"Insufficient disk space to fix the security descriptors data stream."


  1. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1 (x64)
       #1

    CHKDSK: "Insufficient disk space to fix the security descriptors..."


    Hi everybody, I've made a lot of progress with this external drive, but I seem to be stuck now.

    -------------------------------------------------

    Unidentified problem with 3TB external drive (USB 3.0 enclosure) that the computer suddenly started treating as RAW. Spent the last two weeks running CHKDSK /r repeatedly. Slowly got through many hundreds of indexing errors. Now I get as far as "verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)," but I seem to have hit a wall here...

    CHKDSK won’t go any further because there is "Insufficient disk space to fix the security descriptors data stream."

    Microsoft’s advice (Error Message:) is of no help to me. They say to “delete some unneeded files from the disk and try again,” which doesn’t help me since I can’t get the drive to mount or stay mounted long enough to copy the files onto a different drive.

    -------------------------------------------------

    The drive behaves differently each times I power up its enclosure, but it is usually one of these things:


    • Drive doesn't mount.


    • Drive mounts after a few minutes. I see a generic "Local Disk L:" in Windows Explorer but, when I try to explore its folders, the computer takes about 15 minutes trying to read it (I can see the progress bar moving slowly across the top of the screen), and then says that "The parameter is incorrect." Drive disappears from Windows Explorer.


    • Drive mounts after a few minutes. I see the full Volume name that I originally gave it, and can see all of the folders/subfolders. However, I cannot open or copy any files from the drive — on the few occasions I've gotten this far, I tried to copy some files from the drive to a different drive (thinking that I could free up some space and maybe get further along in the CHKDSK process). I hit "Copy" on a single folder on the bad drive, and then hit “Paste” on my target drive. The computer spent an incredibly long time "calculating" the file names/sizes. Hours later, there was a new error message: An unexpected error is keeping you from copying the file. . . . Error 0x800704fD: The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.” I clicked on "Try Again," and got the following error message: An error has occurred. The destination you have specified does not exist . . . The drive had already dismounted.

    ---------------------------------------------

    Sometimes, after the drive mounts, I run CHKDSK but it says that the drive is RAW.

    Then I’ll power-cycle the enclosure and try again, and CHKDSK says that the drive is NTFS and run its course... until I get to the "Insufficient disk space to fix the security descriptors data stream" message. Then I'm back at the command prompt, and I must power-cycle the enclosure before I can continue.

    Sometimes, when the drive finally mounts, I now see a frame pop up, asking if I want to “scan and fix” the drive. I tried it once but the system hanged and the drive eventually dismounted. Now I just click on "Continue without scanning."

    ---------------------------------------------

    I’ve tried plugging the drive into internal bays inside two (2) different desktops (each running Win 7 (x64) and UEFI), but it is never recognized by either computer’s BIOS, Windows Explorer or “Disk Management.” My only success, thus far, has been via the external USB 3.0 enclosure.

    --------------------------------------


    This is my dilemma. The folders/files all appear to be on the drive, but I can’t get the drive to stay mounted long enough to copy anything onto a new drive in order to free up enough space for CHKDSK to finish.

    What can I do here? Any thoughts or advice? Would using a different CHKDSK option make any difference? Is there any way to get the computer to use C: drive space to complete whatever tasks it can't complete on the external drive? Thanks!!
    Last edited by alanbalanb; 22 Oct 2014 at 17:00. Reason: More people are likely to recognize 'CHKDSK' than the error message itself.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1 (x64)
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Someone? Anyone?
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  3. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1 (x64)
    Thread Starter
       #3

    ^ ^ [bump] ^ ^
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  4. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1 (x64)
    Thread Starter
       #4

    ^ ^ [bump] ^ ^ [bump] ^ ^
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  5. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1 (x64)
    Thread Starter
       #5

    ........................................
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  6. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1 (x64)
    Thread Starter
       #6

    ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
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  7. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #7

    1. You can try a surface test with Partition Wizard

    Video heop on how to perform disk surface test with Partition Wizard partition manager?

    2. See whether the disk is accessible with a live Linux CD. If you have none handy, you can make yourself this USB stick emergency kit and try to access the disk with that/

    Emergency Kit - save your files from a dead OS
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1 (x64)
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Hi whs,
    whs said:
    2. See whether the disk is accessible with a live Linux CD. If you have none handy, you can make yourself this USB stick emergency kit and try to access the disk with that/

    Emergency Kit - save your files from a dead OS
    Thank you so much for responding.

    I just watched video #5 of your "emergency kit" post, and I want to make sure that I understand your recommendation.

    Your "Linux Mint Mate USB Flash Drive" page seems to address the situation where the C: drive's file indexing is okay, but the OS is trashed. It certainly makes sense that, if you can boot up with a Linux flash drive, you can access the properly-indexed files on the internal C: drive.

    My situation seems to be the exact opposite—my OS is fine, but the indexing on the external 3TB drive is trashed... and each time I run CHKDSK it says that I don't have enough room for Windows to repair the indexing on that external drive. Are you saying that, when I boot the laptop using the Linux flash drive, I might be able to access the files on the external drive... even though the external drive's file indexing is messed up?

    If the answer to that question is "yes," then do I have to do anything special to the Linux flash drive to be able to access (1) an external drive, (2) that is 3TB in size, and (3) that is connected via USB 3.0? Do I have to 'slipstream' drivers, or will that not be necessary?

    Thanks so much!!!!!
      My Computer


  9. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #9

    If the MFT is corrupted to the point that chkdsk cannot fix it, the best option is to try to recover the data. There are programs like this one that claim they can do it. My Linux stick will probably not be able to access the data.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 19
    windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
       #10

    Alan, what happened to that external HD now? Is it fixed? Are you able to access all your files?
    I am desperate to know because I am experiencing the same thing as you!
      My Computer


 

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