“MFT is Corrupt and Unreadable” Error in Windows XP May Cause File Loss
When you start your Microsoft Windows XP based computer, the boot process may get terminated with MFT (Master File Table) errors. At this point, MBR (Master Boot Record) Boot Loader can’t read boot information stored on the hard drive and thus the system does not boot up. In such case, the data stored on the hard drive can not be accessed and critical file loss situations occur. In order to get your critical files back in such situations, opt for powerful and advance windows data recovery software.
While trying to boot up your Microsoft Windows XP computer, you might come across the below given error message:
“C:\$MFT is corrupt and unreadable. Please run the CHKDSK utility.”
If you run the CHKDSK (Check Disk) utility without any option in read-only mode, you receive the following error message:
“CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the master file table
(MFT) bitmap.
CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.”
If your run CHKDSK utility with /f option, this doesn’t repair anything. The error message keeps occurring each time when you boot your computer.
CHKDSK /f: This option of CHKDSK tool resolves errors on the Windows partition. While running this process, the partition must be locked. When the partition can not be locked, the partition is checked when you reboot the system next time.
At this point, to gain access of your mission critical files, you are required to identify the root of this issue and recover windows by resolving it.
Grounds of the issue
As stated in the above error message, this problem generally occurs due to corruption to the MFT. Each file on an NTFS file system partitions is characterized by the record in special table known as MFT. When this table gets damaged, boot loader can not get reference of boot file and thus can not locate them.
Solution
To fix this issue, opt for a third party hard drive recovery software to methodically scan damaged hard drive and retrieve all of the files from it. These software are quite easy to use and do not demand sound and prior technical skills to achieve absolute recovery of your critical files.
Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most advanced and powerful File Recovery Software. It recovers data from all FAT32, VFAT, NTFS and NTFS5 file system partitions. This software is compatible with Microsoft Windows 7 RC1, Vista, 2003, XP and 2000.
About the Author:Garry Thomson a student of Mass Communication doing research on hard drive drive recovery software . He is also a freelancer for http://www.windows-data-recovery.net/
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - “MFT is Corrupt and Unreadable” Error in Windows XP May Cause File Loss