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I noticed some errors a few weeks ago and was unable to run chkdsk c: as it would not blue screen, but reboot at one point in the process. This was running chkdsk in windows with no /f or /r parameter.

I was able to copy my data from the drive (Drive C Boot) to a USB HD and last night booted with my Windows XP Disk, went into recovery mode - command line and executed fixmbr.

It warned me that my mbr was non standard and fixing it might leave it in an unusable condition. I ran it anyway.

I then ran chkdsk /p in command line mode and it has been running almost 24 hours and still says it is 50% completed.

It also wrote to the screen:
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery ...

Any suggestions? My next step is to reinstall XP and reformat the drive.

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Dani AI

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Short summary and recommended next steps for 's situation.

A long, stuck filesystem check plus Recovery Console activity that warns about non-standard MBR often means either severe NTFS metadata corruption or hardware problems (bad sectors / failing mechanics). Repeated repair attempts that write to the original disk can make recovery harder. The safest approach is to stop running further repair utilities on the original drive and treat it as a failing device that should be imaged read‑only first. (gnu.org)

Collect diagnostics and make a read‑only image before any repair attempts. Boot a rescue environment (Linux live USB, for example) and capture SMART/health info with smartmontools (smartctl -a /dev/sdX) to look for reallocated sectors, pending/unrecoverable counts or seek errors. If the SMART numbers or audible symptoms point to failure, create a sector copy and work from the image rather than the original. Example (replace device paths before running):

smartctl -a /dev/sdX
ddrescue -n /dev/sdX /path/to/image.img /path/to/image.map

Work on the copy with recovery tools (TestDisk to try to restore partition tables, PhotoRec/file‑carvers for file recovery). This imaging‑first workflow minimizes further damage and lets you retry different recovery strategies safely. ()

If SpinRite already produced seek errors (as noted by ), that strongly suggests mechanical/read‑head problems rather than a simple logical NTFS issue; swapping the SATA cable / trying another port is cheap to try, but expect to replace the drive or use a professional lab if the data is critical. For brand checks and vendor tests, use the manufacturer diagnostic boot tools (SeaTools, WD diagnostics) before discarding the unit or requesting RMA. (github.com)

If a verified backup already exists (you mentioned copying data to a USB disk), the pragmatic choice is replacement and reinstall. If not, follow the image‑first plan above or engage a professional recovery service—DIY retries on a mechanically failing drive can reduce the chance of success. Also be aware that MBR/boot repairs can change partition metadata in ways that complicate recovery if hardware is failing. (gnu.org)

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Member Avatar for caperjack

take you next step !

Member Avatar for Member #227351

Yes, I fear as much. Is there any 3rd party utility that might to a better job at resurrecting the partition?

When run chkdsk /f c: it tells me that there is a problem with security descriptors.

Member Avatar for Member #227351

It's a bad harddrive. I'm running Spinrite on it and I'm getting seek errors and it just went into recovery mode. I'll likely be chucking it in the garbage.

My second bad SATA drive in 3 months.

Member Avatar for caperjack

yeah! not sure if it a sata problem or they are making them bigger [way to big ]instead of better .

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