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SAbboushiFlag for United States of America

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Chkdsk /f does not run upon restart

Hi-

From cmd window, I type chkdsk /f  or chkdsk c: /f

It asks if I want to schedule this volume to be checked up restart.  I type Y

Chkdsk doesn't seem to run upon restart and there is no Winlogon entry in Application Event Log

However, if I do chkdsk /f on the J: drive, it runs fine.

Any thoughts?
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guidway
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this seems to have worked for someone else:

Click Start
| Run| Type in msconfig.  Select the diagnostic mode.  Then set a chkdsk
to run on the volume.  Reboot.  Hopefully it will run.  Then when you
reboot go back to msconfig and reset to normal start up.  

see if it works for you.

good luck
guid
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Huseyin1

see if it works the long way:
start/control panel/admin tools/comp~managment/storage/disk (something)/right click the drive properties/scan disk/tick both boxes and restart the PC.
H
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ASKER

Thanks Huseyin1 and guidway

Neither of your posts ran the chkdsk/scan disk successfully.

Guidway - by checking both boxes (i.e. looking for bad sectors), I believe this is like running chkdsk /r.  This did in fact start chkdsk, but chkdsk complained that it cannot open volume for direct access.

I will try it in safe mode and report back.  Any idea about the differences between safe mode and diagnostic mode??
It worked in safe mode - although checking for bad sectors took 2 hours...

I don't know why I have to do the chkdsk in safe mode.  I'll give the points to whomever can help me figure that out (e.g. how to identify the process / service / whatever that is locking the volume before chkdsk is up to bat?)
Any other thoughts on why chkdsk /f on system partition needs to be run in safe mode or it can't get direct access to the volume?
maybe you could do it this way...

Try this

Start > Run regedt32

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
BootExecute

autocheck autochk /c

and then use the following to shutdown XP at a schedule time.

Syntax for Windows XP:

      SHUTDOWN [options] [-m [\\ComputerName]]  

options
   -M \\Computer  : A remote computer to shutdown.
   -L          : logoff current user

   -c "Msg"    : An optional shutdown message
   -S          : Shutdown

   -R          : Shutdown and reboot

   -A          : Abort a system shutdown during the timeout period.

   -T:xx       : Set the timer for system shutdown in seconds.[20 sec. default]

   -F          : Force running applications to close.
                 ATTENTION: If you use the -F parameter shutdown will not
                            prompt for File-Save in any open applications.
                            This will result in a loss of all unsaved data!!!

   -d u:xx:yy   : List a USER reason code for the shutdown.
   -d P:xx:yy   : List a PLANNED reason code for the shutdown.
                   xx Specifies the major reason code (0-255)
                   yy Specifies the minor reason code (0-65536)
When using this command to reboot a server - the shutdown can be made faster if the services are halted using NET STOP - the NT shutdown process will normally allow about 30 seconds to ensure each running service has time to stop.
e.g.

net stop "Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Service"
net stop "Microsoft Exchange System Attendant" /y
wait 20
shutdown /Y /T:5 /C /R
The problem is that this is a system drive and Safe Mode loads only the minimal drivers that are needed to run it. I highly doubt there is anyway to run chkdsk in regular Windows mode because there are too many GUI interfaces and API calls that windows manages.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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guidway
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Thanks guidway-
Although blackviper's website didn't solve the problem (the problem was more insidious than a service), your post came closest to resolving - so points awarded to you.

Problem:  ZoneAlarm¹s VSDATANT component. VSDATANT resides on computers running ZoneAlarm as a hidden, non-PnP (Plug and Play) device. Need to temporarily disable the device in device manager.


Details below:
The problem can be solved by temporarily disabling the VSDATANT device by following these steps:

1. Configure ZoneAlarm preferences so that ZoneAlarm does not load at system startup. This can be done by running the ZoneAlarm Control Center and clearing the Load at Startup check box. This step is optional, but doing this prevents ZoneAlarm from unnecessarily alerting you to a system change. (Since you are performing a boot-time operation, you already are aware of this system change.) Keep in mind this setting will only be temporary.
 
2. Set Diskeeper to do a boot-time defragmentation.
 
3. Start the Computer Management applet by right-clicking My Computer then selecting Manage.
 
4. Click Device Manager in the left-hand pane.
 
5. On the Computer Management menu bar, click View, and ensure that Show hidden devices is checked.
 
6. Click the + sign beside the Non-Plug and Play Drivers entry in the right-hand pane of the Computer Management applet to expand these devices.
 
7. Scroll down to the entry for VSDATANT, right-click it, and select Disable.
 
8. Reboot your computer. The Diskeeper boot-time defragmentation operation will then run.
9. After the boot-time defragmentation is complete and your computer reboots, return to the Computer Management applet and re-enable the VSDATANT device.
 
10. Return to the ZoneAlarm Control Center, re-enable the Load at Startup option, and reboot the computer.
 
Your computer has now received the benefit of a boot-time defragmentation, and your ZoneAlarm security has been re-established.

® ZoneAlarm is a registered trademark of Zone Labs, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.