CHKDSK fails

[Wesley Vogel]

Bill,


Apparently whatever program that normally starts and interfers with chkdsk
did not start.

I'll have to add that to my standard post.

If you are getting one of these messages:

Cannot lock volume for direct access
or
Cannot open volume for direct access

Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0 can cause the problem.

Chkdsk.exe or ScanDisk fails to run on Windows XP or Windows 2003 after
installing Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...6e22005026f1/52d79c84c363973488256ea600542b5a

A program called Hitman Pro can cause the problem.

A really old version of ZoneAlarm (a version from 2004) can cause the
problem.

BitDefender Internet Security 9 can cause the problem.

[[Ok BitDefender live support told me yesterday that they are working on it
and
sending people analyse tools but she didn't send me one.....]]
from...
(e-mail address removed) 21 May 2006

Spyware Doctor can also cause the problem.

The /x switch doesn't work if Spyware Doctor is installed. Spyware Doctor
needs to be uninstalled or you can do this...

Quoted from *PCTools*, *Spyware* *Doctor*...
1. Exit from Spyware Doctor (to exit from Spyware
Doctor please right click on the Spyware Doctor icon in
the notification area (next to the clock on the Windows
taskbar) and select Exit from the menu that appears)

2. Delete the file
ikhlayer.sys from %windir%\system32\drivers\
or
from c:\windows\system32\drivers\

3. Restart Spyware Doctor

Chkdsk, defrag and error-checking should now work.
-----

[[There is currently no fix for this problem.]]
[[NOTE: You may have success if you schedule Chkdsk to run at startup and
use the /X switch, which will force a dismount. ]]
from...
JSI Tip 7079. You receive 'Cannot open volume for direct access' when Chkdsk
runs during Windows XP startup
http://www.jsifaq.com/subO/tip7000/rh7079.htm

To run chkdsk from a command prompt.

Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
In the command prompt, type:

chkdsk C: /x

Hit your Enter key.

The following error message appears:
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)

Type Y, hit Enter and close the command prompt.

Reboot.

The /x switch: Use with NTFS only. Forces the volume to dismount first, if
necessary. All open handles to the drive are invalidated. /x also includes
the functionality of /f. The /F switch fixes errors on the disk.

Unable to run CHKDSK
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555484

[[Message 1
Cannot lock volume for direct access
Message 2
Cannot open volume for direct access ]]
You receive an error message when you run the Autochk.exe utility on a
partition after you restart the computer or when you schedule the Chkdsk.exe
utility to run on a partition on a Windows 2000-based computer or a Windows
NT-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/160654

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the help Wes.
Now I can back to the original problem, trying to run Partition Magic 8.0
Too bad Symantec doesn't have a newgroup like this.

Bill S.

Bill,


Apparently whatever program that normally starts and interfers with chkdsk
did not start.

I'll have to add that to my standard post.

If you are getting one of these messages:

Cannot lock volume for direct access
or
Cannot open volume for direct access

Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0 can cause the problem.

Chkdsk.exe or ScanDisk fails to run on Windows XP or Windows 2003 after
installing Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...6e22005026f1/52d79c84c363973488256ea600542b5a

A program called Hitman Pro can cause the problem.

A really old version of ZoneAlarm (a version from 2004) can cause the
problem.

BitDefender Internet Security 9 can cause the problem.

[[Ok BitDefender live support told me yesterday that they are working on it
and
sending people analyse tools but she didn't send me one.....]]
from...
(e-mail address removed) 21 May 2006

Spyware Doctor can also cause the problem.

The /x switch doesn't work if Spyware Doctor is installed. Spyware Doctor
needs to be uninstalled or you can do this...

Quoted from *PCTools*, *Spyware* *Doctor*...
1. Exit from Spyware Doctor (to exit from Spyware
Doctor please right click on the Spyware Doctor icon in
the notification area (next to the clock on the Windows
taskbar) and select Exit from the menu that appears)

2. Delete the file
ikhlayer.sys from %windir%\system32\drivers\
or
from c:\windows\system32\drivers\

3. Restart Spyware Doctor

Chkdsk, defrag and error-checking should now work.
-----

[[There is currently no fix for this problem.]]
[[NOTE: You may have success if you schedule Chkdsk to run at startup and
use the /X switch, which will force a dismount. ]]
from...
JSI Tip 7079. You receive 'Cannot open volume for direct access' when Chkdsk
runs during Windows XP startup
http://www.jsifaq.com/subO/tip7000/rh7079.htm

To run chkdsk from a command prompt.

Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
In the command prompt, type:

chkdsk C: /x

Hit your Enter key.

The following error message appears:
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)

Type Y, hit Enter and close the command prompt.

Reboot.

The /x switch: Use with NTFS only. Forces the volume to dismount first, if
necessary. All open handles to the drive are invalidated. /x also includes
the functionality of /f. The /F switch fixes errors on the disk.

Unable to run CHKDSK
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555484

[[Message 1
Cannot lock volume for direct access
Message 2
Cannot open volume for direct access ]]
You receive an error message when you run the Autochk.exe utility on a
partition after you restart the computer or when you schedule the Chkdsk.exe
utility to run on a partition on a Windows 2000-based computer or a Windows
NT-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/160654

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Well, that worked.
What do you suppose is the reason for this?

Thanks

Bill

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Good luck, Bill!

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Thanks for the help Wes.
Now I can back to the original problem, trying to run Partition Magic 8.0
Too bad Symantec doesn't have a newgroup like this.

Bill S.

Bill,


Apparently whatever program that normally starts and interfers with
chkdsk did not start.

I'll have to add that to my standard post.

If you are getting one of these messages:

Cannot lock volume for direct access
or
Cannot open volume for direct access

Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0 can cause the problem.

Chkdsk.exe or ScanDisk fails to run on Windows XP or Windows 2003 after
installing Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...6e22005026f1/52d79c84c363973488256ea600542b5a

A program called Hitman Pro can cause the problem.

A really old version of ZoneAlarm (a version from 2004) can cause the
problem.

BitDefender Internet Security 9 can cause the problem.

[[Ok BitDefender live support told me yesterday that they are working on
it and
sending people analyse tools but she didn't send me one.....]]
from...
(e-mail address removed) 21 May 2006

Spyware Doctor can also cause the problem.

The /x switch doesn't work if Spyware Doctor is installed. Spyware
Doctor needs to be uninstalled or you can do this...

Quoted from *PCTools*, *Spyware* *Doctor*...
1. Exit from Spyware Doctor (to exit from Spyware
Doctor please right click on the Spyware Doctor icon in
the notification area (next to the clock on the Windows
taskbar) and select Exit from the menu that appears)

2. Delete the file
ikhlayer.sys from %windir%\system32\drivers\
or
from c:\windows\system32\drivers\

3. Restart Spyware Doctor

Chkdsk, defrag and error-checking should now work.
-----

[[There is currently no fix for this problem.]]
[[NOTE: You may have success if you schedule Chkdsk to run at startup and
use the /X switch, which will force a dismount. ]]
from...
JSI Tip 7079. You receive 'Cannot open volume for direct access' when
Chkdsk runs during Windows XP startup
http://www.jsifaq.com/subO/tip7000/rh7079.htm

To run chkdsk from a command prompt.

Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
In the command prompt, type:

chkdsk C: /x

Hit your Enter key.

The following error message appears:
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)

Type Y, hit Enter and close the command prompt.

Reboot.

The /x switch: Use with NTFS only. Forces the volume to dismount first,
if necessary. All open handles to the drive are invalidated. /x also
includes the functionality of /f. The /F switch fixes errors on the
disk.

Unable to run CHKDSK
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555484

[[Message 1
Cannot lock volume for direct access
Message 2
Cannot open volume for direct access ]]
You receive an error message when you run the Autochk.exe utility on a
partition after you restart the computer or when you schedule the
Chkdsk.exe utility to run on a partition on a Windows 2000-based
computer or a Windows NT-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/160654

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Well, that worked.
What do you suppose is the reason for this?

Thanks

Bill

:

Good idea, Bill. It's worth a shot.

Schedule chkdsk and reboot in Safe Mode.

The way to do that in this instance is to use the msconfig method.

Start | Run | Type: msconfig | Click OK |
BOOT.INI tab | Under Boot Options select: /SAFEBOOT

The /SAFEBOOT switch causes Windows to start in Safe Mode.

After making those boot.ini changes using msconfig, you need to click
Apply and Close.

Then click on: Restart.

See if chkdsk runs correctly.

Then before you shutdown or reboot again, open msconfig...

UNSelect: /SAFEBOOT under the boot.ini tab | Click Apply |
Under the General tab Select: Normal Startup - load all device drivers
and services | Click Apply and Close

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

 

[Guest]

Hi Wesley,
I've got a similar problem to what Bill S was experiencing, ie, CHKDSK just
does not appear to run when the machine is restarted. I tried your
suggestion of swetting my machine to start in safe mode from MSCONFIG, and
scheduling the chkdsk to run, but again, nothing happened when I rebooted,
and there is no message which is obviously associated with the CHKDSK
process. I tried it a second time and went through the list of services and
applications that start and basically removed everything that didn't look
crucial (all the Norton anti virus stuff, Quicktime etc) and still nothing.
My concern is that I have a SATA drive, and I've found that when
restarting using the WinXP CD, or in DOS, it cannot detect the hard disk, so
perhaps CHKDSK is just not able to find the hard disk at the time it starts
up. I've managed to run chkdsk without switches, and it definitely has
errors, and my machine blue screens on a fairly regular basis.
Any ideas? I had thought to maybe add CHKDSK to either my win.ini file or
system.ini or something, but don't know enough to know if this is safe, or
when those files get called in the startup process.
Cheers

 

[Richard Urban]

As you have the Windows XP CD, why don't you boot from the CD, press F6 when
asked and install your SATA drivers. Then you can go to the recovery console
(repair console) and run chkdsk from there.

When doing it this way you use the /p switch - not /f.

I have often wondered why the difference. Maybe the two teams at Microsoft
didn't talk to one-another. (-:

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Since you did not include any of the previous posts in your reply, I have no
idea Bill S is or what his problem was.

Use Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

* Automatically fix file system errors
* Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs
exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be
accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this disk check
to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled it or
because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output to a
file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The Winlogon
service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the Application
Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

As an alternative...

Open a command prompt...
Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
Type: chkdsk X: /f

Replace X: with the proper drive letter.

this message should appear...
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)

Type: Y and hit Enter.

Reboot.

Type: chkdsk /? for chkdsk help in a command prompt.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

Sorry,I was replying to this thread:-
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...port&mid=467ed846-4704-4634-be56-15d6416bfabd

I've tried all your suggestions, unfortunately in the Event Viewer log,
there is no event 1001 sourced from WinLogon, only LoadPerf and Application
Error, and none of these relate to when I was trying to run CHKDSK.

Richard Urban replied to this thread as well, suggesting starting from the
CD and installing the SATA drivers, then running CHKDSK from there with the
/P switch, however, after installing the SATA drivers successfully, it still
gets to the end of the startup process and says it can't find a connected
harddisk.

This was why I thought I may need to try one of two options.
1 - Create some sort of a DOS boot disk which contains the SATA drivers and
CHKDSK or
2 - Add CHKDSK to one of the start up .ini files.
This is driving me spare, no matter what I try, CHKDSK completely fails to
even attempt to run. I've even logged onto the Administrator account in Safe
Mode with most of the startup apps switched off and all the symantec services
stopped, and trying to schedule the CHKDSK to run there, and it still doesn't
try.
Here's my platform:-
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Asus A8V deluxe mother board
1 Gb memory
Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 120GB SATA hard disk (NTFS formatted)
Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 Pro
Sony DRU-710A DVD/CD drive
Windows XP

Any further suggestions?

Since you did not include any of the previous posts in your reply, I have no
idea Bill S is or what his problem was.

Use Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

* Automatically fix file system errors
* Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs
exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be
accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this disk check
to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled it or
because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output to a
file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The Winlogon
service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the Application
Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

As an alternative...

Open a command prompt...
Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
Type: chkdsk X: /f

Replace X: with the proper drive letter.

this message should appear...
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)

Type: Y and hit Enter.

Reboot.

Type: chkdsk /? for chkdsk help in a command prompt.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wesley,
I've got a similar problem to what Bill S was experiencing, ie, CHKDSK
just does not appear to run when the machine is restarted. I tried your
suggestion of swetting my machine to start in safe mode from MSCONFIG, and
scheduling the chkdsk to run, but again, nothing happened when I rebooted,
and there is no message which is obviously associated with the CHKDSK
process. I tried it a second time and went through the list of services
and applications that start and basically removed everything that didn't
look crucial (all the Norton anti virus stuff, Quicktime etc) and still
nothing. My concern is that I have a SATA drive, and I've found that
when
restarting using the WinXP CD, or in DOS, it cannot detect the hard disk,
so perhaps CHKDSK is just not able to find the hard disk at the time it
starts up. I've managed to run chkdsk without switches, and it
definitely has errors, and my machine blue screens on a fairly regular
basis. Any ideas? I had thought to maybe add CHKDSK to either my
win.ini file or system.ini or something, but don't know enough to know if
this is safe, or when those files get called in the startup process.
Cheers

 

[Guest]

I found 1 other avenue to check out. It turns out my machine has the
StarForce DRM protection software installed, and this seems to error very
early on in my boot sequence when I'm trying to run CHKDSK.
I'm going to download and run the Starforce removal software and then have
another try at running CHKDSK. I'll post back once I've done this and let
you know how it goes.

Sorry,I was replying to this thread:-
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...port&mid=467ed846-4704-4634-be56-15d6416bfabd

I've tried all your suggestions, unfortunately in the Event Viewer log,
there is no event 1001 sourced from WinLogon, only LoadPerf and Application
Error, and none of these relate to when I was trying to run CHKDSK.

Richard Urban replied to this thread as well, suggesting starting from the
CD and installing the SATA drivers, then running CHKDSK from there with the
/P switch, however, after installing the SATA drivers successfully, it still
gets to the end of the startup process and says it can't find a connected
harddisk.

This was why I thought I may need to try one of two options.
1 - Create some sort of a DOS boot disk which contains the SATA drivers and
CHKDSK or
2 - Add CHKDSK to one of the start up .ini files.
This is driving me spare, no matter what I try, CHKDSK completely fails to
even attempt to run. I've even logged onto the Administrator account in Safe
Mode with most of the startup apps switched off and all the symantec services
stopped, and trying to schedule the CHKDSK to run there, and it still doesn't
try.
Here's my platform:-
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Asus A8V deluxe mother board
1 Gb memory
Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 120GB SATA hard disk (NTFS formatted)
Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 Pro
Sony DRU-710A DVD/CD drive
Windows XP

Any further suggestions?

Since you did not include any of the previous posts in your reply, I have no
idea Bill S is or what his problem was.

Use Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

* Automatically fix file system errors
* Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs
exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be
accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this disk check
to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled it or
because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output to a
file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The Winlogon
service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the Application
Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

As an alternative...

Open a command prompt...
Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
Type: chkdsk X: /f

Replace X: with the proper drive letter.

this message should appear...
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)

Type: Y and hit Enter.

Reboot.

Type: chkdsk /? for chkdsk help in a command prompt.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wesley,
I've got a similar problem to what Bill S was experiencing, ie, CHKDSK
just does not appear to run when the machine is restarted. I tried your
suggestion of swetting my machine to start in safe mode from MSCONFIG, and
scheduling the chkdsk to run, but again, nothing happened when I rebooted,
and there is no message which is obviously associated with the CHKDSK
process. I tried it a second time and went through the list of services
and applications that start and basically removed everything that didn't
look crucial (all the Norton anti virus stuff, Quicktime etc) and still
nothing. My concern is that I have a SATA drive, and I've found that
when
restarting using the WinXP CD, or in DOS, it cannot detect the hard disk,
so perhaps CHKDSK is just not able to find the hard disk at the time it
starts up. I've managed to run chkdsk without switches, and it
definitely has errors, and my machine blue screens on a fairly regular
basis. Any ideas? I had thought to maybe add CHKDSK to either my
win.ini file or system.ini or something, but don't know enough to know if
this is safe, or when those files get called in the startup process.
Cheers

 

[Guest]

Woohoo! I fixed it.
First off, removing Starforce didn't solve the problem, though it did make
me feel good
Ultimately my process for fixingthe problem was this:-
1 - Create floppy disk containing drivers for the SATA port. The
MAKEDISK.EXE application for this was on the motherboard drivers CD (Asus A8V
deluxe). The first time I tried, I obviously used the wrong one, as there
were 3 different sets of drivers on the CD. I ended up using the VIA
6284RAID drivers I think it was.
2 - Put the WinXP CD into the drive and reboot.
3 - Repeatedly hit F8 during startup. Not sure if this works for everyones
system, but mine gave me a blue screen with a selection box to pick which
drive I wanted to boot from. I selected the CD drive and hit enter.
4 - I hit Enter a second time when prompted ("Hit enter to boot from CD"),
you have to do this quick or it ignores your selection and continues booting
from your hard disk, VERY annoying.
5 - Hit F6 when asked if I wanted to load any SCSI or RAID drivers in the
Recovery Console. Note: a number of these options need to be done quickly, so
don't wander off or start reading your manual or whatever, keep watching the
screen. Then waited while it loaded up all the other drivers.
6 - Insert disk and hit S when asked if you have some drivers for a SCSI
disk then hit Enter. This is a little threatening for me as a GUI slave, as
I know it's not a SCSI drive, it's a SATA drive. Select the drivers for your
operating system and hit enter again.
7 - Recovery Console then continues to load a shed load of oher SCSI drivers
and then asks what you want ot do next. Select the "Repair Windows through
Reovery Console" option.
8 - If you've used the wrong drivers, at this point it will say it cannot
find a hard disk and restart.
9 - You go through a couple more options here which you can ignore, then you
want to log in as the administrator at the DOS prompt.
10 - You should now have a beautiful pristine DOS prompt and access to your
C:\ drive.
11 - Type CHKDSK C: /R and then wait a long time.
I left it running overnight and it was completed this morning. It's an 80GB
hard disk.

Thanks for everyones help, and I hope this helps others in the same
situation.
Chris W.

I found 1 other avenue to check out. It turns out my machine has the
StarForce DRM protection software installed, and this seems to error very
early on in my boot sequence when I'm trying to run CHKDSK.
I'm going to download and run the Starforce removal software and then have
another try at running CHKDSK. I'll post back once I've done this and let
you know how it goes.

Sorry,I was replying to this thread:-
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...port&mid=467ed846-4704-4634-be56-15d6416bfabd

I've tried all your suggestions, unfortunately in the Event Viewer log,
there is no event 1001 sourced from WinLogon, only LoadPerf and Application
Error, and none of these relate to when I was trying to run CHKDSK.

Richard Urban replied to this thread as well, suggesting starting from the
CD and installing the SATA drivers, then running CHKDSK from there with the
/P switch, however, after installing the SATA drivers successfully, it still
gets to the end of the startup process and says it can't find a connected
harddisk.

This was why I thought I may need to try one of two options.
1 - Create some sort of a DOS boot disk which contains the SATA drivers and
CHKDSK or
2 - Add CHKDSK to one of the start up .ini files.
This is driving me spare, no matter what I try, CHKDSK completely fails to
even attempt to run. I've even logged onto the Administrator account in Safe
Mode with most of the startup apps switched off and all the symantec services
stopped, and trying to schedule the CHKDSK to run there, and it still doesn't
try.
Here's my platform:-
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Asus A8V deluxe mother board
1 Gb memory
Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 120GB SATA hard disk (NTFS formatted)
Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 Pro
Sony DRU-710A DVD/CD drive
Windows XP

Any further suggestions?

Since you did not include any of the previous posts in your reply, I have no
idea Bill S is or what his problem was.

Use Error Checking (chkdsk.exe) in XP.
1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you want to
check and then click Properties.
2. On the Tools tab, click Check Now.
3. Check both boxes:

* Automatically fix file system errors
* Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors

A message will popup.

[[The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs
exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be
accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this disk check
to occur the next time you restart the computer?]]

Click YES.

Then reboot.

For a look at the chkdsk log.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Look in Application | Listed as Information |
Event ID: 1001
Source: Winlogon
[[Description: This includes file system type; drive letter or GUID, and
volume name or serial number to help determine what volume Chkdsk ran
against. Also included is whether Chkdsk ran because a user scheduled it or
because the dirty bit was set.]]

[[When Autochk runs against a volume at boot time it records its output to a
file called Bootex.log in the root of the volume being checked. The Winlogon
service then moves the contents of each Bootex.log file to the Application
Event log.]]

[[This file states whether Chkdsk encountered any errors and, if so,
whether they were fixed.]]

As an alternative...

Open a command prompt...
Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
Type: chkdsk X: /f

Replace X: with the proper drive letter.

this message should appear...
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)

Type: Y and hit Enter.

Reboot.

Type: chkdsk /? for chkdsk help in a command prompt.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In Chris W. <Chris (e-mail address removed)> hunted and pecked:
Hi Wesley,
I've got a similar problem to what Bill S was experiencing, ie, CHKDSK
just does not appear to run when the machine is restarted. I tried your
suggestion of swetting my machine to start in safe mode from MSCONFIG, and
scheduling the chkdsk to run, but again, nothing happened when I rebooted,
and there is no message which is obviously associated with the CHKDSK
process. I tried it a second time and went through the list of services
and applications that start and basically removed everything that didn't
look crucial (all the Norton anti virus stuff, Quicktime etc) and still
nothing. My concern is that I have a SATA drive, and I've found that
when
restarting using the WinXP CD, or in DOS, it cannot detect the hard disk,
so perhaps CHKDSK is just not able to find the hard disk at the time it
starts up. I've managed to run chkdsk without switches, and it
definitely has errors, and my machine blue screens on a fairly regular
basis. Any ideas? I had thought to maybe add CHKDSK to either my
win.ini file or system.ini or something, but don't know enough to know if
this is safe, or when those files get called in the startup process.
Cheers