Repetitive CHKDSK

Got a weird one here it all started when I tookout my Ram to test a problem with RAM in other com, since I replaced it the com on boot reaches powering Roms and Floppy it powers off. If I try to boot immediately the same happens but if left for 2 mins it will continue to boot pass the powering of Floppy and Roms,then, that stayed like that for a week, and now, when boot has passed the XP splash screen checkdisk kicks in, Quote on screen says, 'Checking file system on 'D'.. yes D .. This will also happen in SafeMode. At one point I read that this was caused by a command from 'Diskeeper' so have rid computer of all reference to diskeeper (uninstalled and cleared programme folder/startup menu/registry but it still continues. To get com to fully boot I stop the chkdsk. If com left running after about 15/20 mins it freezes and if I leave untouched after moving mouse it will kick back in again and work for a further 5 mins but eventually it will self reboot and the ckeckdisk will appear again. Ran 2 AV's and cleared spy stuff, Defragged as well. used Dos command to chkdsk hoping that would maybe clear it but no.. Tried a Repair but when programme was checking disk during preinstalation the yellow progress bar froze at 75% so would not reinstall/repair (but I have only tried to repair the once) I am hoping there is a fix without having to repair and re-install all drivers..Any ideas plz Geeks ?? PS. there is no OC.

AMD64 3200
ABIT K8
Corsair CMX1024-3200
2 x WD 120 sata raid 0
1 x Maxtor 250 Gig
1 x 250 Gig
XP Pro
Nvida chipset

 

The most obvious things would be the RAM is faulty or damaged (or not seated correctly), or the Bios isn't detecting it correctly.

 

Thanks for your reply insomniac.. I had already reseated Ram twice but after what you said this was the only option so i took out your advice and reseated ..and reset CMOS, third time lucky. Com now running ok for past 4 hours and no more chkdsk, but the initial boot prob is still there, I noticed that when it will boot after the first failed attempt, when it reaches Rom power for the second time the time lapse is much shorter than the failed boot and of course I must go into bios to change to 'Optimized Default' as it is always returned to 'Fail-Safe'... does that pinpoint anything ?? thanks again

 

I've never come across this, but it sounds like your Bios doesn't like your setup for some reason.

I would go into the Bios, and make sure everything is displayed correctly?

 

I’m not sure, but it’s possible that the dirty bit may be set. You can test this by bringing up a command prompt and typing
fsutil dirty query d
This queries the drive. If it tells you that it is dirty, bring up another command prompt and this time type
chkntfs /x d
Then manually reboot and you should go directly to Windows without doing a chkdsk. Once Windows has fully loaded, bring up another cmd prompt and do a chkdsk manually by typing
chkdsk /f /r d
This should take you through 5 stages of the scan and unset the dirty bit. Finally, type
fsutil dirty query d
and Windows should confirm that the dirty bit is not set on that drive.

 

Well I did as you suggested insomniac and all settings seem to be as the manual depicts bar in one setting which is the DRAM Config. there is a slight discrepancy as some figures are slighlty higher, but considering I reset the CMOS then Loaded Optimized Defaults I assume they are the correct settings. This Mobo ABIT KV8 PRO has set the CPU (AMD64 3200) to a slightly faster speed without OC'ing so would this account for the discrenpancy. Strange that this started when I replaced RAM from 1 stick of 1 Gig Corsair to 2 sticks of 512 DDR400 then ran just the once then returned the Corsair, so as you said this may have sent the BIOS a little crazy, but I would have thought by resetting the CMOS it would have cleared that. One thing I have not tried and that is to leave the battery out overnight and try that.. Will let you know the outcome.. Thanks again

 

You may have to leave it out longer than overnight.

It can range from a few minutes to a few days, and on laptops it doesn't do anything.


Anyway, try fail-safe defaults until you get this sorted, and only have minimum hardware hooked up. The less the better for now.

What are your concerns, or what are the errors or problems you have?

 

Hi again insomniac... The prob is really no big deal although very annoying as I switch off this rig each night and its when i boot up each morning that the problem arises. After doing a little swatting around it appears that when the Bios has done its routine and then goes to hand over to the HD and Windows to complete the boot .. that is when it is failing, and as I said if I leave for 2 minutes it will then boot but have to reset the bios from Failsafe to Optimized which includes resetting boot priority as OS is on a Raid setup. I took battery out for about 4 hours but having read your post it may not be a long enough period. Apologies for not getting back earlier but have been quite busy at work