After you run a database consistency check of a SQL Server database, you may receive an error message when you run the chkdsk command in Windows Server 2003

In Microsoft Windows Server 2003, you run a database consistency check (DBCC) of a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database on an NTFS file system partition. If you then run the chkdsk command on this NTFS partition, you may receive the following error message: Note You receive this error message after you run the following commands against the database: Note This only happens when NTFS sparse files are used and when SQL Server implements sparse files in database snapshots. For more information about sparse files and database snapshots, visit the following Microsoft Web site to download an updated version of Books Online for Microsoft SQL Server 2005:

This error message that is reported by the chkdsk command may safely be ignored. This error message is typically a reporting error and not a functional error. However, to verify that this error message is only a reporting error, you must run the chkdsk command together with the /v (verbose) switch and then examine the output. To do this, follow these steps:

1. At a command prompt, type chkdsk /v Drive_Letter.
   
   Note Drive_Letter is the drive on which the chkdsk command reported the error.
2. Verify that you receive the following output:
   The type of the file system is NTFS.
   Volume label is SPARSE.
   WARNING! F parameter not specified.
   Running CHKDSK in read-only mode.
   CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
   File verification completed.
   CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
   Correcting sparse file record segment 29.
   Index verification completed.
   Errors found. CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode.

In this output, the "Correcting sparse file record segment 29" message confirms that this is a reporting error. In this case, you may safely ignore the error message that is mentioned in the 'Symptoms' section.

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