How to undo Chkdsk scan (Windows XP, SP 2)

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Trying to solve a previous problem I enabled the chkdsk scan feature. It informed me that it wouldn’t activate until my computer restarted… but it never did. Sinse then I’ve had two consequent problems.

The first problem is through Diskeeper, I get an error message saying, “Diskeeper has detected that CHKDSK is scheduled to run on the volume: (C:). This is due to either a user request, or because the operating system has found errors in the file system. CHKDSK will run automatically during the next system reboot. Until CHKDSK is run, Diskeeper cannot defragment the volume.”

The second error I’m getting is through Trend Micro PC-cillin virus protection and is not allowing my virus protection to run (and on a new computer im really worried). The message says, “No network device was found,or there is a conflict with existing security or antivirus software. Only the virus scan, spyware scan, and security check functions will be available. To enable full product functinality uninstall conflicting software or enable network connection, and restart program.” When I click Okay i get the message, “Unable to read configuration. Restart computer and try again. (hr=0x800700C1, loc=7413, num=238).”

I know that my netowork connection is fine because I’m on the internet now. So I’m only assuming it has to do witht he CHKDSK issue. Is there any way I can manually run it, or abort it so that I will have my defragger and anti-virus back in action? Thanks.

-Ben

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Ben,

You can run Checkdisk manually by clicking Start>Run then typing in “chkdsk c:” ( without the quotes ) then OK.
However, if the F switch is specified ( chkdsk C: /F ) then the system must be restarted and the chkdsk willmust run before Windows starts up.

You can also see what other switches are available for CHKDSK by typing chkdsk /? in the run box.

Running chkdsk without the F switch will only verify if there are errors or not. It will NOT fix them.

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Ben,

Don’t worry! Just click Start | Run, type

chkdsk /r

hit Enter, confirm your choice and restart your computer.
Then turn on your TV and watch your favorite sport event. During the breaks check your computer – when Checkdisk will finish its job, login and let Disk Defragmenter run, and continue to watch TV. At the end of the day your problems will be solved automatically

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i wish these seemingly simple solutions were working, i think there is a hidden problem. i tried all three of viking’s suggestions, and nothing worked.

Chkdsk C: did some diagnosis and said checking files, then disapearred, when i check to see which switches are available it diseapeares after a second, and chkdsk c:/f just says that another program is running and asks if i want to do it on startup, i say yes and it doesn’t do anything. I did all three of these in safe mode as well with the same response.

When I do kaplinb’s suggestion i get the same message, “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?”

What processes would be running that could prevent CHKDSK from running? Do i have to shut down literally every startup program? Even so, it doesn’t work in safe mode either, i get the same message.

The newest problem im getting is that I can’t restore to an earlier date now either. It does the restore loading process seemingly well, and then I get the “Restoration Incomplete” message.

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You could try creating a BartPE boot CD and running CheckDsk from that.

StuartR

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i have to wait to go home to get the windows xp cd. any other suggestions?

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Are you able to run the native Windows defrag utility ???

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actually it’s kind of wierd because apparently Diskeeper overrides the native defragger in Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Defragger. Is there another way to get to it?

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If it doesn’t work, what difference would it make how you get to it ??? I don’t believe it will change anything, but the file dfrg.msc can be found in the C:WINDOWSsystem32 folder. Double clicking on it should open the defrag utility.

It sounds as though you have bigger problems than defragging your disk. I’ll see what I can turn up about these symptoms. Any other pertinent facts or things that aren’t working the way they should ???

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Ok, first try this…..
Go into Diskkeeper and turn OFF the boot-time defrag (which will in turn turnoff the CHKDSK requirement). You should be able to perform a regular defrag then.

If that doesn’t work, take a look at this info on repairing the Windows Defrag utility, or chase down some of the other links in this Google search.

HTH

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none of these work, any other suggestions?

P.S. i got my virus protection running again, i ended up reinstalling it and it works fine. Now the biggest issues I’m dealing with are Diskeeper not working, because even though I’m seemingly executing the CHKDSK, it doesnt think it is. And the next problem is that my restore doesn’t work. Are there any ways to trick the computer into thinking chkdsk’s ran even though it hasn’t?

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Did you check already if the dirty bit is set indeed? You can do that, from the command prompt, with this command: fsutil dirty query c:
You can also explicitly set the bit with the fsutil command, but you cannot reset it. That still can only be done through the chkdsk command.

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Uninstall Diskkeeper and then, if you know how and are confident you can do it, edit all traces of it from the registry. Then reboot and .

If Chkdsk runs on the reboot and all seems back to normal, throw your copy of Diskkeeper in the trash and get yourself a copy of PerfectDisk. It is, IMHO, the far superior product.

HTH.

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Should have mentioned…. if you don’t know how or are not confident, skip the registry edit and just reboot after uninstalling Diskkeeper.

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Is Diskeeper part of the XP System tools ? or is it a 3rd party program … ? I did not see diskeeper as a selectable option.
I have been using the Disk Clean and the Defrag options … Richard

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Diskeeper Defragmenter is not part of Windows XP, it is a commercial 3rd party product.

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Thank you for taking the time to reply …. Richard

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Sorry it’s taken so long to reply, im dealing with multiple computer problems and school work.

Argus: I did the test you asked and it says that Volume-C: is dirty, but the Chkdsk/ d didn’t work to allow Chkdsk /f to work. Chkdsk /f is still saying another program is in use, but when I restart the computer chkdsk doesn’t start. If you can guide me to the event log I could give you a printscreen of it. i’m not sure waht kind of problems or errors to be looking for that would be relevent to this situation.

DocWatson – I uninstalled Diskeeper w/ the registy components, reinstalled it and got the same problem

Eddym – I like the idea of using the recovery console but id ont know the first thing about it and I’m not sure if I could maneuver around it

I also ran Chkdsk thru CMD.exe and it says that the disc found errors and it couldn’t continue in read-only mode. but I don’t know what that means other than that it isn’t good.

Another update I just discovered if this helps at all is that Diskeeper works, it defrags my partitioned D: drive and my external hardrive, but it won’t defrag my C: drive.

Thank you for all your help.

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Ben, to use the recovery console read here: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documen…k.mspx?mfr=true%5B/url%5D

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DocWatson – I uninstalled Diskeeper w/ the registy components, reinstalled it and got the same problem

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[/indent]But did you try to run CHKDSK before you reinstalled Diskkeeper ??? Try removing Diskkeeper again and getting your computer squared away before reinstalling. If you can run CHKDSK and the native Windows defrag utility without Diskkeeper on the system then it’s likely that Diskkeeper is causing the problem and shouldn’t be reinstalled.

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Uninstalled it completely, restarted computer, went to Microsoft Defragmenter, got the same error message that CHKDSK needs to run. Thank you though.

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Sorry to put you to that trouble for no result. At least we can be pretty sure that Diskkeeper isn’t the problem. Have you tried to do a System Restore to a time before you initiated the CHKDSK command ??

I’ll be offline for a few days starting this afternoon, but I’m sure the others will be trying to help you resolve this. Good luck.

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This is another bad problem I’ve been facing. Simultaniously and I’m sure related to the CHKDSK error I’m having with Diskeeper, I lost the ability to restore my computer. It goes thru the whole restore process, and it looks like it’s sucessful, then all of a sudden it says on bootup, Restoration Incomplete. And I don’t know why.

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I’m beginning to suspect that some sort of nasty is onboard. Go to Spy Sweeper’s website and run the scan they offer. I’t the top antispyware/malware program out today and might turn out the bug if it’s there.

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Ben,
I did not say “chkdsk/ d”. In a comment to Stuart about the CHKNTFS tool I mentioned two uses; first one can use it to check if a volume been flagged as dirty (not exactly a normal procedure to check before), most people run the chkdsk with a switch, needed or not. Second, one can exclude a volume from scheduled checks. Also not normal procedure, since everyone wants healthy drives and want to allow chkdsk to run. As to switch /d in use with chkntfs, that is if one previously has used the /x switch with chkntfs to exclude a volume. See my post 602,884.

OK, System Restore is not working as it should at the moment. If you are not in an immediately need for a System Restore, that fix can wait.

As I mentioned earlier; to run chkdsk with a switch the checked volume need to be locked. Chkdsk may or may not be able to lock the drive, but when it comes to system drive (C: ) that is not possible since files are in use.

At Command Prompt
“chkdsk” no switch read only mode, status of current drive.
“chkdsk C:” no switch read only mode, status of C:, system drive.
“chkdsk C: /f” /f switch, fix any errors found on C:, system drive.
“chkdsk C: /r” /r switch, identifies bad sectors and recovers information from them if possible, found on C:, system drive.

I mention this to be sure you are running with a switch correctly specified, otherwise nothing will be checked. Have I missed it or have you mentioned what you see at boot time; does chkdsk run (blue screen, count down to run, then runs the scheduled check)? Also if the scheduled check is on system drive C, the PC reboots once the scheduled check is done. The results of the scheduled check can be found in Event Viewer, Start>Run…>eventvwr.

So, chkdsk says it found some error, but can not fix it since it can not lock the drive (normal). It offers to schedule a check to the next boot time (normal). If that do not work, i.e. the boot-check, then, as I mentioned earlier, it could be that something is read or written to the drive before chkdsk can lock it at boot time. (And of course you have not used chkntfs /x to exclude the drive, then nothing will be scheduled to check).

Now, it has been discussed, if running chkdsk from the Recovery Console is more effective, more thorough etc. opinions vary. In your case it can maybe solve the issue with not being able to lock and check. If you run chkdsk from the Recovery Console with some switch, no need to schedule the check, since from the Windows XP CD, system drive is not in use.

To Run the RC you will need to have a Windows XP CD, the Administrator password (if not set it is blank), eventually change boot order in BIOS so you can boot from the CD. See my post 602,991 in this thread.

At Recovery Console
“chkdsk” no switch, se above.
“chkdsk C: /P” /P switch, performs an exhaustive check even if the drive is not marked for chkdsk to run. This parameter does not make any changes to the drive.
“chkdsk C: /R” /R switch, Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. Implies /p.

At the Recovery Console run chkdsk C: /R, when finished enter “Exit”, and the machine will reboot, you will be asked if you want to boot from the CD, since you have not removed it, don’t press any key and it will boot from hard drive.

It could be that you have some malware, as Doc mentions, that does not alow you to run scheduled checks at boot time. You should anyhow be able to run the chkdsk command from the Recovery Console. Removing malware if found is however priority No. 1.

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I don’t know how much this helps, but I think I just found the corrupt file/folder.

It’s part of my Trend Micro PC-cillin virus protection.

C:Program FilesInternet Security 12TempaubinAU_cachepccdell-p.activeupdate.trendmicro.com

My spyware scanner, Ewido, came across it and told me that this file was corrupt and that I needed to run chkdsk. I can’t delete this file though. Any suggestions?

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You have been given the same suggestion by a number of people, you just need to run chkdsk whilst booted from a CD. You can use a windows Recovery CD, or a BartPE CD, see the posts above that describe how to do this.

StuartR

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fair enough, i just haven’t gone home yet (living on campus) to retrieve it.

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Try the utility Unlocker to get rid of that file.

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There is a tool called Chkntfs in the Windows XP Resource Kit that might be able to fix this.

I have never run it, but from the description it sounds like it might do the job.

StuartR

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Hi Stuart,
Chkntfs was the first thing I came to think of when reading the questions, or even the subject line, (I learned about chkntfs some years ago through some XP book). I don’t know about other OS’s but the chkntfs tool is included in my version of XP in %SystemRoot%System32.

First: chkntfs Volume: to see if autochk.exe is set to run at boot time. That is, it tells if the volume has been corrupted, and the “dirty”-bit has been set in the registry. Nifty.

Second: chkntfs /x Volume: to cancel a scheduled check, or more precisely to exclude a volume from scheduled checks by chkdsk /f etc. To run chkdsk /f on a volume that has been excluded, run chkntfs /d. That will restore to normal.

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What processes would be running that could prevent CHKDSK from running? Do i have to shut down literally every startup program? Even so, it doesn’t work in safe mode either, i get the same message.

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Hi,
To run “chkdsk Volume: /f” the disk must be locked. In the case of the systemvolume (C: ), it cannot lock the drive, it offer to check C: at next reboot. Other volumes may or may not be locked.

An alternative when chkdsk cannot lock a drive; it may offer to dismount the volume. That is nothing I would try, risk for loss of data, and not for normal use. So just accept the offer to run at next start.

See also my answer to Stuart.

Also, when you say “it diseapeares after a second”, have you tried to run them at the command prompt (cmd.exe) instead of Start > Run… ?

Have you looked at the System/Program log in Event viewer for odd error reports etc? Run “eventvwr.msc”

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You could try to run the chkdsk /f in the Recovery console. This will get rid of the dirty flag on the disk and should get the defragger satisfied.

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Hi,
I understand that your recommendation was meant as a reply to Ben (and maybe me also?).

At the Recovery console there are only two switches available, /P and /R (and running without switch).

/P exhaustive check of specified drive and corrects errors
/R repairs damage (i.e. the /R switch in normal use; locates bad sectors and recovers information, /P is implied).

See Chkdsk (using the Recovery Console)

You are correct that, under normal circumstances, defrag will not run if the drive is corrupted in any way (dirty-bit set), and with a switch one can force chkdsk to run even if the drive is not flagged dirty.

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Ben,
If nothing else is wrong with your computer it could be that something is reading or writing to your disk before the scheduled chkdsk can lock the drive.

Apparantly some years ago some version of ZoneAlarm could give this result. Also Spyware Doctor had problem with chkdsk and defrag, maybe also some AV program. They probably should be fixed now.

As a solution you could try to run chkdsk from the Recovery Console.
Boot from your Windows XP CD, select Repair with Recovery Console from first screen. Select the system you want to log on, example: 1. C:Windows, then press 1 and Enter, next enter your Administrator password.

chkdsk /? will give you information about switches available in RC.

To exit RC and reboot after you are finished, enter Exit press Enter.

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