mft is corrupted and unreadable by Windows

(I have reviewed the other postings here plus dozens of others in other sites.)
The recommeded action is to use Chkdsk with /f possibly with other parameters. I have gone through this numerous times, without success.

I have looked at the mft files with Testdisk and used Repair MFT option. The response is "MFT and MFT mirror matches perfectly"
I also used GetDataback which shows on both files a last access date of over two years ago! I don't understand this. Neither am I clear how to use Getdataback to repair MFT if indeed it does need repair.

Concurrent issues. The last main thing I did before this occurred was to remove indexing on my C drive. From what i understand this should not impact at all of MFT. I have also been having intermittent isssues with Windows Explorer which regularly reports that it has to shut down. BTW, I have also uninstalled IE7.

Any ideas out there as what to do next??
Options I have considered are:
Do a full defrag?
Use my Acronis backup to restore from a day before this issue first occurred.
(Windows Restore is not an option, it lets me go so far then nothing happens, even though I can select a restore point etc. )
Reformat C and rebuild! (I have a D drive which mostly has my documents, downloads etc.


Thanks,

I have just completed a deep check with the Hitachi utility (Driver Fitness Test) for my drive. It all seems to check out perfectly and gives an 0x00 Dispostion Code whatever that is.

You should actually retire that drive because when drives that begin to fail, to my view, should not be trusted. So, I'd suggest getting a new drive, setting the old one aside in the anti-static bag, disconnecting other hard disks so they don't interfere in drive letter assignments, and doing a new install. Or, depending on what your Acronis backup is, restoring that. Once the basic install is done and the boot drive has the correct drive letter, attach other drives.

Thanks for the input. However this drive is less than 2years old and every utility I have used, including the manufacturers one has failed to detect a single issue. Anything is possible of course and because of the many applications I have installed a new drive even with Acronis will be very time consuming. Any other suggestions?

Gerry - this is an error message which keeps popping up in a standard MS error panel and also on a small pop up from the tray.
The message is:
Windows - Corrupt File
The file or directory C:/$MFT is corrupt and unreadable. Please fun Chkdsk Utility.

From Event Viewer.
Application popup: Windows - Corrupt File : The file or directory C:\$MFT is corrupt and unreadable. Please run the Chkdsk utility.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

A question asked above. Why would the Last Accessed date on this $MFT file show as a date two years ago? (I found this info using GetDataBack)

Gerry - this is an error message which keeps popping up in a standard MS error panel and also on a small pop up from the tray.
The message is:
Windows - Corrupt File
The file or directory C:/$MFT is corrupt and unreadable. Please fun Chkdsk Utility.

From Event Viewer.
Application popup: Windows - Corrupt File : The file or directory C:\$MFT is corrupt and unreadable. Please run the Chkdsk utility.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

A question asked above. Why would the Last Accessed date on this $MFT file show as a date two years ago? (I found this info using GetDataBack)

Thanks[/QUOTE]

I guess the reason why I have hesitated on this is that I had a new hard drive installed by the distributors about 18 months ago and they installed XPPro for which I don't have the CD. ( I do have a valid licence key though so will try to borrow an XP Pro CD)

Also, I have saved the Acronis image files on a desktop PC on my home network. Once I format drive C: I will not have access to the network so will need to find another way to grab the Acronis image. THe USB ports are dodgy so will have to do a direct cable of something.

But tell me this! Does FORMAT remove $mft. I suspect not as Format on a HD is high level and does not impact on NTFS system.

I was going to FORMAT C then reinstall on Drive C but that might not be enough.

For anyone interested in this ongoing saga.

I did a partition restore using Acronis True Image, but the error message was there as soon as I got back into WIndows ..in fact even before I logged in. An Acronis forum specialist has suggested restoring it but making the partition smaller which I assume will force an edit or rebuild of mft. Will keep you posted.

I dont understand what did you mean to say about the error " mft is corrupted and unreadable by Windows". Can you try to look in the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for Errors and Warnings and post copies here. Don't post any more than 48 hours ago. You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Even there were some hard drives with me that have failder in that sort of time period. Incase you think that migrating to a new drive is "very time consuming" and are using Acronis TrueImage, I suggest that you aren't using TI effectively. An image should get you back up and running in an hour or so, most of which is waiting.

As a simple fix you can try to backup your data files and then reformat the drive and reinstall Windows.

Can you please post results?

Desperate here.