Member Avatar for GWats

Yeah, I'm the same guy whose burner still won't burn (see related thread) but my other problem, which may be related, is that I have the same problem as the other person who could not ScanDisk. I get the error message saying "ScanDisk has restarted 10 times because Windows or another program has been writing to this drive. Quitting some running programs may enable ScanDisk to finish sooner. Do you want to continue receiving this warning?" Now, I have successfully run both ScanDisk and Defrag in Safe Mode. However, when I try to run it in Regular Mode, I get the same old message. Even if I shut down all Start Up programs besides System Tray, Scan Registry, and Country Selection and then reboot. So yesterday I ran it, when the message came up I said "keep trying, don't show warning" and I went to work. I came home 9 hours later and it was still trying unsuccessfully to finish running. It does the "checking folders" thing about a third of the way across the bar, then back to "checking file allocation tables" for a second, and on and on.
When I try Defrag, it starts like normal, showing 0% complete, and continues to run but accomplishes nothing, showing 0% complete many hours later.
What do you think? Keep in mind at this point, I'm ready to try just about anything.
Thanks

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ScanDisk (chkdsk) needs exclusive access to a volume. When an on‑access scanner, indexing service, backup software, or any file‑system filter driver keeps files open the check will repeatedly restart or stall — Safe Mode works because most of those services and drivers are disabled. As found, terminating multiple McAfee processes removed the blocker; ’s msconfig idea is a practical first step and ’s malware check is good hygiene. ’s point about commercial defraggers is also relevant: some tools can consolidate files while services are running, but that only masks the underlying contention.

Useful, repeatable troubleshooting workflow:

  • Make a current backup of any important data first.
  • Identify what holds the drive: use Sysinternals Process Explorer or Handle to search for handles to C:\ and stop the offending process or service (run them as Administrator). Example: 
    handle C:
  • If the volume still cannot be freed, schedule an offline check by opening an elevated command prompt and running: 
    chkdsk C: /f /r

    (Agree to run at next reboot; allow it to complete without interruption.) If needed, run chkdsk from the Recovery Console/repair command prompt on boot media so the OS is offline.

Notes on Defrag and CD burning:

  • Defragmentation will show no progress if large files (pagefile, antivirus real‑time hooks, backups) remain locked or if free space is very low — keep ~15–20% free before defragging or use a boot‑time/offline defrag.
  • CD/DVD burn failures often trace to driver/firmware issues, IDE/SATA cable or transfer mode (PIO vs DMA), conflicting burning suites or ASPI layers. Verify drive firmware, test another disc, check Device Manager transfer mode, and reinstall the burning application if needed.

Finally, check Event Viewer for disk/NTFS errors and run the drive maker’s diagnostic or SMART check if chkdsk reports bad sectors; persistent hardware errors warrant replacing the drive and restoring from backup.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for caperjack

Hi,do you have a antivirus program running when you are trying to defrag ,also running it in safe mode is the best way to run a defrag ,so as long as you can do that i wouldn't worry about regular mode ,also have you scaned you computer for virus lately .if now do the following
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Run at least 2 of these !
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus.html
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php

Member Avatar for bloodtie

Yeah, I'm the same guy whose burner still won't burn (see related thread) but my other problem, which may be related, is that I have the same problem as the other person who could not ScanDisk. I get the error message saying "ScanDisk has restarted 10 times because Windows or another program has been writing to this drive. Quitting some running programs may enable ScanDisk to finish sooner. Do you want to continue receiving this warning?" Now, I have successfully run both ScanDisk and Defrag in Safe Mode. However, when I try to run it in Regular Mode, I get the same old message. Even if I shut down all Start Up programs besides System Tray, Scan Registry, and Country Selection and then reboot. So yesterday I ran it, when the message came up I said "keep trying, don't show warning" and I went to work. I came home 9 hours later and it was still trying unsuccessfully to finish running. It does the "checking folders" thing about a third of the way across the bar, then back to "checking file allocation tables" for a second, and on and on.
When I try Defrag, it starts like normal, showing 0% complete, and continues to run but accomplishes nothing, showing 0% complete many hours later.
What do you think? Keep in mind at this point, I'm ready to try just about anything.
Thanks

Man oh man. Ok try a normal startup and select Start / Run and type msconfig in the command line and check out just what is being loaded at startup. If you see any disk indexing software try unchecking it and restarting your machine. Then trry scandisk / defrag.

Member Avatar for GWats

Problem solved. I just kept doing Control-Alt-Delete and End Task to all but the essentials. McAffee had about 6 or 7 things running at all times. With them deactivated, ScanDisk ran perfectly and so did Defrag.
Thanks everyone!!!

Member Avatar for HeddaLora

By the way, if you download Diskeeper, you won't have to run in safe mode or shut down everything -- it doesn't have a problem with open apps.

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