Windows can't access disk

[Mervyn Thomas]

Hi I have just restored my entire hard drive from a Paragon disk Image.
The system looks OK but whenever I try to install a program it compalins
that Partition D: is full. In My Computer the screen shows 10.1 GB of 33GB
is free but in properties it shows 0 bytes used space and 0 bytes free
space. Check disk comes back with the response "The disk check could not be
performed because windows can't access the disk".

Can anyone tell me how to get going!
Mervyn

 

[Roy Smith]

Hi I have just restored my entire hard drive from a Paragon disk Image.
The system looks OK but whenever I try to install a program it compalins
that Partition D: is full. In My Computer the screen shows 10.1 GB of 33GB
is free but in properties it shows 0 bytes used space and 0 bytes free
space. Check disk comes back with the response "The disk check could not be
performed because windows can't access the disk".

Can anyone tell me how to get going!

Try this - click on the Start Orb - then on Computer. Now right-click
on the D: partition and select Properties. Next click on the Tools tab,
now click on the "Check now" button in the Error Checking box. Now make
sure there is a checkmark on the line that says "Automatically fix file
system errors" and click on Start. You may be prompted to reboot your
PC, if it asks then allow it to reboot and run the disk error checking
that will take place when the PC starts up again.

It's possible that somehow during the backup or restore process that
your disk file allocation table may have gotten borked. Running the
disk error check should correct this. If it doesn't then I'm at a loss
at what you should do from here.


--

Roy Smith
Windows 7 Professional
Postbox 2.0.0
Thursday, October 07, 2010 8:32:34 AM

 

[Mervyn Thomas]

Well it looks as if both partitions in the disk are now read only because
all the folders are read only I cannot change it. Am I truly scuppered?
Perhaps I should reinstall W7?
Mervyn

 

[Tim Slattery]

Folders are read only normally.

NO!! Folders do not have a read-only property.

What you see when you look at a folder's properties page is a shortcut
that allows you to set or clear the read-only property for all files
in the folder (and sub-folders, if you want) all at once. It's a
three-state box, and it's originally in its neutral state. On my
computer the background and the check are both gray. Click once, and
it's set to "false", the box is completely clear. Click again and it's
"true", the background is white and the check is black. Click once
again and it's back to neutral.

 

[R. C. White]

?Hi, Mervyn.

For folders (not files), "Read Only" does not mean what it used to mean, and
it hasn't for a few years, since WinXP, at least. While it still says "Read
Only", that is NOT the actual meaning. Please have a look at this KB
article:
You cannot view or change the Read-only or the System attributes of folders
in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, in Windows Vista or in Windows 7
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;326549

The key line from that KB article:
"Unlike the Read-only attribute for a file, the Read-only attribute for a
folder is typically ignored by Windows, Windows components and accessories,
and other programs."

I've never used Paragon, so I can't comment on your actual problem. Since
Symantec bought Partition Manager several years ago, and Microsoft included
Disk Management with Win2K and later Windows versions, I've not needed
third-party disk and partition managers.

What does Disk Management say about your disks and partitions, especially
about your Drive D:? My Computer (actually just "Computer" in Vista/Win7)
only lets us see partitions; Disk Management lets us do much more with them.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3502.0922) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 beta


"Mervyn Thomas" wrote in message

Well it looks as if both partitions in the disk are now read only because
all the folders are read only I cannot change it. Am I truly scuppered?
Perhaps I should reinstall W7?
Mervyn

 

[Mervyn Thomas]

Thanks for all the help given - in the end several other windows functions
were not working properly either and so I reinsatlled W7 which has cleared
up all the problems but lost all my other software which I will have to
reinstall as well.
I still don't understand what has happened here and now am at a loss as how
to create disk image files with complete assurance that I can restore them
and have fully functional windows again.This was at the heart of my disaster
recovery plan which just did not work as expected. Over the years it has
saved me through several corrupted systems on XP and I thought W7 would also
work.
Do I hear any suggestions?
Mervyn

 

[Dave-UK]

Thanks for all the help given - in the end several other windows functions were not working
properly either and so I reinsatlled W7 which has cleared up all the problems but lost all my
other software which I will have to reinstall as well.
I still don't understand what has happened here and now am at a loss as how to create disk image
files with complete assurance that I can restore them and have fully functional windows again.This
was at the heart of my disaster recovery plan which just did not work as expected. Over the years
it has saved me through several corrupted systems on XP and I thought W7 would also work.
Do I hear any suggestions?
Mervyn

Get a spare hard disk, internal or external, and use Windows 7
to create a system image.
At the end of the process you will be asked to create a repair disk.
This is a small bootable iso that fits onto a CD.
If your system crashes boot from the repair disk and re-install
your saved image. It works, I've done it twice on spare boxes.
I usually update my saved image about once a month.
http://www.admin1.myzen.co.uk/Win7BackUP.htm

 

[Eric]

Get a spare hard disk, internal or external, and use Windows 7
to create a system image.
At the end of the process you will be asked to create a repair disk.
This is a small bootable iso that fits onto a CD.
If your system crashes boot from the repair disk and re-install
your saved image. It works, I've done it twice on spare boxes.
I usually update my saved image about once a month.
http://www.admin1.myzen.co.uk/Win7BackUP.htm

does the image also cover everything you've installed, or just windows.?

 

[Dave-UK]

does the image also cover everything you've installed, or just windows.?

It's a disk image so whatever's on the disk will be in the image.
To view or access any files in your saved disk image:
http://www.admin1.myzen.co.uk/MountImage.html