chkdsk not working

Discussion in 'Software' started by hcrawfor, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. hcrawfor

    hcrawfor Private First Class

    System: Windows XP - Service Pack 3

    While running CCleaner I received a warning message to run chkdsk. CCleaner finished normally. I then tried to run chkdsk through a command prompt. I was informed I needed to restart my PC (by responding 'yes' (y) to a question).

    After rebooting several times, chkdsk did not execute. I've been able to run chkdsk in this manner on several other PCs. Also, I can not run defrag. It tells me I have chkdsk scheduled to run on the next reboot.... but it never runs.

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks, hcrawfor
     
  2. lotus8

    lotus8 Private E-2

    do you have enough disk space to defrag?
     
  3. theefool

    theefool Geekified

  4. AustrAlien

    AustrAlien Specialist

    That looks as though it might just work
    But if not .... I suggest you proceed with the steps below.
    -------------------------
    I have had to do a bit of digging around to try to come up with a likely solution for you.

    First some questions:
    1. Do you run any of the following, and if so what versions?
    *Norton
    *Diskeeper
    *ZoneAlarm
    2. Are you trying to run chkdsk from an account with Administrator privileges?
    3. Do you have an XP installation disk, or a recovery disk?
    --------------------
    Let's see if chkdsk will run when trying to start from Safe Mode. Try the following:
    Press the ON button and start tapping F8 key, and keep tapping .... until the Windows Advanced Options Menu appears.
    Use the up/down arrows to select Safe Mode, and press Enter.
    I don't think this will apply, but: If required, log in to the Administrator account, rather than the one you would normally use.
    (If a password is required and you don't know it ... there probably is no password, so just press Enter.)
    If the drivers load and the last one on the screen is \mup.sys ... and the hard drive activity light glows red .... and it sits there for a long time ... then it is running chkdsk. That is good. When you are finally back into Windows normally, try running "Error check", to see whether it works correctly now.

    If instead, the computer loads Windows Safe Mode ... then it hasn't been able to run chkdsk, and I am thinking that there is corruption of the files necessary to do the task.
    In that case, do this:
    Start > Run > and type "cmd" and press Enter.
    Type "sfc /scannow" and press Enter.
    If prompted, insert your Windows XP installation disk. ***The Windows installation disk *must contain Service Pack 2, at least.***
    (If your CD does not contain SP2, then you will need to slipstream your XP disk with SP2, before you are able to continue with this step. Let us know if you need help with this.)
    You may not be prompted for your installation disk, so it is worth trying this in any case.
    If this step is successfully completed, try running "Error check" again to see whether it completes successfully.

    Please post with your progress and results, and of course, any questions you may have with the above steps.
     
  5. Bugballou

    Bugballou MajorGeek

    I would suspect malware, can you install and run Malwarebytes? Had a similar experience on an XP Home SP2 system that was infested with viruses, trojans, and rootkits (chkdsk would start and immediately say it had finished).
     
  6. hcrawfor

    hcrawfor Private First Class

    Yes. 85% or more is free.
     
  7. hcrawfor

    hcrawfor Private First Class

    Thanks. Please keep in mind this is a friend's computer... not mine.

    Could not get chkdsk to run following any of the suggestions. Installed McAffee which my friend had previously purchased, and conducted a scan. Only found a couple of items which were removed.

    Also tried to run SUPERAntiSpyware, but it wouldn't execute. Ran CCleaner again and installed a stand-alone Defrag program. Computer appears to be operating normally. Still can't understand why I can't get chkdsk to run. It runs just fine on my PC.

    Anyway... because the system seems OK, I've got to move on.

    Thanks, hcrawfor
     
  8. theefool

    theefool Geekified

    One last thing to do, boot to the xp cd. On the first screen press R for recovery console. Type in the drive you want to access (typically 1). Type in the password (if no password, just hit enter).

    Then run:

    chkdsk /r c: (press enter).

    This should run chkdsk, once done, type in:

    exit (enter).

    This should clear up the chkdsk issue.
     
  9. avashpani

    avashpani Private E-2

    Thanks. Malwarebytes worked like magic
     

MajorGeeks.Com Menu

Downloads All In One Tweaks \ Android \ Anti-Malware \ Anti-Virus \ Appearance \ Backup \ Browsers \ CD\DVD\Blu-Ray \ Covert Ops \ Drive Utilities \ Drivers \ Graphics \ Internet Tools \ Multimedia \ Networking \ Office Tools \ PC Games \ System Tools \ Mac/Apple/Ipad Downloads

Other News: Top Downloads \ News (Tech) \ Off Base (Other Websites News) \ Way Off Base (Offbeat Stories and Pics)

Social: Facebook \ YouTube \ Twitter \ Tumblr \ Pintrest \ RSS Feeds