possible to stop it
gracefully in that situation?

AIUI, both chkdsk and defrag always leave the disk such that the process can
be picked up again if it is suddenly terminated.

 

[John John]

AIUI, both chkdsk and defrag always leave the disk such that the process can
be picked up again if it is suddenly terminated.

Bad idea to stop a chkdsk in progress and the only reason that chkdsk
starts again is beacause the dirty bit is still set on the volume that
it was checking. Chkdsk won't know where it was last interupted, it
will start again without knowing what was previously checked.

John

 

[John John]

If I am doing a chkdsk /f, and the power goes out, I will have a few
minutes to shut down the system before my UPS battery runs out. How
do I gracefully stop the chkdsk process? Let's say I'm running the
chkdsk from the recovery console.

What if I'm not doing it from the recovery console, but I had
scheduled it to run during a restart? Would it be possible to stop it
gracefully in that situation?

Other than pressing the restart button on the computer I know of no way
to stop Chkdsk while it is in progress. You can try Patrick's
suggestion (Ctrl+C) but I believe that only works on defrag, not on Chkdsk.

Anyone using Chkdsk would be well advised to follow the information
given by Microsoft:

Before running Chkdsk to repair a volume

Before running Chkdsk to repair a volume, you must do the following:

* Back up key data files, or make sure that you have a known good backup.

* Be prepared to let the Chkdsk process complete.

If you use the /f or /r parameter on a large volume (for example, 70 GB)
or on a volume with a very large number of files (in the millions),
Chkdsk can take a long time to complete. The volume is not available
during this time because Chkdsk does not relinquish control until it is
done. If a volume is being checked during the startup process, the
computer is not available until the Chkdsk process is complete.

Chkdsk does not include parameters that let you cancel the Chkdsk
process; however, when you run Chkdsk you can specify parameters that
shorten the process. For more information about minimizing downtime
during Chkdsk, see “Reducing the Time Required to Run Chkdsk on NTFS
Volumes” later in this chapter.

[end quote]

Troubleshooting Disks and File Systems
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457122.aspx

There is *always* a risk of data loss when Chkdsk is run. In certain
circumstances (when no backup of important files exists) it may be
preferable to attempt to recover or backup files before running Chkdsk.
Stopping a Chkdsk in progress significantly increases the already
present risk of data loss.

John

 

[philo]

Bad idea to stop a chkdsk in progress and the only reason that chkdsk
starts again is beacause the dirty bit is still set on the volume that
it was checking. Chkdsk won't know where it was last interupted, it
will start again without knowing what was previously checked.

John

I agree.
under no circumstances would I terminate a chkdsk /f operation

I'd make sure the UPS can hold power

 

[Guest]

I agree.
under no circumstances would I terminate a chkdsk /f operation

I'd make sure the UPS can hold power

Seems like you would need to spend several hundred or even over a
thousand dollars for a UPS that can hold power for a few hours.

 

[Bob I]

Seems like you would need to spend several hundred or even over a
thousand dollars for a UPS that can hold power for a few hours.

If your electric supplier is that bad, a portable generator would be the
clear ticket.