XP Search Problem
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From: thanatoid on 9 Jan 2010 17:44 "OREALLY" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in news:O3Z4aXVkKHA.1824(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl: > I don't think there is any data corruption on the backup > disc. Windows Search Engine just keeps on creating > duplicate and triplicate results etc....on and on and then > freezes everything up if you try to stop it.....at least on > that backup disk. Interesting behavior. Your computer must be in tip-top shape. > CHKDISK completed the scan.......I > suppose if it found any errors it fixed them. I have no > idea how to view the results of the scan. Do you know how to look at a screen in the front of you and read what it says? And if CHKDISK does not say "no problems found" or "found problems and fixed them" like scandisk, why even bother using it? Your system appears to have more serious problems than will be fixed by a scan/check utility. > Not only is the > search function rather slow compared to other software like > Agent Ransack.........it doesn't seem to work at all in > some cases. You have a computer with probably only one C: partition filled with months/years of garbage and you don't know how to regularly maintain/clean up your machine. Do some research and follow the advice and your system MAY start behaving. [I say MAY because it IS an MS product ;-) ] > BTW.....when I defragmented the backup disk (which the > analysis suggested) Anyone who would defragment a backup disc, or even more, NEED to do so (you don't backup a defragmented mess of sectors, you defrag and THEN backup/image), needs to study the subject a little more. > it showed that some files could not be > defragmented. I figure those must be the Acronis Image > files. No, those can be defragmented, although I can not imagine why one would ever need to do so if using Acronis (AND their system to start with) correctly. Files which won't defragment (unless you do some tweaking which is usually not worth it) are read-only and/or system and/or hidden files. They comprise a relatively small portion of an average system and do not cause any problems defragging a well- maintained correctly-running computer. > Perhaps they are confusing the XP search? No offense, /you/ are confused. I suggest you go to a good tech site (Google for that term, there are hundreds to choose from) or just go to Wikipedia and read up on the various terminology that has been used in this thread. If you are not willing to educate yourself and are /perhaps/ (?) getting tired of getting nowhere with this thread, get a technician and pay him/her to fix your machine. OTOH, generally speaking, I would hazard the statement that it is rare to find a Windows computer which does not exhibit SOME, however minor, quirks or malfunctions. There are MUCH worse things than not being able to use the Windows search utility - and several alternatives have been mentioned. Why not just use one of those and give it a rest? <SNIP>
From: Nil on 9 Jan 2010 21:37 On 09 Jan 2010, "OREALLY" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize: > Finally finished the scan!...Took 4hours. > > But How do I tell if scancheck made any repairs? If you were able to do the scan while the system was live, then the results would be there on the terminal session screen. If you were forced to do the scan at the next bootup, you will find the results of the scan in the Application log in Event Viewer - Look for a Winlogon event at the time of that bootup.
From: OREALLY on 10 Jan 2010 12:42 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" <timmeddick(a)gawab.com> wrote in message news:e$#ar4MkKHA.2132(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > 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" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in message > news:%23LfOeXMkKHA.3476(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >> 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" <timmeddick(a)gawab.com> wrote in message >> news:Olh5KRLkKHA.2188(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>> "OREALLY" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in message >>> news:OhKTBbBkKHA.4912(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >>>> < 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. :-) >>> >>> >
From: Tim Meddick on 10 Jan 2010 18:45 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" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in message news:eNghRxhkKHA.2188(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > 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" <timmeddick(a)gawab.com> wrote in message > news:e$#ar4MkKHA.2132(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> 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" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in message >> news:%23LfOeXMkKHA.3476(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >>> 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" <timmeddick(a)gawab.com> wrote in message >>> news:Olh5KRLkKHA.2188(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>>> "OREALLY" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in message >>>> news:OhKTBbBkKHA.4912(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >>>>> < 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. :-) >>>> >>>> >>
From: Twayne on 11 Jan 2010 21:13
In news:O5ouW4AkKHA.1824(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl, Tim Meddick <timmeddick(a)gawab.com> 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" <oreally(a)comcast.net> wrote in message > news:eGKoSAAkKHA.1536(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >> 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" <rednoise(a)REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote in message >> news:Xns9CF99CCDDE0E9nilch1(a)130.133.4.11... >>> On 07 Jan 2010, "OREALLY" <oreally(a)comcast.net> 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. |