# Corrupt files and chkdsk



## nEighter (Nov 24, 2008)

best of luck to you, a buddy of mine is going through this SAME thing right now.. watching thread :thumbsup:


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

Reinstall!!!

Be sure to DELETE the partition and recreate the partition. ONLY if you have backed up yer DATA!


----------



## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

ChainsawCharlie said:


> Well, I'd like to thank you all for your advice and help.
> 
> Am I wrong in thinking that it's time to do a reformatting/reinstall? I have everything backed up to external drives.
> 
> I have no pressing work to do and plan on watching football all day tomorrow. So any inconvenience will be a minor one.


It depends on how many programs you have loaded - the clean up might take a few hours & regular maintenance will help prevent further problems.

If it is simply an internet PC with maybe Office & a couple of small programs, it might turn out to be wash or quicker - me I would be spending 2 days reloading programs & running updates on my laptop

Make sure that you keep your Virus DAT's up to date, set Tune Up to run at least monthly (I recomend weekly), & make sure all available updates are installed (MS, HW Vendor, All programs installed, etc...)


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

A reinstall of VISTEEER takes longer than EXPEE, But...........It will also seek out the Ancillaries, avoiding the necessity for reloading all the Adobbbeee, Macroooo, and the like.


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

the /f thing doesn't work. Says something about chkdsk can't run because the volume is in use by another process.

Scheduling at restart seems to do nothing.

Everything is backed up and the only post purchase programs I loaded are itunes, photoshop, quickbooks and lojack.

So i guess i'll just reinstall. The question is XP or Vista... (leaning towards vista)


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

And thanks again for the help.


And one more thing: typing "**** bill gates" into command prompt does nothing, unfortunately.


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

ChainsawCharlie said:


> the /f thing doesn't work. Says something about chkdsk can't run because the volume is in use by another process.
> 
> Scheduling at restart seems to do nothing.
> 
> ...



Well, if you are-a-leanin'............Let me hit you it the head with the 6.6 Pound Lump Hammer (British term) and get you to move back to EXPEE!


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

(ir)relevant info:

If I type chkdsk c: i get the list of corrupt and orphan files.

/f or /r and it tells me it can't run because the volume is in use and asks if I'd like to schedule and it tells me the volume will be checked and I restart (about thirty freaking times already) and I still have the corrupt files.

When I type chkdsk c: and get the list, at the end of the list it says chkdsk cannot continue in read only mode.


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

MALCO.New.York said:


> Well, if you are-a-leanin'............Let me hit you it the head with the 6.6 Pound Lump Hammer (British term) and get you to move back to EXPEE!


eh....


This is the first trouble I have experienced with Vista.

I'm not usually one for going backwards. Even if everyone around me is.


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

ChainsawCharlie said:


> eh....
> 
> 
> This is the first trouble I have experienced with Vista.
> ...



Was the Edsel a good move "Forward" for FORD? The Corvair for GM?


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

Maybe not. But you still continue to go forward. how long before Windows 7 is out?


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

VISTEEEEER has its perks. No doubt. But EXPEE has a BETTER, albeit not Stellar, track record!


----------



## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

MALCO, your a great guy but - you are just so wrong on this one. CC I would go with Vista if I was you, you got some corruption issues either from lack of maintenance (all OS's have this issue), a bug got into your system (again all OS's have this problem), or you have a Memory or Hard Drive Problems (not the OS's fault)

The only reason to go with XP is for compatibility problems which you basically have stated you haven't had

Vista is more secure & trying to install XP on a machine without all the drivers takes forever as you hunt them down, burn to CD, etc... Just my .02


----------



## A W Smith (Oct 14, 2007)

run system file checker. 

*sfc /scannow*

then when you get the os to at least run, 
do your Chkdsk in safe mode


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

SLSTech said:


> MALCO, your a great guy but - you are just so wrong on this one. CC I would go with Vista if I was you, you got some corruption issues either from lack of maintenance (all OS's have this issue), a bug got into your system (again all OS's have this problem), or you have a Memory or Hard Drive Problems (not the OS's fault)
> 
> The only reason to go with XP is for compatibility problems which you basically have stated you haven't had
> 
> Vista is more secure & trying to install XP on a machine without all the drivers takes forever as you hunt them down, burn to CD, etc... Just my .02



You are correct concerning the drivers as I stated EARLIER in this thread. (or maybe another thread) I just DESPISE VISTEEEER!

Some PC's loaded with the VISTEER-a-Scam program can NOT handle EXPEE. Drivers are incompatible to Hardware.

Sounds like a Gates + Industry Collusion tactic!!!


As for an OS going Bonkers..............Software NOT Hardware. Unless there IS a Hardware problem. Then a reinstall is futile!


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

Hmmm...

It appears the two XP discs I have are upgrade versions. Not the full retail versions I thought they were.


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

ChainsawCharlie said:


> Hmmm...
> 
> It appears the two XP discs I have are upgrade versions. Not the full retail versions I thought they were.


NOT usable!


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

SLSTech said:


> MALCO, your a great guy but - you are just so wrong on this one. CC I would go with Vista if I was you, you got some corruption issues either from lack of maintenance (all OS's have this issue), a bug got into your system (again all OS's have this problem), or you have a Memory or Hard Drive Problems (not the OS's fault)
> 
> The only reason to go with XP is for compatibility problems which you basically have stated you haven't had
> 
> Vista is more secure & trying to install XP on a machine without all the drivers takes forever as you hunt them down, burn to CD, etc... Just my .02



There was something (time period coincides with problem start)...I can't exactly recall...computer seized up...Firefox fubared out of the blue-addons, bookmarks, settings...just disappeared, and something else I can't quite recall. Like a massive system burp. 

And the driver issue...my main motivation for sticking with Vista.

And I like Vista. Really, I do.

Memory and HD are all good. Far as i know. Nothing is acting wierd aside for the corruptions.


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

A W Smith said:


> run system file checker.
> 
> *sfc /scannow*
> 
> ...



I'm running Vista, and my OS works. I've been posting from the troubled machine.


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

MALCO.New.York said:


> NOT usable!



I know. I read an article on that earlier today when I was considering it.

Although Vista Pro and Business version can "downgrade" to XP using their Vista license. Vista home users must purchase a whole new XP license. And they they cannot go back to Vista w/o purchasing a new Vista license.

Collusion indeed!!


----------



## A W Smith (Oct 14, 2007)

Max Nomad said:


> On one hand I completely agree with you regarding the educational aspect of troubleshooting a computer problem yourself and finding the solution.
> 
> On the other hand, especially from a business perspective, *it becomes a strictly money thing: how much is your time worth per hour versus how long it might take to fix the problem yourself versus how much down time are you looking at?*


You still have to bring the computer in to have it serviced, You ask how much is your time worth? ChainsawCharlie was able to restore his computer the same evening, On a weekend, While I respect professional advice much of it has been shipped offshore and is getting harder and harder to come by. Phone support is read from a script. They don't bother to listen to the symptoms. Ive heard many horror stories when PCs are sent in and wiped clean with no attempt by tech to preserve critical files. But how could they expect to know what files are critical to the user and which ones aren't? Where are those baby pictures? where are those documents? Those cad drawings?. where did they go? Not everyone backs up. Give a man a fish you feed him for an evening. teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime. Not only that you are helping them exercise their neural network connections. if ChainsawCharlie's time was too valuable to waste trying to troubleshoot his own computer which was covered by a warranty anyway. Why did he ask HERE in the first place? And nothing I had suggested would have harmed his computer, but in fact would have excluded possibilities.

I have to add this as i was unaware this was your post as well



> I hear ya man... see, part of the problem is that they charge you the equivalent of a car downpayment to get the extended coverage but they don't do the work. I forgot to mention that the way you get around the "Support Headache" is to take full name and ID # from every person you speak to on the phone (I personally keep meticulous phone notes) and immediately demand to speak to their manager if you don't get a satisfactory response within the first 5 minutes of any given conversation. By playing it like this, the minute you get fed up with the static you can draft a quick letter and begin faxing it to THEIR superiors and threaten to go all the way up the chain to the Board of Directors. 9 times out of 10 they'll scramble to give you exactly what you want just to shut you up because they can't control how you use their name in the context of your complaint letter.


How much was that time spent on the phones gathering support names worth? Did you know over in India the name they are giving you via tech support is ficticious and assigned to them so you wouldnt have to remember a name you couldn't pronounce? There are no "Roberts" in Bohpal India.


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

A W Smith said:


> . Give a man a fish you feed him for an evening. teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime. Not only that you are helping them exercise their neural network connections. if ChainsawCharlie's time was too valuable to waste trying to troubleshoot his own computer which was covered by a warranty anyway. Why did he ask HERE in the first place? And nothing I had suggested would have harmed his computer, but in fact would have excluded possibilities.


:thumbsup::clap::thumbsup::clap::thumbsup:


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

Time/worth/warranty/etc....

I'm not the most computer savvy, but I felt reasonably confident I was not dealing with a hardware issue, so I decided to skip contacting Dell.

I spent a couple hours here last night getting suggestions from a few different folks.

Had I contacted Dell, I would have spent AT LEAST the same amount of time, and probably likely been more frustrated for the effort.

I appreciate the help I got here more than you can imagine, and it did help. I applied methods and suggestions posted here, and got my computer fixed tight up.

I also learned a few things I would not have learned talking to Dell tech support that will help me with future problems.

While watching football today, I did a reinstall. I don't really feel like I needed to, as after the problem solving session last night my machine was back to pre-problem performance for the most part. there were still some minor problems, but nothing really interefering with anything.

Wasted time? I would have spent the day in the lazyboy anyway just watching football. I had everything backed up, and I can get by in my biz without a computer if I had to, so I figured what they hey. I really had nothing to lose, and couldn't screw anything up any worse than it already was. Well...I could have, but reinstalling would have fixed that anyway.

Had it been a more serious issue, or I felt it was a hardware issue, I would have dealt with Dell.

I doubt I'll buy anymore extended warranties (unless I buy some high end machine) as computer prices, even for laptops, are starting to fall below the price of an extnded warranty. 

If I depended on my computer, or didn't have time on my side, I may have gone to Dell, but likely would have came here first. I mean, look at this place...it's like a big bunch of friends....and when you have a problem, what's typically tour first course of action? Ask a friend...!

You guys are great. And when AW posted a link, and it wouldn't work for me, Malco went to the site and copied and pasted the instructions for me here. THAT is the kind of thing you can't put a price on, as far as I'm concerned.

A big Thanks again!! to those that took the time to help. i just hope I can return the favor some day.


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

> Phone support is read from a script. They don't bother to listen to the symptoms. Ive heard many horror stories when PCs are sent in and wiped clean with no attempt by tech to preserve critical files.


About two years ago, right after I bought my computer (the one that got stolen prior to this one), the monitor went bad in just one week after purchase.

I was in online chat AND phone support with dell. They had my service tag, read to me the computer I had (laptop) , and the tech moron asked me to unplug the monitor and replug it.

I asked "how do i do that, I'm on a laptop" and proceeded to give me instructions for unplugging and disconnecting a desktop monitor. I told him at least four times I was on a laptop and he STILL asked me if i could unhook the monitor and try it on another computer. the problem with the monitor was vertical red lines. He wanted me to reinstall the OS when I told him I had no other monitor to try and that I couldn't unhook this one. THEN he finally caught on that I was on a laptop, and HE HAD TO TRANSFER ME!!!!! "I'me desktop support. I'll have to transfer you to laptop support". 

W!!!

T!!!

F!!!

I had to go through all the BS try this, try that again...

So maybe you can see my reluctance to call tech support.


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

ChainsawCharlie said:


> You guys are great. And when AW posted a link, and it wouldn't work for me, Malco went to the site and copied and pasted the instructions for me here. THAT is the kind of thing you can't put a price on, as far as I'm concerned.


It is called "de Love" Bra! Mahalo!


----------



## Max Nomad (Aug 29, 2008)

A W Smith said:


> You still have to bring the computer in to have it serviced, You ask how much is your time worth? ChainsawCharlie was able to restore his computer the same evening, On a weekend, While I respect professional advice much of it has been shipped offshore and is getting harder and harder to come by. Phone support is read from a script. They don't bother to listen to the symptoms. Ive heard many horror stories when PCs are sent in and wiped clean with no attempt by tech to preserve critical files. But how could they expect to know what files are critical to the user and which ones aren't? Where are those baby pictures? where are those documents? Those cad drawings?. where did they go? Not everyone backs up. Give a man a fish you feed him for an evening. teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime. Not only that you are helping them exercise their neural network connections. if ChainsawCharlie's time was too valuable to waste trying to troubleshoot his own computer which was covered by a warranty anyway. Why did he ask HERE in the first place? And nothing I had suggested would have harmed his computer, but in fact would have excluded possibilities.
> 
> I have to add this as i was unaware this was your post as well


Okay... for some reason AW Smith you took my last post personally (which it wasn't intended to be) so I'll direct this to you to help you to better understand what we're dealing with here.

Yes, it's true that the help desk reads from a script. **** that. That's not the same as TAKING THE MACHINE IN TO THE LOCAL SERVICE PROVIDER. There is a huge difference and all that complaining about sitting on the phone with help desk is irrelevant. There are ways around that trap.

With all sincerity, I guarantee you can't think of "a horror story you've heard" that I haven't encountered, was dropped into like a paratrooper to fix or I saw the post mortem aftermath. Me and computers are like OB-GYNs and Vaginas --and I've seen all shapes, sizes, colors, dusty, hairy, look like they're covered in Christmas decorations, and everything in between. From 2004 to 2006 I did the Road Warrior thing, traveling from spot to spot between DC and North Carolina doing IT Security and Network/PC troubleshooting and Data Recovery. Most of it was geared toward small business environments without a trained IT staff or their company had experienced several years of major growth but their network infrastructure hadn't grown with it. Half the time these companies either had (1) no Warranties or Extended Protection Plans (EPP) whatsoever or (2) an EPP was purchased some years back that's rarely used but someone in accounting always renewed it when the bill showed up. 

Granted, when it came to corrupted files errors seen during bootup, some of those problems were fixed in a couple of hours. Some of them took a day or two. Some of them ended up being a week long saga because the harddrive was going bad and I had to retrieve data off of corrupted sectors, sometimes even reconstructing parts of the FAT (File Allocation Tables) by hand. And then there were some of those cases in between where someone who didn't know what they were doing but thought they did just decided to go to town deleting *everything* they didn't recognize, realized everything was going to hell, told their boss that the computer crashed and they "didn't know what happened" and finally through their chain of command I'd end up getting a call to come in and fix it. On cases like that I'd make anywhere from $200 to $1000 for the visit and after I'd diagnosed the problem, 9 times out of 10 the company actually had an EPP for that computer that was paid up and current but *once their techs determined that the problem was exasperated by a user fiddling around they'll turn to stone, offering no other advice or assistance outside of sticking a System Restore CD into the machine to wipe out everything back to factory default. *

Really I should be happy that people advise against using EPPs that they've already paid for. I still occasionally get IT Emergency rescue calls/emails and I make *great* money off of people that screw up something else while trying to fix OS problems themselves instead of making their manufacturers stand behind their service agreements. 

I don't know how many on this list live in close proximity to one another but personally I don't know Charlie. At the same time, *knowing what I know about filesystem problems I wouldn't want to blindly steer him wrong just because my ego tells me to think that all corrupt file problems are the same. They're not -- and 28 solid years of experience with computers (22 of which include Micro$oft), one side** of my double major in college being Computer Science, and **two CompTIA certifications (A+ and Linux) has taught me that.* And when Charlie mentioned that he had an EPP, that was as good as him saying he had to go to traffic court to fight a ticket but he's already got a lawyer on retainer -- yes, he could fight the ticket without the lawyer but he'd already paid a professional to look at all the details and give him sound advice for that specific problem. *Again, I wasn't trying to downplay or discredit anyone else's posts, just point out some of the rationale behind using what he's already paid for.*

In the end I'm glad for Charlie because the corrupt files didn't turn out to be anything major nor were they indicative of a pending harddrive or hardware failure. He was fortunate, nothing else got screwed up, and no animals were harmed during the discussions in this thread. :thumbsup:



> How much was that time spent on the phones gathering support names worth? *Did you know over in India the name they are giving you via tech support is ficticious and assigned to them so you wouldnt have to remember a name you couldn't pronounce? *There are no "Roberts" in Bohpal India.


Yeah, as much as I'd like to act surprised by this news the reality is that companies like Microsoft have been outsourcing phone support for over 15 years now. Matter of fact, add in call centers in the Philippines, some Latin American countries and, as of recent years, some west African countries like Ghana. For what it's worth, if you're on the phone with overseas support and press the issue they'll tell you their real names along with their ID #s and you can still demand to talk to someone here stateside. If you know how to politely kick ass and take names over the phone it's still possible to get customer satisfaction.

What more can I say except don't get mad at me about it -- that's just the way it is.


----------



## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

Max Nomad said:


> Okay... for some reason AW Smith you took my last post personally (which it wasn't intended to be) so I'll direct this to you to help you to better understand what we're dealing with here................................
> 
> 
> ..........................................What more can I say except don't get mad at me about it -- that's just the way it is.



Max........We like you you......LET IT GO!


----------



## Max Nomad (Aug 29, 2008)

MALCO.New.York said:


> Max........We like you you......LET IT GO!


Alright alright already... I'm lettin' it go. :laughing:


----------



## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

> *Again, I wasn't trying to downplay or discredit anyone else's posts, just point out some of the rationale behind using what he's already paid for.*





> Really I should be happy that people advise against using EPPs that they've already paid for. I still occasionally get IT Emergency rescue calls/emails and I make *great* money off of people that screw up something else while trying to fix OS problems themselves instead of making their manufacturers stand behind their service agreements.


I WILL call them with a known hardware issue. But if I can it out through a bit of research, I'd much prefer to do that. I have no faith in dell's tech support. And I actually will be contacting them today ass my bluetooth card is not showing up in my machine. I've removed and reistaled and checked the connection, but still no go. 

And it was malfunction concerns that pushed me to the EPP purchase. It was the accidental damage (contractor with a computer-need I say more?) and anti-theft package (previous machine was jacked 5 months after purchase) I wanted.

There is one computer repair place here. Fess are extremely exorbitant, and they have an extremely bad rep here.

Other than that, there is a bunch of craigslisters advertising computer services.

And remember the monitor that went bad story? I was under Dell In Home for the first year of the machine. I live in a very remote area. Homie that Dell sent to fix my machine called me and said he needed a ride as the bus only travelled to within 2.5 miles of my house. And when he was done, he asked me if I could take him into town for his next job. WTF??


----------

