The CHKDSK command incorrectly identifies certain security descriptors as not valid in Windows 2000

When you use the chkdsk command to fix hard-disk errors on your Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer, the chkdsk command may incorrectly identify problems with the security descriptors for particular files or folders.

Note These files or folders reside on volumes that are formatted with the NTFS file system.

In this scenario, you experience the following symptoms:

• The chkdsk command line or the chkdsk /f command line reports that the security descriptors are not valid, even though the security descriptors actually are valid.
• The chkdsk /f command line replaces the security descriptors that it detects as not valid with the default security descriptors. Therefore, permissions that you previously configured on particular files and folders are reset to use the default settings.

The following is an example of output that you may receive when you run the chkdsk command with the /f switch:

This problem occurs if the following conditions are true:

• The file's security descriptor contains an access control entry (ACE).
• This ACE uses an ACE type that the version of the chkdsk command in Windows 2000 does not fully recognize.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

This hotfix requires Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4).

When you install this hotfix, make sure that you also install the hotfix that is documented in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

This hotfix is included in the list of recommended hotfixes to be proactively applied to Windows 2000 server clusters. Click the following article number to view the article that contains this list in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: This hotfix should be evaluated and applied proactively to all server clusters that are prone to be negatively affected by the problem that is described in this article.

For more information about how hotfix packages are named, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: