Scan Disk does not run on startup

[Guest]

I’m trying to use Vista’s Backup and Restore Center to backup my files on an
external hard drive (SmartDisk, Firelite). When I select the disks that I
want to backup in the Backup and Restore Center program, an error message
pops up which tells me “The Disk C: has errors.†I click the link to check
the disk for errors, and schedule a Check disk for the next time Windows
starts up. I close all my programs and restart my computer – Vista starts
normally with no Error Check. I go to Computer -> C:-> Properties-> Error
Checking and choose to Check Disk at the next start up. I turn off the
machine this time, and turn it on again. Still nothing. I’ve done this
about 4 times with no results. What could be the problem?

 

[Guest]

If you run Chkdsk with no parameters or you don't select Fix Errors, this is
normal. To see the results or watch it run, you must add the /R. Like this:
CHKDSK /R Leave a space before the /R. Smartdisk and firelite might not be
vista compatible. Check with the manufacturers. There might be nothing wrong
with the disk. It could be those programs do not recognize the OS.

 

[Guest]

When I type in CHKDSK /R a DOS window pops up for a split second then
disappears. I opened the Task Manager and don't see Check Disk or anything
similar in the applications/processes tabs. I just bought this computer a
month ago from Dell - what can I do?

 

[Guest]

Hey Jeff-

(If you don't want the technical stuff just jump to the starred portion)
I'm having the same problem (with a Vista Dell)- it's not that chkdsk
doesn't show anything on boot, it's that it doesn't run on boot at all, and
the 'dirty bit' is still set on drive c. I contacted Dell about this problem
and didn't get too much help. I eventually just booted up from the
installation DVD and ran chkdsk. A little background - whenever windows
thinks there might be file system errors, like a power failure during a file
transfer, etc. Windows (XP and Vista) sets what's called the dirty bit on the
volume to remind itself to check the volume. If windows is working
correctly, it will automatically scan this volume during the next bootup.
This is not happening in our case.

There is an easy way to check if a volume has the dirty bit set. You simply
run cmd.exe (Command Prompt) as Administrator (right click... run as
Administrator) then enter

'fsutil dirty query c:'

if the bit is set, you get the message:

'Volume - c: is Dirty'

and the backup utility won't run. In fact, you can even set the bit 'on'
manually with 'fsutil dirty set c:' to 'force' windows to think the drive is
dirty and automatically scan it on the next boot. Unfortunately, Vista is
still not scanning my drive either, and there is no command in fsutil to
'unset' the dirty bit. The only way I know of is to run chkdsk with repair
options. Then Windows verifies the file system is in good shape and resets
the volume's 'dirty bit.' However, since Windows won't repair the drive
while it's in use, you have to use the Installation DVD. So,

* * * *
The solution for you is to boot to the Vista installation DVD, choose repair
console, then run chkdsk with repair options. If you use the command line in
the repair utility, this would be:
chkdsk c: /r
* * * *

I hope this helps you fix your problem. Unfortunately for me, I'm having
the same problem but I'm out of country right now and I left my installation
DVD at home :'(

dutchscout

PS I am still frustrated with this problem, and I may contact Microsoft and
pay the $50 to have them tell me what's wrong. I'm still covered by Dell
support, but they're new at this Vista thing too, so they may not know what
to do either.

 

[Guest]

I have a three month old Dell laptop and am having the same problem running
scan disk, although I was doing it as part of routine maintenance. I spent
40 minutes on the phone with Dell and they could not tell me what the problem
was. Clearly this is a Dell issue.

 

[Guest]

I just resent the issue to Dell. I hope I get a response... Maybe they'll
put up a hotfix or something...

dutchscout

 

[Guest]

First, I ran "fsutil dirty query c:" and it came back "NOT dirty." So there
is clearly something else going on here.

I called Microsoft and spent 2 hours on the phone with a quite knowledgable
tech, who periodically consulted with this colleagues. We tried all sorts of
things, none successful. MS has not elevated the problem to their "research
team," and are supossed to call me back on Thursday. If they find a fix, I
will post it here.

 

[Guest]

Ahah!

Okay, I got the no-scan-on-startup problem fixed on my computer. Credit
definately goes to the blogger who posted on this topic. I'll add the link,
but know that the first 3/4 of the article includes some frustrated
profanity. In a nutshell the stupid autochk.exe file is corrupted somehow,
so all you do is replace it. This takes some work in Vista, but it worked
for me. My computer scanned! I believe this was the real problem because my
computer used to scan itself, but wouldn't after a while. There is a very
significant chance the problem came from a microsoft hotfix. I'll leave it
to them to figure out if that's what happened or which hotfix, etc... All I
care about is my computer scans itself without recovery console So here
are the steps to fix this problem in Vista... the only problem is you will
need a windows XP Install disk (I'll explain why...)

Go to C:\Windows\System32
Right click on Autochk.exe -> Properties
Click the Security tab, then click Advanced (button)
On the new window 'Advanced Security Settings for Autochk.exe' click the
'Owner' tab
Below the box labeled 'Change owner to:' click 'Edit...'
In the new window, under 'Change owner to:' select yourself (or the
Administrators group), then click OK
Close all property windows for autochk.exe, then go back to (right click)
Properties->Security
Click 'Edit...'
On the window 'Permissions for Autochk.exe' select the Administrators group,
then under 'Allow' click the 'Full Control' checkbox
Click OK and close the property windows
Ok...NOW you can rename autochk.exe to autochk_old.exe (that took a lot of
work!)

Now, I looked at Vista's installation DVD. All of the system files are
tucked nicely into 1 .wim file. This is a windows image file, and I'm not
sure how to pull the files out of it, so I just grabbed a handy XP
installation CD. The autochk.exe file is located at
(DriveLetter):\I386\AUTOCHK.EXE

Copy the AUTOCHK.EXE file from the XP installation disk to
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOCHK.EXE and you should be good to go!

I'll recontact Dell with this information, apparently other (non-Dell) users
are having this problem too.

Oh, yeah, the site where I found the solution:
"http://www.suehappycowboy.org/blog/?p=112" Thanks very very much!

dutchscout

PS As a followup, I searched online for 'how to open a wim file' in order to
get the vista 'version' AUTOCHK.EXE from the install.wim file on the install
disk. The process seems a little complicated, but there is a toolkit from
Microsoft for it. I'm probably just going to stick with the XP version until
there is a hotfix for this problem. The Microsoft toolkit for .wim files is
called the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) and is mostly for system
administrators. If you want to, though give it a try and let me know how it
goes! You might want to read this first:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94616/94616.html

 

[Guest]

You did much better than I did. I spent approximately 8 hours on the phone
with Microsoft tech reps; apparently at a fairly high level. We got close to
what you did, but did not copy the file from the disk. Ultimately, they had
me do a reinstall of Vista overwriting the current version (I did not have to
clean the harddrive). Although it took an hour or 2 to run, when it was done
chkdsk worked properly. The only problem was that it wiped out my sound
driver, and it took me a while to figure out the fix (For anyone else
reading this with the same problem, find the new driver on Dell's website.
Don't just download it. Open the detailed instructions and follow them
carefully.

 

[Guest]

Hey Jeff... I'm just reentering this in case you didn't get the reply earlier

Ahah!

Okay, I got the no-scan-on-startup problem fixed on my computer. Credit
definately goes to the blogger who posted on this topic. I'll add the link,
but know that the first 3/4 of the article includes some frustrated
profanity. In a nutshell the stupid autochk.exe file is corrupted somehow,
so all you do is replace it. This takes some work in Vista, but it worked
for me. My computer scanned! I believe this was the real problem because my
computer used to scan itself, but wouldn't after a while. There is a very
significant chance the problem came from a microsoft hotfix. I'll leave it
to them to figure out if that's what happened or which hotfix, etc... All I
care about is my computer scans itself without recovery console So here
are the steps to fix this problem in Vista... the only problem is you will
need a windows XP Install disk (I'll explain why...)

Go to C:\Windows\System32
Right click on Autochk.exe -> Properties
Click the Security tab, then click Advanced (button)
On the new window 'Advanced Security Settings for Autochk.exe' click the
'Owner' tab
Below the box labeled 'Change owner to:' click 'Edit...'
In the new window, under 'Change owner to:' select yourself (or the
Administrators group), then click OK
Close all property windows for autochk.exe, then go back to (right click)
Properties->Security
Click 'Edit...'
On the window 'Permissions for Autochk.exe' select the Administrators group,
then under 'Allow' click the 'Full Control' checkbox
Click OK and close the property windows
Ok...NOW you can rename autochk.exe to autochk_old.exe (that took a lot of
work!)

Now, I looked at Vista's installation DVD. All of the system files are
tucked nicely into 1 .wim file. This is a windows image file, and I'm not
sure how to pull the files out of it, so I just grabbed a handy XP
installation CD. The autochk.exe file is located at
(DriveLetter):\I386\AUTOCHK.EXE

Copy the AUTOCHK.EXE file from the XP installation disk to
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOCHK.EXE and you should be good to go!

I'll recontact Dell with this information, apparently other (non-Dell) users
are having this problem too.

Oh, yeah, the site where I found the solution:
"http://www.suehappycowboy.org/blog/?p=112" Thanks very very much!

dutchscout

PS As a followup, I searched online for 'how to open a wim file' in order to
get the vista 'version' AUTOCHK.EXE from the install.wim file on the install
disk. The process seems a little complicated, but there is a toolkit from
Microsoft for it. I'm probably just going to stick with the XP version until
there is a hotfix for this problem. The Microsoft toolkit for .wim files is
called the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) and is mostly for system
administrators. If you want to, though give it a try and let me know how it
goes! You might want to read this first:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94616/94616.html

 

[Guest]

Interesting followup... It's been a week or to and the file is corrupt again.
It worked before, but now it (autochk.exe) gives the error message "Program
too big to fit in memory" and chkdsk won't run on startup. I'm just going to
replace the file, but I want to see when it happens again... So it looks
like this problem can be a recurring one. Could you check and see if it
happened again to your system (by scheduling a chkdsk scan). I'd be
interested to know if the problem comes back for you too.

dutchscout