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(Solved) - System recovery options-HELP!!

(49 posts)
  • Started 4 years ago by natalia
  • Latest reply from LH
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

Natalia, when you start Safe Mode -- any of the 3 -- it starts with a black screen listing every file that is being loaded. This is normal. If the system does not finish booting into Safe Mode, but hangs instead, you can get some idea where it stopped from the last few items listed.

I think that this is progress since the system is at least trying to boot into Safe Mode whereas before it would only boot to the Recovery Environment. Choose the "Safe Mode" option, without networking or command prompt, and let it start. If it doesn't boot to a low-res desktop, tell me the names of the last 3 files that are displayed on the screen.

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

the last 3 files are

loaded:\Windows\System32\ drivers disk.sys
loaded:\Windows\System32\ drivers classPNP.SYS
loaded:\Windows\System32\ drivers crcdisk.SYS

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

Hmmm, the "disk" in disk.sys and crcdisk.sys is almost certainly the hard drive. There may still be some problems with the file system. Did you run chkdsk a second time while in the Recovery Environment? Let's see if we can get back there.

Power off the system, then start it back up. When you see the Acer screen, start tapping the F8 key. We are trying to get to the Advanced Boot Options menu which will appear as plain text on a background immediately after the Acer screen. This menu will have Safe Mode options on it, but we want one called "Repair Your Computer". If you get to this menu and can see that option, choose "Repair Your Computer". From there is should look familiar asking for your keyboard setup. It might behave better allowing you to logon to your Windows installation and giving you the full menu. Go to the Command Prompt and run that chkdsk command again.

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

you're perfect!!! im running chkdsk F c: now again!!! Should I keep doing it untill there are no problems found like u said? (but not more than 5 times)

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

Yes, we want to see "no problems found". The exact command is "chkdsk /F c:", you need the / in there.

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

By the way, did you get to a System Recovery Options screen? This is where you can choose Command Prompt and other options, too. It looks like this:

If you continue to have trouble starting Windows, then the "Startup Repair" option might help.

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

ok I think we may have a problem. Afetr running chkdsk /F c: 2nd time (the 1st one was last night), I tried to run it again but no outcome appeared on the screen. I tried typing again but it was stuck and didnt do anything. So I shut it down and did it all over again. And I tried repeating the command again, but the same thing happened...I waited for a while and look what it says

The type of the file system is NTFS

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS WOULD THEN BE INVALID.Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N)

Do we want that?

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

Yes I did get the system recovery options screen but slightly different

choose keyboard selection screen

and then a screen asking for password, I gave it and then the system recovery tools screen appeared and I chose command prompt

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

One of the messages that you got talked about an improper shutdown. Windows may be upset because you have turned off the power without doing a shutdown, so let's have you follow the preferred procedure until things are working again. Don't power off the system with the power button unless it won't shutdown at all. From the Command Prompt window, enter "exit" at the X: prompt which should close the Command Prompt window and show you the System Recovery Options menu. There are two buttons there, "Shut Down" and "Restart". Click on the Shut Down button which should cause the system to shutdown and power itself off. Wait at least 20 seconds, then power it on again, and F8 back into boot options -> repair computer -> command prompt and all the steps in between.

At the command prompt, run "chkdsk /F c:" again. If it asks,"would you like to force a dismount?" then answer Y(es). However, I would not expect it to ask that in the Recovery Environment.

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

"Windows may be upset because you have turned off the power without doing a shutdown", I'm upset with windows as well but I cant do anything about it!!!

I'll follow all the steps and let you know what happens! But the problem is I wont have access to the internet untill sunday, so I wont be able to tell you until then. Will it be ok if I bother you again with this on Sunday? Im really sorry I'm wasting your time with this..but it's really important to me and I plz know that I honestly appreciate your help. (I hope this reply is not considered as off topic...)

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

Natalia, I'll be able to help you when you're back online. Also, you're not bothering me or wasting my time. I like fixing computers and helping people.

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

My Dear Scott,
Im back and ready for your help!

I followed your advice and here’s what happened:

I switched on my pc, tabbed F8 at the acer screen → repair your computer → command prompt

And then I typed in ‘exit’, like you said. I waited a few mins and then switched on the pc again but when tabbing F8 the only things appearing on the screen were

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Start windows normally

At first I pressed ‘safe mode’ but again it left me with the black screen at then end, then I powered it off, turned it on again and I got the same screen, so I tried safe mode with command prompt, powered it off and turned it on again. Same thing. I chose safe mode with command prompt several times till I got the screen below:

Advanced Boot Options

Choose Advanced Options for: Microsoft Windows Vista
(Use the arrow keys to highlight your choice)

Repair your Computer

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Enable Boot logging
Enable low-resolution video (640x480)
Last known good configuration (advanced)
Directory Services Restore Mode
Debugging Mode
Disable automatic restart on system failure
Disable Driver signature enforcement

Start windows normally

So, I chose repair your computer and started doing all the steps you told me. But I got a different output at this command:

DISKPART> detail partition
Partion 2
Type: 06
Hidden: No
Active: Yes

volume ### ltr label Fs Type Size Status Info
*volume 1 C ACER NTFS Partition 88 GB Healthy

And after exiting diskpart, I ran the command chkdsk /F c: with the same output as before (only difference 16653281 allocation units on disk) .The second time it asked me ‘Would you like to force a dismount on this volume?’ I typed in Y. And the output is:

Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid.
Volume label is ACER.

And the same thing again…

I did this 5 times and the 2nd,3rd,4th and 5th time it asked me ‘Would you like to force a dismount on this volume?’ and the same output every time!!!

What do we do now?

(PS I know you say you like fixing computers, but still I feel I should say thanks because my pc is stubborn and it doesnt appear easy to fix!!!)

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

Natalia, hello again! When you ran chkdsk all of these last few times, you say you saw the same output. Is that output the one with the error messages? Does it still say, "correcting errors" and "Windows has made corrections", etc.? I would think that any file system problems would be fixed and you would finally see the "no problems found" message.

As for the information from the "detail partition" command, it looks good. All of that information is the way it should be for your Windows partition to boot up. What happens now when you let the system boot without tapping the F8 key?

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

Hello Scott! I'm writing in detail the outcome of every check. I'll write the 1st check in detail and then I'll write what is different in the next checks.

1st check

The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is ACER.

CHKDSK is verifying files <stage 1 of 3>

139584 file records processed
File verification completed
445 large files records processed
0 bad file records processed
0 EA records processed
50 reparse records processed

CHKDSK is verifying indexes <stages 2 of 3>

525290 index entries processed
Index verification completed.

CHKDSK is recovering lost files.
63 percent complete. <1 of 5 unindexed files processed>
Recovering orphaned file config. Sys <1958> into directory file 5
6 unindexed files processed

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors <stage 3 of 3>
139584 security descriptors processed
Security descriptor verification completed.
16759 data files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal…
35740024 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

92697599 KB total disk space
27875576 KB in 121136 files
62444 KB 16760 indexes
0 KB in bad sectors
243611 KB in use by the system
65536 KB occupied by the log file
64515968 KB available on disk

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
23174399 total allocation units on disk
161289992 allocation units available on disk.
Failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 50.

2nd , 3rd check
The type of the file system is NTFS.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS WOULD THEN BE INVALID.Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N) Y
Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid.
Volume label is ACER.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes <stages 2 of 3>
39 percent complete. <287605 of 525290 index entries processed>
Deleting index entry config. Sys in index $I30 of file 5
525290 index entries processed
Index verification completed.

4th check

The type of the file system is NTFS.
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS WOULD THEN BE INVALID.Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N) Y
Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid.
Volume label is ACER.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes <stages 2 of 3>
39 percent complete. <287605 of 525290 index entries processed>
Deleting index entry config. Sys in index $I30 of file 5
525290 index entries processed
Index verification completed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal…
35740904 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

5th check

The type of the file system is NTFS.
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS WOULD THEN BE INVALID.Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N) Y
Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid.
Volume label is ACER.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes <stages 2 of 3>
39 percent complete. <287605 of 525290 index entries processed>
Deleting index entry config. Sys in index $I30 of file 5
525290 index entries processed
Index verification completed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal…
35741344 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

After running the 5 checks, I typed exit (see, I'm learning), then pressed the 'shut down' bottom and waited at least 20 seconds (hihi like you say). I turned it on and I got the screen

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Start windows normally

and I pressed start windows normally and then got the screen Microfot Corporation and waited for a loooooong time ,then I got a black screen and patiently waited several minutes....and then I powered it off because I didnt know what to do....

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

Natalia, you *are* getting good at this! Unfortunately, this problem is being difficult. We really need for chkdsk to run clean with "no problems found". Another thing that I want you to do now is to always restart the system after chkdsk makes repairs. Type exit in the command prompt then click on the "Restart" button instead of the "Shut Down".

And another thing. It's odd that you are asked to force a dismount of the volume. When this question comes up again, answer No. It should then ask you if you would like to schedule the check to run the next time Windows restarts, and to this say Yes. Then restart the system so that it will run the check. It may look a little different, white text on a blue background, for example, when this check runs. Also, when it is finished it will automatically restart the system, so you won't be able to write down all of the info in time and if you aren't watching it you won't see the results. After it auto restarts, it will probably stop at the Safe Mode menu. All of this is expected.

Finally, here is the next thing to try. We are going to run chkdsk with a different parameter, /R, which will do a surface scan looking for hard drive errors. This command will take longer to run, much longer. However, it should give you a progress indicator, probably percent complete. So, power up, F8, Repair Your Computer, Command Prompt, and type:

chkdsk /R c:

If it asks for a dismount, say no. Schedule the check on the next restart, say Yes and restart. Check back on the progress of this scan when you can and make note of anything unusual, especially any mention of errors or corrections. If you miss this information, that's OK.

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

My dear Scott, you are an excellent teacher, so that’s why I’m picking up a few things!

Here’s what I’ve done so far

I tried to run chkdsk /F c: again and chose No to a dismount and like you said it asked to schedule the check to run the next time Windows restarts.I chose yes, it restarted but nothing…so I tried the command chkdsk /R c: (every time, I ran all the commands you’ve told me-is that the right thing to do?) and here is the outcome:

The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is ACER.

CHKDSK is verifying files <stage 1 of 5>

139584 file records processed
File verification completed
445 large files records processed
0 bad file records processed
0 EA records processed
50 reparse records processed

CHKDSK is verifying indexes <stages 2 of 5>
15 percent complete. <287870 of 525289 index entries processed>
Deleting index entry config.sys in index $I30 of file 5.
525289 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.

CHKDSK is recovering files.
19 percent complete. <1 of 5 unindexed files processed>
Recovering orphaned file config.sys <1958> into directory file 5.
6 unidexed files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors <stage 3 of 5>
139584 security descriptors processed.
Security descriptors verification completed.
16759 data files processed

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal
36274104 USN bytes processed
Usn Journal verification completed

CHKDSK is verifying file data <stage 4 of 5>
139568 files processed
File data verification completed

CHKDSK is verifying free space <stage 5 of 5>
16652858 free clusters processed
Free space verification is completed
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

92697599 KB total disk space
25779600 KB in 121116 files
62444 KB 16760 indexes
0 KB in bad sectors
244123 KB in use by the system
65536 KB occupied by the log file
66611432 KB available on disk

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
23174399 total allocation units on disk
16652858 allocation units available on disk.
Failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 50.

Then, I typed the same command again, chose no to a dismount and yes to schedule the check to run the next time Windows restarts.

When it restated, a black screen came up with the options

Startyp repair (recommended)
Start Windows normally

So I choose , startup repair.

It took me after a while to the same blue backround as in the system recovery options, only now the screen says

Startup Repair

Your computer was unable to start
Startup repair is checking your system for problems…

If problems are found, Startup Repair will fix them automatically. Your computer might restart several times during this process.

And then sorry I didn’t have time to take notes of exactly what it said…but it was something like "the repair wont change any files"

When the repair was complete, it restarted …the acer screen and then a black screen.

I waited for 15mins, in case it was loading or something but it was stuck to the black screen with the white arrow of the mouse on it. And I couldn’t do anything…so I powered it off (sorry, I know you don’t like that…)

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

When you say you have run "all the commands" that I showed you, if that means you are still running diskpart, then no, you don't need to do that. The diskpart commands provide information on partitions and make no changes. Now that we have that info, there is no need to run them again but it does no harm. Also, when the system gets stuck, you have to power off -- there's nothing else to do.

The problem that you have appears to be corruption of the NTFS file system. The chkdsk command is supposed to repair such problems, but it can't seem to fix this one. In the output, we have seen mention of the Master File Table (MFT) which is a very important table that keeps track of files. There was also mention of corrections to the MFT Mirror which is a second copy of the MFT in case the first gets corrupted. Also, the use of "$I30" in messages is a reference to the MFT.

I was hoping that the chkdsk /R command would check all of the sectors of the hard drive independent of the file system. It's possible that a hard disk error could be the cause of the file system error and that might be correctable. However, it seems that chkdsk /R won't finish it's surface scan if there are file system errors.

It's time to try another tactic. It may, or may not, be possible to recover Windows but we must do everything possible to try and recover your university work. This is what I consider "irreplaceable data". So, the next thing that I want you to try is a procedure that might get those files back. The instructions are given in the article referenced below to use a Linux CD to try and look into the Windows directories and retrieve your files. Keep in mind that the file system corruption may prevent Linux from reading the files, either. However, if your irreplaceable data can be extracted from the drive, then it can be reformatted or replaced. Try this and let me know how it goes and if you need help:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto.....-computer/

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

Hi Scott!

You are right, university work is irreplaceable, thanks for understanding.

Ok I'll try to find some time to do all that and let you know how it goes (I hope it's not too tricky for me)...However, there's one thing that's confusing me...why do we want to use Linux cd to a Windows environment?

Thank you for everything! Give me some time to try our new tactic!

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

Natalia, it is not that Linux, specifically, is needed but any method that will allow access to the files. Linux is convenient because it can be made small to fit on a CD, is free from license fees, and provides a full operating system environment. It can read the files from the Windows drive and allow you to write them to another place, such as a USB-connected drive or CD. While in Linux, you can use the Internet and run the Firefox browser. It's just a very convenient environment to do recovery work in -- much nicer than an empty command prompt window!

Posted 4 years ago #
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natalia
natalia
Posts: 35

Hi Scott!! I just wanted to tell you that after 4 months (!!!!!!!) I finally have my PC working!! I found some time and I took it to the store I bought it from to get it fixed. They told me it has a virus, they backed-up my files and then rebooted it! So now it's working again!! And I wanted to tell you because you helped me so much when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with it!

Also, congrats on the MVP title!!! You surely deserve that and much more!

Posted 3 years ago #
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