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Thread: looking for chkdsk log file

  1. #1
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    looking for chkdsk log file

    After an improper shut-down, Windows (XP) automatically runs chkdsk. Is a log file saved anywhere?

    I had an unusual shutdown yesterday and chkdsk did something I haven't seen it do before -- it ran a 2nd scan in a different mode. The output text explained why it started a 2nd scan but the message scrolled off the screen before I could absorb what it said, so I'm hoping a log exists. Otherwise, I'll have to start opting out of auto-chkdsk so I can run it manually from the command prompt with output redirected (>) to a log file.
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  2. #2
    Stark Raving MOD Midknyte's Avatar
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    You'd need to look in Event Viewer. I know the link is for Win7, but I'd try that anyway.
    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...iewer-log.html

    You should also look for the reason for the improper shutdown there. That's more important than the chkdsk.

  3. #3
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    winlogon shows up in the Application section of the event viewer. Start -> Run -> type "eventvwr.msc" (no quotes) -> ENTER. Click on Application and select the most recent winlogon entry.

    https://www.google.com/#q=XP+chkdsk+log&*

  4. #4
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    Bingo. I'm familiar with Event viewer but I didn't know chkdsk output was stored there!

    I found multiple winlogon entries with same timestamp, confirming what I observed. After the initial C: scan (copied below), chkdsk scanned my other 5 partitions across two physical drives in rapid succession (all but two of the partitions are tiny). I never saw it do that before, and since the drive letters flashed by so quickly, I assumed it was attempting to rescan C: in a different mode, failing/restarting multiple times. The last partition in the sequence is 450GB, so scan took the longest. I simply didn't notice it was my J partition. The only error found was on the C: (primary system) partition.

    After improper shutdowns, chkdsk usually finds truncated files, typically located in various /TEMP folders. So this error doesn't concern me. But I'm wondering why, this time, it decided to scan all of my partitions?

    Checking file system on C:
    The type of the file system is FAT32.

    One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency. You
    may cancel the disk check, but it is strongly recommended
    that you continue.
    Windows will now check the disk.
    Volume Serial Number is 281A-1CEB
    \Documents and Settings\David\Local Settings\Temp\Perflib_Perfdata_500.dat first allocation unit is not valid. The entry will be truncated.
    Windows has made corrections to the file system.
    45597312 KB total disk space.
    2175840 KB in 1275 hidden files.
    538496 KB in 16788 folders.
    32954624 KB in 72654 files.
    9928128 KB are available.

    32768 bytes in each allocation unit.
    1424916 total allocation units on disk.
    310254 allocation units available on disk.
    ASUS A8V Deluxe | AMD Opteron 185 | Hyper 6+ cooler | 4GB OCZ Platinum | NVidia 7600GS 512MB | modded Evercase LE4252 | Seasonic S12-II-330 | Barracuda 7200.10 250GB HDD | Plextor 740a | WinXP SP3

  5. #5
    Stark Raving MOD Midknyte's Avatar
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    It's hard to say exactly why it scanned all the partitions, especially if it didn't shutdown properly. If a process was accessing the other partitions at the time, it could have corrupted something.

    Your boot drive is FAT32? I would have gone with NTFS.

    You might want to run the manufacturer's hard drive diags as well. That would be better at detecting actual hard disk errors than chkdsk.

  6. #6
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    Thanks for helping me clear that up. I need to dig out the OEM drive diags CD. I haven't used it since the last time we moved =:-o

    I installed XP in 2008 and decided to use FAT32. I recall investigating NTFS but I can't recall why I decided to go with FAT32. Doesn't matter now cuz I will soon be building a new system. But I need to keep this system operating because I have software I sometimes need for my job that I can't reinstall.

    One more question, possibly related to the chkdsk scan...I noticed an event record with a drive reference I don't understand:
    EventID: 51
    Source: Disk
    "An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk2\D during a paging operation."

    This entry appears several times in Events/System. Harddisk2 doesn't mean anything to me. Where does this name come from? Device manager refers to my two HDD's by what appears to be model numbers. My SMART monitor (speedfan) refers to them simply as HDD0 and HDD1. What I'm asking is how can I determine which disk this event is referring to?
    ASUS A8V Deluxe | AMD Opteron 185 | Hyper 6+ cooler | 4GB OCZ Platinum | NVidia 7600GS 512MB | modded Evercase LE4252 | Seasonic S12-II-330 | Barracuda 7200.10 250GB HDD | Plextor 740a | WinXP SP3

  7. #7
    Stark Raving MOD Midknyte's Avatar
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    You can either download the hard drive manufacturer's diags from their website or just get UBCD5.
    http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...oot-CD-5-Guide

    "An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk2\D during a paging operation."
    You need to go into Device Manager, right-click and open the Properties of each hard drive.
    On the details tab, select Physical Device Object name
    That's for Win7, but it should be something similar. I'll have to fire up my old XP VM later.

  8. #8
    Stark Raving MOD Midknyte's Avatar
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    For XP, it looks like either Device Instance Id or Hardware Id.

  9. #9
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    Your 2nd hdd.

    Chkdsk reads them as HDD1 - HDD2- HDD3 etc.

    Bad shutdowns - I have had it run on all 5 hdds installed a few times.One reason I do not use ASUS mothrboards any more. Just my thoughts.

  10. #10
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    No, neither Device Instance Id or Hardware Id show anything that would explain harddrive2 reference.

    @Train, so which is my 2nd HDD? Is it necessarily the one that's not my primary/system drive? Rhetorical question as I found my Seagate Seatools boot disk. I might as well run diags on both drives
    ASUS A8V Deluxe | AMD Opteron 185 | Hyper 6+ cooler | 4GB OCZ Platinum | NVidia 7600GS 512MB | modded Evercase LE4252 | Seasonic S12-II-330 | Barracuda 7200.10 250GB HDD | Plextor 740a | WinXP SP3

  11. #11
    Stark Raving MOD Midknyte's Avatar
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    HDD1 should be harddisk2. But the hard drive diags would be more accurate.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Midknyte View Post
    You'd need to look in Event Viewer. I know the link is for Win7, but I'd try that anyway.
    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...iewer-log.html

    You should also look for the reason for the improper shutdown there. That's more important than the chkdsk.
    How about for Windows 10?

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