Corrupt Common Files - please help!

When my laptop starts up, it tells me that my Common Files are corrupt and unreadable. I have tried 4 methods of starting Chkdsk - from running the program to an elevated command prompt to registration edit - but none have worked. The Chkdsk does not begin when my laptop restarts.

I have tried to use SFC /scannow according to here, but it stopped at 68%. When SFC did not run thoroughly, I tried creating a CBS log as instructed, but an error occurred and the log file was created with no text.

I went through regular mode and Safe Mode for both Chkdsk and SFC.


Please help.
Thanks in advance, Akul5.

 

common files are not necessarily Windows files, and while running chkdsk will repair a corrupt FILE SYSTEM, it will not necessarily fix corrupt files (unless the file system is damaged and reporting the file status incorrectly).

Perhaps a little more information would be useful.

Go to Control Panel\Administrative Tools>Event Viewer

First, anything in event viewer WINDOWS LOGS > APPLICATION or WINDOWS LOGS > SYSTEM logs?

A screen capture would be nice of the error if you can

Also, start type msconfig in the search box and disable everything under the startup tab (temporarily) and reboot, does the error repeat

 

What exactly are you wanting me to look for in the logs? There are over 3,600 events, including at least 32 warnings or errors from today.

I have tried disabling all start-ups. However, it did not help with either the corruption problem or chkdsk. The error still showed up at the log-on screen.

I can't copyboard a screenshot at the logon screen, where the main common files corruption message appears. I was able to take a screenshot clip (attached) of the taskbar pop-up that comes up.

 

Time to back up your system and anticipating a failing drive. Speaking from own experience. I was trying all sorts of "fix" and bla bla ...

My 2 cents.

cheers ...

 

Oh great!.....
What is the easiest way to go about this?

 

Back up every personal data you can access to now. Then get another drive and start from scratch (sorry for the bad new, if you can recover/salvage from other way, go for it - I always hope that I am wrong in cases like this).

cheers ...

 

That is to say a recovery, format, or purchasing a new hard drive? If it is buying a new hard drive, well...not a viable option at the moment.

 

Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. If a chkdsk is recommended, let's do that.

Do you know how to burn and IMAGE?

Go here and download this:

www.thecomputerparamedic.com/rc.iso

This is a 6mb file that will be created as a windows xp recovery console on a CD that you can use to run chkdsk from. It works on a Vista drive.

Just drop the CD in the optical drive, boot from it, let it boot up (there is no install going on, even though it kind of intimates that is what is going on.)

 

Ok. Thank you. I'll try that and post the results.


Results:
I tried what you instructed. I burned the .iso onto a CD-ROM and booted from CD/DVD. However, nothing seemed to happen from it. There was no sign of chkdsk running or anything else. The error still shows up.

 

You are not supposed to burn the iso ONTO the cd--an ISO is a disk image, not a file

You burn the ISO AS a cd

GO here:

http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

download the appropriate copy of ISORECORDER for the OS that is on the computer with the ISO.

Install.

Put a blank cd in your drive

Now, right click the ISO file you downloaded (rc.iso) and you will see COPY IMAGE TO CD/DVD

Now, reboot to the optical drive

you will have to press a key to boot from the CD

What looks like a windows XP Setup will begin, don't worry--nothing is being written to your drive and nothing is being installed.

When the menu appears, press R (to repair windows xp installation using the recovery console press R)

It will examine your disk looking for windows installations

It should find a winows install and ask you to click enter to select it.
If it asks for an administrator password, provide it.

you should end up at a c:\windows> prompt.

type chkdsk /f
< enter >

Take a walk.

Come back, reboot without cd.

I've done this on machines where Vista would not run chkdsk and it works fine.


You will be asked to choose a w

 

I downloaded and installed the ISORecorder for Vista. There is no option to "COPY IMAGE TO CD/DVD" when I right-click on the .iso file.

 

Try to reboot..it's there on mine. Check Control Panel > Programs and Features. It is listed?

Try the Windows 7/Vista version if you are using Vista SP2

 

I have reinstalled v3.1 of the program, rebooted, and checked the applications list. There is still no option "COPY IMAGE TO CD/DVD."

I downloaded ImgBurn from here: http://www.imgburn.com/
As the website says, "ImgBurn supports a wide range of image file formats - including BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI."
I used this program to copy the .iso file to a blank CD. I rebooted the computer from the CD. It came to Windows Setup and loaded files.
However, a blue Stop screen came up.

 

OK...sorry, I didn't see this--went to bed.

The blue screen STOP Error might help, but I actually have had this happen on some machines using that disc

I've had varying degrees of success with other methods.

First, (and I should have recommended this first) boot windows and load a command prompt and type
chkntfs c: /d
<enter >

That resets the file system to the default behavior

Now type
chkdsk c: /f
answer yes, reboot.

No luck? Other things I've tried.


Second, create a windows ultimate boot disk
http://www.ubcd4win.com/

You will need a Windows XP disk, preferrably a Windows XP Sp3 disk.

Load the UBCD and run chkdsk from a cd-loaded windows environment.

What kind of drive is this?


Third, taking the harddrive out and putting it AS A BACK UP in a different machine and running chkdsk on it from there. This always works, but with laptops you may not have the proper hardware to do this. If it is an older 2.5 inch drive, you need an adapter to plug it into a standard desktop IDE ribbon--if it is an sata drive, though, it will work in any desktop with an sata slot

However, make certain you DO NOT accidently boot to the laptop drive with the other machine. Before you start, know your boot order (most computers have a key combination like F10 that allows you to temporarily select a boot order--use that and DO NOT select the laptop drive. Doing so could render the drive unusable.

 

When I enter that in Normal or Safe mode on an elevated command prompt, it says "CHKNTFS: Incorrect command-line format."

 

sorry, just

chkntfs /d

(don't need to specify volume)

then

chkdsk c: /f

then reboot

 

It did not work. I will try your second recommendation (Ultimate Boot CD).

The third recommendation (laptop hard drive into desktop) would be quite complicated, if at all possible. My laptop is a new gaming laptop, so I'm not sure it would be easy in the least.

 

it probably would be easier because it could be plugged in to any computer with an open sata port and a spare sata power plug--but again, the danger is that you plug it in and boot to your laptop OS

If the laptop OS wakes up (meaning the OS tries to load) in the wrong computer, the best you can hope for is a blue screen; the worst is the OS becomes inoperable even when you put it back in your laptop

 

I know little to nothing about Sata ports or how they work or how to use them. I doubt that I even have a Sata cord.
I'm not sure if I would want to risk it either way. My drive is at least working. I would REALLY hate to try fixing it and the drive goes unusable.

 

By all means, try the ultimate boot disk...it will put you in a comfortable Windows like environment and you should be able to run a chkdsk on it.

Still kind of baffled ISO Recorder didn't work....makes me wonder if it requires files in the COMMONs folder

 

Due to the continuous stress and time consumed from trying to restore the files, I went ahead and recovered the laptop to the defaults.

Although unfortunate, it was much easier and quicker than attempting several more methods. It was much less plagued with risk than using the hard drive in another computer.

Thank you very much for your time and help. ^_^

 

yeah, I can see that.

Personally, I love a challenge. Just a couple of days ago I finally got my hands on a machine with the infamous, but incredibly rare Black Screen of Death (this is different than the Blue Screen of Death).

Took me all night, but I finally got the machine back up and running. This was after two other techs had given up and wanted to do a reinstall, but the owner didn't want to lose some programs he had installed but lost the installation discs.

The owner thinks I am a tech god, now

 

We've known you were that all along!