Error Message: The File or Directory Is Corrupt... (176646)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0
This article was previously published under Q176646

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to open, delete or rename a file or folder using Windows NT Explorer, File Manager or a command prompt, you may receive one of the following error messages:

  • <drive>:\<folder> is not accessible
    The file or directory is corrupt and non-readable.The file or directory is corrupt and non-readable. The file or directory \<folder> is corrupt and unreadable.
    Please Run the Chkdsk utility.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the file, folder or file system index (Master File Table [MFT] or File Allocation Table [FAT]) is damaged.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: When Chkdsk detects problems with the file system and attempts to repair the damage, data loss can occur. Microsoft does not recommend running Chkdsk with the /f command-line switch unless you have a full backup of your hard disk.

Attempt to repair the damaged file, folder or file system index using Chkdsk. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type chkdsk /f <drive>:, where <drive> is the letter of the drive on which the damaged file, folder or file system index exists.
  3. Click OK.
NOTE: If the hard disk is large, Chkdsk may take several minutes to several hours to complete.

MORE INFORMATION

Chkdsk saves each repaired file in the root folder as a File<nnnn>.chk file, and each repaired folder in the root folder as a Found.<nnn> folder, where <n> is a number.

For information about how to use Chkdsk, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type "chkdsk" (without quotation marks), and then double- click the "Chkdsk Command" topic.

For more information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: 156571
TITLE : How to Perform Scandisk in Windows NT 4.0

ARTICLE-ID: ID: 160963
TITLE : CHKNTFS.EXE: What You Can Use It For

ARTICLE-ID: 161801
TITLE : Chkdsk reports an erroneous Event ID 41
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/3/2003
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb kbsetup KB176646
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