Unable to run Chkdisk??

I hope someone can help me. I have tried several times to run my chkdisk at startup. I keep getting a "cannot open volume for direct access" message. The help pages at Microsoft say to download SP2, which I already have. I uninstalled Zone Alarm and Folder Lock thinking that might be the issue, but still no change. I have even tried to run the chkdisk from the cmd prompt with no success. I am using XP Pro by the way... Any ideas???

Thanks!
H~

 

You could try typing "cd.." at the command propmt. If you keep typing this in you should go all the way to "C:\" This will allow you to make sure you are on the root. You may want to try a "chkdsk /r" or a "chkdsk /f" at the command prompt as well. You should get a message that looks like this:


C:\>chkdsk /f
The type of the 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)

You will want to hit the "Y" key and hit "Enter"

_____________________________________________

The other thing you can try is the recovery console. You can run this chkdsk /r and chkdsk /f from the command prompt there as well. You can find most of the information on Recovery Cosole here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q307654

 

Tried the cmd prompt and nothing, same message as before. When I went into the recovery console I got a "setup did not find any hard disk drives" message.:confused

Thanks,
H~

 

Make sure the Autochk.exe file is in C:\Windows\System32

You can try to schedule chkdsk to run at startup

- Open a command prompt window

- Type help chkntfs to see the options

- chkntfs C: will force chkdsk to run on drive C:


You might have to force it to dismount first /X

 

What type of motherboard do you have?

Have you installed the chipset drivers for you computer? This can cause communication problems that you are describing.

I would not recommend this unless you have done this before. But you could flash the Bios/CMOS on your motherboard. I know that they come out with rev. to the hardware. There may have been a manufacture problem that is fixed in a Bios upgrade.

 

When the computer was built, did you need the sata drivers to install? If so, going into recovery mode, without installing the sata drivers, will prevent windows from seeing the hdd.

I wouldn't recommend flashing the bios, unless that upgraded bios fixes this particular issue.

 

Autochk.exe is in C:\Windows\System32, tried the cmd prompt as stated above, nothing happened.

readmweep - What type of motherboard do you have?

Have you installed the chipset drivers for you computer? This can cause communication problems that you are describing.

I have a MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL Motherboard Model: MS-7142, no I have not installed chipset drivers.

theefool - When the computer was built, did you need the sata drivers to install? If so, going into recovery mode, without installing the sata drivers, will prevent windows from seeing the hdd.

I have no idea, all I know is that it is a ntfs file system.

Thanks,
H~

 

theefool - When the computer was built, did you need the sata drivers to install? If so, going into recovery mode, without installing the sata drivers, will prevent windows from seeing the hdd.

I have no idea, all I know is that it is a ntfs file system.

Thanks,
H~






Correction to the above post, I just checked the receipt that came with the computer, and it says that a sata hard drive is installed. The only drivers I see is a floppy marked "VIA SATA RAID drivers."

 

Do you, by chance, have Spyware Doctor installed on your computer ?

 

Okay, when you boot to the xp cd (to go to the recovery console), press the F6 key, when it asks for additional drivers (or something like that).

Then pop in that floppy disk, load the drivers, then go to the recovery console, and try running chkdsk from there.

 

Just wanted to update..... I followed the instructions above and it worked fine. Chkdisk did find some errors, but fixed them all. However, I still cannot run chkdisk the normal way via windows, and I am still getting the "cannot open volume for direct access" message.

Is it safe for me to use the recovery console everytime I need to run chkdisk? *sighs* I really don't want to reformat...

Thanks
H~

 

Yes, it is very safe. It is actually recommended because you cannot repair files in windows. You can only check consistency. So if you are actually wanting to run a true chkdsk, you will need to do it in recovery console.