FIX: Rchelp.Sys Can Cause CHKDSK to Run Continuously

ID: Q235771

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

After installing Systems Management Server version 2.0 you may notice clients running CHKDSK every time your computer is started. This behavior goes away as soon as the the Systems Management Server client is removed from the computer.

You may also see the following error message.

"Cannot open volume for direct access"
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To work around the problem, edit the following registry key:
  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).


  2. Locate the Start value under the following key in the registry: 
    
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\rchelp


  3. Select the DWORD Value "Start"


  4. On the Edit menu, click DWORD, type 2, and then click OK.


  5. Quit Registry Editor.


This has the effect of changing the startup value from "System" to "Automatic", starting it later in the boot process, which solves the CHKDSK problem.

CHKDSK will still work normally when you start the computer and the Systems Management Server Remote Control functionality is retained.


CAUSE

This is caused by the startup configuration of the Rchelp.sys driver. This file is trying to load at boot time and does not allow chkdsk to have exclusive access to the volume.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 2.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. service pack for Systems Management Server version 2.0. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K


MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about SMS, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q180694 CHKDSK Runs Every Time the System Is Restarted Post-SP3

Additional query words: prodsms 


Keywords          : kbsetup kbClient kbConfig kbRemote kbSMS200 kbSMS200bug 
Version           : winnt:2.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: July 9, 1999