Win98 early edition scandisk long file name problem.

Environment:
OS: Win98 early edition.
Vol I: disk c: (system disk) and disk e:
Vol II: disk d: and disk f:.

Problem:
Can't read c: - data error.
Scandisk (run from dos) reports (finally, after several reruns) remaining failure:
2 long file names (in cluster 2)The actual files could not be deleted. The file names could not be shortened. Cluster 2 could not be repaired or deleted.

Suggestion from Scandisk:
'To fix this problem, run Scandisk from inside Windows'!

So, one of the questions implied is:
How do I run something from within Windows when I'm stuck outside?

Grateful for suggestions to solve this scandisk problem.

If there is an alternative to scandisk to be run under dos and might solve the problem, please give me a hint!

beacon

 

Cluster #2 on FAT file systems is normaly the root directory (the only time I know of that its not is if Power Quest is used to make the partition smaller).

Try at the C: prompt "DIR /P" , do you get an error ? Do the file names appear correct ? Should see 2 that are bad. If you find the 2 try to rename or delete .

 

Hi, TopFarmer, and thanks -

dir /P from the C prompt gives:

Volymen i enhet C är P2_400_C (The volume in unit C is ...)
Volymen har serienummer 1E1D-07Ec (The volume has serial number ...)

Datafel läser enhet C (Data Error reading unit C)
Avbryt, Nytt försök, Fortsätt? (Interrupt, New try, Continue?)

The same happens when I try this 'dir C:' from my other disk prompts, D:, E:, F: and

A: (the start floppy disk).

Running fdisk gives the info:
Partition C: 1
Status A
Type PRI DOS
Vol label P2_400_C
MB 8189
System FAT32
Use 100 %

I suppose I could let fdisk recreate the partition and possibly format it
and reinstall Win98 - I have, though, in the Windows folder (and also in
other folders on the C disk) a huge amount of saved email info from more
than 10 years of software develoopment - they are from a few different
versions of outlook express too so it would be a good thing if that long
file name (for a while rerunning scandisk it was reported that there were two
of them but lately just one) could be removed so the reinstall process can
be continued.

 

You could put the drive into another computer as slave or secondary master and run Scandisk (called Error Checking in Win XP) from there.

Try running the Windows CD from a startup floppy. At the first part of setup it will run a disk scan and should be able to repair the problem. You can then cancel out of the reinstall.

The only other utility I can think of is Norton Utilities. You can boot to the CD and run Disk Doctor or Win Doctor there.

If you have important data on the drive, you would be wise to start a backup system now. I would get another HDD and use the utilities for that to copy the C: drive (example: for a Seagate drive, use the Seagate utility DiskWizard to copy the drive). That will give you a backup in case things go wrong during the recovery. After you have recovered the data, you can reformat the original drive and use it as backup storage (by just copying data there or using a specific backup program so that your whole system can be recovered).

Always think that your HDD could fail tomorrow (it has come very close now) and all your data on that drive could be lost.

Matt

 

Need to be sure I'm reading your post correctly.

on first post :
[Vol I: disk c: (system disk) and disk e:
Vol II: disk d: and disk f:.]

Is C: and E: on the same hdd ? D: and F: and a different hdd ?

reason asking, fdisk shows C: partition useing 100% of drive, 8.189 gb.
Might run fdisk and select hdd #2 and see the number of partitions listed.

If you do a DIR on D: ,E: , F: are they all correct ? Take special note of E:.

 

________________________________________________________________

I was mistaking about the disposition of my two SCSI HDs, each of which is a

Quantum Scirocco - sorry about that - the fdisk info is:

_________________________
Disk 1, MB 8189, Use 100%
C: 8189, Use 100%

Disk 2, MB 8189, Use 100%
D: 2706
E: 2706
F: 2777
-------------------------

This explains, I guess, that D:, E: and F: are accessible from DOS.

I've got two other computers, one of them with Win98 and the other, a new HP with XP Professional - neither are SCSI-prepared though.

There is a Micropolis Mustang 5GB IDE disk around that has been used from time to time in the actual computer but I'm not sure it could be installed with just DOS (from the startup floppy) working. Thought it might be possible to transport utilities, that can be run under DOS, from the HP computer to the actual dito, but I don't know.

I guess, another way to move some DOS hosted utility by burning a CD in the HP computer and use it in the directory for Win install created by the startup floppy.

OOps - I just found NC on disk D and tried to run Disk Editor - the About Box says: Disc Editor Version 8.0.20 and the System Info there says that I'm running DOS Version 7.10. I'm not sure, however, that I'll manage to run the utility properly without guidance - the help option was not available. I also tried to run NDIAGS but when I finally reached a part concerning hard disk drives, the system hang

For some reason I can't use the mouse which makes the use of utilities like NC more difficult.

Hoping this new info will give more fuel to the, obviously very bright, minds out there, like TopFarmer and mattman, to help an old mate in distress.

_____________________________________
More info that I managed to get from NC:

Disk Editor - Tools - Advanced Recovery:
Incorrect Media Descriptor : 0
Replacing with : F8
OK

Adv rec - Test Disk
Boot sector byte (EB) Valid
BIOS Parameter Block Invalid BPB Differences
Sectors per cluster on disk 8 virtual 128
Reserved sectors at beginning on disk 32 virtual 1
Root directory entries on disk 0 virtual 512
Sectors per FAT ondisk 0 virtual 246
Big total number of sectors on disk 16 771 797 virtual 8 045 824
OK

Boot Signature Valid
FAT number 1 Invalid
FAT number 2 Invalid

NOTE: The Editor was run in read only mode (for safety) so any changes were probably not made - for instance replacing 0 with F8 in Media Descriptor

 

{I just found NC on disk D and tried to run Disk Editor } It is best not to abbreviate till it is defined or should be common knowledge ie:cmos,ram. With that said what program is "NC" ?

[Incorrect Media Descriptor : 0
Replacing with : F8] F8 is non-removable media while F0 is removable media


[FAT number 1 Invalid
FAT number 2 Invalid ]
that might be a real problem .

[BIOS Parameter Block] sometimes also called Disk Parameter Block or Volume Boot Record, it is the data about the partition on the first sector of all partitions. There is a backup copy at sector 6 (on FAT32 drives)

The best free program I have used to recover a bad 'Partition Table' or bad 'BIOS Parameter Block' is "TESTDISK" http://www.cgsecurity.org/index.html?testdisk.html
Do not know if it works on SATA hdds or not.
1) download the Win9x/dos version
2) unzip downloaded file
3) find the testdisk folder and copy the contents of the "DOS" folder to a floppy
4) use a bootable 98/dos floppy to start comp
5) run testdisk.exe from floppy made in step #3

in the testdisk/doc folder are html help files

read post #23 http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=56335&page=2


to use the mouse need to use the other 98 machine and find 'mouse.*' and copy them to floppy and in autoexec.bat put mouse on one line
or try Partition Doctor=$$, know not a thing about it.

 

----------------------------------------------------
First: the abbreviation 'NC' stands for Norton Commander - it is an old version and it halved the sizes of my disks in the report.

Running testdisk: I'm afraid I don't know very much about what I'm doing running the utility but here is a hint of what was taking place:

Analyse:
Disk 80 - 8595 MB / 8197 MiB - CHS 1045 255 63
Partition * FAT32 LBA
Start 0 1 1
End 1043 254 63
16771797 [P2_400_C]
Structure: OK

Advanced:
--- (see above)
Boot sector OK

Backup boot sector OK

Sectors are identical.

--------------------------
On one occasion trying to get info in the advanced mode I got an option to 'LIST' which gave me a list of the directories and files (the names of which I recognized) in my root directory - there were, of course, a lot of FILEnnnn.chk and DIRnnnnn.
--------------------------

The hardware-oriented part of my computer programming experience does NOT seem to be good enough to be able to handle utilities like Testdisk quite well - would it be possible to give a step-by-step guidance on how to achieve some answers to what is wrong with the disk and, possibly, how to make changes?

In the meantime I'll continue trying to learn more from the doc files on how
to use the utility.

 

IF the above is from the first display of analyse where at bootom you have choice of "Proceed/Save" then there is not a problem with the Partition table or Volume Boot Record and testdisk can not help, except to see if you can find the directory and files you want but can not save the file.

You posted before [Datafel läser enhet C (Data Error reading unit C)] , it would appear that indeed you have a bad sector in the root Directory.
With 'lot of FILEnnnn.chk and DIRnnnnn' ,along with the bad sector in root it might be very difficault to find your data. Personaly I never run scandisk auto fix till I see how many and type of errors.

The hdd will not boot but could slave it and use a file recovery software for posible recovery. If you have a empty hdd of same size , it might work to try cloneing it first.

You might try a new hdd data cable, it could produce unknowen errors if intermittent.

 

----------------------------

This is what has taken place since my last post:

a) After an unsuccessful attempt to install mouse-SW, the C-disk showed a prompt and (as it seemed) all the dirs and files were accessible. Scandisk still told me about the long file name error. Attempt to reinstall win98 failed as before.
Entered the SCSI-section of BIOS for the first time and found a disk check
utility. Running it let me reassign 6 bad sectors in the first 13 % of the occupied disk space - the rest was reported to be free of errors.

b) The IDE disk, Micropolis, 5 GB, was attached and popped up as the C-drive, so I installed win98 there. After installing the most fundamental drivers, I successfully ran Scandisk on the d-drive (damaged SCSI-disk) and the '2 long file names in cluster 2'-error was corrected.

c) A home-network (peer to peer) was established from the XP-computer and gigs of important data was transferred to large, safe disks there.

d) Defrag was run on all disk drives on the Win98-computer.

Now planning to:
- rename DIRnnnn to proper names and to remove 'old trash data'.
- investigate and handle FILEnnnn.chk files.
- learn how to set up the peer to peer connection more properly.
- also learn how to set up a 3-computer network (XP Win98 Win98).

The XP-oriented operations involved will guaranteed cause taking new contact with windowsbbs-people.

For now I wish to thank mattman and TopFarmer for their kind and important support. Without that support I most certainly would have reformatted the problem partition to make a fresh win98-install - I many times was very very close to do that in despair.

 

Thanks for posting back your progress of saveing your important files. There are some very usefull utilities that one finds with luck.