# C:\$Secure is corrupt and unreadable



## arun_prabhakar (Jul 6, 2007)

Hi,

I have been getting this pop up message from yesterday. 

"The file or directory C:\$Secure is corrupt and unreadable. Please run chkdsk utility"

I have run the chkdsk utility during reboot several times, it goes off for sometime and then comes back. Is there any solution to solve this issue ?

Thanks in advance.

I would prefer not to reformat HD. ( if that is possible)


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Hi Arun

Unfortunately, all the articles I've ever seen regarding this error have required either a clean reinstall, or a repair ("in-place") reinstall of Windows XP. [The clean install, as you know, involves wiping the drive]. I haven't had seen any computers myself with this error, so I have to speak from research only.

Microsoft's generic article for this sort of error is here --- http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;246026

An often-cited thread at Expert's Exchange concerning your exact error --- http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/WinXP/Q_21647733.html --- This thread at one point puts the summary this way:
"C:\$Secure is a metadata file kept by NTFS holding the database of drive 
security settings. If it becomes fully corrupted, you'll lose access to the 
drive."

Should you find any solutions other than those requiring reinstallation, I'd be interested to hear them.

Best of luck
. . . Gary


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

Hi

Hold on one second. This error is not well documented and there can be a few differing cases of it. :wink:

Did you just install IE 7 and do you have NAV installed (Norton)?

The problem seems to be a friend of Norton.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Hi all

Kalim -- good call on the IE7 & Norton connection: I hadn't seen that mentioned. I took another look tonight, and there were a few folks who got relief by "uninstalling IE7" (rolling back to IE6, I suspect). I would also expect that Norton would have patched any conflicts with an update by now, so a run of LiveUpdate might have a decent chance of success. Both of those scenarios are considerably more wonderful than a complete reinstall (which might still be in order if neither Norton nor IE7 are involved).

Never a dull moment!
. . . Gary


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

Hi Gary

I suffered the same problem with IE 7 installation when using NAV 2007 - so, I had the direct experience of troubleshooting _another_ one of Norton and Microsoft's grand problems, in the scheme of things. :frown:


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## arun_prabhakar (Jul 6, 2007)

Hi Gary & Kalim,

I don't have IE 7 and it is still running on IE 6. I did face one problem with my Norton AV 9.0, where my live update was corrupted and I had to download the intelligent updater from the Symantec website to correct the error message ( auto protect failed to load). Now the problem seems to have gone..

Could never relate the Symantec problem with this message.

Thanks a lot ...


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

Hi

I'm not fully convinced, because every time I've come across this error the denominator has always been Norton.

Anyway, go to Start>Run>type: *cmd*, press Enter and then type: *chkntfs /x c:* and press Enter.

Restart and see what you get.


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## holmr (Jul 26, 2008)

Hi, I've been dogging this same problem all day on one of my clients. Just a comment to Kalim, my experience and research has me believing that this is not a case of chkdsk not fixing the problem, but something else is recorrupting very early on in the bootup cycle. While in diagnostic mode, I can perform chkdsk /f and successfully repair the c:\$secure file as evidenced by chkntfs c: confirms. But entering other modes immediately re-corrupts. I am still working to isolate, but it seams to me that by using the /x on chkntfs will simply stop the chkdsk loop that some are experiencing by removing the c: drive from the auto-check list, but not resolve the cause of corruption. Just thinking out-loud. Ren

"I believe that professional collaboration is the key to the weedy ones..."


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## CoolTech (Jul 30, 2008)

holmr said:


> Hi, I've been dogging this same problem all day on one of my clients. Just a comment to Kalim, my experience and research has me believing that this is not a case of chkdsk not fixing the problem, but something else is recorrupting very early on in the bootup cycle. While in diagnostic mode, I can perform chkdsk /f and successfully repair the c:\$secure file as evidenced by chkntfs c: confirms. But entering other modes immediately re-corrupts. I am still working to isolate, but it seams to me that by using the /x on chkntfs will simply stop the chkdsk loop that some are experiencing by removing the c: drive from the auto-check list, but not resolve the cause of corruption. Just thinking out-loud. Ren
> 
> "I believe that professional collaboration is the key to the weedy ones..."


OK, I just ran into this and was doing some Tshooting...

Where I am right now... I attached the drive to a stable unit and ran a scandisk. After that, I attempted to defrag and received a message that the drive was "read only" Ran a virus scan... clean. This PC doesn't have a COA, so I am reluctant to run the repair CD on it (Customer told me her ex built it three years ago, so I can't be sure he built it legal... lol) I am about to attempt a Ghost 2003 on the drive to see what happens...


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## holmr (Jul 26, 2008)

To report my further findings of my previous post, I took the approach that the drive was possibly failing and opted to replace. I placed a new identical drive in the system with the original failed drive off-line and proceeded to rebuild the PC from scratch. I loaded the os, drivers and all software and literally had it completely rebuilt with the very last action to install the Norton Endpoint protection software which this client uses on all their systems. I did not see the error during this entire 3+ hour process but it returned using the new drive with the original disconnected, upon installing the Norton Endpoint protection client. Voila!! I have not yet contacted Symantec, but this would implicate their software as the player in my case. This indicates that in my instance, the "c:\$Secure" error is a soft error and that it is due to a software interaction between Norton Endpoint Protection and some other item on this particular PC. This client has more than one of this model and exact configuration and the others have not produced this error. I expect that there is a combination of software and/or drivers that has brought this on. FYI

PS. I attempted to use Ghost 12 but it failed because of some error possibly related to the health of the file system. SFC found no errors and did not help. I also attempted to run XP-SP3 update to see if it would help correct but it also failed to complete. I thought it odd that so many standard products failed in this scenario in attempting to resolve which is why I opted to rebuild with new drive.


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## RPGWhiz (Sep 16, 2008)

I'm new to this and just posted a new thread under $Secure. My question is:
Did anyone ever determine a definitive solution to this puppy?


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## holmr (Jul 26, 2008)

Sadly, not I. Since I found that in my case this was not a physical problem with the drive, and that I had already worked several hours and charged the client, it was not cost effective to work further just to remove the nuisance message. I can't afford to work off-the-clock on this issue currently at this time. I also have not come across it again on any other pc's yet.


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

The only time I've experienced it when it was not a Norton conflict was once -- when one sector was physically damaged near 20GiB region and checkdisk would get stuck on that. That drive could not restore many $ marked hidden files and checkdisk would fail with it. 99% of the time I have come across it in all the enterprise settings was due to a Norton conflict and cause. The second you would entirely remove its low lying drivers, the issue was gone. It has never been a physical problem... if it was, a simple drive sector-to-sector clone would fix the issue.

That is why I had mentioned Norton very early on and that _kinda_ ties in similar to holmr's last mentioned experience. Software+Hardware interaction works in very strange ways, we have to remember an OS is a software too. :wink:


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## psyclops (Sep 17, 2008)

use bartpc to do a backup and then rebuild :-(


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## miguellara (Aug 27, 2009)

I started having this same problem few days ago. I uninstalled my antivirus but I was still unable to run "chkdsk" to fix it. I was about to re-install XP using the CD that came with my Dell laptop. However, I realized that as part of the installation process there was an option to try to recover an existing OS which allows you to access it in DOS mode. I was able to finally run the "chkdsk /r" command. It took about 2 hours but it seems that it repaired everything. I have not seen the $secure error any more! Good thing that I did not have to reformat or reinstall everything 

-Miguel


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## golfnut333 (Oct 26, 2009)

Hi, new to this board. I've been getting the same error (off and on for months) but to my external drive. H:\$Secure is corrupt. It's a WD 500gb in NTFS. I do not have or ever had any Norton installed on my computer. I had ie7 and this morning installed ie8. I've always thought it had to do with my USB connections because after the message I can't access the drive until I unplug the USB and then plug it back in. The message shows up in my system tray (yellow triangle with balloon popup). I have a 4 plug pci usb, the 4 that came on the motherboard and 2 in the front. I have another external drive, Maxtor IV 500gb, a printer and scanner plugged into the pci USB board. I don't know if this info will give anyone a clue or a thought they haven't had before but happy troubleshooting and hope for a fix.


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Do you have XP's Service Pack 3 installed already? If not, try that - and then have a possibly lengthy follow-up at Windows Update or Microsoft Update.

Also, does the external hard drive stay attached to just one PC, or does it move between others?

. . . Gary


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## golfnut333 (Oct 26, 2009)

I do not have XP's SP3 installed. The drive stays attached when I boot and shut down. 

It has not done the error since yesterday. I usually leave computer on all weekend and shut it down before I go to work each weekday. I do not have it set to hibernate or have any screen savers set. I have the ext drive in good open air.


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