How To Disable Check Disk

[bonsaimax]

It reboots after checkdisk and won't go past it. It hangs if booting on safe mode. Booting it normally also resets it back to checkdisk.

Tried repairing using winxp CD, but it asks for an administrator password - there isn't any. It asks me to chose the drive (there is only one choice). So I choose the prompt C:WINDOWS>, what next?

Is there any way to get past this?

Edited June 27, 2006 by bonsaimax

[Para]

'Is there any way to get past this?'

Yep easilysounds like new hard disk time....

You sheould get a 9 second window to press th esapce bar and cancel the scandisk, BUT whi;lst its a pain it does give a heads up to a failing drive. Also when you reinstall the OS it will check to see if there are any previously installed versions and tell you the drive/folder rather than ask you.

[PMK]

I agree with Para. chkdsk is there for a reason. If it fails, your hard drive is almost certainly hosed. There is nothing on the XP CD to deal with that kind of problem other than chkdsk.

If you don't have backups of your data, you still may be able to pull it off after installing a new system on a new hard drive.

Peter

It reboots after checkdisk and won't go past it. It hangs if booting on safe mode. Booting it normally also resets it back to checkdisk.

Tried repairing using winxp CD, but it asks for an administrator password - there isn't any. It asks me to chose the drive (there is only one choice). So I choose the prompt C:WINDOWS>, what next?

Is there any way to get past this?

[Lannig]

I agree with Para. chkdsk is there for a reason. If it fails, your hard drive is almost certainly hosed. There is nothing on the XP CD to deal with that kind of problem other than chkdsk.

If you don't have backups of your data, you still may be able to pull it off after installing a new system on a new hard drive.

Peter

To make data recovery easier or to manage any situation of Windows XP not booting, this has saved my life many times:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

PEBuilder is a small program that will let you create a bootable ISO CD image of an fairly complete Windows installation that boots stand-alone from CD, with a (limited) GUI, full network support and all! From this environment you can easily access your data (even on NTFS partitions), tweak the registry etc. It's a breeze compared to the very limited environment of the recovery console. It makes it really easy to copy data out from a failing disk to a shared folder on another computer on the same LAN, much easier than having to install another copy of Windows on that disk (and a more reliable method too, especially if the disk is developing bad blocks).

Obviously for legal reasons no ready-to-use ISO image can be downloaded from PEBuilder's web site. Again, what you'll download is a program that will use your Windows XP installation CD to create that ISO image that you can later burn to a CD.

Oh, and it's free.

Hope that can help someone - it surely did help me.

--Lannig

[thohts]

Isn't there a function to skip checkdisk?

I think one the screen it should tell you what to press to bypass it. Perhaps that would work. (Or am I thinking of something else?)

[bonsaimax]

Para is right, there is a 9 second window to skip checkdisk. Bypassing this results in the PC hanging. Then I have to press the reset button.

[PMK]

I would never try to recover data from a failing drive by installing another copy of an OS on it, but by doing so on a new drive, with the old one the secondary or slave, and then find and copy the data from within the Windows GUI.

I just gave this utility a try. I could not access the hard drive from the GUI as it did not show up there, and I assume because the nework drivers weren't loaded, there was no network support. At a glance, I did not see the ability to do anything I could not from the XP/2000 CDs, although it does load faster. Did I miss something?

Peter

To make data recovery easier or to manage any situation of Windows XP not booting, this has saved my life many times:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

PEBuilder is a small program that will let you create a bootable ISO CD image of an fairly complete Windows installation that boots stand-alone from CD, with a (limited) GUI, full network support and all! From this environment you can easily access your data (even on NTFS partitions), tweak the registry etc. It's a breeze compared to the very limited environment of the recovery console. It makes it really easy to copy data out from a failing disk to a shared folder on another computer on the same LAN, much easier than having to install another copy of Windows on that disk (and a more reliable method too, especially if the disk is developing bad blocks).

Obviously for legal reasons no ready-to-use ISO image can be downloaded from PEBuilder's web site. Again, what you'll download is a program that will use your Windows XP installation CD to create that ISO image that you can later burn to a CD.

Oh, and it's free.

Hope that can help someone - it surely did help me.

--Lannig

[bonsaimax]

I've tried connecting the failing HD as an external drive, and I could only access the D: drive (it is partitioned into two). All of the files in My Documents are "inaccessible". Is there a way of retrieving these files in My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, etc?

[PMK]

Lannig,

Well I tried this utility on another computer and it worked okay. I'm not sure what the deal is on the first one - maybe something to do with the SATA drive.

bonsaimax,

Your last post is not too clear. Is there a C: drive now on the failed device or not? If not, there could be an issue with the partitioning table, but there is no point in getting into that if the drive does show up but only certain data is not available.

Peter

To make data recovery easier or to manage any situation of Windows XP not booting, this has saved my life many times:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

Hope that can help someone - it surely did help me.

--Lannig

[bonsaimax]

Your last post is not too clear. Is there a C: drive now on the failed device or not? If not, there could be an issue with the partitioning table, but there is no point in getting into that if the drive does show up but only certain data is not available.

Yes, the failed device is partitioned into C: and D:, and since it wouldn't boot, I tried connecting it to the laptop as an external drive in the hope of salvaging as much data as possible. Unfortunately, there still are some files which I haven't recovered from C: as it is inaccessible.

[nick2k]

Your last post is not too clear. Is there a C: drive now on the failed device or not? If not, there could be an issue with the partitioning table, but there is no point in getting into that if the drive does show up but only certain data is not available.

Yes, the failed device is partitioned into C: and D:, and since it wouldn't boot, I tried connecting it to the laptop as an external drive in the hope of salvaging as much data as possible. Unfortunately, there still are some files which I haven't recovered from C: as it is inaccessible.

if you can access the D: partition, then, maybe your hard drive is ok. but somehow your primary partition got trashed. this happened to me once due to a virus. (I do ghost backups. so, all I did was restore from a ghost backup.)

one quick thing you could try is use your windows emergency boot disk and boot into the hard drive, and try to do "system restore".

if you are using norton's "goback", you could boot off norton's bootable CD, and start that.

you mentioned that you accessed the hard drive as an external drive. if this is the case, you might want to try "ntfs4dos" to retrieve the data from the C: partition. there is a possibility you have it formatted as ntfs. and this free utility will allow you to get your data.

another option is to use some of those hard drive recovery utilities that scan your hard drive at a very low level to retrieve the data off your hard drive. they work. go to pantip to get them.

then, there is the possibility that the system mechanic software can fix your pc. get a copy to try that.

my ghost backups have saved my neck many a time. maybe you should start the practice of making ghost backups. my hard drive is partitioned into 2 partitions. one ntfs, one fat32. ntfs for programs, fat32 for data. I use ghost to backup my C: to D: on a weekly basis. when the backup is completed, I attach my 40 gig external USB drive, and transfer the backup files to it. 7 backup rotation. restore is done via the ghost bootable cd.

in my opinion, ghost much better than system restore, or goback. also consider backing up your data (not backup) onto the internet - yahoo briefcase 30mb storage.

partition magic is great utility. you should have it in your tool kit. also, you might consider all image, and flashboot software for your tool kit.

one last thing, your memory may just be loose, and you just need to reseat the chips. ..happened to me before.

[PMK]

Bonsaimax,

OK - what you did so far makes sense. I understand that on the failed drive you have a C: and D: partition but C: is either completely unaccessible or only certain files are.

I take it you have tried to run chkdsk /f on this drive from the laptop. If not, do so. If chkdsk fails to complete, then other than sending the drive to a recovery service which can be expensive and a hassle (it means sending it out of the country) with no guarantee of success probably the data is not recoverable. However, I am still curious if it is all files or just some files on C: that are inaccessible.

Peter

Yes, the failed device is partitioned into C: and D:, and since it wouldn't boot, I tried connecting it to the laptop as an external drive in the hope of salvaging as much data as possible. Unfortunately, there still are some files which I haven't recovered from C: as it is inaccessible.

[bonsaimax]

if you can access the D: partition, then, maybe your hard drive is ok. but somehow your primary partition got trashed. this happened to me once due to a virus. (I do ghost backups. so, all I did was restore from a ghost backup.)

I noticed the problem after I got hit with a nasty virus. I sonce had to reformat and the C: has never been as what it used to be.

Aside from Norton Ghost (gotten rid of all Norton products), are there any other ghost utilies which you would recommend.

one quick thing you could try is use your windows emergency boot disk and boot into the hard drive, and try to do "system restore".

Tried using system restore -- worked for a short while

you mentioned that you accessed the hard drive as an external drive. if this is the case, you might want to try "ntfs4dos" to retrieve the data from the C: partition. there is a possibility you have it formatted as ntfs. and this free utility will allow you to get your data.

I will definitely give this a try. All partitions are formatted as NTFS, including data drives.

another option is to use some of those hard drive recovery utilities that scan your hard drive at a very low level to retrieve the data off your hard drive. they work. go to pantip to get them.

Any idea on how much it would cost to have the data retrieved. it's mostly videos and pictures, and I would hate having to scan all those family photos and transfer those home videos from the videocam again. Very time consuming.

my ghost backups have saved my neck many a time. maybe you should start the practice of making ghost backups. my hard drive is partitioned into 2 partitions. one ntfs, one fat32. ntfs for programs, fat32 for data. I use ghost to backup my C: to D: on a weekly basis. when the backup is completed, I attach my 40 gig external USB drive, and transfer the backup files to it. 7 backup rotation. restore is done via the ghost bootable cd.

If I have 350 GB worth of data, would I also need another HDD of a similar size to back it up? Or are backup files much smaller in size?

Does formatting your data drive in fat32 make a difference from doing it in NTFS?

Thanks for all the info. You have been very helpful.

[cobra]

I believe (WinXP) if the profile was passworded, your "My Docs" on the old drive is going to be inaccessible,

I assume you initially tried to repair any disk errors, (Run, chkdsk c: /f),

[bonsaimax]

However, I am still curious if it is all files or just some files on C: that are inaccessible.

the folders containing the files are visible using win explorer. But once the folders are clicked on, an "error" message pops-up saying that these folders are inaccessible.

I believe (WinXP) if the profile was passworded, your "My Docs" on the old drive is going to be inaccessible,

I assume you initially tried to repair any disk errors, (Run, chkdsk c: /f),

Profile was not passworded, and running chkdsk shows no errors on the disk.

[Lannig]

I would never try to recover data from a failing drive by installing another copy of an OS on it, but by doing so on a new drive, with the old one the secondary or slave, and then find and copy the data from within the Windows GUI.

I just gave this utility a try. I could not access the hard drive from the GUI as it did not show up there, and I assume because the nework drivers weren't loaded, there was no network support. At a glance, I did not see the ability to do anything I could not from the XP/2000 CDs, although it does load faster. Did I miss something?

Peter

If you just do a default build of the bootable CD, you'll get no more drivers in it than what comes on the XP installation CD you use for this. If your box requires drivers that are not in there, then you won't see the corresponding hardware. If that's a SATA disk requiring a specific driver, you won't see the hard drive at all. Same goes for networking. Building a custom image with 3rd party drivers in it is fairly easy and well documented on the web site. I had to do that for networking to work on some systems e.g. my Thinkpad notebook. Never had to do this to access disks, but maybe I don't have access to bleeding edge hardware.

I think it makes it easy to do things that are either very difficult to do from the Windows recovery console (change files, move them around, edit them) or plain impossible (tweak the registry, copy files over the LAN etc.).

But it's not a download-and-play utility.

I've used it countless times on a wide range of computers and it has proven of very high value to me and to the IT support folks I've made it known to.

--Lannig

[Lannig]

Para is right, there is a 9 second window to skip checkdisk. Bypassing this results in the PC hanging. Then I have to press the reset button.

I really think that your disk has developed bad blocks, so check disk hangs when it tries to access the damaged area and if you skip the disk check, Windows does the same because it can't access files that are vital to booting.

In such a case I would:

- first, use BartPE to save my documents and whatever files I value on this disk to another computer on the LAN

(provided I can access them)

- run a physical disk read test from a bootable CD that includes such utilities (Google for "Ultimate boot CD" or "Hiren's boot CD") to assert the readability of the disk surface

If the disk does have bad spots, Hiren's boot CD includes an utility called HDD regenerator that sometimes works in making the HD readable again (usually not for very long... if the disk is developing bad blocks, odds are that it will fail completely soon). It tries extremely hard to read "something" from the bad blocks and then re-writes what it has managed to read into these blocks. In most cases, that effectively makes the bad blocks readable again, with a significant risk of them containing more or less corrupt data. It can takes ages to complete for a big disk (over 1 day is not unusual) but it did succeed in most cases for me, with no (apparent) corrupt data. Actually that's just what the so-called "low-level format" utilities do as well.

Still, it's just until you can put a new disk in.

Just my 2 satangs.

--Lannig

[PMK]

My understanding is when you ran chkdsk from the original hard drive, it would not complete. Now you have the drive attached to the laptop, run chkdsk on it and it completes without errors. Is this correct? Are you 100% sure that chkdsk is running on the now external drive and not the laptop's drive because it's odd that it would not complete before but does now.

Other questions:

Can you right-click the files and look at the security or does that also give the 'inaccessible' error?

Is there any further detail on the error?

Does it seem to be only data files that give that inaccessible error?

Also, look in the event logs: system and security, and see if there is anything there that might point to a specific problem. Easiest way is right-click My Computer ->Manage ->Event Viewer.

Peter

the folders containing the files are visible using win explorer. But once the folders are clicked on, an "error" message pops-up saying that these folders are inaccessible.

Profile was not passworded, and running chkdsk shows no errors on the disk.

[nick2k]

if you can access the D: partition, then, maybe your hard drive is ok. but somehow your primary partition got trashed. this happened to me once due to a virus. (I do ghost backups. so, all I did was restore from a ghost backup.)

I noticed the problem after I got hit with a nasty virus. I sonce had to reformat and the C: has never been as what it used to be.

Aside from Norton Ghost (gotten rid of all Norton products), are there any other ghost utilies which you would recommend.

one quick thing you could try is use your windows emergency boot disk and boot into the hard drive, and try to do "system restore".

Tried using system restore -- worked for a short while

you mentioned that you accessed the hard drive as an external drive. if this is the case, you might want to try "ntfs4dos" to retrieve the data from the C: partition. there is a possibility you have it formatted as ntfs. and this free utility will allow you to get your data.

I will definitely give this a try. All partitions are formatted as NTFS, including data drives.

another option is to use some of those hard drive recovery utilities that scan your hard drive at a very low level to retrieve the data off your hard drive. they work. go to pantip to get them.

Any idea on how much it would cost to have the data retrieved. it's mostly videos and pictures, and I would hate having to scan all those family photos and transfer those home videos from the videocam again. Very time consuming.

my ghost backups have saved my neck many a time. maybe you should start the practice of making ghost backups. my hard drive is partitioned into 2 partitions. one ntfs, one fat32. ntfs for programs, fat32 for data. I use ghost to backup my C: to D: on a weekly basis. when the backup is completed, I attach my 40 gig external USB drive, and transfer the backup files to it. 7 backup rotation. restore is done via the ghost bootable cd.

If I have 350 GB worth of data, would I also need another HDD of a similar size to back it up? Or are backup files much smaller in size?

Does formatting your data drive in fat32 make a difference from doing it in NTFS?

Thanks for all the info. You have been very helpful.

home pc? 350 gig? ..sounds more like a server to me. porno site? anyway, none of my business.

continuing...

for 350 gig backup, do you need an image, or just data backed up?

if image, then, I would look for more to something more on the line reserved for network backups. sans with incremental/layered backups. otherwise, your system will be constantly backing up stuff. just data, we had some guy use a legato based backup system.

I heard of software that allows you to make an image of a hard drive onto another hard drive of the same size. but I have never tried them.

fat32 has a limitation on how large of a hard drive space you would be able to format. ntfs has a higher limit. I have the fat32 because it allows you to use legacy stuff.

I had an outside company retrieve from some data off a hard drive for me one time. the hard drive was on 20 gig, and they charged me about 300 dollars. that was like 7 years ago, so, I don't know the prices now. should be easy to find out. do a google.

I love norton but then, I have a small system compared to yours. when I worked on networks, they had executive diskeeper for their defragger. you could look at that.

again, if you want to retrieve image files from a hard drive, you should consider some of those software that allows you to go low level to retrieve the data. they work. if the data has not been surface scanned or corrupted, you have good chance to get it. I watched a friend of mine use a package he got fro pantip retrieve most of his image files from a bad hard drive. go check them out.

they got a bunch of websites with reviews of different stuff that you might want to look at in coming up with a solution.

www.zdnet.com

www.cnet.com

www.techrepublic.com

[nick2k]

just checked on the net for some storage solutions. found lots of info.

for 350 gig backup solution, you could go with a firewire hard drive, works but slow. and then, you have the LTO tape backup route. 200+ gig per hour.

the info is on the following websites. they have other solutions that you can read about too.

http://www.quantum.com/Products/TapeDrives...TO-3/Index.aspx

http://www.harddisk.com/harddrive/usb_fire...3550uf_800.html

http://dmoz.org/Computers/Hardware/Storage...orage_Services/

[PMK]

I can't see the point of playing around with ntfs4dos. That is mostly used to break security on ntfs system and/or access ntfs formatted hard drive from a single floppy. He already has the drive mounted as an external drive to his laptop. If security is a problem he can, in worst case, take ownership of the files in question and then copy or whatever from within Windows which will be easier than from a dos comand line. If the problem is other than security then ntfs4dos won't help him.

Peter

you mentioned that you accessed the hard drive as an external drive. if this is the case, you might want to try "ntfs4dos" to retrieve the data from the C: partition. there is a possibility you have it formatted as ntfs. and this free utility will allow you to get your data.

[bonsaimax]

Thanks for your suggestions Lannig.

My understanding is when you ran chkdsk from the original hard drive, it would not complete. Now you have the drive attached to the laptop, run chkdsk on it and it completes without errors. Is this correct? Are you 100% sure that chkdsk is running on the now external drive and not the laptop's drive because it's odd that it would not complete before but does now.

Chkdsk completes whenever it wants to, but even if it has done a complete check, it resets instead of booting up.

Can you right-click the files and look at the security or does that also give the 'inaccessible' error?

Is there any further detail on the error?

Does it seem to be only data files that give that inaccessible error?

Also, look in the event logs: system and security, and see if there is anything there that might point to a specific problem. Easiest way is right-click My Computer ->Manage ->Event Viewer.

The files can be right-clicked, but left-clicking on it results to that error pop-up. But I will look up the event viewer as soon as I get home.

home pc? 350 gig? ..sounds more like a server to me. porno site? anyway, none of my business.

continuing...

for 350 gig backup, do you need an image, or just data backed up?

yes it is a home PC, not a server and will be needing more storage space soon. We have kids and a lot of family events which we regularly document on video. Not to mention the cartoons which alone takes almost 100GB. The raw unedited video is what makes the bulk of my data.

just checked on the net for some storage solutions. found lots of info.

for 350 gig backup solution, you could go with a firewire hard drive, works but slow. and then, you have the LTO tape backup route. 200+ gig per hour.

but thanks for the info and the links. Very much appreciated.

[PMK]

Bonsaimax,

Have you given up on this problem?

Peter