I tapped F8 on reboot, went into Safe Mode with Command Prompt, tried chkdsk /f, and it said it could not run because the drive was in use by another process. It asked me if I wanted to schedule it for the next restart, I said yes, then on restart nothing happened.
Anyhow, Aura, it sounds like I have "worser" problems than Chkdsk not running!
I don't know how to replace a hard drive, and although this Dell E6500 Latitude has been a pleasure, I only paid $250 for it over two years ago. Guess I need to weigh new vs. refurbished.
I want to sincerely thank you for your guidance!