Windows 7: Can't run chldshk /r, volume write protected.

Plugged my iPhone into the computer and turned it on, I had to leave so when I came back I saw the startup repair screen. Left it on overnight and it wouldn't finish so I turned off my computer, when I turned it back on it brought me to the system recovery options screen. Tried startup repair again, this time it finished very quickly and said something like Windows is missing or it couldn't find windows. I started using the install/repair disk now because a few console commands wouldn't work without it. I remembered I accidentally installed a 32bit program in the 64bit program files the other day so I deleted the program's folder using the console, but it had no effect. I tried a few more commands and now startup repair says "bad hard disk".

I tried chkdsk /r, but I get a message that reads:
"The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.
Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected."



Any ideas as to how I can remove this write protection?

If you run chkdsk from the recovery environment, it will by default attempt to run on the drive the RE considers "home", which I think is a RAMdisk, and write-protected. You need to specify the drive letter of the partition you want to scan (might not be C:, but you can try switching drives and checking their contents using "dir" until you find your actual Windows drive).

Thanks for the reply! Turns out I already ran chkdsk, I think that's what got me from the missing windows error to the bad hard disk error. However, at the end of the chkdsk it says:

"An unspecified error occurred (69e647863686b2e 4a8)
Failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 50."

Windows still won't boot and i'm still getting the bad hard disk message in startup repair:

Before you proceed, you should create a backup of your disk, just in case. I recently fixed a computer for my girlfriend's father which had severe boot problems, and was really lucky that a full backup was the first thing I did, because after a few day, the harddisk suddenly stopped working completely.
So, if there is any chance that the harddisk is actually damaged, create a FULL backup NOW! Unless you do not want any of the files contained on it. You can use robocopy with a USB disk, or create a system image using either Windows Backup and Restore or Sysinternals Disk2VHD, depending on what you can still use on the system. robocopy should work within the RE.

Try running a thorough chkdsk, with re-evaluation of bad blocks, maybe there really is some damage to your hard disk.

I would suggest this command: V just gives you more information about what is currently happening, but might be interesting, F is probably redundant because of R and B. B re-evaluates bad sectors, and X forces the system to dismount the drive, to avoid interference by other processes.
Depending on your hard disk size and the amount of data on it, this might take LONG. My 160GB netbook harddisk needs about 40 minutes (I did not measure it, but this is usually the time I have between getting up and leaving the house, and it finished within that time). Empty disk space is processed more quickly than actual files, so if your disk is very full, it will take much longer than on an empty disk.
You should avoid checking multiple partitions on the same disk at the same time (possible within the recovery environment), as this will SEVERELY slow down the process, but different disks can be checked at the same time with no significant loss of performance.

After running chkdsk with /V, /F, /R, /B and /X, it ended at 11% complete and I received a message which states "An unspecified error occurred (696e647863686b2e 17ea)
Failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 50."

Hopefully you do have the data backed up already. If the HD health is marginal, it's always better to first recover (copy) data that you cannot afford to lose.

You may be able to check the HD by going into the BIOS to see if there are any HD testing facilities in there. There usually are.

Or download diagnostics from the HD manufacturer which can be used to create a bootable CD/DVD/UFD with the diagnostics app on it.

User2,
Did you make a backup as suggested? Yes/No.

You don't need all of those switches.
This is Win 7 and not eXPired.

the only switch you need is /R.

Go to an elevated command prompt.
Run CHKDSK C: /R

if you have other drives, for example, a D: then
run CHKDSK D: /r
so on and so forth.

For an elevated command prompt:
Go To an Elevated Command Prompt


Elevated command prompt = Run CMD.EXE as administrator
WIN | type CMD.EXE | do not hit Enter |
CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER keycombo| YES

WIN is the key with the Microsoft flag on top.


==========================================================

BACKUP YOUR DATA!

Simply brute-force it. copy from your computer to a USB stick all data dear to your heart

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Awaiting the report that you have backed up your data.

After you run chkdsk over all of your drives, then:
I'll give a method whereby you can post the results.

thanks,
karl

Make sure your phone is not plugged into the computer.

A very good and valid point!