errors on disk

Greetings,
My Mcafee scan has frozen the pc 3 times in the same place, and the Mcafee
tech said there are some errors on the disk that could cause this. There is
a "scandisk" on xp and earlier versions, is there something similar on
Vista? What else can I do to identify and correct these errors?
Thanks,
JS

JS wrote:
> My Mcafee scan has frozen the pc 3 times in the same place, and the
> Mcafee tech said there are some errors on the disk that could cause
> this. There is a "scandisk" on xp and earlier versions, is there
> something similar on Vista? What else can I do to identify and
> correct these errors?

Correction: There is no SCANDISK on Windows XP. Windows XP is part of the
Windows NT line of products which use CHKDSK.

Windows Vista/Windows 7 is still part of the NT line of products.

My suggestions:

1) Ensure your backups are current. Don't have any - time to start!
Pictures, music, documents, Internet favorites/bookmarks, product
keys/serial numbers, installation media/executable installation files, etc
and so on. Want to make it easy on yourself - get a Seagate Replica 500GB
drive (external) and let it do all the heavy lifting for you and maintain
the backups with it.

2) Run CHKDSK... Here's one of many web pages explaining how to do this:
http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-v...windows-vista/

3) Figure out who manufactured your hard disk drive and download/use their
diagnostic utility to verify drive stability. You might use Belarc Advisor
(free) to scan your system (I'd use it and print it out and keep it safe
with your external backups - useful) and figure out who manufactured your
hard disk drive and visit their web page and download their diagnostic
utility/directions.

4) IMHO - I suggest dropping McAfee completely. Too much resource usage for
the same protection you can get for free or comparable price with less
resource usage (meaning your computer works better overall.) I suggest
Avira AntiVir (free) or eSet NOD32 (AV only - ~$59 U.S. for two years) in
combinations with MalwareBytes (free for scanning/cleanup or ~$25 U.S. for
active protection/scheduled scanning.)

5) Come back - since this post will be archived indefinitely on the
Internet - and let everyone who may ever come across it in the years to coe
how things worked out for you.... You may help someone else in the process.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

On 21 Mar 2010, "JS" <> wrote in
microsoft.public.windows.vista.general:

> My Mcafee scan has frozen the pc 3 times in the same place, and
> the Mcafee tech said there are some errors on the disk that could
> cause this. There is a "scandisk" on xp and earlier versions, is
> there something similar on Vista? What else can I do to identify
> and correct these errors? Thanks,

Scandisk was a DOS utility that hasn't been included since Windows 98
(maybe ME).

Right-click in the disk in Windows Explorer and choose Properties |
Tools | Check for Errors. If you enable the "Fix file system errors" or
"Attempt recovery of bad sectors" options, you should backup your data
first, because it can sometimes cause loss of data while in the
process.

Nil,
thanks for your reply. I did what you said,and it won't run while in use. It
says to schedule,so I click ok, but nothing happens when I click ok or
restart. If it restarts,how will it scan,it will be running.
??

JS


"Nil" <> wrote in message
news:Xns9D42DB50D4FC6nilch1@130.133.4.11...
> On 21 Mar 2010, "JS" <> wrote in
> microsoft.public.windows.vista.general:
>
>> My Mcafee scan has frozen the pc 3 times in the same place, and
>> the Mcafee tech said there are some errors on the disk that could
>> cause this. There is a "scandisk" on xp and earlier versions, is
>> there something similar on Vista? What else can I do to identify
>> and correct these errors? Thanks,
>
> Scandisk was a DOS utility that hasn't been included since Windows 98
> (maybe ME).
>
> Right-click in the disk in Windows Explorer and choose Properties |
> Tools | Check for Errors. If you enable the "Fix file system errors" or
> "Attempt recovery of bad sectors" options, you should backup your data
> first, because it can sometimes cause loss of data while in the
> process.

On 21 Mar 2010, "JS" <> wrote in
microsoft.public.windows.vista.general:

> thanks for your reply. I did what you said,and it won't run while
> in use. It says to schedule,so I click ok, but nothing happens
> when I click ok or restart. If it restarts,how will it scan,it
> will be running. ??

If you clicked OK, the scan will happen when you next restart the
computer. It may take some time - could be an hour or more if it's a
very large disk. Be patient - don't interrupt it.

When the Windows finally boots up, check the Event Log to see what
problems were found and corrections were made.

Nil,
Is there an indication that it is scanning? I have tried (to schedule)
several times, and it just restarts normally.
Also,where is the event log,I can't seem to find thingson Vista like I could
on XP.

Thanks,
JS
"Nil" <> wrote in message
news:Xns9D42F2D8F9FD1nilch1@130.133.4.11...
> On 21 Mar 2010, "JS" <> wrote in
> microsoft.public.windows.vista.general:
>
>> thanks for your reply. I did what you said,and it won't run while
>> in use. It says to schedule,so I click ok, but nothing happens
>> when I click ok or restart. If it restarts,how will it scan,it
>> will be running. ??
>
> If you clicked OK, the scan will happen when you next restart the
> computer. It may take some time - could be an hour or more if it's a
> very large disk. Be patient - don't interrupt it.
>
> When the Windows finally boots up, check the Event Log to see what
> problems were found and corrections were made.

On 22 Mar 2010, "JS" <> wrote in
microsoft.public.windows.vista.general:

> Is there an indication that it is scanning? I have tried (to
> schedule) several times, and it just restarts normally.

Yes, there is. As Windows starts to boot, a black screen will come up
telling you it's about to check the disk, and it gives you a chance to
bail out. If you choose to let it go, you will see some progress
indicators in the screen. It's obvious that the check is happening.

If it's NOT happening for you... I'm not sure what to tell you. Are you
SURE you hit Start and not Cancel?

Try opening a Command Prompt, and type at the prompt:

CHKDSK C: /R

You will be asked to confirm that you want to run the check on your
next boot-up.

If that doesn't do it, maybe it's a permissions thing. Not sure right
now how to get around that.

> Also,where is the event log,I can't seem to find thingson Vista
> like I could on XP.

Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Event Viewer. Look in Windows
Logs | Application for Wininit events.

(I haven't spent much time in the Vista Event Viewer before. What a
mess that thing is. Information overload, and the Find function is
agonizingly slow. At least it's got one nice feature, Custom Views. I
just made one to show only Chkdsk events like this.)

<snipped>

JS wrote:
> Is there an indication that it is scanning? I have tried (to
> schedule) several times, and it just restarts normally.
> Also,where is the event log,I can't seem to find thingson Vista
> like I could on XP.

I'll repeat the response I made originally in case you missed it...

Correction: There is no SCANDISK on Windows XP. Windows XP is part of the
Windows NT line of products which use CHKDSK.

Windows Vista/Windows 7 is still part of the NT line of products.

My suggestions:

1) Ensure your backups are current. Don't have any - time to start!
Pictures, music, documents, Internet favorites/bookmarks, product
keys/serial numbers, installation media/executable installation files, etc
and so on. Want to make it easy on yourself - get a Seagate Replica 500GB
drive (external) and let it do all the heavy lifting for you and maintain
the backups with it.

2) Run CHKDSK... Here's one of many web pages explaining how to do this:
http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-v...windows-vista/

3) Figure out who manufactured your hard disk drive and download/use their
diagnostic utility to verify drive stability. You might use Belarc Advisor
(free) to scan your system (I'd use it and print it out and keep it safe
with your external backups - useful) and figure out who manufactured your
hard disk drive and visit their web page and download their diagnostic
utility/directions.

4) IMHO - I suggest dropping McAfee completely. Too much resource usage for
the same protection you can get for free or comparable price with less
resource usage (meaning your computer works better overall.) I suggest
Avira AntiVir (free) or eSet NOD32 (AV only - ~$59 U.S. for two years) in
combinations with MalwareBytes (free for scanning/cleanup or ~$25 U.S. for
active protection/scheduled scanning.)

5) Come back - since this post will be archived indefinitely on the
Internet - and let everyone who may ever come across it in the years to coe
how things worked out for you.... You may help someone else in the process.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Nil,

I have tried several times(yes, I clicked ok) and it just doesn't happen. I
tried the command prompt and it says I don't have access priv.

What about the diagnostic utility at the hd mfg.? I may try that, any
suggestions for that?

Thanks again.

JS

"Nil" <> wrote in message
news:Xns9D43CE6646942nilch1@130.133.4.11...
> On 22 Mar 2010, "JS" <> wrote in
> microsoft.public.windows.vista.general:
>
>> Is there an indication that it is scanning? I have tried (to
>> schedule) several times, and it just restarts normally.
>
> Yes, there is. As Windows starts to boot, a black screen will come up
> telling you it's about to check the disk, and it gives you a chance to
> bail out. If you choose to let it go, you will see some progress
> indicators in the screen. It's obvious that the check is happening.
>
> If it's NOT happening for you... I'm not sure what to tell you. Are you
> SURE you hit Start and not Cancel?
>
> Try opening a Command Prompt, and type at the prompt:
>
> CHKDSK C: /R
>
> You will be asked to confirm that you want to run the check on your
> next boot-up.
>
> If that doesn't do it, maybe it's a permissions thing. Not sure right
> now how to get around that.
>
>> Also,where is the event log,I can't seem to find thingson Vista
>> like I could on XP.
>
> Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Event Viewer. Look in Windows
> Logs | Application for Wininit events.
>
> (I haven't spent much time in the Vista Event Viewer before. What a
> mess that thing is. Information overload, and the Find function is
> agonizingly slow. At least it's got one nice feature, Custom Views. I
> just made one to show only Chkdsk events like this.)

(1 I tried to back up to my external hd,and got an error msg. that says it
cannot backup because of errors on the hd. It prompted me to check the disk,
but I am back to the problem of not being able to check the disk,it just does
not happen.
(2 I tried chkdsk by both methods that I know. from the directions that you
gave me the link to, and also by the command prompt, which says I don't have
access.
(3 I looked on the Toshiba website, and couldn't find anything helpful, so I
sent an email to support. waiting for a response.
(4 am contemplating the situation with McAfee,I am concentrating on the hd
errors right now.
(5 I came back.

Now what??

Thanks,
JS
"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> <snipped>
>
> JS wrote:
> > Is there an indication that it is scanning? I have tried (to
> > schedule) several times, and it just restarts normally.
> > Also,where is the event log,I can't seem to find thingson Vista
> > like I could on XP.
>
> I'll repeat the response I made originally in case you missed it...
>
> Correction: There is no SCANDISK on Windows XP. Windows XP is part of the
> Windows NT line of products which use CHKDSK.
>
> Windows Vista/Windows 7 is still part of the NT line of products.
>
> My suggestions:
>
> 1) Ensure your backups are current. Don't have any - time to start!
> Pictures, music, documents, Internet favorites/bookmarks, product
> keys/serial numbers, installation media/executable installation files, etc
> and so on. Want to make it easy on yourself - get a Seagate Replica 500GB
> drive (external) and let it do all the heavy lifting for you and maintain
> the backups with it.
>
> 2) Run CHKDSK... Here's one of many web pages explaining how to do this:
> http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-v...windows-vista/
>
> 3) Figure out who manufactured your hard disk drive and download/use their
> diagnostic utility to verify drive stability. You might use Belarc Advisor
> (free) to scan your system (I'd use it and print it out and keep it safe
> with your external backups - useful) and figure out who manufactured your
> hard disk drive and visit their web page and download their diagnostic
> utility/directions.
>
> 4) IMHO - I suggest dropping McAfee completely. Too much resource usage for
> the same protection you can get for free or comparable price with less
> resource usage (meaning your computer works better overall.) I suggest
> Avira AntiVir (free) or eSet NOD32 (AV only - ~$59 U.S. for two years) in
> combinations with MalwareBytes (free for scanning/cleanup or ~$25 U.S. for
> active protection/scheduled scanning.)
>
> 5) Come back - since this post will be archived indefinitely on the
> Internet - and let everyone who may ever come across it in the years to coe
> how things worked out for you.... You may help someone else in the process.
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
> .
>