Need to run CHKDSK in Win 7 with Repair

I'm having issues the the VM Win7 that's running in my Parallels DT 8 on my iMac.

Windows crashes when CHKDSK is running with the /r repair command. When I run CHKDSK without the /r command it finds a number of errors with the file indexes in step two of the chkdsk process. After finding a large number of errors chkdsk will shut down and tell me to run it with the /r flag set so that it can repair the problems.

When chkdsk runs at startup -- which is the only way to run it with the /r flag set it makes it 48% of the way through the file index check and then spawns a blue screen of death.

If chkdsk isn't interrupted it will do this over and over and never launch windows.

I've tried booting to the command prompt but that won't work either. The files start loading and then it just hangs.

Should I try making a backup of the current windows VM and then create a new VM and restore the backup to the new VM? Or is there some other way to test, repair, the VM hard disk?

 

You should check the actual physical disk the VM is at via Disk Utility.

 

Really? I never would have thought that. Do it with the VM started or not?

 

I used the OSX disk utility to verify the entire Mac disk and found zero errors or problems.

But the Win7 disk on the VM still has indexing errors that need to be addressed.

Is there anyway to boot to a dos prompt outside of windows to run chkdsk /r or similar disk check utility?

 

You can boot the VM with the Windows 7 DVD (change boot order preferences) and use CHKDSK from there, or some other live CD like UBCD (Ultimate Boot Disk).

 

The windows pvm file creates the windows HD though correct? How can running something outside of the VM check the disk created by the pvm. I'm sure I'm using incorrect terminology.

When searching the windows help forums for the BSOD errors I'm getting solutions point to bad intel drivers for the HD. But then, my "HD" is a file not a hard disk.

 

I'm saying running the DVD inside the VM... I don't know how to explain this to you, but you installed Windows in the Virtual HD using a DVD or a disk image (.iso, it's the same, doesn't matter), so it's like doing that again, you are not reinstalling but you have access to the virtual HD from the DVD/image if you boot this DVD/image inside the Virtual Machine by setting the boot order in the VM for DVD first.

Does that make sense to you? I dont' know how else to explain, if it doesn't I'm afraid I can't help you.

Your HD is a file, but for Windows it's like a real hardisk and requires drivers, it's quite possible the drivers it's using are the issue.

 

Yes, I see. I'm not to reboot to the DVD. Just run it to access chkdsk from it.

Correct?

No, wait, I think you did say to change the boot order to the DVD first. So, I guess I am restarting from the DVD.

 

Restarting the VM! Not the Mac! You go to VM preferences>Hardware and change the boot order there!

Forget it, I can't help you, it's too icky the miscommunication, it may lead to data loss if we don't speak the same 'language' and don't understand the same concepts. Contact parallels support.

 

Don't worry, I wasn't going to reboot the Mac. I have 30 years of PC experience and switched to Mac about 18 months ago. VMs are relatively new to me. But I'm very computer literate and run dozens of websites on my own linux box, too.

 

I put the Win 7 disk in the superdrive. I set the VM to boot from the DVD first, and it failed and said there was no boot device in the cd drive. Yes, it's a legit Win 7 DVD and it even has a boot folder on it.

I didn't expect this result. But then, that's par for the course with computers.

 

I had the DVD drive connected to the parallels tools ISO. So, I reconnected it to the DVD drive and it booted from the install disk.

I used the repair function to get to a command prompt and I'm running chkdsk right now with /r flag set. It's finding the errors and fixing them right now.

So, thanks so much for your help. Sorry to sound clueless.

 

I didn't meant to imply cluelessness, sorry, it's just that I was afraid we were totally misunderstanding each other and that that would lead to you taking the wrong steps, making matters worst, because you would be, in your mind, doing what a 'Product Expert' told you to do.

I'm glad it's working, let me now if everything works fine.

 

That worked fine. I ran the repair function and it took a long time but repaired a few index errors and checked everything out. I then reran it just to be safe and it came up 100% clean. So, now when I reboot the VM I don't get the BSOD or the chkdsk running and looping.

Thanks for your help.

I had read that folks were using the DVD to boot into the repair console, but I couldn't wrap my mind around how that would work inside the VM.