PartitionMagic error 1513, chkdsk and "cannot lock drive"

Hello
My computer came with one hard disk in one partition. I am trying to create a second partition. The machine is XP Pro SP2.
- As known, you can't do that with XP Pro's Computer Management.
- I got PartitionMagic 8. When I run the process it gives me an error 1513.

[#1513 Bad attribute position in file record
This error can often be resolved by running CHKDSK /F on the affected disk. For
instructions on running CHKDSK, see PowerQuest Solution How to Run
Microsoft CHKDSK from the Command Line.
If running CHKDSK /F does not help, please send the following items to
PowerQuest Technical Support: ​

]

- When I try to run CHKDSK /f at the command prompt, I get the usual "cannot lock drive" error message. When it asks me if I want to have it run on reboot I select "Y ".
- But, when the computer starts, it runs CHKDSK with no parameters and no errors are fixed.
- I tried repeating the PartitionMagic process again at this point, still get the same error.
- I tried running CHKDSK from the Recovery Console running from the XP Pro CD, it doesn't have the /f parameter.
- I tried "installing the Recovery Console as a startup option ", it told me that the Windows version on the CD is older than the one on my machine (I guess because I ran SP 2).

At this point, it has been reported that PM keeps giving errors for no reason, and that article suggested using another partition management software. Should I go for that instead, or is there a way to get PM to run properly?
Thanks
Khaled

 

First thing I’d do is run chkdsk /r from the Recovery Console. This does a bad sector test and repair, then I’d try chkdsk /f again from the command line. Then do a disk defrag.

Are you running PM8 from inside Windows and letting it drop to DOS by itself? If so I would recommend you run the program directly from DOS yourself. That article you pointed to mentioned a known problem with the Windows version damaging the boot records of XP. It was all supposed to be fixed in PM8, but it still rears its head from time to time.

If you don’t already have the Rescueme floppies then look for the option in PM8 to make them. Then boot the computer from these floppies and go directly to the DOS version of Partition Magic. It’s far more reliable than the Windows version and has a similar GUI. First thing to do is use the option to Check For Errors--- on the partition, then try resizing it again.

If you still have problems then I would advise against going with the Acronis program used in that article. Their software is getting better, but I still would not recommend it to anyone. Just check out their forum for examples of unhappy customers http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=64

 

TruImage vs. DriveImage (just my $0.02)...

I have previously used DriveImage (ver.7, ver.2002, and ver.8). When PowerQuest was sucked up by Symantec I purchased Acronis' TruImage (Sept.2004) and have found it to be a very good program. I also started using Acronis' DiskDirector suite (instead of PartitionMagic 8, which I had used since ver.5) and it too is a solid program. These programs are easy to 'get into trouble' with if you aren't careful and I'm sure we could find just as many 'problems' with DriveImage (if we looked around). When PowerQuest owned DI and PM, they had some of the best customer support people I've have ever dealt with and I knew from my past experiences with Symantec that this would drastically change... and it did.
It all boils down to personal preference, because I would recommend the Acronis products in a heartbeat. So do your research and make your own decision.HTH

B

 

kelraie,
There's a Patch available to correct a defect in PM 8.0 located Here:

HTH