strange check disk/chkdsk report.

[Stan Blazejewski]

G'day,

Can anyone tell me why I 'always' get errors when running CHKDSK (not always the
same ones) but 'never' get an error when using XP's check disk gui interface
(under properties-tools)?

I am running CHKDSK in a DOS window rather than booting to DOS & wonder if this
is the reason & also the reason I have never 'fixed' the errors in case this is
normal under this condition.

I 'just' did a chkdsk in a DOS window with these results....

WARNING! F parameter not specified.
Running CHKDSK in read-only mode.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
File verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
Index verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)...
Security descriptor verification completed.
Correcting errors in the master file table's (MFT) BITMAP attribute.
Correcting errors in the Volume Bitmap.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

This was directly after doing the same in XP's gui interface with no errors.

Question is, should I 'fix' or not even though the other check disk shows no
errors?

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[Wesley Vogel]

Don't even bother running CHKDSK in read-only mode. It is a waste of time
and prone to not accurately reporting information. CHKDSK might report
spurious errors because it cannot lock the drive.

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:

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.]]

You have to reboot for Error-checking to run.

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.]]
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[[Chkdsk might not accurately report information in read-only mode.]]
From...
Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...windows/xp/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_pwfd.asp

[[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.]]

[[Using chkdsk with open files
If you specify the /f command-line option, chkdsk sends an error message if
there are open files on the disk. If you do not specify the /f command-line
option and open files exist, chkdsk might report lost allocation units on
the disk. This could happen if open files have not yet been recorded in the
file allocation table. If chkdsk reports the loss of a large number of
allocation units, consider repairing the disk.]]
From...
Chkdsk
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/chkdsk.mspx

[[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. For example, CHKDSK may report disk corruption if NTFS
happens to modify areas of a disk while CHKDSK is examining the disk. For
correct verification, a volume must be static, and the only way to guarantee
a static state is to lock the volume. CHKDSK locks the volume only if you
specify the /F switch (or the /R switch, which implies /F). You may need to
run CHKDSK more than once to get CHKDSK to complete all its passes
in read-only mode. ]]
From...
An Explanation of the New C and I Switches That Are Available to Use with
Chkdsk.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314835

To take advantage of all the Chkdsk parameters, use the command-line version
of Chkdsk.

Describes how to use the chkdsk command at the command line.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/chkdsk.asp

Understanding what CHKDSK does
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835/en-us#XSLTH3154121123120121120120
From...
An explanation of the new /C and /I Switches that are available to use with
Chkdsk.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In