Corrupt files on a Drobo B800i

By | January 26, 2016

I came across some inaccessible folders and files on a clients Drobo B800i connected by iSCSI. After doing a little research it is clear that running chkdsk /r is NOT the thing to do as you want to allow the Drobo to manage its own bad sectors and not mess with that. However, when you run chkdsk /f you are prompted to disconnect the , leaving you with a do I or don’t I scenario!

There are articles suggesting chkdsk is good for direct attached storage but no mention of volumes connected by iSCSI. I can confirm as long as you use chkdsk /f you should have the same success as I did.

After checking my backups I went for it – chkdsk took several hours to complete at which point it remounted the drive and all files were accessible without me having to make any further adjustments.

C:\WINDOWS>chkdsk f: /f
The type of the file system is NTFS.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first.
ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID.
Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N)