I am unable to run CHKDSK, it cannot lock or open volume for direct access.

I cannot fully post the fix because I only have 2000 characters to post, but please go to this site, http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=88059 and lookup the user "chkdsk_helper". There you will find the solution to make chkdsk work properly.

But what if "chkdsk /f" has no effect on reboot?

Excellent Article! This is for when chkdsk doesn't run as it is should. The comment from Todd is off track over complicated. Basically he tells you how to run chkdsk, which you already knew. Also, you don't need to create batch file to run a single command line "CHKDSK /F".

Way too complicated. Just run the following batch file from the cmd shell or from Scheduled Tasks to take care of the "Volume/Services running" issue:

@echo off

rem File: Chk_Disk.bat
rem Use: WinXP

rem Synopsis:
rem Chkdsk.exe will not run from the command-line becuase it thinks the
rem volume is mounted and there are file conflicts. So best to restart in order
rem for it to run. This also forces all running applications to be unloaded.

rem chkdsk
rem /f = Fix Issues Found
rem /v = Display Cleanup Info for NTFS Volumes
rem /r = Find bad sectors
echo y | chkdsk /f /v /r

rem shutdown
rem -r = Restart after shutdown
rem -f = Force shutdown of any running programs
rem -t = Forces shutdown in # of seconds shown (5 here)
shutdown -r -f -t 5