Alan_B

Perhaps you broke something by running the registry cleaner. Do NOT run the register cleaner again until you have got everything working properly, and even then it is safe to avoid registry cleaning. It is possible that you could fix the problem by :- Restoring the registry backups ; or UN-installing CCleaner and then downloading and installing again.

This was not an issue for the stable channel of Chrome until it was auto-updated. Your thinking on the Auto update message is a little too small. It would be appropriate to change the message to indicate that EVERY improvement in the cleansing power of CCleaner includes the possibility that it might cause harm instead of good, and this applies to ALL browsers and also all non-browser applications. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT in this particular case, but also relevant to all non-Chrome browsers, and indeed to all non-browser applications, if such browsers and applications are auto-updated they might suffer harm from the last installed version of CCleaner if they place important things where "junk" was previously held. N.B. My posts have not delayed the developers.

Who would have guessed that smart phone data could include date of birth and mother's maiden name

Please read the big words above. This topic was started with the complaint of CHROME SETTINGS CORRUPTION. That is a SIGNIFICANT CONSEQUENCE of the Chrome developers deciding to put settings on the path that had been used for Junk, and it is unfortunate that they decided to put their users settings at risk. You are now grumbling about a DIFFERENT AND TRIVIAL NO-HARM CONSEQUENCE of a failure to clean history. You might be disappointed that history is not being cleaned now, but THAT is not what you started this topic with. It is the fault of Chrome that it creates history which you prefer to eradicate, and I am sure that Piriform will address this different consequence. No user action will be needed to remove history, other than using a CCleaner version that catches up with Chrome's chaos. Corruption of Chrome Settings is quite likely to impact the normal use of Chrome as a browser, and some users may have difficulty restoring normality. Failure to remove history will not impact the normal use of Chrome as a browser. That makes failure to clean a TRIVIAL TEMPORARY problem when compared to your original complaint of Settings Corruption.

I just cannot pass up the opportunity to "teach grandma(s) to suck eggs" Is it possible that the source and / or destination drives are connected via USB2 that happens to have fallen into USB1 mode More seriously, could HDD issues have caused the system to access the drive in PIO mode. The above is at post #4 in https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=117614 Post #1 in the above gives a link to a page with a VBS script, But I guess that would greatly disrupt the recovery that is in progress. I MIGHT however be safe to use Device Manager to determine whether PIO mode is in use, as stated in post #1, but I have no experience to advice either way - I will leave recommendations for those with experience. Regards Alan

Actually I read all 3 of his posts before I submitted my advice at post #5, as below There were only two tiny paragraphs in which he gave confusing information and I requested clarification, which has not been forthcoming. In my view it is unwise to predict what may or may not be an appropriate solution to the problem until more precise information is given. The reason that there are few Partition Recovery success stories here is that Recuva does NOT perform that duty, and those with such a need are promptly referred to Partition Recovery tools and not many return to give thanks. There are 56 results when I search the Piriform forums for "Partition Recovery", and this is a typical example of where correct tools are recommended, and this solved the problem (no further request for advice) and no gratitude was shown (no thanks and no indication of which tool did the job). http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=35687 Regards Alan

I beg to differ. If a computer fails to boot, or has lost any partitions, the cause MIGHT be a problem with the MBR or primary or extended partition tables, and that is a problem I fixed years ago with a Minitool Boot Rescue CD. Dead easy. In this particular case :- I do not remember seeing any evidence that convinced me of the source of the problem; and there is far too much scrolling for me to pick out from this lengthy topic the clues that might be relevant. I will agree with you that Biffloman could benefit from saving whatever files he can access with linux - assuming that he actually values any documents that were on C:\ (again - I cannot remember any clues in this lengthy topic). If all his important documents were on D:\ the problem of data recovery is somewhat simpler. Given a new topic in the Recuva forum which includes a Windows Disk Management screenshot and a definition of which partitions might hold valuable data, I might feel more comfortable with a prediction of what can be recovered and by what means. Regards Alan

As I indicated in post #5, it might be better to start in the Recuva forum a new topic dedicated to the recovery of any important documents on both C:\ and D:\ and any other partitions. That would also be the place to discuss the feasibility of Partition Recovery which just possibly might be all that is needed. The first 80% of this first page is occupied with irrelevant registry logs which are most unlikely to assist in restoring normality. The registry is a distraction which can do far more harm than good.

You are forgiven A screen shot showing all details available about the entire HP Laptop HDD (SSD ?) as seen by Windows Disk management on this other P.C. would give us a better idea of the situation. I will leave it for those with more experience of Recuva to give you further advice. Regards Alan

What has that to do with this topic. You started this topic by complaining that CCleaner was CORRUPTING your Chrome Settings. If CCleaner now FAILS to clean because the junk is on a different path then this is nothing like corruption. The actual problem appears to me to be that Chrome deposited in some path :- spurious junk that no one wants to keep and was happy to clean with CCleaner; and NOW they are using the same path to hold Chrome Settings so that CCleaner and its competitors now corrupt Chrome Settings. If this version ??? 32.0.1700.41 m Aura (post #9) of Chrome is now a fully released version of Chrome then I am sure that Piriform will continue to fully support Chrome and will fix the issue of corruption a.s.a.p. It is however unreasonable to expect CCleaner that start cleaning the new JUNK paths that will most likely become the next official release, because they will not only have to test/debug against an unpredictable and variable Beta, but they would also need to test and possible design afresh in the "unlikely" event of changes to the next official release. Regards Alan

Welcome to the forum. Is this an early April Fool's day prank ? A normal installation of Windows will see itself as running in partition C:\ and would NOT tell you that it needs to be formatted. If you really have a problem then you need to post a screen-shot that shows all the details available in Windows Disk management.

You will inevitably lose far more valuable data than you will ever access by messing about with the registry. You will only make your situation worse with any registry action that you do not fully understand. What steps ? What box ? What Disc Control ? Is this something to do with the "Registry" or "Tools" or "Options" ? Does your computer now totally fail to boot into Windows, or are you still using the same computer to continue posting here ? N.B. The Recuva forum is the place for getting help when you have lost files.

Is it better to NOT know what LINUX might be leaking regardless of scrutiny and validation or source code by independent experts, Or is it better to KNOW that Windows is a wide open door for NSA

So its purpose is to protect Malware http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/MpFilter.sys-27631.html

And why is that ? Because either Chrome Developers ignore the Bugs in the Beta/Dev versions that are identified by their users, or because their users fail to adequately report the bugs. In software development the original purpose for Beta releases was for people to test and report new defects/problems in the product and for the developers to correct their own mistakes. I am reminded of the joke about recent army recruits on parade, with a proud mother shouting out to the sergeant major "Look, my Jimmy is the only one marching in step".

Yes, I use a PRO version, but I believe The FREE version will also create a WinPE Bootable. I think the Pro version advantages including Differential and Incremental backup under Live Windows. BUT I was unable to use DIFF or INC modes with the PRO version created WinPE, All I got was a FULL backup. so I doubt that the FREE WinPE is in any way inferior for creating backups, though it might be better able to deploy an image to new hardware. Regards Alan

Sorry, but you were begging to be teased Macrium Reflect can create a WinPE bootable ISO/CD/FLash that images just as well as the normal installed version. Years ago a Windows Update struck without warning (protection that worked on XP did not work on Win 7). Thereafter Windows would boot and allow me to login - and 20 seconds later totally freeze all my controls. All I could do was force a Power Off by holding down the Power switch for 10 seconds. Every start-up end the same. I plugged in the WinPE bootable rescue and before restoring the last "Successful Partition Image Backup", I created a new image backup. Then I restored the "Successful Partition Image Backup" and restarted into a functional Windows System. Then with Windows smoothly running I used Macrium to mount the latest backup of disaster as P:\ and then used 64 bit Portable BestSync to compare the differences between C:\ and P:\ That allowed me to sync and import my latest documents and other adjustments to Desktop links that occurred between the "Successful Partition Image Backup" and the Windows Update. Altogether it took less than 20 minutes to restore all my work from the previous day. Regards, Alan P.S. Sorry to keep you waiting, I don't type as fast as I think.

Yes, I do.

I hate HP for their rubbish bloatware that the supply with their Printers. It seems to me that the Recovery stick is non-ideal. Ideally you should be able to recover the system back to original status, and if successful that status will allow the creation of another one-off recovery stick. If the recovered system knows that the one-off recovery stick was already created before recovery, how much more does it remember from its previous user experience ?

Lazesoft Recovery is freeware which recovered from a 600 GB HDD all the :- RAW data on the first two partitions, and all the data in the next half dozen partitions which Windows said was now Unallocated Space. It also works on Flash Drives http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/Lazesoft-Recovery-Suite-Home.shtml NB There were many 6 GB Macrium Partition Backup files on that 600 GB HDD Lazesoft recovered them all and Macrium validated them all, based upon the internal hash checksums. Alternative Data Recovery costing $69 was able to recover the correct amount for each file, but they were rejected. Lazesoft correctly assembled the file fragments on that drive which I had never defragged. I am guessing that the alternative software costing $69 was able to detect the first sector of each file, and then simply read all the sectors in sequence and thus composed an output that consisted of fragments from many different files.

You can have more trust in CCleaner than in an antivirus that due to a false positive would appear to have deleted and then informed you.

I am sorry but there have been far too many meaningless words in the 67 posts of this topic for me to bother attempting to comprehend and comment. I REALLY NEED to see a screen shot showing every possible detail that Windows Disk Management can provide. If the screen shot is already supplied then please forgive my oversight and tell me the #?? post number I should look for. A screenshot of the SMART BIOS boot error would also be more than useful - I love screen-shots I am surprised that CHKDSK now reports I think Derek's summary indicated bad clusters were found. Perhaps words have been misunderstood. If you have a CHKDSK report it would be better to attach this with your next reply. I do not believe that CCLeaner has any capability of damaging the SMART DATA which is provided by the electronic components within the HDD enclosure. I will leave it to those with experience of Acronis Disk Monitor to comment upon the values which it reports. Regards Alan

No quarrel from me. I agree with recovery disks and downloading and preparing a clean install of the ISO. All versions of Windows prior to XP would give me grief on a daily basis. I therefore create image backups expecting sudden calamity when I Defrag or shrink a partition, though I have not had any need to use those backups in two years daily use of Windows 7. Images are my habit, hence my 16 stages. I believe there is no budget for a new disk, and have some hope that there is still long life ahead in the D:\ region of the disk. CHKDSK should be run on D:\ to see if it is viable, if so then I would NOT expect anything to go wrong by shrinking D:\ to create space at the "SLOW END" of the disk for either :- A fresh install of Windows from a downloaded ISO ; or Restoring an image backup of C:\ A fresh install from an ISO to the "SLOW END" of the disk will be clean and free from error, but will require installing many updates, and will exclude all the applications you may at the moment have installed on C:\. It will be ignorant of all the contents on D:\ - but will give you full access. Your desktop and Start Menu will not have the links that take you to your applications on D:\, but that is trivial to fix. Any applications which were installed on D:\ and incorporated components in your existing C:\ will not run until you re-install. Simply creating an image backup of C:\ and restoring that to the "SLOW END" of the disk should integrate perfectly with the shrunken D:\. You will not need to re-install anything on C:\ or on D:\ - they will immediately run as previously. The downside is that any file corruption due to bad sector errors or malware or user error will remain uncorrected, though hopefully SFC would sort out the worst of the errors. Please note that Windows will run infinitely faster from the "SLOW END" of the Disk than from a USB2 Disk and may still out-perform a USB3 Disk - assuming the Toshiba USB3 Disk can actually Boot Windows. N.B. SFC May have a need for an installation DVD SFC May be surprised if all you can offer is Rufus - I have no experience of this, my special skills are asking questions and worrying about what can go wrong next

@ Derek Thank you very much for a concise summary that has brought me up to speed without causing pain or the need for more than one cup of coffee Although I have read this topic several times when it was only 1 page, and occasionally re-read when it became two pages, there are details I have not remembered, Questions :- Are the Toshiba drives USB2 or USB3 ? Is there any chance that they are connected to USB3 ports ? If so perhaps there would be better success plugging into a USB2 port for a slow boot rather than fast fail. Because I suspect you might need Win8 compatible Hardware and Firmware / BIOS before you can boot via USB3 hardware. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- BIG QUESTION :- How about running Chkdsk on partition D:\ to simply test whether this has bad sectors ? If the basic mechanism is good and the only problem is with some specific sectors in C:\, then Data partitions may still be good because they are not driven as hard and degraded as much by Windows thrashing the life out of C:\ One detail you forgot to include and which I need and found in post #21 "3. Completely blank 75.61 GB (created when I shrank C:)" SUGGESTION based on the above, especially assuming that D:\ has no bad sectors :- At each stage below, test as advised and DO NOT PROCEED with anything following a failure until that failure is fixed. First of all you you need to have downloaded and created a working Minitool Boot Recovery CD in-case anything goes wrong http://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-wizard-bootable-cd.html 1. Make a Macrium Partition Image backup of C:\ :- you can never have too many backups; 2. Make a Macrium Partition Image backup of D:\ :- you can never have too many backups; 3. Shrink Partition D:\ to about 260 GB, leaving above it 290 GB Unallocated; 4. Restore the partition D:\ image to fill up this 290 GB of space as a new LOGICAL (Not Primary) partition; You should now have two partitions with nothing much to distinguish them, probably D:\ at 260 GB and E:\ with 290 GB (252.8 Used); 5. Change the 260 GB partition to X:\ and then change the 290 GB partition to D:\; 6. Make sure that you still have full access to all your Data files in the restored 290 GB partition D:\; 7. Shut down and restart and make sure that you still have full access to all your Data files in the restored 290 GB partition D:\; 8. Delete the 260 GB partition X:\, which should increase Unallocated space from 75.61 GB to 335.61 GB; 9. Restore your C:\ backup into a new and smaller PRIMARY partition within this extra space, using a size of at least 60 GB - but I suggest 100 GB for future needs, and leaving Unallocated the first 100 GB, much of which may have been thrashed to death when occupied by C:\ before it was shrunk, and also leaving a subsequent Unallocated space of perhaps 175 GB to 135 GB for future use as required; 10. Shut down and restart and ensure everything looks good, with C:\ occupying 280 GB near the beginning of the Disk; Followed by some other drive letter for the restored backup that follows the first 100 GB of unallocated space; 11. Change the System Volume Name of the new 100 GB Partition (Linux tools such as Minitool Boot Recovery are not aware of drive letters, and even WinPE Boot tools can allocate the WRONG letters to partitions, so I like to ensure that each of my partitions has a name which not only reminds me of its purpose in life, but also includes a prefix or postfix such as _C_ or _D_ etc etc.) 12. Cancel the ACTIVE flag that is set for the 280 GB partition C:\, and make Active the newly restored 100 GB partition with the different System Volume Name. 13. Take a deep breath and prepare for the worst (some people cross their fingers, I am helped by a fervent prayer) 14. Shut down and power up and thank God for a successful outcome, or failing that the Minitool Boot CD should cancel the Active Flag from the 100 GB partition and make Active the 280 GB partition, and then shutdown and power up and you should be back to the same condition before you implemented stage 12 - i.e. no harm done other than a waste of time. 15. Assuming full success, Expand the 280 GB partition back to its original size of 356 GB, Change the System Volume Name to "WORN-OUT-BAD-CLUSTERS", and remove its drive letter; 16. Shut down and power up and make sure that everything is in order. The above should avoid the Bad Clusters that were previously affecting C:\, and may give you a new partition C:\ that is in much better health, and will avoid problems of the Hardware / Bios capability to Boot a USB2/USB3 Toshiba Drive. Please note, you should be able to run CHKDSK perhaps 3 times faster on a 100 GB partition than on a 280 GB or 336 GB partition, and searching for lost / deleted files would also be 3 times faster and Wiping Free Space could be 5 or 6 times faster. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that my suggestions should NOT be actioned immediately but that you wait for comments by others with greater and wider experience than myself. @ Derek - I am especially looking at you I have ALWAYS been able to recover from any disaster that was not my fault, and any inconvenience due to my overlooking of a vital precaution, but I have only done this in the few cases that arose on my own system that was under my total control. If anything goes wrong with stages 1 to 14 then I am afraid that fixing a problem via forum posts is not so easy. Regards Alan

I have had two recent disasters. 1. I Using a Linux Boot tool I "Secure ATA Erased" my SSD and rebooted into a WinPE Boot Recovery disk to restore a Macrium image, and found that the "Available Space" had shrunk a bit. I have since been advised that contrary to the on screen instructions I should NOT have rebooted from Linux but totally shut down so the SSD firmware could recuperate. 2. Without any Boot recovery tools, I simply powered up from a cold start and hit DEL until I had BIOS control, and simply sniffed around looking but making no changes, and then I proceeded into Windows and Windows was horrible broken with both my HDD out of action. My MBR style HDD was "offline" and my GPT style HDD had been changed to MBR style with the first two partitions destroyed and RAW, and all the others were "Unallocated Space". In this case all my drives have different "Drive Ready" delays from power on, and a cold boot always had "Disk Numbers" allocated in one sequence. and a Reboot delivered another sequence because the disks never stopped rotating. I guess that my brief detour in the BIOS almost allowed a different sequence - but the end result was a race hazard and Windows mixed up Disk identities. The common feature of both disasters is that I did not have a repeatable and clean transition from powered down to launch of Windows.