NTFS Repair - chkdsk from Linux [closed]

Question

How can I run Window's chkdsk.exe from my Linux USB Rescue Stick to fix an NTFS drive?

This is for a media player. I'm long done with Windows, but am forced to hold an installation available on my netbook to fix this disk now and then! I want to get rid of this otherwise useless partition.

The Linux tool, ntfsfix from ntfs-3g, is no replacement for Windows chkdsk!

Answer 1

Unless you consider running chkdsk.exe under wine or virtualisation, Linux cannot run it. There is a linux compatible tool that can be used to fix ntfs partitions that is called ntfsfix and is available on most distribution repositories.

It is NOT chkdsk for Linux and may not produce results compatible with Microsoft Windows, however it is able to fix some common ntfs possible problems. It may lose your data while attempting repairs, even though chkdsk may do that too. Example usage:

ntfsfix /dev/sdxY

Where you should replace xY with the appropriate letters for the partition you want to fix.

Answer 2

I use the MiniXP on Hiren's BootCD. The included version 5.1.2600.0 is a little outdated but does the job.

With this I'm able to obtain the full functionality of chkdsk.exe with merely another boot entry on my rescue stick!

Here is my manual, step-by-step, linux-only approach with an emtpy usb stick:

start a bash session in a terminal

mkdir /tmp/d1 && cd /tmp/d1

wget http://www.hirensbootcd.org/files/Hirens.BootCD.15.2.zip

unzip Hirens.BootCD.15.2.zip

mkdir iso

sudo mount -o loop,ro,uid=$UID Hiren\'s.BootCD.15.2.iso iso

plug in the usb stick you want to use: careful! everything on it will be deleted!

determine the device of the stick:

dmesg

or

journalctl

or

less /var/log/syslog

note device and partition:

USB_STICK=  # e.g. /dev/sdb

USB_STICK_PARTITION=${USB_STICK}1

recheck it:

/sbin/fdisk -l $USB_STICK

check if mounted:

mount | grep $USB_STICK

if yes: unmount device or partition(s)

sudo umount ${USB_STICK}{,{1..4}}

clear it:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=$USB_STICK count=10000

download syslinux:

wget https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/syslinux-6.03.tar.gz

extract it:

tar xzf syslinux-6.03.tar.gz

write master boot record:

sudo dd if=syslinux-6.03/bios/mbr/mbr.bin of=$USB_STICK

create a FAT32 partition, e.g.

echo ,,c,\* | sudo sfdisk $USB_STICK 

format it:

sudo mkfs.vfat -n MINIXP -v $USB_STICK_PARTITION

make it bootable:

sudo syslinux-6.03/bios/linux/syslinux --install $USB_STICK_PARTITION

copy content:

mkdir usb

sudo mount -o uid=$UID $USB_STICK_PARTITION usb

cp -rv iso/* usb

create config file:

echo "default minixp\nlabel minixp\nboot /HBCD/grldr" >usb/syslinux.cfg

make MiniXP default:

sed -i '/^default/s|/default|2|' usb/HBCD/menu.lst

tidy up:

sudo umount $USB_STICK_PARTITION

sudo umount iso

cd ..
rm -r d1

done!

I deleted Parted Magic and the big virus stuff and got it down to 200MB on my Rescue Stick.

Adjust this procedure appropriate for your own rescue stick!