Is there a good program to perform Checkdisk on XP and keep logs?

[google88]

Hi

My computer occasionally freezes

So i have to turn it off at the switch

After this i sometimes run a disk check by right clicking the drives
and selecting properties tools check now and tick both boxes.

then there is some sort of a log if i right click my computer and search for something (I've written i down somewhere)

and sometimes these checks need the PC to restart

Its a bit of a mine field

My question

Is there a program that consolidates
Disk checking
keeping a log of the fixed things


Are there risks to checkdisk
and are there risk to the 2 tick boxes (what do they do?)


should i run this sort of thing regularly?
whats the risk if i don't?

I run a Macrium reflect Backup daily
(love the program)

this has spotted disk problems in the past so its kind of an early warning

But I just want things running ship shape.

is there a program that runs disk checks and keeps logs?

[Get]

Originally Posted by google88

then there is some sort of a log if i right click my computer and search for something (I've written i down somewhere)

Do you mean this: My Computer > manage > event viewer > application > winlogon (source)?

Maybe this is what you're looking for: never used it myself, so use at your own risk or wait for someone to comment on it who maybe used it. : http://www.freewarebb.com/CheckDisk-file2050.html

[google88]

thanks for the info

it looks good , defo what I'm looking for

-
has anyone got good or bad experiences of this sort of thing?

or any suggestions of other software

[google88]

i translated the german manual into english (using good old google translate)


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

Manual available at this time in German only.
Instructions for CheckDisk.
What is CheckDisk? It checks the disk (s) for errors and fix them, only one
Windows PE version.
It is this use the Windows API function.
The following options are available:
Standard corresponds to the normal chkdsk
Full scan: Enhanced chkdsk it is reviewed here and the free space
Check if dirty: Checks whether the dirty flag is set.
Correct Errors: Only from a Windows PE. Corrects any errors.
Verbose: Prints more information.
This program is © 2007 by Dirk Paehl
http://www.paehl.de

---------
I'm using PC XP

what s API?

what s check if dirty?

what kind of scans should i do?

[Raza0007]

google88,

If you are looking for a utility that can perform chkdsk run on a system partition or a locked partition online, then you will not find any.

Windows XP, Vista, 7 do not allow chkdsk type utilities to run online. You can only perform chkdsk on such partitions at boottime.

I have found the built-in chkdsk utility to be the best for solving OS and system inconsistency. Most 3rd party utilities use the built-in windows chkdsk under the hood too.

If you are interested in logs, then chkdsk saves logs of each run and these logs can be accessed easily. Location of log files is different for each OS. You can google to find out the location for winxp.

Chkdsk has two options:
"Automatically fix file system errors" only checks the file system, MFT etc. If you are experiencing OS related problems you should run this often. Once a week is recommended. It is quick and on my system takes less than 2 minutes to run.

"Scan for and attempted recovery of bad sectors" checks the physical surface of the entire partition for bad sectors. If bad sectors are found it then marks them so that new data should not be stored in them. It is not necessary to run this option all the time. I would recommend to use this only once every 2 months or so. This scan takes a long time depending on the size of your partition.

Also, if you are experiencing severe operating system related problems, chkdsk will not be able to solve it. The best course in this case is to save all your important data, do a system wide format, reinstall windows and start fresh.

I hope this helps.

[Fly]

google88,

This may not be an issue that the 'chkdsk' command can fix ?

Do you use Windows XP ?
I'm still using SP2, and I don't know if it's different with SP3, but on Windows XP 'chkdsk' does not (always) handle the ntfs format correctly.
I know I can get error messages when I run chkdsk, but allowing chkdsk to actually fix things, will just show error message(s) the next time I run it.
You can run 'chkdsk' to see if there are any bad sectors, but I haven't found it much use for anything else.

And you have two drives or partitions ? I use only one.

By all means, run chkdsk to scan for any bad sectors, or post error messages here (I'm no expert!), but that's about all it can do.

If you want to run chkdsk I recommend doing it from the command line (start>run>cmd> chkdsk /?) for more options.

Macrium reflect backup ? I assume that's not an imaging, just a backup program ? Imaging software can help you prevent OS corruption.

I have no idea why your computer freezes, it may be due to corruption of the OS or security software. I once used Sophos' antirootkit software, and from that I learned that I was not infected, but that the OS was corrupted. Just a suggestion.

[google88]

thanks guys

lots of good info.

Macrium Reflect link is here
http://www.macrium.com/
I run back ups on schedules

I might start running regular checkdisks to keep things ship shape. I'll put a reminder in my calendar or something.

[Fajo]

Originally Posted by Fly

google88,

This may not be an issue that the 'chkdsk' command can fix ?

Do you use Windows XP ?
I'm still using SP2, and I don't know if it's different with SP3, but on Windows XP 'chkdsk' does not (always) handle the ntfs format correctly.
I know I can get error messages when I run chkdsk, but allowing chkdsk to actually fix things, will just show error message(s) the next time I run it.
You can run 'chkdsk' to see if there are any bad sectors, but I haven't found it much use for anything else.

And you have two drives or partitions ? I use only one.

By all means, run chkdsk to scan for any bad sectors, or post error messages here (I'm no expert!), but that's about all it can do.

If you want to run chkdsk I recommend doing it from the command line (start>run>cmd> chkdsk /?) for more options.

Macrium reflect backup ? I assume that's not an imaging, just a backup program ? Imaging software can help you prevent OS corruption.

I have no idea why your computer freezes, it may be due to corruption of the OS or security software. I once used Sophos' antirootkit software, and from that I learned that I was not infected, but that the OS was corrupted. Just a suggestion.

Last few times I have had that happen on XP it was signs of the Hard Drive it self dieing. At least that's what it has been in my experience.

Just had my Main rig die I lost the Motherboard and the Hard Drive all in one night.

[google88]

i tried the freeware program

its a bit "DEJA CRASH"

scanned and then said drive is locked when rescan

then not responding

so I'm sacking it off


-

I have 5 Drives
350GB
1TB split (part D
1TB split (part E
1TB for backups
1TB for a caddy i take off the premises

I lost some work once (so i keep it pretty tight)


is there a way of doing all the scans at once?
and being able to check all the logs?

or do i have to do one at a time

if i do this the logs get lost in 10000 other things that the computer does that i don't know what they are

[google88]

i ran a scan from the right click checkdisk
it ran from a restart


i checked for the logs in

My Computer > manage > event viewer > application > winlogon (source)

but there are no entries for months

i also found bootexlog but that had a really old modified date

my head hurts

--

before all of this i ran partition magic

it said i needed to correct the length of the partition
(i did a print screen)

i ticked yes
it blue screened

and macrium reflect refused to back it up

---

I'm going from bad to worse

---

I'm confused over why i don't seem to have data in the ....
My Computer > manage > event viewer > application > winlogon (source)
....part of my computer?

or am i missing something where are my winlogons

[Get]

Do you mean you don't have winlogon-entries or none at all? If you don't have winlogon entries go to start-run end type chkdsk /f c and answer Y. Then reboot and look again.

[majoMo]

To check sector errors (without log) you can try Windows Surface Scanner.

This software will read each sector of a physical drive that is currently mounted on an XP, Vista, or Windows 7 operating system. Each sector is examined for a read error. If a read error occurs the error counter will increment.

[Raza0007]

Originally Posted by google88

--

before all of this i ran partition magic

it said i needed to correct the length of the partition
(i did a print screen)

i ticked yes
it blue screened

and macrium reflect refused to back it up

---

This appears to be a problem beyond the scope of chkdsk. What version of Partition magic are you using? If it is an older version I recommend you get the latest version of a decent partition manager. Partition magic under symantec is not what it used to be.

I think you have developed serious problems with your partition and in my experience it can only be solved by a reformat.

[google88]

Originally Posted by Get

Do you mean you don't have winlogon-entries or none at all? If you don't have winlogon entries go to start-run end type chkdsk /f c and answer Y. Then reboot and look again.

what will that do?

Originally Posted by majoMo

To check sector errors (without log) you can try Windows Surface Scanner.


Quote:
This software will read each sector of a physical drive that is currently mounted on an XP, Vista, or Windows 7 operating system. Each sector is examined for a read error. If a read error occurs the error counter will increment.

i ran a 'samsung ES tool' from a boot CD it said the drive had no errors
its like a surface scan thing. I think its the same kind of thing.

Originally Posted by Raza0007

This appears to be a problem beyond the scope of chkdsk. What version of Partition magic are you using? If it is an older version I recommend you get the latest version of a decent partition manager. Partition magic under symantec is not what it used to be.

I think you have developed serious problems with your partition and in my experience it can only be solved by a reformat.

i have partition magic 8

the problem of it not backing up started when partition magic asked me

Norton Partition Magic has detected an error 110 on the partition starting at sector 63 on disk 1

the length of the partition in the partition table is incorrect
the CHS length is 625153347, the LBA length is 62514283, and the file system length is 625142384
Norton Partition magic has determined that the length can be changed to the correct value of 625153347

would you like to fix this error?

i clicked yes and got a blue screen 30 seconds later

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

also i am running a defrag to see if this corrects the error

---------

[Raza0007]

Originally Posted by google88

i have partition magic 8

the problem of it not backing up started when partition magic asked me

Norton Partition Magic has detected an error 110 on the partition starting at sector 63 on disk 1

the length of the partition in the partition table is incorrect
the CHS length is 625153347, the LBA length is 62514283, and the file system length is 625142384
Norton Partition magic has determined that the length can be changed to the correct value of 625153347

would you like to fix this error?

i clicked yes and got a blue screen 30 seconds later

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

also i am running a defrag to see if this corrects the error

---------

Partition Magic error 110 is this:

Error 110 Partition table number of sectors is inconsistent
Error 110 Attempt to boot partition that starts past cylinder 1024

chkdsk, when run with "Automatically fix file system errors" should be able to correct this problem.

Disk defrag only defrags a partition and does not solve problems.

Partition magic v8.0 was the last version released by Powerquest in 2003. It was then acquired by Symantec and labeled Norton Partition magic. Norton has not made any updates to partition magic since 2003. Since Dec 8, 2009 they have discontinued the product.

Download the latest trial version of Paragon partition manager 10 professional and it will correct this problem with your partition size. It also has a built-in chkdsk option.

Edit: Paragon partition manager trial has some advanced features disabled and are available in demo mode only. So, download and install it and see if the you need is available in the demo.

[Get]

Originally Posted by google88

what will that do?

I just wanted to know if there wouldn't be a winlogon-entry when you do diskcheck like that. I always do it like that and have the entries. Maybe it would even solve your problems, but that wasn't why I asked.

[google88]

Originally Posted by Raza0007

Partition Magic error 110 is this:

Error 110 Partition table number of sectors is inconsistent
Error 110 Attempt to boot partition that starts past cylinder 1024

chkdsk, when run with "Automatically fix file system errors" should be able to correct this problem.

Disk defrag only defrags a partition and does not solve problems.

Partition magic v8.0 was the last version released by Powerquest in 2003. It was then acquired by Symantec and labeled Norton Partition magic. Norton has not made any updates to partition magic since 2003. Since Dec 8, 2009 they have discontinued the product.

Download the latest trial version of Paragon partition manager 10 professional and it will correct this problem with your partition size. It also has a built-in chkdsk option.

Edit: Paragon partition manager trial has some advanced features disabled and are available in demo mode only. So, download and install it and see if the you need is available in the demo.

Paragon Partition Manager™ has discovered problems with this partition. It must
have been caused by an incorrect geometry. In order to resolve the issue, please
collect LOG-files and send them to our Support Team

-----------

i might just have to restore a backup of the drive i took a few days ago

any ideas?

[Raza0007]

Originally Posted by google88

Paragon Partition Manager™ has discovered problems with this partition. It must
have been caused by an incorrect geometry. In order to resolve the issue, please
collect LOG-files and send them to our Support Team

-----------

i might just have to restore a backup of the drive i took a few days ago

any ideas?

I am assuming that the Paragon trial version can not correct the problem as that functionality has been disabled.

Restoring a backup image will only solve the problem if the problem is very recent. I mean, if the backup image also contains this problem then if you restore from that backup you will restore the problem.

How long has it been since you did a system wide format on your partition?

I recommend, you do a format of the partition and then reinstall windows. Use Paragon partition manager to do the format. A format will correct the problem you are facing.

If formatting is not an option then you should be able to use a full fledged partition manager to correct this problem. I have always used Paragon pro but if they have disabled advanced functions in the trial then you will need another. Try GParted, it is free and although I have never used it I have heard good things about it. Also see if FREE EASEUS Partition Master can solve this problem for you.

[google88]

i restored an image i did with macrium reflect

its working now

and i uninstalled Partition magic 8

The paragon program looks good - thanks for the tip

I'm still a little concerned that i don't have application logs

why might i have no logs?

[Get]

Do you have any logs in Event Viewer (System for example)?

[google88]

Originally Posted by Get

Do you have any logs in Event Viewer (System for example)?

all kind of end at jan feb this year

I've found an article

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...0670_35_0.html

but I've kind of lost a bit of time this week from messing about with shizzle i don't understand

if i clear my event logs like the article will if F things up

also it talks about deleting a file or something

curiosity killed the computer

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)


With no entries in viewer,for each column go to action,clear events,after all
are cleared,click file,options,delete files,then close out.Also,go to C:
drive,open,
windows,locate mini-dump,open,delete all,then close out.Thiers also a hot-fix
for explorer crashes,#892052

[Get]

Go to My Computer > Manage > Services and applications > Services and look if (in the right pane) Event Log has startup type Automatic and is started. If not, do so.

[google88]

Event Log
Enables event log messages issue...
Started
Automatic
Local System


all on


i thinks its crashed somehow

[Get]

I don't know how to fix that, but you can always disable Event Log, type chkdsk /f c in Run, reboot and when back to desktop look at C:\BOOTEX.LOG. I suspect that to be a fresh one then.

[google88]

Originally Posted by Raza0007

Chkdsk has two options:
"Automatically fix file system errors" only checks the file system, MFT etc. If you are experiencing OS related problems you should run this often. Once a week is recommended. It is quick and on my system takes less than 2 minutes to run.

"Scan for and attempted recovery of bad sectors" checks the physical surface of the entire partition for bad sectors. If bad sectors are found it then marks them so that new data should not be stored in them. It is not necessary to run this option all the time. I would recommend to use this only once every 2 months or so. This scan takes a long time depending on the size of your partition.

sorry to be pain with all my check disk questions

I'm using Paragon partition manager 10 now

my question is

do the two options in paragon:

1. test surface
2. check file system integrity

relate to the two options above for check disk

will they automatically "find and fix errors"

is the "surface scan" the same

are they doing the exact same job?

If so, can i queue a whole checkdisk file system scan for every drive. Or a full (every drive) test surface scan.

that would be pretty good and I could leave the PC running running.


I just want to do regular checkdisks

or have the ability to scan all the drives in one go

the Backup/imaging software i use does a scan before backing up, so i think that is the same as the 'shorter length' file system scan . because it only takes a few seconds.


Are the Paragon checks the same, do they fix errors. and can i queue all the drives to scan in one go? I think that what I'm trying to ask