Chkdsk does not run on startup when selection is made
Hello, I am running Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3. I have an error coming up that says I must run a chkdsk. I have tried running it multiple ways and always receive either the message "Windows was unable to complete the disk check" or "The disk check could not be performed because the disk check utility needs exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can be accessed only by restarting Windows. Do you want to schedule this disk check to occur the next time you restart the computer?" When I select "yes" to this question, nothing happens upon reboot or cold start of the system. Also, now every time I try to run the defragmenter it can't run because disk check is scheduled to run. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks, Lori2 people need an answerI do too
March 26th, 2010 8:20am

What is the output of the following command when run at a command prompt: fsutil dirty query x: (where 'x' is the letter of the drive you wish to run chkdsk on, probably C)
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March 26th, 2010 5:59pm

when enter fsutil dirty query c:, it will show -DIRTY C DRIVE-, please help, i have the same problem, what could be done , please help.
March 27th, 2010 2:54pm

The drive is dirty and chkdsk is still not running when you boot. This suggests some other kernel-mode component may be "locking" the drive, preventing chkdsk (autochk) from getting exclusive access. Try scheduling another check with chkdsk, then inspect the contents of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\BootExecute in the registry. What is it?
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March 28th, 2010 12:57am

Hi, Thank you for your help. When I checked the BootExecute after setting it to run autocheck it says "autocheck autochk /r \??\C: autocheck autochk /k:C *" Thanks!
March 29th, 2010 3:37am

The '/k' part of autochk would seem to be excluding the C drive from dirty-bit checking; thus, Chkdsk won't run on the drive. Try modifying the BootExecute entry. It is a REG_MULTI_SZ value, so each of the following will need to appear on their own line: autocheck autochk /r \??\C: autocheck autochk * If you have any question about changing the value, get clarification first.
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March 29th, 2010 2:23pm

I have tried modifying the BootExecute entry. Nothing happened with either a cold boot or a restart.
March 29th, 2010 7:16pm

After rebooting, please check the bootexecute value again.
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March 29th, 2010 8:21pm

Hi, After rebooting, the bootexecute value is "autocheck autochk /r \??\C: autocheck autochk *" and no chkdsk was run at startup.
March 29th, 2010 10:42pm

Hmm... What is the output of fltmc.exe, when run in a command prompt?
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March 29th, 2010 11:01pm

I get a "graph" with filter name, num Instances, and Frame. Row 1 says "mfehidk" under Filter Name, and "<Legacy>" under Frame with Nothing under Num Instances. Row 2 says "sr" under Filter Name, and "<Legacy>" under Frame with nothing under Num Instances.
March 29th, 2010 11:27pm

There does not appear to be any sort of filter driver loaded (at the time the command was run, at least), that may be interfering. Does the file c:\windows\system32\autochk.exe exist? Try setting BootExecute to just the following (only one line in the REG_MULTI_SZ edit box): autocheck autochk * Then, reboot, and ensure that the value in BootExecute held. Try to defrag the drive. Does it complete successfully?
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March 29th, 2010 11:46pm

Hi, The file does exist. I tried setting the BootExecute as suggested. When I rebooted, the value held. But the defragmenter said: “Diskeeper has detected that CHKDSK is scheduled to run on the volume: IBM_PRELOAD (C:). This is due to either a user request, or because the operating system has found errors in the file system. CHKDSK will run automatically during the next system reboot. Until CHKDSK is run, Diskeeper cannot analyze/defragment this volume." This is what it said before. I also tried hooking up an external harddrive and running the defratmenter on that, and it is working just fine (thought I'd check if it was the defragmenter versus the chkdsk).
March 30th, 2010 12:18am

Can you verify that autochk.exe is not corrupt, by downloading Dependency Walker, extracting it, and running depends.exe? Then open autochk.exe. Does DW present any error message?
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March 30th, 2010 2:01pm

Nothing popped up, but "Link Checksum" is red. It reads 0x00096A6F and the "Real Checksum" reads 0x0009601B.
March 30th, 2010 4:38pm

That's interesting. I would not expect that to be the case. It would seem that something with the file is corrupt. I don't suppose you happen to have a system backup that you could check / compare autochk.exe files with? Can you verify the digital signature of Autochk.exe using Sysinternals' Sigcheck? From a command prompt with the current directory set to the folder in which sigcheck.exe resides, execute sigcheck.exe c:\windows\system32\autochk.exe. What is the output?
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March 30th, 2010 5:20pm

The output of the Sigcheck was: Verified: Unsigned File Date: 7:12 PM 4/13/2008 Publisher: Microsoft Corporation Description: Auto Check Utility Product: Microsoft << Windows<< Operating System Version: 5.1.2600.5512 File Version: 5.1.2600.5512 <xpsp.080413-2111 I don't have a backup far enough back (i.e., before this occurred) as more recent backups have replaced them. If I can't find a solution, I can reformat the harddrive with the original software that came with the computer. I just wanted to see if I could fix the problem first, as all those discs are in a storage unit where I will have to dig for them. Thanks!
March 30th, 2010 6:39pm

That the file comes back as being unsigned would seem to be further evidence of corruption. The file needs to be replaced, but does not appear to be one of the files that SFC protects. You might try running SFC /SCANNOW, to see if it works but I don't hold much hope. (And you would need access to the installation media.) Other than that, I don't know what to suggest in order to restore the file. If one file is corrupt, the possibility exists that other files could be corrupt. So you would want to run chkdsk. Kind of a chicken-and-egg situation. You could try extracting the contents of the Windows XP SP3 installation package to a temporary directory, and seeing if you could procure autochk.exe in that fashion. Note that you would want to make sure that the file version matches that which you have, and that you have a backup copy of the corrupt autochk (just to be "safe"). Other alternatives include installing XP SP3 in a virtual machine, and getting the file from there, or transferring the file from another system where you have verified the file's digital signature.
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March 30th, 2010 8:34pm

Hi, Thanks for all your help No.Compromise. I think I will recover the system, using the recovery discs, since there doesn't seem to be a good solution. I appreciate all your help though! Lori
April 1st, 2010 9:55pm

OK. At least you're able to back up your data and the like, first. It's kind of a pickle to be in when the program used to detect and attempt repair of corruption, is itself corrupted. I might once more suggest considering an attempt at SFC /SCANNOW, if you're inclined, just to see if it can help. It may save a lot of work...
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April 1st, 2010 11:04pm

I had the same problem. tried a bunch of stuff here like fixmbr in recovery console, booting up in safe mode, etc. None of it worked. i finally ran sfc /scannow, reboted and that seemed to do the trick. seems some files got corrupted and replacing with known good files is what was needed. Windows XP Pro SP3. ~AGP
November 15th, 2010 5:20pm

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