XP Search Problem

In ,
Tim Meddick typed:
As "Nil" pointed out - have you tried to follow his advice and run
CHKDSK /F from the Command Prompt, on your "D:" drive?

A PC "freezing" in the middle of a disk I/O operation can be
symptomatic of data corruption on the drive.

Definitely


Quite often hard-disk data corruption can be caused by many different
things and doesn't have to mean that your drive has nearly died.

In fact, that's most often the case, it would seem IME.

But the result can be that if Windows cannot read a section of a
drive, it will constantly go over and over the same spot trying to
read it, causing a "lock-up".

Windows will only attempt to read the bad block a set number of times, and
comparing it to past reads. If it never succeeds, it'll stop and throw an
error when the number of tries has been executed. It doesn't spin its wheels
forever. IIRC it'll be over in less than 60S; I want to say 20 or 30, but
I'm not certain of the time allotment. Never go by the "Not Responding"
message to immediately mean anything is locked up. Give it a proper amount
of time and if it's running it'll come back with results. TAsk Manager will
also show it as "not responding" but all it means is the cpu has blocked
interrupts from bothering it temporarily, most of the time.


The solution, if this is the case, is as simple as running CHKDSK /F
D: from a Command Prompt window (if files on the D: drive are in
use, you may have to press 'Y ' in answer to the question - Do you
want chkdsk to run at next boot? - then, when you next reboot, chkdsk
will run then).

Dunno about that being a solution for sure, but it's a logical step to take.
I thought chkdsk asked for permission to dismount disks with files in use?
Maybe not. Only the boot disk will force you to always do it on reboot
because files are always in use on it.
Personally if I have to stop to use chkdsk, I also allow it to do a
surface check of the entire drive. Takes longer but it's a chance to reload
the coffee cup (or ... ). Got one drive developed 4 bad sectors almost two
years ago; it's no worry unless the number of bad sectors increases
periodically. chkdsk /? will show the switches possible. The /r switch IIRC
is only available from the Repair Console. chkdsk /r includes /F also.

Twayne


==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)




"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
Apparently the problem is specific to the Backup 'D' drive. It takes
forever to search and seems to be repeating search of the files and
folders. This does not happen in the main 'C' drive search. It's
been scanning for almost 2 hours looking for wav files. There is
about 200GB worth of info on the 500GB drive. Still searching.....if I
stop the search...computer freezes up.

Ransack finds about 600 wav files on this drive in a few
minutes.....so what's with XP?



"Nil" wrote in message
...
On 07 Jan 2010, "OREALLY" wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize:

Whenever I STOP a search while it is searching the computer
freezes up and I have to go to task manager to end the search. Any
reason or repair for this?

Maybe there is some file system corruption that Search is choking
on. It might be a good idea to run CHKDSK... but better back up
your data and system first, in case it decides to repair your disk
into an unbootable condition.

Thanks........that did it!

Oreally

"Tim Meddick" wrote in message
...

Make the folder "hidden".

...in Explorer, choose "right-click" "Properties" on the folder you want
search to skip.

Place a checkmark in the box named "Hidden".

Open "Search" and make sure the option to "search hidden files and
folders" is *not* checkmarked.

You can then perform a search on any directory "tree" that contains the
problem folder without processing it.


*NB 99 times out of 100, making a folder "hidden" or "system" or both,
does not make a difference to a program that uses specially created
folders, simply because they do not have to search for it, but use an
absolute path instead.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)




"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
It was the Acronis Image Backup file that was confusing the Search
Function. It's about 90GB and cannot be read without performing some
functiom within the program. Removing that folder solved the problem. Is
there any way to tell SEARCH to skip that folder?

Oreally

"Tim Meddick" wrote in message
...
That does sound like severe data corruption that could indicate a
damaged HD.

You say that this happens on your [D:] drive?

Is the [D:] drive a second [physical] hard-drive, or simply a different
partition on a single HD?*


*(If you have difficulty in knowing which - type the following into the
"Run" box on the Start Menu :

c:\windows\system32\diskmgmt.msc

..and locate the shaded area that represents your [D:] drive.

You can then see from this whether it is on the same physical disk as
your system [C:] drive or not).

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)




"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
Tried the search in Safe Mode........same problem when stopping search
on backup Seagate Drive...freezes up computer. Tried a CHKDISC in Safe
Mode also. It stalls out at the end of Phase 4....just sits there for
hours! There is a folder 'Acronis Image' with 90 GB of data in that
backup drive. I'm wondering if that has something to do with it?

Oreally

"Tim Meddick" wrote in message
...
"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
clipped "why should a third party search program like Ransack
have no problem "


I don't know for sure - just a thought...

Some search utils use a database. i.e. they take their pretty time
over searching all files on all drives, and then caching the results.

Then, when you "perform" the search it's actually the cached results
that are being searched - not the drives themselves.

This may not be it in your case though, but it is a possibility...

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)

Thanks........that did it!

Oreally

"Tim Meddick" wrote in message
...

Make the folder "hidden".

...in Explorer, choose "right-click" "Properties" on the folder you want
search to skip.

Place a checkmark in the box named "Hidden".

Open "Search" and make sure the option to "search hidden files and
folders" is *not* checkmarked.

You can then perform a search on any directory "tree" that contains the
problem folder without processing it.


*NB 99 times out of 100, making a folder "hidden" or "system" or both,
does not make a difference to a program that uses specially created
folders, simply because they do not have to search for it, but use an
absolute path instead.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)




"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
It was the Acronis Image Backup file that was confusing the Search
Function. It's about 90GB and cannot be read without performing some
functiom within the program. Removing that folder solved the problem. Is
there any way to tell SEARCH to skip that folder?

Oreally

"Tim Meddick" wrote in message
...
That does sound like severe data corruption that could indicate a
damaged HD.

You say that this happens on your [D:] drive?

Is the [D:] drive a second [physical] hard-drive, or simply a different
partition on a single HD?*


*(If you have difficulty in knowing which - type the following into the
"Run" box on the Start Menu :

c:\windows\system32\diskmgmt.msc

..and locate the shaded area that represents your [D:] drive.

You can then see from this whether it is on the same physical disk as
your system [C:] drive or not).

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)




"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
Tried the search in Safe Mode........same problem when stopping search
on backup Seagate Drive...freezes up computer. Tried a CHKDISC in Safe
Mode also. It stalls out at the end of Phase 4....just sits there for
hours! There is a folder 'Acronis Image' with 90 GB of data in that
backup drive. I'm wondering if that has something to do with it?

Oreally

"Tim Meddick" wrote in message
...
"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
clipped "why should a third party search program like Ransack
have no problem "


I don't know for sure - just a thought...

Some search utils use a database. i.e. they take their pretty time
over searching all files on all drives, and then caching the results.

Then, when you "perform" the search it's actually the cached results
that are being searched - not the drives themselves.

This may not be it in your case though, but it is a possibility...

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)

It was definitley the Acronis Image folder that is hanging up the search.
Once I made it a hidden folder there was no problem!

Thanks for the headsup on chkdsk!

Oreally

"Twayne" wrote in message
...
In ,
Tim Meddick typed:
As "Nil" pointed out - have you tried to follow his advice and run
CHKDSK /F from the Command Prompt, on your "D:" drive?

A PC "freezing" in the middle of a disk I/O operation can be
symptomatic of data corruption on the drive.

Definitely


Quite often hard-disk data corruption can be caused by many different
things and doesn't have to mean that your drive has nearly died.

In fact, that's most often the case, it would seem IME.

But the result can be that if Windows cannot read a section of a
drive, it will constantly go over and over the same spot trying to
read it, causing a "lock-up".

Windows will only attempt to read the bad block a set number of times,
and comparing it to past reads. If it never succeeds, it'll stop and throw
an error when the number of tries has been executed. It doesn't spin its
wheels forever. IIRC it'll be over in less than 60S; I want to say 20 or
30, but I'm not certain of the time allotment. Never go by the "Not
Responding" message to immediately mean anything is locked up. Give it a
proper amount of time and if it's running it'll come back with results.
TAsk Manager will also show it as "not responding" but all it means is the
cpu has blocked interrupts from bothering it temporarily, most of the
time.


The solution, if this is the case, is as simple as running CHKDSK /F
D: from a Command Prompt window (if files on the D: drive are in
use, you may have to press 'Y ' in answer to the question - Do you
want chkdsk to run at next boot? - then, when you next reboot, chkdsk
will run then).

Dunno about that being a solution for sure, but it's a logical step to
take. I thought chkdsk asked for permission to dismount disks with files
in use? Maybe not. Only the boot disk will force you to always do it on
reboot because files are always in use on it.
Personally if I have to stop to use chkdsk, I also allow it to do a
surface check of the entire drive. Takes longer but it's a chance to
reload the coffee cup (or ... ). Got one drive developed 4 bad sectors
almost two years ago; it's no worry unless the number of bad sectors
increases periodically. chkdsk /? will show the switches possible. The /r
switch IIRC is only available from the Repair Console. chkdsk /r includes
/F also.

Twayne


==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)




"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
Apparently the problem is specific to the Backup 'D' drive. It takes
forever to search and seems to be repeating search of the files and
folders. This does not happen in the main 'C' drive search. It's
been scanning for almost 2 hours looking for wav files. There is
about 200GB worth of info on the 500GB drive. Still searching.....if I
stop the search...computer freezes up.

Ransack finds about 600 wav files on this drive in a few
minutes.....so what's with XP?



"Nil" wrote in message
...
On 07 Jan 2010, "OREALLY" wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize:

Whenever I STOP a search while it is searching the computer
freezes up and I have to go to task manager to end the search. Any
reason or repair for this?

Maybe there is some file system corruption that Search is choking
on. It might be a good idea to run CHKDSK... but better back up
your data and system first, in case it decides to repair your disk
into an unbootable condition.

It was definitley the Acronis Image folder that is hanging up the search.
Once I made it a hidden folder there was no problem!

Thanks for the headsup on chkdsk!

Oreally

"Twayne" wrote in message
...
In ,
Tim Meddick typed:
As "Nil" pointed out - have you tried to follow his advice and run
CHKDSK /F from the Command Prompt, on your "D:" drive?

A PC "freezing" in the middle of a disk I/O operation can be
symptomatic of data corruption on the drive.

Definitely


Quite often hard-disk data corruption can be caused by many different
things and doesn't have to mean that your drive has nearly died.

In fact, that's most often the case, it would seem IME.

But the result can be that if Windows cannot read a section of a
drive, it will constantly go over and over the same spot trying to
read it, causing a "lock-up".

Windows will only attempt to read the bad block a set number of times,
and comparing it to past reads. If it never succeeds, it'll stop and throw
an error when the number of tries has been executed. It doesn't spin its
wheels forever. IIRC it'll be over in less than 60S; I want to say 20 or
30, but I'm not certain of the time allotment. Never go by the "Not
Responding" message to immediately mean anything is locked up. Give it a
proper amount of time and if it's running it'll come back with results.
TAsk Manager will also show it as "not responding" but all it means is the
cpu has blocked interrupts from bothering it temporarily, most of the
time.


The solution, if this is the case, is as simple as running CHKDSK /F
D: from a Command Prompt window (if files on the D: drive are in
use, you may have to press 'Y ' in answer to the question - Do you
want chkdsk to run at next boot? - then, when you next reboot, chkdsk
will run then).

Dunno about that being a solution for sure, but it's a logical step to
take. I thought chkdsk asked for permission to dismount disks with files
in use? Maybe not. Only the boot disk will force you to always do it on
reboot because files are always in use on it.
Personally if I have to stop to use chkdsk, I also allow it to do a
surface check of the entire drive. Takes longer but it's a chance to
reload the coffee cup (or ... ). Got one drive developed 4 bad sectors
almost two years ago; it's no worry unless the number of bad sectors
increases periodically. chkdsk /? will show the switches possible. The /r
switch IIRC is only available from the Repair Console. chkdsk /r includes
/F also.

Twayne


==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)




"OREALLY" wrote in message
...
Apparently the problem is specific to the Backup 'D' drive. It takes
forever to search and seems to be repeating search of the files and
folders. This does not happen in the main 'C' drive search. It's
been scanning for almost 2 hours looking for wav files. There is
about 200GB worth of info on the 500GB drive. Still searching.....if I
stop the search...computer freezes up.

Ransack finds about 600 wav files on this drive in a few
minutes.....so what's with XP?



"Nil" wrote in message
...
On 07 Jan 2010, "OREALLY" wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize:

Whenever I STOP a search while it is searching the computer
freezes up and I have to go to task manager to end the search. Any
reason or repair for this?

Maybe there is some file system corruption that Search is choking
on. It might be a good idea to run CHKDSK... but better back up
your data and system first, in case it decides to repair your disk
into an unbootable condition.

Twayne,
you obviously missed the earlier disagreement I had with Leonard Grey
after I made the assertion you quoted.

In my reply I did say :

"...On reflection, I was thinking of read-only media such as a CD-ROM (which I
absolutely know for a fact has that effect because it was the subject of an
exhaustive thread a while back in "xp.general" before you start on me for saying
that). "

So, I believe I had already pointed out my mistake here.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)


"Twayne" wrote in message
...
clipped

Twayne,
you obviously missed the earlier disagreement I had with Leonard Grey
after I made the assertion you quoted.

In my reply I did say :

"...On reflection, I was thinking of read-only media such as a CD-ROM (which I
absolutely know for a fact has that effect because it was the subject of an
exhaustive thread a while back in "xp.general" before you start on me for saying
that). "

So, I believe I had already pointed out my mistake here.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)


"Twayne" wrote in message
...
clipped

In ,
Tim Meddick typed:
Twayne,
you obviously missed the earlier disagreement I had with
Leonard Grey after I made the assertion you quoted.

In my reply I did say :

"...On reflection, I was thinking of read-only media such as a CD-ROM
(which I absolutely know for a fact has that effect because it was
the subject of an exhaustive thread a while back in "xp.general"
before you start on me for saying that). "

So, I believe I had already pointed out my mistake here.

Yup, we're all human; sorry if you took offense at my repeating something
that was a dead horse. I didn't realize it of course. I did wonder a bit
too, because your posts are usually much more on target. Hey, stuff happens;
no problem.

Regards,

Twayne`




==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)


"Twayne" wrote in message
...
clipped

In ,
Tim Meddick typed:
Twayne,
you obviously missed the earlier disagreement I had with
Leonard Grey after I made the assertion you quoted.

In my reply I did say :

"...On reflection, I was thinking of read-only media such as a CD-ROM
(which I absolutely know for a fact has that effect because it was
the subject of an exhaustive thread a while back in "xp.general"
before you start on me for saying that). "

So, I believe I had already pointed out my mistake here.

Yup, we're all human; sorry if you took offense at my repeating something
that was a dead horse. I didn't realize it of course. I did wonder a bit
too, because your posts are usually much more on target. Hey, stuff happens;
no problem.

Regards,

Twayne`




==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)


"Twayne" wrote in message
...
clipped

Cheers, and a Happy New Year to you.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)

Cheers, and a Happy New Year to you.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :-)