Volume dirty! Chkdsk still on!

So my windows XP PC started up to the blue screen that reads the volume is dirty and runs CHKDSK. After about 12 hours, the CHKDSK is still showing 0% for step 2 (verifying indexes). What else can I do and how long should this take? Any other options to get it to boot up correctly. Can you bypass CHKDSK?

 

This may work, click Start > Run, type cmd and press Enter, now type CHKNTFS /D (capitals are for clarity only) and press Enter.

Alternatively, a registry key can be changed, it’s explained here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/160963

I forgot to say, you may have to start in safe mode.

 

Can't get to Start/Run

How do I pull up a command prompt from the startup? I am not able to get to the Start menu because the CHKDSK always hangs up and never finishes. I have tried to boot from the disk and do a repair install of XP, but that hangs up at 25%. Anything else to try? I just need to get into Windows one last time!

 

Forgot to add I cannot boot in safe mode. I just get a black screen with command lines all over it.

 

latest update. I tried to run a repair install of XP but it hangs up at 25%. I also tried to run CHKDSK from the revorey console and that hangs up at 25% as well. I am really at my wits end. I know there has to be some way for me to windows to freaking start 1 more time.

 

Have you booted from the Vista DVD and tried the CHKNTFS /D command?

 

Don't know how

That is where my computer skills end. I don't know how to do that without some instructions. Also, it is XP. I have tried to boot from the CD but that doesn't work. How do I get the CHKDSK /D

 

New Hard Drive

Since hard drives are cheap, is it possible for me to install a second hard drive, install windows on it, and access the files from the other damaged hard drive? I may want to go that route.

 

Yes, that's easy to do.

Alternatively, put the drive in a friend’s computer or buy a serial to USB cable and plug it in externally.

 

Hi tophand576,

I am not trying to be a butt but I have watched you struggle with this for a while. Member responses may be slow when a subject has been seen, posted and answered recently or frequently and the archives can be searched to answer many of the questions being asked. Your particular problem(s) falls under both adjectives. I just didn't want you to think members are ignoring you personally but that they may just be finding it a bit difficult to work up the desire to answer these again, so soon after having just done so. Forgive me but I have to ask if you have used the search feature on the board?

Members with expertise in this area will eventually answer your questions. We always do but as is human nature we will be slower when we have done this many times. In the mean time you may be able to help yourself faster by using the archives of past posts. If you have additional questions or need further explanations or help on anything you find, you may include a link to the archive and ask.

I would help you myself but other members are more qualified and I feel I would be doing you a disservice. In other words I would be considered the B team rather that an A team. A bench warmer in many cases and am only seen in the post when additional help may be needed or the A team is taking a break.

I can tell you that a new hard drive and a slave of this hard drive will work if the hard drive is not completely ruined or dead. No one can predict this at this time. Additionally, there are methods and solutions for fixing or testing your bad hard drive that you have not tried and, to repeat myself with only the best intentions, "they can be found in the archives ".

Hope this helps in some small way.

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See! BurrWalnut has responded while I was typing this out. "Members will come, rarely slowly at times, but they will come ".

--Gloom and Doom----------
While I don't want to dampen your own enthusiasm and persistence in fixing this problem....
I can also sum up and share my own personal experience with this. Bottom line was the hard drive was in it's last throes of death. My mistake was in continuing to play around with it rather than slaving it and recovering data while it was still limping along. I was able get into and use it approximately three more times before before it totally died. In hindsight I wish I had recovered data first and then continued to try to repair it. My advice is that if you have data you want from this hard drive, stop trying to fix it, use measures to try to recover and backup data needed and then continue to use disk recovery options. Each boot up or mouse click may be your last.

 

I managed to get all of my data from the HDD via an external enclosure and connecting it to my laptop. That was easy. Now I am trying to re-install windows on the drive but it hangs up at 25% when checking the drive prior to install. Is there something I can do to the drive to install windows rather than re-install on top of the old system?

 

While waiting for the A Team you may like to look over some of the notes and links I have been jotting down for you just in case they were needed. As I said before I have been watching you struggle with this for some time now.

Just pick and choose between them and disregard any unwanted. Ordinarily we try not to over whelm a poster by throwing to much at them at one time, but the last few days I have been unable to predict when I can be on board and visits have been sporadic. This makes a poster/postee thread interchange rather difficult.

If you'd rather not be left alone in drivers seat or "self designated as your own expert ", you can ignore the whole thing, that's up to you. Just be sure to post the next thread stating that you'd rather have more personal help by someone walking you through what you need to do. I'll not be offended. Notes were only to appease my own empathy pains for you. I fully expected never to have to post them.

If you do choose to try a few things as suggested be sure to include what you have tried, also include the results of those efforts, so members know what you've done and can avoid repeating the same suggestions.

With the above being said, here ya' go........

1>Download hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic to test hard drive:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/67113-checkdisk-cannot-access-volume-ntfs.html#post361276
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This is not all that can be tried but time may better be served by hard drive manufactuer diagnostic. Anything else may be spitting into the wind if error(s) are NOT recoverable and hard disk is damaged beyond repair.

2>Info overload but a good "study up ": (particularly since, later, I discuss trying to run this with other less aggressive switches. Please note: it is only the sections pertaining to check disk that this link is for. Ignore others. )
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457122.aspx

3>Chkdsk runs on every boot, but fails, and my system is unstable. What can I do?
http://ask-leo.com/chkdsk_runs_on_every_boot_but_fails_and_my_system_is_unstable_what_can_i_do.html

4>Xp recovery console: (These are the instructions for running the recovery console from the CD rom. That should be the focus, as opposed to installing it and running it from the harddrive)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/en-us

5>Different problem but the method used for solution is the same needed here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555302/en-us

6>Same as above^ but different methods:
There's always the chkdsk utility in BartPE or the Ultimate Boot CD (thread #2)
http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/66985-running-chkdsk.html#post360644

7>A few more ideas from an archived past post:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-x...in-disk-check-boot-up-not-running-stable.html

8>I see you have an removable external (usb) hard drive gizmo. Disconnect any external or make sure your running chkdsk and just checking your boot drive C: . Not sure what commands to use then ask chkdsk from the command prompt by typing chkdsk /? . If your hard disk is divided into many partitions or you have multiple drives, you need to find out how to use the switches to try alternative methods to see if you can drill down to the partition or hard drive check disk is failing on.
http://www.pegasus-afs.com/Support/...and_problems/the_benefits_of_using_chkdsk.htm

9>Try boot option of safemode command prompt and running chkdsk /f, or using specific switches as mentioned previously.

10>Try running chkdsk using only the /F switch. This only run the first three stages of check disk. Using the /R switch does all 5 stages. May be able to at least complete 3.
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Questions rather than answers:

A>I'm not sure what a freeze at 25% is, meaning what progress or how far chkdsk had gotten before it bombed. Can you see what the last thing check disk reported it was doing before it choked?

B>Do you have a vista install disk? I noticed that, earlier in this post, you had asked about running check disk from vista.
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Comment and reality check:
>I thought you had already tried to an over the top install. Sometimes hard drives become doorstops or paper weights. They can't even be reformatted. I know this because I have my own paper weight.
http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/51928-chkdsk-will-not-finish.html#post278610

I'm going to feel really dumb if a repair install was all that was needed. Not an over the top but a xp cd repair install.
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^The above should keep you busy for a while, the bit below was a "note to self" so I could check into this possibility.v

I know chkdsk keeps a log in the root of c: but am unsure as of yet how to get to that log so you can read it to check and see if has anything noted in it pertaining to your current problem that may help. Will get back to this as time permits. Hmmmm...wonder if event log can called up from command prompt?

 

My suggestion, when you run the installation, delete/remove the partitions. When it asks to Format the new partition, select Full and not Quick (if it is offered).

Matt