Vista - Chkdsk will Not Run at Startup in Vista

I guess that would be the cause of it being grayed out then.

I'm sorry to hear that. I suppose there's nothing left to do but a clean install if you need to fix this one option.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but my question definitely seems to belong here.

This tutorial/forum is awesome - thanks to all. However, I still can't get chkdsk to run at startup. I've replaced the autochk.exe file as per the tutorial and it still doesn't work. Oddly, after replacing it with the version I downloaded from the tutorial I ran sfc again, and still got that the autochk.exe was corrupted:

2009-01-21 16:04:10, Info CSI 00000035 [SR] Cannot repair member file [l:22{11}]"autochk.exe" of Microsoft-Windows-Autochk, Version = 6.0.6001.18000, pA = PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE_INTEL (0), Culture neutral, VersionScope = 1 nonSxS, PublicKeyToken = {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}, Type neutral, TypeName neutral, PublicKey neutral in the store, hash mismatch
There are a few other lines like this, but I don't want to spam everyone with them. Anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks again for all the great info.

Hi Doug, and welcome to Vista Forums.

If the autochk.exe file is corrupted, then you will not be able to run checkdisk until it is fixed. You might see if doing a System Restore using a restore point dated before it did not work (if known) to see if it can fix it.

If not, then other than a reinstall, you can try a Repair (upgrade) install.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

omg, i need help. Nothing was working, so I tried the repair, command, dismount c: method, and when i try to start up, it tells me i have to reinstall vista to activate windows. it's my gf's laptop, and she claims she doesn't have the restore disks that should have come with it. I don't know what to do now, i've gone into f10 settings and did a hard disk test and figured i'd come on and see what help i can get at this point. Also, it wouldn't let me restore to a previous point until i ran chkdsk because of corrupt(?) files, so that option was out.

Also, this all started because her computer was connected to the network, but IE wouldn't connect to the internet. When i tried i was asked to run chkdsk because of a corrupt IE file.

Hello Kenny, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Her laptop would normally have a OEM recovery partition that can be used to restore Vista back to factory default. If you can post back the brand and model of her laptop, I'll see if I can find instructions on how to do the factory restore from her computer manufacturer's website.

Shawn

Hi!

I'm experiencing the same sorts of trouble with a computer (a Dell XPS M1330 running Vista home premium SP1) that I've had less than a week!

I have a few corrupted files (which I think I know which program they originate from), which I cannot delete by going in to "program files." I can't uninstall the overall program via "uninstall program" in the control panel. I then tried a system restore to a point before I installed the program, and my computer freaks out and says it isn't allowed.

I've followed the tutorial to the letter (trying both the SP1 version and the other--I have SP1). The command prompt returns the following results: "This version is incompatible with the version of windows you are running. Check your computer's system information. . ." you get the idea (with SP1). AND "The C:\Windows\systgem32\autochk.exe application cannot be run in Win32 mode."

I ran sfc/scannow, and it tells me that there are corrupted files that cannot be repaired. I'm unable to access the cbs file that details which files are causing the problem.

I'm taking some very important exams this week, and another concern I have is that I'll need a reinstillation. Is this a problem that's "livable" for about a week (if reinstillation is required) that won't cause a complete computer crash?

Any help is much appreciated!

Jennifer

Hello Jennifer, and welcome to Vista Forums.

It does sound like you will need to do a clean reinstall. You should be able to wait to do this though since it only causing issues with chkdsk not running at startup for now. To be extra safe, be sure to keep backups of anything that you do not want to lose.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Hi Brink, I have followed the above directions only to be stopped from copying the new autochk.exe file to the system32 folder. Even though I have admin rights (doubled checked and confirmed) I can neither replace the file nor change the name. I click on the appropriate boxes at the UAC pop up but then I get another pop-up saying destination folder access denied you need permission to perform this action. Any suggestions????????

Hello Itharp, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Did you take ownership of the file in step 2 in the STEP THREE section first?

Hope this helps,
Shawn