Can't run Sfc /scannow

[hught78]

Strangest thing. On my windows 7 Pro (32-bit) desktop I am getting a c0000001 error at boot with no indication of which file is causing the problem. I boot to the OS disc and try to run Sfc /scannow and it tells me there is a repair pending. I looked in the winsxs folder but there isn't a pending.xml file. I go to run Sfc /scannow /offbootdir=d:\ /offwindir=d:\windows\ and it just gives me information about the Sfc program. You know, version number, sample commands, etc. But it didn't actually run.

Any idea how I can run sfc on this drive? I can put it in another machine that works but I don't know the syntax on how to run sfc on the borked drive.

 

[Roderunner]

Hi hught78, read this. View attachment SFC Commands.pdf

 

[hught78]

Thanks Roderunner, interesting read. Unfortunately it did not help with my problem. Running Sfc /verifyonly told me there was a repair pending and since I do not know the offending file I cannot run verifyfile.

 

[Roderunner]

Did you run CMD.exe as Administrator ????

 

[carwiz]

That's a kernel driver failure. Perhaps caused by a faulty disk or memory. The repair pending may be a scheduled chkdsk (autochk) from Windows after the disk was marked dirty. You might try booting from your CD and running a chkdsk.

 

[hught78]

Roderunner, I can't log into Windows so I am booting to the OS disc, logging in as the admin, and running command prompt from here. Is this adequate?

Thank you Carwiz, I swapped RAM with a known good sick but had the same error. I am trying Chkdsk now.

 

[Roderunner]

Roderunner, I can't log into Windows so I am booting to the OS disc, logging in as the admin, and running command prompt from here. Is this adequate?

NO! try doing a repair.

 

[hught78]

@Roderunner - Thanks, that was the first thing I tried. It takes away the error but Windows boots directly to recovery mode and shows the partition is 0MB. Got any other tips?

Chkdsk is still running, will post results when it's finished.

 

[hught78]

Since running chkdsk i continue to get the error that a repair is pending. If I try to run Sfc /scannow with the offboot-offdir method it just tells me "windows resource protection cannot perform the requested operation."

Feeling stuck now.

 

[Roderunner]

Why are you unable to sign-in to Windows ?

 

[hught78]

That's what I'm trying to figure out here. On boot, I either get the black screen with c0000001 error or it just boots directly to recovery console.

 

[carwiz]

Get into the BIOS and see if it recognizes your primary disk. (Boot disk)

 

[hught78]

@Carwiz, Yes, it recognizes the primary disk.

 

[hught78]

I have a hunch that if I could run sfc /scannow on the drive, it would fix it. Booting from the OS disc didn't let me do it trying with the normal and offboot method. Even plugging the drive into another Windows 7 machine, running cmd as admin I can't run it on this drive. The closest I get is running:
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=f:\windows\
where C is a good, working Windows 7 drive and F is the messed up one, I get the following message, "Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service.

If only there was a way to run a repair install on a slave drive.

 

[carwiz]

See if you can execute this command in an elevated prompt.

fsutil dirty query c:

Added: When you tried to boot from the c: drive, do you get the Windows 7 startup screen or does it die before that?

 

[hught78]

Running fsutil from recovery console gave me the "not recognized" error. But when I ran it from another working computer on this bad drive the command said the drive was not dirty.

When I boot, it appears to boot directly to recovery console. If I boot to Safe Mode the Starting Windows screen stays up for a half a second then stops around the 4th or 5th dll, I think kdcom.dll, then jumps directly to the recovery console.

Thanks for your assistance and patience, Carwiz.

 

[Roderunner]

Is Windows installed on C:drive. What is F: drive ?

 

[hught78]

Is Windows installed on C:drive. What is F: drive ?

Maybe you missed what I wrote?

"Even plugging the drive into another Windows 7 machine, running cmd as admin I can't run it on this drive. The closest I get is running:
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=f:\windows\
where C is a good, working Windows 7 drive and F is the messed up one, I get the following message, "Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service."

Make sense?

 

[carwiz]

Ok, then we know the drive is not dirty from a power failure. The changes in the boot are confusing. On one hand, it appears the boot sector may be toast. Then on the other, it's getting past the boot and starting Windows. Perhaps a root kit? I'm not sure.

If you're displaying the boot sequence (driver list) the driver causing the problem will most often be the one just before the driver displayed at the stop. This isn't always the case as the problem driver could be before that if it's a hardware driver the hardware isn't responding.

If it were me, I would try to re-claim as much data as your can from the disk while connected in another PC and make sure it's scanned. It looks to me that the only way out is a clean install after you clean the disk with the other PC.

 

[hught78]

That's what I was afraid of. Oh well, data is still retrievable so it's not a complete loss. Thanks for all your help, Carwiz!