Guest Paracelsus Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Greeting Folks,I always do a Scan Disk once a month as part of my maintenance schedule. Never had any problems before.Always just set the task and do a restart and it runs fine.Friday I went through the process and it seemed like it was completing way too fast. So I set it up again and sat there while the restart commenced. Well...When the blue screen came up that normally shows the steps of the Scan...There was a line that said: "Windows Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access" Never saw that before.I know one of the reasons XP can't do a Scan Disk while Windows is running is because it's based on the NT Kernel and doesn't like other processes running while it does it's thing.But I can't figure out what would be hindering complete access to the Volume during a startup.It almost seems as though either the Volume is being "protected" from access...Or some other app is opening while Scan Disk is trying to start.The only thing I've done since the last time I ran a Scan, is to Update ZAP to v5 (v5.0.590.015). (Yes... I've read the thread about v5. Haven't encountered any problems so far) But I don't see anything there that would cause this problem.I did a boot with the Dell Utilities & Diagnostics CD and ran a bunch of stuff there. Took over two hours... But everything it checks came back "Passed". So...Anyone have any thoughts on this??It's not a big deal for the moment...But I don't like the idea that Scan Disk won't run as expected.System Info...Dell Dimension2100WinXPHome (with all Updates)20GB HD (8.75GB free)1.1GHz Celeron512RAMNorton SystemWorks2004 (no comments please)ZAP5.0 (mostly custom settings on all configurations)Muchas Gracias!! :DPS - My next step would be to try disabling most of the Startup stuff in MSCONFIG and see if that makes a difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Just out of curiosity, were are your Windows swap file(s) located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Just out of curiosity, were are your Windows swap file(s) located?Once again being forced (thanks, James) to reveal my ignorance...I have no idea what they are... Let alone where they're located Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike180 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 In windows xp the swap files are called page files and normally reside on your C:\ drive. Since you have Norton System Works you can use the Optimizer to move your page files to the frount of the drive. Also use system works to run scan disk; that is why the windows scandisk will not run.mike180 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 The swap file is file used by windows to store memory pages as it runs. If you don't know about it then by default it would be on drive C.Are you familiar with Windows XP's error logs? In control panel under the admin tools is the event viewer. If Scandisk could not run it should have posted an error in the system event logs. The contents of that error would be very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Right-click My Computer>Properties>Advanced. Under Performance, click Settings. Advanced tab>Change... and note where the swap(page) file is as well as it's size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Sorry for the delayed reply folks. Anyway...Mike - I've tried the Norton. But on XP, you need to schedule it for next Start-up. And it really only uses the native XP Scan Disk anyway. So it doesn't run either.James - Paging files (I'm used to thinking of Virtual Memory) are on C:\ I had set it a while ago to Custom: Min. 1000MB; Max. 2000MBShould think that would be plenty.Nathan - Duh! I'm always forgetting about error reporting Will check now and report backEDIT:Screenshot of a logged error that shows repeatedly. Considering the number of times I tried different things to get Scan Disk running... this must be it: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRD Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I've done a check on MS KB, and the answer is not encouraging."Microsoft is researching this problem and will post more information in this article when the information becomes available. "LinkI've also found a user that seems to have the exact problem as you..that went away when he tried various fixes.Basically try doing a chkdsk /f automatically when windows reboots or from the recovery console.Here is the whole discussion. You have to scroll down through the ads to get to the discussion.Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Thanks as well, NRD!Will check out those links as well as the one in the error report.I rarely have PC problems...So this kind of thing really chaps my hide Especially when I can't fathom what has changed. Oh.... I forgot... We're taking about Windows (Meaning no disrespect to the honorable James ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 This link may also be a cause and as you said this happend after installing software....http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...s;Q328213?SD=EE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Thanks!, Nathan...Gotta Love It!!!They've known about this for almost a year... and a fix is available ($$). But If you are not severely affected (and how the **** do I know if I'm "severely" affected, if I can't scan my freak'n HD!!!)...We suggest you wait for the next SP D*** me anyway, for doing routine maintenance. Well....I'm off to peruse some of the other approaches to this.Thanks to Mike; James; Nathan & NRD... for your advice and input. I generally like to brute force my way through my own problems... and I love to browse the MSKB.But you pros are just too a good a resource not to take advantage of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_P Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Paracelsus, how are initiating SCANDISK? It's not in my Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools menu? If you set ZAP 5 to not start at Windows startup do you still have the problem?BTW I have 512MB of RAM also and my Swap file is a fixed 512MB, Unless you do extensive amts of multi-tasking I think yours is too large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 This is the de facto article on Virtual Memory in Windows XPI have 768MB and I have 256min 768max. No problems yet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRD Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Scan disk isn't on XP, the default utility is chkdsk.You can get to it in a variety of ways...from right clicking on your drive select properties, then tools or by comand prompt > chkdsk I've heard many opinions about page file size, but the consensus seems to be less that 512mb of ram, the page file should be 1.5 times larger than ram installed as minimum 3 times as large for maximum.512mb of ram or more, the page file should be .5 the amount of ram as minimum and 3x ram as maximum.I don't believe there is a problem with having a large page file except you are wasting disk space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Scan disk isn't on XP, the default utility is chkdsk.You can get to it in a variety of ways...from right clicking on your drive select properties, then tools. By comand prompt chkdsk etc.This likely the easiest way:Checking the box will give you a prompt informing you that CHKDSK will run on the next boot. This is because of files being in use by Windows while it is running (namely the page file). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Paracelsus, how are initiating SCANDISK? It's not in my Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools menu? If you set ZAP 5 to not start at Windows startup do you still have the problem?BTW I have 512MB of RAM also and my Swap file is a fixed 512MB, Unless you do extensive amts of multi-tasking I think yours is too large.Hi Ed...Initiating via My Computer/Highlight HD/Click Properties/Tools/Error Checking/Check Now...and then check both the boxes.It only runs when you start your system.Never had problems with it before... and I haven't changed anything with either NSW or ZAP.I'm going to blow this off for this evening. It's Hazy, Hot & Humid here...But too nice out by the pool, not to enjoy this Memorial Day Sunday Muchas Gracias to everyone for their input so far. Will keep y'all posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Scan disk isn't on XP, the default utility is chkdsk.You can get to it in a variety of ways...from right clicking on your drive select properties, then tools. By comand prompt chkdsk etc.This likely the easiest way:Checking the box will give you a prompt informing you that CHKDSK will run on the next boot. This is because of files being in use by Windows while it is running (namely the page file). James...This is what I do...I ALWAYS check both the boxes. It's always run in the past.believe me... I may be a "Cyber Neanderthal"...But i know how to set a Check/Scan Disk.I think that the links NRD provided above lends more to the situation. Evidently, this is not an UNKNOWN issue.I tried to run from Recovery Console after installing it...But it won't recognize my Admin password. Even though my account is the ONLY Admin account on this PC.WEIRD!Granted... I do have a "User Name" for my account... But it is set as "Administrator" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I was pretty sure you knew what to do, but just in case.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRD Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Hey Paracelsus, By default, XP hides the real admin logon and only shows the created users accounts. Some may have Admin privileges, but they aren't the true Administrator.To "unhide" the Admin logon, you can use Tweak ui for Xp, (probably the easiest) or use a VBS file found here its listed as "Enable/Disable Administrator on Welcome Screen"I don't know how the procedure goes for preinstalled XP, but did the install ask you to create an admin password before you created your user account? If it did, that was your real admin password.If not, you can use a utility to reset the password. You need to make a bootable floppy or CD. I just used it and it worked well. The option for clearing the admin pass was the most effective.Full details here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_P Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 This is the de facto article on Virtual Memory in Windows XPI have 768MB and I have 256min 768max. No problems yet....This is the link I use for tuning: http://www.theeldergeek.com/sizing_the_page_file.htm. I initially had my swap file smaller but a game I tried to install wouldn't install until the swap file was set to 512MB. I don't know if the game had that requirement hard coded or if it determined that based on the amt of RAM I had installed.Other than the game I had no problems running with a 400MB fixed swap file.But I think we agree that Paracelsus's swap file is larger than he needs.Initiating via My Computer/Highlight HD/Click Properties/Tools/Error Checking/Check Now...and then check both the boxes.It only runs when you start your system.Yup, that's where it is. Thanks. I knew I had seen it before but couldn't find it. I have also run it from the Start>Run window as CHKDSK. But I don't run it as often as you. I use to run it more frequently with Win 98 but I have had no problems with Win XP and the times I have run it I don't think it ever found a problem. (knock on wood) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike180 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 (edited) http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.phpA very nice and clear article about pagefiles.sys aka virtual memory.http://www.bootdisk.com/Making a dos boot disk for XP and adding chdsk.exe will run on NTFS but probably need to add highmem.sys I am not real sure about this but worth a try.Recovery Console Password Fixhttp://michaelstevenstech.com/RCpasswordfix.txtmike180 Edited May 31, 2004 by mike180 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 I was pretty sure you knew what to do, but just in case.... James,My apologies for the terse reply.It's always good to provide the basics, in case someone else encounters the same problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 I was pretty sure you knew what to do, but just in case.... James,My apologies for the terse reply.It's always good to provide the basics, in case someone else encounters the same problem No apology needed, friend! You guessed my motive at providing the screenshot..... I noticed that there are many 'lurkers' around here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Well Folks...I got myself really bunged up Memorial Day, playing with this problem. Thought perhaps a "Repair" install of XP might help. I must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque...Because it ended up wanting to do a Full install and wouldn't let me back out I probably didn't help matters any by aborting round #1. A re-boot just came back with "continue setup"... So I decided to let it do its thing. Well...Every install attempt either locked-up around 75-90% complete (Yes, I know installs take time. But 3 hrs at 70% complete is locked-up), or produced a series of error messages saying that something was missing or it needed a driver from another disk... But wouldn't allow the inserted disk to run Finally...On Round #7...After shutting the system down and disconnecting all peripherals (which I probably should have do to begin with) the install completed. So everything's fine, right? Not!! The system went bonkers when I reattached my UPS and Scanner. Plus it wouldn't recognize my 5-port Netgear USB2 card. Oh... And let's not forget that now I had to re-install all the XP Critical Updates. (Thank God I have DSL now Wouldn't even want to contemplate this with a 56K modem)Got everything playing nicely together again, Tuesday night. But...I still can't get CHKDSK to run. And Recovery Console won't permit me access.I installed the VBS script from Kelly's Korner, that NRD mentioned earlier. That worked fine. Now have a visible Admin Account in User's Groups. And I gave the account a password. However, the RC prompt for Admin password still comes back with "Password Invalid"I haven't had time to try the boot disks that have been mentioned. Going to hang this up until this weekend.As a side note...It's interesting that this CHKDSK quirk is prominently featured in the latest SFNL Some things mentioned there I may try as well.I guess I shouldn't have tempted the Fates by stating early in this thread, that I rarely have any problems with my PC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 At this point I think you'll have better luck if you wipe and reinstall instead of trying to install on top. This sounds like a trainwreck at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 At this point I think you'll have better luck if you wipe and reinstall instead of trying to install on top. This sounds like a trainwreck at this point.I would agree too. For all the time spent fixing a problem, (and still no joy) a clean start is often a good idea.Install XP with the bare minimum in peripherals attached, etc. I have known some installs to stall on a fancy video card. When it was swapped out for an older model, the install went fine.I find the MS Security CD helpful in these cases to get caught up on the critical updates. The CD has SP1 plus other critical ones. True, it's not up to date (Feb.2004), but it's better than downloading all of them via WU, DSL or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Don't misunderstanding me, Nathan & James...The XP system is fine now, (the above story was for entertainment purposes), except for running CHKDSK...And that's a known issue with MS.Since other's have encountered this as well, reformatting is a bit further than I care to go at this point. It's always an option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imranj Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 dude use chkdsk thats the main utility for scanning disk in windows NT based kernel especially xp, i use that since long never use the scan disk ugh.read u soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 dude use chkdsk thats the main utility for scanning disk in windows NT based kernel especially xp, i use that since long never use the scan disk ugh.read u soon. Ummm....the problem is he cannot get CHKDSK to run..... :hmm:SCANDISK does not exist in XP/W2K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paracelsus Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Yes...I should have been more technically precise from the outset.CHKDSK is what I'm talking about.I've a bad habit of using the term "ScanDisk" in a somewhat generic fashion.I'll be trying some of the other workarounds mentioned by others (and in the most recent SFNL) this weekend.But after my experiences Memorial Day...For the moment, I'm just glad to have everything else back in working order and playing well together :lol:My thanks again to James; Nathan; NRD; Ed; and others who provided links to potential resolutions.If I have some luck with any of the methods provided, I'll report back.TGIF!!!, Everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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