[glen_m_32]

Hi all,

I have sudenly got a problem, whenever i start my computer (Win Xp Home) the ChkDsk starts (before windows loads, but after all the post screens) the box is not the usual sharp graphic interface, but instead a poor quality interface which to be honest looks fake.

It says its doing it thing, but never stops, i have tried stopping it, but that don't work, i tried starting in safe mode, but that exactly the same.

the thing is, i just received my USB HD and was starting the comp up to backup, but now i can't! i don't want to loose any data!

has anyone got any ideas?

thanks so much

Glen

Edited by glen_m_32, 14 March 2007 - 03:07 AM.

[Advertisements]

Read this and see if it pertains to you.

http://support.micro...om/?kbid=316506

Run "msconfig.exe" and then disable scandisk at startup.

Usually the problem lies in some form of driver conflict screwing up windows shutdown procedure.
Update all your drivers to latest, in particular your IDE drivers.
Also Nvidia and ATI have little proggies which are memory resident & seem to resist all efforts to close them at shutdown. Using MSCONFIG, you can disable these unnecessary hindrances from starting (although technically it is better to disable these through services management).

On volumes marked as "dirty," Windows automatically runs chkdsk when the computer is started or restarted.
What you're experiencing is what Windows refers to as "setting the dirty bit" and what you have to do is unset that bit. Every time Windows XP starts, autochk.exe is called by the kernel to scan all volumes to check if the volume dirty bit is set. If the dirty bit is set, autochk performs an immediate chkdsk /f on that volume. Chkdsk /f verifies file system integrity and attempts to fix any problems with the volume. It is usually caused by a hard shut down or a power loss during a read-right operation on that particular drive.

How do I fix it, you ask?

Well, that's easy. First click Start> Run> bring up a command prompt by typing in "CMD" and type " fsutil dirty query d: ". This queries the drive, and more than likely it will tell you that it is dirty. Next, type "CHKNTFS /X D:". The X tells Windows to NOT check that particular drive on the next reboot. At this time, manually reboot your computer, it should not do a Chkdsk and take you directly to Windows.

Once Windows has fully loaded, bring up another CMD prompt and type and now you want to do a Chkdsk manually by typing "Chkdsk /f /r d:". This should take you through 5 stages of the scan and will unset that dirty bit. Finally, type "fsutil dirty query d:" and Windows will confirm that the dirty bit is not set on that drive.

One thing you must think about is why this is happening. It may be just a update problem that caused this or it may be that your hard drive is getting corrupted sectors. I have seen a loose data cable cause this problem. I have also seen where the hard drive was still running when the computer shut down because some program was still writing to the drive. Removing the offending program(older Adobe photoshop) stopped the chkdsk.

SRX660

[SRX660]

Read this and see if it pertains to you.

http://support.micro...om/?kbid=316506

Run "msconfig.exe" and then disable scandisk at startup.

Usually the problem lies in some form of driver conflict screwing up windows shutdown procedure.
Update all your drivers to latest, in particular your IDE drivers.
Also Nvidia and ATI have little proggies which are memory resident & seem to resist all efforts to close them at shutdown. Using MSCONFIG, you can disable these unnecessary hindrances from starting (although technically it is better to disable these through services management).

On volumes marked as "dirty," Windows automatically runs chkdsk when the computer is started or restarted.
What you're experiencing is what Windows refers to as "setting the dirty bit" and what you have to do is unset that bit. Every time Windows XP starts, autochk.exe is called by the kernel to scan all volumes to check if the volume dirty bit is set. If the dirty bit is set, autochk performs an immediate chkdsk /f on that volume. Chkdsk /f verifies file system integrity and attempts to fix any problems with the volume. It is usually caused by a hard shut down or a power loss during a read-right operation on that particular drive.

How do I fix it, you ask?

Well, that's easy. First click Start> Run> bring up a command prompt by typing in "CMD" and type " fsutil dirty query d: ". This queries the drive, and more than likely it will tell you that it is dirty. Next, type "CHKNTFS /X D:". The X tells Windows to NOT check that particular drive on the next reboot. At this time, manually reboot your computer, it should not do a Chkdsk and take you directly to Windows.

Once Windows has fully loaded, bring up another CMD prompt and type and now you want to do a Chkdsk manually by typing "Chkdsk /f /r d:". This should take you through 5 stages of the scan and will unset that dirty bit. Finally, type "fsutil dirty query d:" and Windows will confirm that the dirty bit is not set on that drive.

One thing you must think about is why this is happening. It may be just a update problem that caused this or it may be that your hard drive is getting corrupted sectors. I have seen a loose data cable cause this problem. I have also seen where the hard drive was still running when the computer shut down because some program was still writing to the drive. Removing the offending program(older Adobe photoshop) stopped the chkdsk.

SRX660

[happyrock]

Found this... hope it explains a bit more

what you're experiencing is what Windows refers to as "setting the dirty bit" and what you have to do is unset that bit. Every time Windows XP starts, autochk.exe is called by the kernel to scan all volumes to check if the volume dirty bit is set. If the dirty bit is set, autochk performs an immediate chkdsk /f on that volume. Chkdsk /f verifies file system integrity and attempts to fix any problems with the volume. It is usually caused by a hard shut down or a power loss during a read-right operation on that particular drive.

How do I fix it, you ask?

Well, that's easy. First click Start... Run...bring up a command prompt by typing in "CMD" and type " fsutil dirty query c: ". This queries the drive, and more than likely it will tell you that it is dirty. Next, type "CHKNTFS /X C:". The X tells Windows to NOT check that particular drive on the next reboot. At this time, manually reboot your computer, it should not do a Chkdsk and take you directly to Windows.

Once Windows has fully loaded, bring up another CMD prompt and type and now you want to do a Chkdsk manually by typing "Chkdsk /f /r C:". This should take you through 5 stages of the scan and will unset that dirty bit. Finally, type "fsutil dirty query C:" and Windows will confirm that the dirty bit is not set on that drive. ...

[glen_m_32]

thank you for all your responces, BUT i can not access anything. Noting loads except the ChkDsk box!

i'm am really stuck now!

thanks again

[SRX660]

You need to try hitting the F8 button on the keyboard While the computer is booting up and see if you can restore or go to the last known good configuration on the computer.

SRX660

Edited by SRX660, 14 March 2007 - 08:56 AM.

[glen_m_32]

I will give it a go,

but does anyone know why this might be happening?

[The Skeptic]

If possible move your HD to another computer and attach it as a slave. First of all backup your data to the usb drive.

while on the other disk please do the following:

Scan with antivirus and at least one good antispyware. Most programs can be set to run selectively on the disk you want to test. This will save a lot of time.

Run checkdisk: my computer > right click your drive > properties > tools > error checking > check now > mark the two boxes > start.

If this doesn't help download a diagnostic tool from the disk manufacturer's site and run it to test your drive. Run a full test and hope for the best.

[ultimateslacker2]

Just simply run the chkdsk command at the command prompt:

chkdsk /f /r

[The Skeptic]

Can you run chkdsk /f /r on a slave disk?

[wannabe1]

Hi glen_m_32...

• If you have Spyware Doctor installed, uninstall it.
• If you have ZoneAlarm installed, open it, click the "Overview" tab, then select "Preferences", and UNcheck the "Protect ZA Client" check box.

Click Start, then Run, type cmd in the Open box and click "Ok". At the prompt in the Command window, type the following commands, pressing "Enter" after each one:

Substitute the drive letter for the drive your want to check for the ? in the following commands. Please note the spaces.

• chkntfs /d ..... (This will reset autocheck options to default...will come back invalid on some installations)
• chkntfs /c ?: ..... (This will allow checking the specified drive )
• chkntfs /x ?: ..... (The x switch tells Windows to NOT check the specified drive on the next boot)

At this point, restart your computer, it will not do a chkdsk and will boot directly to Windows.

This next step is important as this is where the Dirty Bit will be unset.

Substitute the drive letter for the drive your want to check for the ? in the following commands.

Click Start, then Run, type cmd in the Open box and click "Ok". At the command prompt, type the following, pressing "Enter" after each one: (Again, note the spaces.)

• chkdsk /f /r ?: ..... (To manually run a full chkdsk operation on the specified drive)
• Y ..... (To accept having it run on the next boot)

This should take you through 5 stages of the scan and will unset the Dirty Bit. Be patient...this is a very thorough check and will take quite a while.

Finally, when the chkdsk operation has completed, type fsutil dirty query ?:, press "Enter", and Windows will confirm that the Dirty Bit is not set on that drive.

Reboot again and see if chkdsk still runs on startup. If the machine boots back up to the command prompt, type exit and press "Enter"...it should boot to Windows.

wannabe1

[The Skeptic]

Hi wannabe1, my understanding is that he cannot boot the computer, that it goes into checkdisk and is unable to complete bootup. Am I wrong?

[wannabe1]

The Skeptic: You are correct...in my haste in reading, I overlooked that. Nice catch.

I have a question here, though. When you boot and the chkdsk operation runs, how long are you letting it go before you stop it?

chkdsk can take a long time to run, can appear to hang, and can even appear to "back up" a little. Normally the check runs about 45 minutes, but I have seen it take much longer in some situations.

That being said, I think we can run chkdsk on the slave from recovery console, but I'll have to verify that on my test machine to be sure.

[The Skeptic]

Hi wannabe1. There is no clear cut answer regarding time allowed for chkdsk. It is very much a gut feeling. When the process reaches badly damaged part of the disk it may hang for sometime. If I am convinced that the problem is with the disk and not with some other piece of hardware (which will obviously be the case if we attach the disk to a "healthy" computer) I would let it run for 2-3 hours to a disk of 80 gig . If it's not finished by then I try to save the disk for further use by low level format which is the most drastic action we can apply to a disk.

[glen_m_32]

I will try putting it in another computer, but the only computer i have available are SATA and this one is IDE.

i have left it for half hour, but will try leaving it over night and see what happens!

Thanks for everyones help, i'm surprised at the calibre of people interested in this subject!

[The Skeptic]

Every motherboard that I know off has an option to connect at least two IDE drives (meaning at least one connector on the motherboard). Yoy can attach the disk to there jumpered either as a master or cable select.