Question Mysterious system drive errors.

J_Rod81

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Apr 22, 2015
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Windows is telling me that it has found errors on my C drive. I have tried every variation of the chkdsk I can find, including running it while booted from a separate recovery drive. I let that one scan for over 10 hours before it completed with no issues or error messages. This, and everything I have tried seems to indicate that everything is fine, yet I keep getting automatic scans at startup and the error status when I check it in control panel. Help?
specs: core i7 4790k, 16GB 1866MHz DDR3, (C): Samsung 850 Evo 250GB.
 

Dashman9000

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May 16, 2009
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Run a scan on that drive for file system problems. If your running Windows 10, right click on the Windows logo / start button lower left corner, select Windows power shell (admin). Once you get to the command prompt type, sfc (space) /scannow

Program will run and let you know and fix file system issues if possible, worth trying. More powerful utility than chkdsk by far
 

J_Rod81

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Apr 22, 2015
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Just finished doing that from an elevated command prompt. Corrupted files were found and successfully repaired. However, my annoyance remains. Drive is still showing errors following a system restart.
 
There is a way to stop automatic disk checks unless of course there is something about the drive.

Press Windows+X and select Command Prompt (Admin) to open Elevated Command prompt.

check if any drive is scheduled for a disk check in the next boot session, type the following command and hit Enter

chkntfs “Drive letter”:

If you get the message that Drive is not dirty, it means no check disk is scheduled.

You may get the message Chkdsk has been scheduled manually to run on next reboot on Volume C:

To exclude a Drive from default Boot-Time Check, copy and paste the following command
chkntfs /x “drive letter”:

You mention an error displaying in Control Panel. What error ?

Does dm show a flag ?

Did you uninstall the drive ?
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
not sure disabling an error is right way to resolve it.

chkdsk "Creates and displays a status report for a disk based on the file system. Chkdsk also lists and corrects errors on the disk. Used without parameters, chkdsk displays the status of the disk in the current drive."

SFC just checks and corrects system files. If it finds files it cannot fix, its best to run DISM and then sfc again

They may sound like they do the same thing but its not exactly the same.

anything useful showing in reliability history or event viewer?
 

J_Rod81

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Apr 22, 2015
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The 'errors' that I am seeing (other than the persistent disk scan and repair on boot up) are in 'control panel>system and security>security and maintenance' under the maintenance heading, it says: 'restart to repair drive errors (important)' followed by: 'we found errors on a drive. To repair these errors and prevent loss of data, restart your PC now. The repair could take a while to complete.' But no matter how many times I have restarted, this condition persists.
 
I can guess that the drive you are dealing with is fine but that something is preventing the regular OS install standards from completing and the OS reports the disk as the source. But that could be anything out of wack on the disk, like a conflicting virus scanner, corrupted recycle bin or a connected usb/external disk with errors. (I also believe in omens, know what I mean ? So back up the drive while we sort this out.)
 

J_Rod81

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All of my important files (documents, pictures, family videos, etc) are backed up on an external and through carbonite, so I'm pretty sure we're good there. Everything else should be fungible. So one of the things you mentioned that jumped out at me is the antivirus. I use BitDefender and it has been a constant headache. The only other antivirus installed on the machine (I believe) is Windows Defender. (Although I do have MalwareBytes) What do you think I should try next?
 

J_Rod81

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Just tried disabling all of bitdefenders modules and then restarting, allowing the system to do it's scan and repair routine. That doesn't seem to make any difference. I also ran chkntfs, which is still showing C as dirty. What else should I try whilst this antivirus has its guard down?

UPDATE: Just tried scf /scannow. It came back fine.
 
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J_Rod81

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Apr 22, 2015
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UPDATE: Fixed It! I was poking around on the interwebz and someone mentioned running windows start up repair, and since it is my boot disk, I thought, couldn't hurt to try. So I did and it worked! My thinking at this point is that the corrupted files found before by sfc /scannow were the root of the problem and that this is just what was needed for windows to clear the drive as having a clean bill of health. Not certain, but it makes sense to me for the moment. Thank you all for your help and recommendations. I do appreciate it. So glad my system is working properly again! : D