CHKDSK hang - lots of ? no answer

W7
HDD w/3 partitions C:, D:, E:
C: = system
D: = Programs/data/profiles
E: = storage

I ran Chkdsk with the /b switch.
It ran fine on C: & D:
When I run it on E: it hangs at Stage 4 of 5 with 12% complete - 1409 of 197104 files processed. It has been there for hours.

I ran with no switch and with /F switch and it completes in a short time.
It is stage 4 that hangs - only 3 stages run for no and /f sws.

HD Tune Pro 4 did a full scan and found no errors.
There may be some large ISO or video files on this drive but none more than 4.5 GB. There might be larger folders.

I have rebooted and run chkdsk immediately. same result, same place to hang.

drive appears to function OK otherwise.

Since this never finishes there is no log created to be viewed in event viewer.
the ones that finish have a log generated.

The only SMART health issue is a UltraDMA CRC error count of 89, which is apparently due to an intermittent SATA data cable connection. It is not currently incrementing.

So, what is the problem, and can I get past this sometime in the near future without reformatting the partition?

 

Hi my friend , you should run this tool

http://majorgeeks.com/Hard_Disk_Sentinel_d7520.html

ensuring if your hdd is healthy or not , what is your hdd's maker ? :wave

 

this is my old post but I want to answer it for others
chkdsk scans and fixes problems in the file system with the /f switch
not much sense in running without fixing.
It runs fairly fast since it isn't reading tons of disk data.

In W7 the /b switch was added. This does everything the /f switch does then it scans the whole drive for errors and tries to fix them.
It runs slow since it is reading the WHOLE disk.
It runs EVEN SLOWER when it finds errors - and actually appears locked up since it tries to make sense of a sector MANY times before quitting.

The best thing to do is to start this before you go to bed. That way you won't be tempted to terminated it before it is done.

I haven't found one that in-fact does lock up. Just let it run till it tells you something. Of course if it goes for 24 hrs, chances are that you need a new HDD, so I guess you can just go buy a new one and stop it when you get back.:cool

 

You could try one of the many chkdsk replacements:

Puran Disk Check: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/puran_disk_check.html
CheckDisk: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/checkdisk.html
Foolish.IT CheckDisk: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/foolish_it_checkdisk.html

 

I stick with chkdsk, or I use the drive maker's Hard Drive Diagnostics program found on the drive maker's website.

As for chkdsk, you should use chkdsk /r and let it run overnight. It can take a very long time on larger drives and may appear to be hung when not. Just be patient and let it finish.

 

CHKDSK switches:
/f = fixes errors - errors associated with the NTFS management data
/r = locates bad sectors and recovers >>> implies f
/b = re-evaluates bad clusters >> implies r

/b is the highest level

 

Not really. As noted here the /b switch is to be used after imaging a volume to a new hard disk drive. The main difference is it clears the bad sector list.

But since /r scans for bad sectors too, the list will be updated.

That said, no harm in using /b, but it should be noted the /b switch is limited in scope because it is for NTFS formatted drives only, and is not supported in XP.

 

well as the first line of my original post suggested it is W7.
and as noted in my last post

/b = re-evaluates bad clusters >> implies r

so to say the /b switch "is limited in scope" is not exactly accurate, is it?

 

Since it applies to NTFS drives only, and W7 supports FAT32, then yes, it is limited.

/b should be used ONLY if you want to clear the list of bad sectors that previously FAILED factory testing or subsequent chkdsk scans.

Note because those sectors were bad, and marked as such, there will be no user data in stored in them to recover.

Most importantly, I see no valid or convincing reason to clear the bad sector list! Why risk it? Assuming 512byte sectors, a 500Gb drive has over 900,000,000 sectors! Why risk potential problems and corrupt data just to free up a few (typically single digits) that were found bad at the factory??? Where the factory tests the disks thoroughly with very sophisticated and dedicated diagnostic equipment?

I trust the factory's specialized and dedicated diagnostic test equipment over a little software program (chkdsk) and the drive's own interface.

/r will attempt to read and recover any data in a bad sector. It will not change the "factory applied" status to good, and I see that as a good thing.

My recommendation stands. Use /r. If you really want to attempt to recover an EXTREMELY small number of bad sectors that previously failed factory testing, then /b can be used, but I find no reasonable justification to attempt that.

@ruggb - if you can provide a good reason why anyone would need to mark good a sector found and marked as "bad" at the factory, I will reconsider.