Will chkdsk /f cause loss of data?

[abhaybhegde]

Hi guys, below is the messages displayed when i ran chkdsk.

Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Deleting an index entry from index $O of file 25.
Index verification completed.

Errors found. CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode.

The type of the file system is NTFS.

WARNING! F parameter not specified.
Running CHKDSK in read-only mode.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
File verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
Index verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)...
Security descriptor verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
Usn Journal verification completed.
Correcting errors in the uppercase file.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

10674720 KB total disk space.
8101796 KB in 38664 files.
27676 KB in 10319 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
128004 KB in use by the system.
55424 KB occupied by the log file.
2417244 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
2668680 total allocation units on disk.
604311 allocation units available on disk.

H:\>

When i look at My Computer >Manage >Storage.. the drives are healthy

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9476/42452220.jpg

But when i check it in Norton Partion magic, one my drive shows BAD. ALthough i can access the data very well. I think the entry in the partion table is kaput or something related to it,

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/1808/70501198.jpg

Will chkdsk /f cause any loss of data? If yes ,are there any way of rectifying it.

Thanks

 

[RebateMonger]

In most cases, a chkdsk /f is innocent enough. You might only have some minor file system errors that are easily corrected.

But Partition Magic says you have some sort of problem, cause unknown.

What you do next depends on how much risk you are willing to take. Yes, chkdsk /f can cause files to go away. It does what it needs to do to fix the logical file system. Any attempt to "fix" things could result in data loss.

If it was me, I'd make sure I had backups of anything I couldn't afford to lose and THEN run the disk maker's diagnostics and file system diagnostics (you can start with chkdsk /f if you wish). That way there's no need for data recovery if a pile of worms falls out of the opened can.

 

[abhaybhegde]

But Partition Magic says you have some sort of problem, cause unknown.

But the Device manager shows the drive to be healthy.(in the first screenshot). Norton is not even allowing me to fix the errors(options are greyed out)

If it was me, I'd make sure I had backups of anything I couldn't afford to lose and THEN run the disk maker's diagnostics and file system diagnostics (you can start with chkdsk /f if you wish). That way there's no need for data recovery if a pile of worms falls out of the opened can.

Backup does seem to be the best colution, but the data is really huge ..around 420gb of data.

I feel the disk is fine, but the partion table entry is kaput. Is there any other alternative.

Thanks

 

[Rubycon]

When it looks like this you have a problem!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iGosiETGU0

 

[RollerBoySE]

But the Device manager shows the drive to be healthy.(in the first screenshot). Norton is not even allowing me to fix the errors(options are greyed out)



Backup does seem to be the best colution, but the data is really huge ..around 420gb of data.

I feel the disk is fine, but the partion table entry is kaput. Is there any other alternative.

Thanks

I would suggest using the /r switch instead, then all readable information will be recovered.

Read more here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457122.aspx

 

[Nothinman]

You can't trust what chkdsk says when it's run on a mounted volume, the stuff it's complaining about may still be in cache and just not updated on disk yet. But yes, chkdsk can lose you data. It's purpose is to make the filesystem correct, even if that means doing something bad to your data like dropping the MFT entry for a file that it doesn't think should be there.

And I'd be leery of trusting Partition Magic as well, it's been a while since I've used it but it used to get confused very easily back then.

 

[tcsenter]

Partition Magic may just be reporting "BAD" because chkdsk has marked the volume dirty or something. Seems like it should be more descriptive than "BAD", but OK.

 

[RebateMonger]

I would suggest using the /r switch instead, then all readable information will be recovered.

The chkdskd /r option performs a "standard" (chkds /f) scan, testing and repairing file system integrity. This is during Stages 1, 2, and 3 of the chkdsk process. Then it scans the entire volume for the ability to read the disk. This is done in Stages 4 and 5 of hte chkdsk process. If it finds a bad sector, it will attempt to transfer the data elsewhere and will then mark the sector as "bad".

The "/r" option doesn't guarantee that data won't be lost during the repair of the file system or the disk itself. I've seen data go "bye-bye" with a chkdsk /r scan. Note that a chkdsk /r scan can take a LONG time (hours or days, depending on volume size), that you can't use the volume while it's being scanned, and that there's no polite way to end the scan.

 

[RollerBoySE]

The chkdskd /r option performs a "standard" (chkds /f) scan, testing and repairing file system integrity. This is during Stages 1, 2, and 3 of the chkdsk process. Then it scans the entire volume for the ability to read the disk. This is done in Stages 4 and 5 of hte chkdsk process. If it finds a bad sector, it will attempt to transfer the data elsewhere and will then mark the sector as "bad".

The "/r" option doesn't guarantee that data won't be lost during the repair of the file system or the disk itself. I've seen data go "bye-bye" with a chkdsk /r scan. Note that a chkdsk /r scan can take a LONG time (hours or days, depending on volume size), that you can't use the volume while it's being scanned, and that there's no polite way to end the scan.

True, but on the other hand I wouldn't fully trust data that doesn't hold up for a CHKDSK /R scan either.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

that really sucks, sorry :-(

In my experience, by the time you get to a chkdsk /f, your data is already pretty much gone. If you are getting errors...your file system is likey hosed to some degree. The best thing to do at this point is backup what you can, get format and rebuild your system. Do a couple of format scans with the option to check for bad blocks. If you find a few and your disk is more than 2 years old, I would start shopping for a new drive as well. Once a drive starts to fail it will only get worse.

If you have data that is really important and you haven't done a recent backup, then you can root around the folders that get created by chkdsk, but generally it's just a mish mash of stuff....but if you lost a manuscript you've been working on...it might be worth the hunt.

If you only get a few errors, then you should still backup and do a recovery once you format and rebuild the OS. It's likely that you will only have lost some system files and if you are lucky no user data will be effected.

the point is, once you see the errors, it's already too late.

sorry, I'm saying a small prayer for you, that you didn't lose anything important.