XP Chkdsk Troubles!

[Travis Wayne]

Hey All, Thanks in advance for the help.

Problem: I have "disk" errors in Event Viewer of a co-worker's (my boss) laptop. I run error-checking, and have to reboot to let chkdsk do it's thing. It gets to 7% of stage 4 then just sits there indefinatly!!

Is there any other disk repair utilities (free) to recomend, or any workarounds for this?? Even if I can't get the lost clusters back I HAVE to get this Scan to run through.

Thanks!!

Travis

[MrLinus]

Is this run in Safe Mode or Regular Bootup Mode?

[Travis Wayne]

When I try to run "error-checking" in normal or safe mode, I get the usual
"The disk check could not be performed because exclusive access to the drive could not be obtained.....schedule this disk check to occur the next time you restart the computer?"

To which I say "yes" and restart. The scan starts before you get the login prompt and does it's thing like it should until stage 4 (of 5?) at 7% then just sits there indefinatly.
I have to cold boot then skip the test to get back into windows, but I need to fix these bad sectors.

[MrLinus]

Sounds like something is running in the background. Have you done a virus/spyware/trojan check? Double check as to what processes are running and see if there are any that you can kill that aren't needed. A tool like HiJackThis! might also show you what things are loaded at bootup time and might give more details.

You might also want to go into the Recovery Console (you'll need your XP CD for this) and see if you can run chkdsk that way.

[Travis Wayne]

I don't thinks it's running processes (as windows has not even fully loaded yet), and we have a corprate, up-to-date AV app that comes up clean so I doubt trojans/viruses as well. I'll try the recovery console.

Any idea if anyone has ever had such a problem? I can't find any refence to chkdsk locking up on any forums/help texts.

...am I the only person with such an issue???
:-Þ

Thansk for the help

[MrLinus]

I don't thinks it's running processes (as windows has not even fully loaded yet), and we have a corprate, up-to-date AV app that comes up clean so I doubt trojans/viruses as well.

Uh... don't rely on a single AV source. At my location we use a corporate edition of Norton's and I still got infected. It's worthwhile to use something like http://housecall.trendmicro.com as a backup AV to double check. Even if you are in Safe Mode, there are still processes running (how else would the OS itself load?). Never make the assumption that things aren't there. Some things may not be identified under Task Manager so a tool like Process Explorer (from SysInternals and free) can show what processes are running at that particular time and what memory locations they are using (might be useful to identify hidden processes).

You may not be the only one who has experienced this but the experience itself might be slightly different (e.g., some may go to 10%, 15% or 3%).

Keep in mind this is a troubleshooting exercise. So once we eliminate what we can then we can narrow down more what the actual issue is. If everything turns up clean and you do attempt it via the Recovery Console and the same error happens, I'd bet at that point it might be a hardware issue. It would be worthwhile then to go to the harddrive manufacturer's website and see if they have any diagnostic software (many do have boot disk diagnostic tools).

[whatthe]

as windows has not even fully loaded yet

Does this mean that there's nothing important on it yet? Like Ms Mittens says I'd find the brand name of the drive and download a utility from their website and test it. Sometimes they will wipe out your drive, but they warn you first.

When it hangs, does the drive click? Does it freeze the laptop solid or can you turn the caps locks light on and off? Sometimes if it is doing one of those your drive is on the way out.

If you are just installing the OS I wouldn't be starting off on a wonky drive, get a diagnostic from the vendor.

Good luck

[Travis Wayne]

whatthe: No, the OS is installed and all (the system has been in use for some time). I just meant that when you scedule the scan to run on next boot the system shows the windows splash screen then jumps right into the scan itself.
There shouldn't be any other processes besides windows loaders and chkdsk itself.

[whatthe]

I understand now. I'd still try the HDD vendors diagnostic to give it a scan and see if it does have bad areas. Some of them have the option to attemp bad cluster repair. What kind of laptop is it?

I'd back up the data just in case the drive is going. If you can't copy it to another computer on your network you can get a converter kit to connect it to the IDE cable in a desktop. Better safe than sorry.

There shouldn't be any other processes besides windows loaders and chkdsk itself.

There could still be something in memory. Instead of a restart maybe try a shut down and leave it off for a few minutes.

[Travis Wayne]

Thanks, I'll try that.