Troubleshooting the "Autochk Program Not Found" Error

Autochk program not found => reboot => Autochk program not found => reboot => Autochk program not found => reboot...This is what happens when the autochk error occurs. The computer boots and then displays an error reading "autochk program not found." After this message is displayed, the computer reboots and shows the same error. This is an endless cycle that can get very annoying. Booting the computer in Safe Mode or using the Recovery Console will not help this issue. So what to do?

As a diagnostic method, you can remove your hard drive and put it in another computer as a slave drive. The drive will most likely appear as a hidden file. So that means that the partition was accidentally hidden. This problem most often occurs when you try to uninstall Norton Antivirus.

The Norton GoBack tool attaches itself to the hard drive and it will hide your partition when it uninstalls. You can easily solve this problem by using PowerQuest, a software package owned by Symantec. There is a program located in this package called PTEDIT, which can solve this error. Here's how:

*First, download PTEDIT.zip from ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/tools/pq/utilities/ptedit.zip
Save the file ptedit.zip to your desktop.

*Next, you need to create a bootable disk.
=> Place a floppy disk in your disk drive.
=> Double-click My Computer and right-click on Drive A. Click Format.
=> Check the box labeled Create an MS-DOS Startup Disk and press Start.
=> Click OK on the confirmation screen to proceed.
=> Click OK again when the formatting process completes.

Now copy PTEDIT to the floppy disk
=> Double-click the ZIP file you downloaded earlier.
=> Locate the ptedit.exe file and right-click it. Click Copy.
=> Next, open My Computer and double-click Drive A.
=> Click on the Edit button located near the top of the windows and click Paste.

Now you can insert the floppy disk into the computer that is displaying the Autochk error.
=> Make the computer boot from the floppy drive by configuring your BIOS settings.
=> You should be presented with the A:> prompt. Type PTEDIT and hit Enter.
=> The PowerQuest Partition Table Editor screen should now appear.
Look in the first column of the table labeled Type.
*The number here should be 07, which represents an installable file system.
*If the value here is anything other than 07, than the drive is unbootable. Here's how to fix it:
=> Use your tab key to go to the Type box.
=> Hold down Alt + T to open the Set Type menu.
=> Select 07 with your keyboard and hit Enter.
=> Hit Alt + S to save changes.
=> Press Ctrl + C to exit.

Windows should now boot normally.

And you are done!