Lately, after I run Ad-Aware (or right out of the blue) I get an error message telling me certain files or directories are corrupt and unreadable and I should run the Chkdsk Utility. There is such a file in Windows\System32 but when I execute it it tells me since I did not specify an F parameter it will scan as read-only. I assume it means that it will not fix any bad files. The only way I can specify an F parameter is by going to the DOS screen, change the directory to C:\ and then type in "chkdsk c: /f". But it can't run the command since I'm still within the Windows OS. It offers to run the command the next time I restart. But the next time I restart I can't tell if the chkdsk utility has run. All I know is I still get the error message popping up on different files. I keep the Ad-Aware definitions up-to-date and I also run SpyBot every morning, checking for updates, and then scan for problems. It always finds some and fixes them. Does anybody have this sort of problem? It's more of a nuissance than a real problem.

Well, try chkdsk c: /f /r or just chkdsk c: /r from the run menu and let it do a thourough scan. As you know, you'll get the message below The type of the file system is NTFS. Cannot lock current drive. Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N) Just hit 'Y' for Yes and reboot the system for the procedure to start, then go watch some TV and come back when it's done.

The /r causes chkdsk to check every sector on the disk to make sure it's ok. It will take a LONG time, depending on the size of the disk. Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

Chkdsk /r from the recovery console.

per! What is 'recovery console'?

open start-help and support and type recovery console. It is a way to get into xp for the repair process.

Thanks, per, for the direction to recovery console. You said this is a way to get into XP for the repair process; do you know how I can access DOS without XP? I feel if I can get right down to the DOS level and not get bogged down with the trappings of XP I just might be able to delete those pesky corrupted files - using chkdsk utility doesn't do a damn thing to get rid of them. Thanks!