Scandisk Error

[SilverSurfer]

Hi. I'm hoping that someone out there might be able to help me with my problem.

I am trying to run the Scandisk utility ... I was trying to perform the simple scan (check files and folders for errors) ... the scan gets to about 90% done ... then it freezes ... I let it go for about 3 hours (hoping that the problem would resolve itself) but the problem persisted.

I could move my mouse (at this point), but I could not select the "Cancel" button to stop the scan.

At this point I decided to try to close out the utility through the task manager, so I pressed Ctrl-Alt-Delete ... the blue screen of death popped up telling me that "the system is busy or has become unstable ...". A further Ctrl-Alt-Delete reset the system, but the same problem arises if I try to use the Scandisk utility.

Any suggestions on how I can get the Scandisk utility to work again?

Thanks.

SilverSurfer
BC, Canada

[maxximilian]

Try booting into "safe mode" and running scandisk. There may be a background process interfering with scandisk.

Just curious.......when you reset the sytem with the second Ctrl + Alt + Delete, on restart, did windows detect it as an improper shutdown and try to run scandisk automatically? If so, what did it do?

[SilverSurfer]

Thanks for your response. Much appreciated

I will try booting the computer in "safe mode" and re-running the scandisk utility when I get home.

And, to answer your question, after the second Ctrl-Alt-Delete the system rebooted and DID detect it as an improper shutdown (scandisk ran automatically). The same thing happened again when it got to about 90% complete.

Any ideas what might be causing this?

P.S. I have been downloading large files (>600MB), burning them, and deleting them from my drive. I have also moved these files between folders. Do you think this may be part of the problem?

[maxximilian]

Doesn't sound like that would cause this problem, but you never know. If you had been installing and uninstalling programs, then I would be more likely think that could be the cause. What you are doing does place alot of wear and tear on the hard drive, but they usually can stand the pounding. Is it an old drive? Do you have much available space left?

[SilverSurfer]

Thanks again. I haven't been installing/uninstalling programs with any regularity (maybe once every 2 months).

The drive has a max capacity of 20GB and is only 3 years old.

I have approximately 300MB of space left on the drive. Should I try to free up some more space and then try the scandisk utility again?

Thanks.

SilverSurfer

[maxximilian]

I know that the Defragger needs to have alot of available space to do its job, but not sure about scandisk. 300 MB is getting pretty low....

BTW...you can try running the disk defragger too. It may clean up your drive a little and allow scandisk to run properly. Might get you some more space, too.

One other thing....make sure you DO NOT have a screen-saver running. Even though it is not visibe, it can be interfere with both scandisk and defragger.

[kansaidan]

As an alternative, I use a freeware program called "End It All," which shuts down most of your non-essential background programs so that you can scandisk, defrag, or get full buffer when burining CDs. It seems to work well when I need it.

[jtdoom]

Hi

wow, only 300 mega free...
I am pretty sure you recieve warnings every now and then.

there is one other thing that can cause an issue with scandisk.
and this is
VERY VERY VERY VERRRRRY LOOOOOONG NOT JUST LONGISH BUT loooong filenames.
and, ONE thing that can have very long filenames without you not being aware of it are FAVOURITES.

in explorer, look at the folder, and hover the mouse over the names.
you can get a real surprise at times.
the properties is like they second filename...
you sometimes have to edit them
(a sure sign they are too long is when you copy the folder and the names break or get altered by the copy process.)

and yes, scandisk can hang on these "files"

[Pretender]

the following is from the tutorial area of this site:

Title : How to resolve Scandisk and Defrag problems

Audience aimed at : Windows 95, 98, ME users


If you're having problems running ScanDisk and or Defrag, you might like to try out these fixes:

Sometimes Defrag appears to freeze at the 10 per cent mark If it does so wait a bit longer because defrag is just figuring out how to best organise your files and will start running again in a few minutes.

Use Scandisk if Defrag repeatedly dies on you. Run ScanDisk: For Win95 users go to Start/Programs/Accessories/SystemTools. Win98 users open MyComputer and right-click the drive you wish to ScanDisk and then select Properties then Scandisk. (Or use the same method as previously mentioned for Win95 users.

Use Thorough scan by checking it before you click Start. If ScanDisk can't finish its job either, exit Windows and try using the DOS version of Scandisk to do this click Start/Shutdown/Restart in MS-DOS mode. When you get to the DOS prompt c:\ type scandisk.

Close all your programs including your virus scanner. Don't have any programs running when using either Scandisk or Defrag because these programs will need to access the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and will thus halt or usually cause the process to restart. To exit all your applications, press CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up the Close Program window. Close every program listed -- except Explorer and Systray -- by highlighting each item and clicking End Task.

Disable your screen saver. To do so right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Screen Saver tab. For your screen saver, select None, then click OK.

Clean up your hard drive. The more free space there is on your HDD the better these tools work.

Empty your browser's cache and history folders. Delete all the .tmp and .chk files you can find. To do so, click Start/Find and in the search box (field) type *.tmp and this will search for all your temporary files. Repeat for chk files by typing *.chk in the search field.

Uninstall any programs you no longer use, and finally don't forget to empty the recycle bin. Both Scandisk and Defrag should run like a dream now :-)





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This tutorial was published on 06 Jun 2002. This tutorial was written by MishY


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