Best Vista file system repair/maintenance utility?

I am having difficulty finding a "safe" file system
maintenance utility, namely one which will _not_
damage the Vista file system further. (do no harm)

My Vista Ultimate was running fine, as near as I
could determine, all my apps ran okay.

So I decided to do routine maintenance of my NTFS.
(file system)

There were literally dozens of utilities to choose
from, so being thoroughly confused, I blindly
chose "RegCure" from a Canadian firm for $30.

Big Mistake.

Vista promptly crashed after the file system repair.

Is there any such thing as a safe file system repair
utility?

Mark-

"Mark Conrad" <this.is@absolutely.invalid> wrote:

> I am having difficulty finding a "safe" file system
> maintenance utility, namely one which will _not_
> damage the Vista file system further. (do no harm)
>
> My Vista Ultimate was running fine, as near as I
> could determine, all my apps ran okay.
>
> So I decided to do routine maintenance of my NTFS.
> (file system)
>
> There were literally dozens of utilities to choose
> from, so being thoroughly confused, I blindly
> chose "RegCure" from a Canadian firm for $30.

This program is a socalled registry cleaner, it has nothing to do with file
system maintenance. You have obviously already learned of the damage
potential such programs have. Also, there is little to none performance to
(re-)gain by using them.

<snip>
> Is there any such thing as a safe file system repair
> utility?

Sure. Windows's built-in System File Checker tool:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...41(VS.85).aspx

Take a look at these two Windows apps as well, they come in handy when you
need to maintain your system.

Disk defragmenter:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...598e31033.mspx

Chkdsk:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...41f811033.mspx

Charlie42

In article <euDSg8#8IHA.5928@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl>, Charlie42
<Charlie42@spam.me.not> wrote:

> > Is there any such thing as a safe file system repair
> > utility?
>
> Sure. Windows's built-in System File Checker tool:
>
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...41(VS.85).aspx
>
> Take a look at these two Windows apps as well, they come in handy when you
> need to maintain your system.
>
> Disk defragmenter:
>
> http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...4-4716-97a7-61
> 2a1f0598e31033.mspx
>
> Chkdsk:
>
> http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...c-79c7-0f91-93
> 37c2c41f811033.mspx
>
> Charlie42


Thanks for all those references, will try them.

Just beginning with Vista, do not know my way around yet.

Will take your advice about anything mentioning registry
cleaning, and avoid such utilities in the future.

Mark-

Mark Conrad wrote:
> I am having difficulty finding a "safe" file system
> maintenance utility, namely one which will _not_
> damage the Vista file system further. (do no harm)
>
> My Vista Ultimate was running fine, as near as I
> could determine, all my apps ran okay.
>
> So I decided to do routine maintenance of my NTFS.
> (file system)
>


Er.... Ever hear the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" If
everything was running fine, what on earth prompted you to screw with
things? Vista's file sysztem, NTFS, needs no "routine maintenance."


> There were literally dozens of utilities to choose
> from, so being thoroughly confused, I blindly
> chose "RegCure" from a Canadian firm for $30.
>
> Big Mistake.
>
> Vista promptly crashed after the file system repair.
>


RegCure is not a "file system" maintenance tool; it's a snake oil
registry reamer whose sole function is to separate the gullible from
their money. And its use caused just the sort of results that one would
expect: a useless computer.


> Is there any such thing as a safe file system repair
> utility?
>

Vista includes the only tool you're ever likely to need: CHKDSK.
However, unless you are actually experiencing a specific problem related
to your hard drive's file system, there's no real need to run Chkdsk.
The utility is not designed to be used as part of any period maintenance
plan, nor does NTFS require any sort of routine maintenance.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

On Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:35:18 -0700, Mark Conrad
<this.is@absolutely.invalid> wrote:

>
> I am having difficulty finding a "safe" file system
> maintenance utility, namely one which will _not_
> damage the Vista file system further. (do no harm)


Exactly what do you mean by "file system maintenance utility"?


> My Vista Ultimate was running fine, as near as I
> could determine, all my apps ran okay.
>
> So I decided to do routine maintenance of my NTFS.
> (file system)


No such maintenance, routine or otherwise, is required. There are many
software products on the market that are advertised as magical
panaceas to tune up your system, improve performance, etc. Almost
without exception, these are all snake oil. They do nothing that needs
to be done, and in many cases *cause* problems rather than alleviating
them. I recommend that you avoid them like the plague.


> There were literally dozens of utilities to choose
> from, so being thoroughly confused,


Yes, and as I said, they should *all* be avoided. You had no problems,
and yet you wanted to get a product that purported to (but really
didn't) solve any problems. That makes no sense to me.


> I blindly
> chose


Then, to make matters worse, you chose blindly?



> "RegCure" from a Canadian firm for $30.


Moreover, you didn't even choose what you were looking for in the
first place--a "file system maintenance utility," but instead chose a
registry cleaner. Registry cleaners are a classic example of what I
mentioned above--snake oil. Cleaning of the registry isn't needed and
is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and don't use any registry
cleaner. Despite what many people think, and what vendors of registry
cleaning software try to convince you of, having unused registry
entries doesn't really hurt you.


> Big Mistake.


Undoubtedly.


> Vista promptly crashed after the file system repair.


Again, registry cleaners don't do anything like "file system repair."


> Is there any such thing as a safe file system repair
> utility?


My advice to you is to heed the classic warning "don't fix what ain't
broke." If you should have a specific problem, ask us here how to
troubleshoot and fix it. The solution will hardly ever be to use such
a program. Do *not* look for magical panaceas, and always remember
that almost all such software products are junk, and are much more
likely to hurt you than help.

I'm sorry you wasted your $30, and I'm sorry that Vista crashed, but I
hope that at least you've learned a valuable lesson.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

You guys come across somewhat harshly. The O.P. made an honest mistake.

A google search does reveal that regcure causes major problems but why jump
on him?

As for Vista being trouble free....don't bet on it!

I am into trialling vista ultimate for the 4th time after a BSOD wiped out
my last ultimate installed OS beyond recovery.

Cheers

Ron