Error-checking function: Drive C

I'm back..(and not smiling.. )..
Given that I am religious about doing scan disk and defrags, I was not happy when the following occurred and still plagues me:

I had gone to the C drive to do the Error Checking thing (the old scan disk?)....and there are two boxes you can tick off as options: (a) automatically fix file system errors and (b) scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors..I ticked them off as I always have done...
Well...typically after you do that, it says that you have to schedule it on the next shutdown since Windows needs access to some files...yadda yadda...

So I did: and when it started up in the blue screen to to the error-checking/scan disk, this is what it said:

Checking File on C
Files are NFTS
Cannot open volume for direct access
Windows has finished checking the volume.

Now, every time my PC starts, it goes into this mode for the two seconds it takes to read this..and then the PC starts up ok...
BUT, i can't get it to stop doing this...and i don't understand why it can't access the files it needs to..?..
I have tried to UNDO what I did by going back to the C drive and repeating the entire process without ticking off the two boxes...THen, it will do error checking ok...BUT, the PC will continue to start up in the blue screen with the above message each time I shut down and newly start up..

Any suggestions that hopefully will not make me want to hurl the PC out the window..???

L AMD Athlon XP 2600+ 2.1 GHz, 224 MB RAm (37.27 GB, 4.02 GB Hard Disks)..

Await any response with thanks...

 

I would imagine this is happening repeatedly because a scandisk is scheduled, but is not completeing.

I would try going to command prompt (start --> run, 'cmd') and typing chkdsk /x this will force a dismount of the volume. Restart your machine and see how it goes?

 

and the plot thickens,MM...
I attended to the above command and got the following:

The type of file system is NTFS. Cannot lock current drive. Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? Y/N

I decided to see if I could actually get the process to work so I checked Y...

Well...what happened was that I no longer get the message saying the original message in the blue screen (so, thanks for that though I would have thought that my choice of Y would have done the opposite...)...

BUT WHY CANNOT I NOT ACCESS THIS DRIVE FOR THE ERROR CHECKING..???
Any ideas here..???

and thank you for your prompt reply and the 1/2 fix......

 

Hmmm....do you have any sort of permissions defined? Check that SYSTEM and Administrator(s) have full access to the root of c: If there's nothing there, I would suspect there's some setting in BIOS preventing your chkdsk.

 

edit : stupid post

 

MM...I truly am not that PC literate and though I understand what you are saying about, I am not sure how to find out the above...(incidentally, I AM the adminstrator..nobody else has access..but, perhaps perameters have been altered..not sure..)...Could you perhaps be more specific as to HOW I may find out what you are saying above..???

I also have Norton's The Works and if you know the package, they also have a utility that allows the same access to this error checking issue on C...(I tried to have Symantec perform the drive check but got the same message...Obviously..,as they are both using the same utility in essence..)

 

Well, to check the permissions on the drive do the following:

1. Open My Computer
2. Right-click on the c: drive and select properties
3. Select the Security Tab.

Now this is where it gets tricky. You want to make sure that administrator and system have full control of everything on the drive. If you don't have any other permissions setup (which it sounds like), then it is safe to do the following, if you DO, then DON'T follow these steps, as they will blow away the permissions on the subfolders and files on the drive (unless you can easily recreate them).

4. Click the Advanced button.
5. On the permissions tab, select administrator and press edit.
6. Select full control and press ok.
7. Repeat 5-6 for the system user.
8. Check the box that says Replace permission entries on child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects, and press apply. This will give the administrator and system user accounts full control of everything.

Try another chkdsk to see if it can now access the drive.

If you don't want to or cannot do that, then I'd check through BIOS. To do so, you will have to press the 'setup' button immediately after pressing the power button...this is usually F1 or Delete, but it should say on screen.

 

Hi there MM..

have no problem effecting the directions you wrote out....BUT...upon doing #'s 1,2..there is NO Security Tab that I noted in properties....