[SOLVED] sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation"

wdgordon · Jul 19, 2015

sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation"

For some time now I have been unable to boot into Windows 8.1. Any attempt to do so results in a BSOD error, citing "INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE".

I have spent countless hours reading through various web pages without a clear solution to the problem. One constant, however, seems to be trying to use sfc /scannow, so that it what I am focussing my attention on now.

I am able to access the Windows Recovery Environment after the BSOD error. From here I can access the Recovery Command Prompt.

From here I have attempted to run this command:

Code:

sfc /scannow /offwindir=c:\windows /offbootdir=c:\

Every time I attempt the command I receive the following output after a few seconds:

Code:

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.

I am seeking help to allow me to deal with this error, so that I can get sfc to work properly.

(I have looked at the BSOD posting instructions, but if I try and run the "SysnativeBSODCollectionApp.exe" I get "The subsystem needed to support the image type is not present".

Similarly, 'perfmon' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.)

BrianDrab · Jul 19, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

Hi and welcome to Sysnative.

When you are in the recovery environment command-prompt, can you please type the following and hit enter?
bcdedit | find "osdevice"

You should get something returned that resembles the following. Let me know what drive letter is after partition.
osdevice partition=C:

wdgordon · Jul 19, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

Hi BrianDrab, thanks for the swift reply.

After typing the above command, it returns:

Code:

osdevice             partition=C:

BrianDrab · Jul 19, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

Would you mind running a check disk by typing the following and allowing it to complete?

chkdsk c: /R

wdgordon · Jul 20, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

I have run the chkdsk as shown above. After completing, it reports that there are problems with the file system that could not be corrected.

Restarting afterwards, the INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE BSOD screen appears again.

Running sfc again produces the same error as before.

BrianDrab · Jul 20, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

If chkdsk fails to complete I'm not sure there is much that can be done except for a re-format/install. If you have data that still needs backed up, that can be copied to external storage before you do this.

Let's take one last check however. Go ahead and run your sfc /scannow like you mentioned in the initial post. Once you get the error, copy the following file on to a USB drive and then upload to SendSpace and provide the link.

C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log

wdgordon · Jul 21, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

Hi Brian,

The link for the CBS.log file is https://www.sendspace.com/file/sf1uh9 .

Just to clarify, chkdsk did complete (i.e. it was not interrupted during it's running). Though as described, it did output:

Code:

Windows found problems with the file system that could not be corrected.

In the hope that some more info might be useful, I should probably mention that I stopped a number of services on Windows shortly before the boot problem occurred. I am not completely sure which ones, but I suspect one of them was the TrustedInstaller service that helps deal with Windows Updates properly. In my various attempts at dealing with this BSOD problem, I think I recall DISM indicating that one update was unsuccessful. I'm not sure which one this was, but I think it may have been KB2976978.

BrianDrab · Jul 21, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

I do apologize but there is not much more I can do. The only option I see is for you to do a wipe/load. The log shows that it hasn't been written to since June 28th. I specialize in Windows Update issues and this is a little out of my wheelhouse. I did ask a colleague and they concur that it appears to be a hardware issue and there's not much that can be done.

Digerati · Jul 21, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

I have run the chkdsk as shown above. After completing, it reports that there are problems with the file system that could not be corrected.

That's not good and typically indicates the drive has failed or is failing. You could try a fresh format, but frankly, if that were my drive, I would not trust it for a second, even if it successfully formatted.

Is the drive still under warranty? If so, you can visit the drive maker's site and download their diagnostics. If it fails the maker's diagnostics, no question they will issue an RMA.

For Seagate and Maxtor drives, see SeaTools. For WD drives, download Dataguard from here.

wdgordon · Jul 22, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

Thank you both for your replies. I understand that the response from chkdsk may appear to point towards a hardware issue, but I do not think this is the case for three reasons:

1) Apart from the response I described above, it also indicated that there was 0kb in bad sectors, and seemed to report 'successfully' for each stage of the process.

2) The boot problems happened very soon after I made changes to the system in an effort to speed it up (e.g. stopping a number of windows services, using a 'registry cleaner').

3) I can access files from the offending drive C:\ from my Ubuntu operating system (this one is able to boot) in a different partition.

For these reasons, I suspect the problem is to do with specific system files e.g. the non-installation of a specific update, or a corruption of the registry.

I am reluctant to carry out a system reset unless it is an absolute last resort. I am very grateful for your help and wondered as one last request whether you could point me towards any alternative places on the web or indeed this forum that might have some more experience with these kinds of issues.

As one last piece of information, I should also probably mention that there was one course of action which did result in different behaviour from the BSOD - this was when I replaced the files in my c:\windows\config directory with the files in the c:\windows\config\RegBackup directory. This resulted instead in a black screen which seemed to occassionally flash up with a window for a split second every so often.

BrianDrab · Jul 22, 2015

Re: sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operat

Thanks for the information. The only thing I can suggest is to post an inquiry in one of the following forums. Please only do one at a time. It's not a good idea to work with more than one tech at a time.

Sysnative Windows 8.1 forum
G2G Windows 8.1 forum

They both have much more expertise than I do in this area.

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[SOLVED] sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation"

wdgordon

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BrianDrab

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wdgordon

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wdgordon

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wdgordon

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BrianDrab

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Digerati

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wdgordon

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BrianDrab

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[SOLVED] sfc /scannow: "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation"

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Moderator
Hardware Expert
Microsoft MVP (Ret.)