Delay Write Failed Error Messages! Help Please

[Trever]

I dont know what this is but my old computer had the same
problem now my new one is having it. I shut down my new
computer last night turned it on today and it starts up
with all these "Delay Write Failed" error messages and
lists all these files that cant be written because of a
network or system error.

The computer is like frozen and unable to do anything -
having to turn the computer off by unplugging it and
plugging back in it then starts up with windows file check
and then repairs files mainly in something that starts
with a $ sign. This does nothing because it still starts
up with popup messages.

My old computer I fixed it by taking one of the 228 memory
cards out of the computer and it restarted just fine -
about 5 days later I put that memory card back in and the
computer worked just fine. Now my new computer is doing
what my old computer did and right now I'm trying to
reinstall the system. I thought it was a virus on my old
computer that caused that but I have McAffee and an
account on my new computer running and it found no viruses
before I shut down.

If anyone knows what this is I would really appreciate the
help because this has happened twice to me and I'm
completely clueless as to what it is and why its doing it
to me. Thank You

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Try the following, open Control Panel, open System, go to the Hardware tab,
click Device Manager, click the plus sign next to Disk drives, select your
hard drive, right click, select Properties, go to the Policies tab, remove
the check from "Enable write caching on the disk," click ok, reboot the
system and see if you continue to receive this error.

 

[Trever]

Thanks for the tip. I'll try to remember that for next
time - I did a complete install of windows xp and it
fixed it. Also, the computer is pretty much frozen so
it is not possible to go into hard drive and change
something - and even in safe mode it still pops up those
errors and slows the computer down so badly - I guess
basically what I want to know if anyone knows is what
causes this error and what I should not do for next
time. Thank You

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

You're welcome, glad you got it fixed.

The cause is write caching as specified. Some systems have trouble with
this feature, there may be some hardware or software that is involved, it
may be at a much lower level such as motherboard, chipset or BIOS but
whatever the case, it can cause this issue. Since you reinstalled and the
problem is gone, assuming this was a clean install, my guess is you had some
conflict with something previously installed. If not, you may have had some
file corruption that was causing the system to choke on this function.

So to answer your question as to cause, there is not single cause, above are
noted a number of things that can or might cause the issue.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Try a repair install as follows:
NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive and you have an
actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, boot with the XP
CD in the drive and perform a repair install as outlined below. If the
system isn't set to boot from the CD or you are not sure, you need to enter
the system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter set press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.

When the system boots, a few screens into the process you may see a message
instructing you
to hit any key in order to boot from the CD along with a countdown. When
you see this be sure to
hit a key on the keyboard, if you miss this instruction and the system fails
to boot from the CD, it's too
late, you'll need to reboot and try again.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console. ***The selection you want at this screen is
"Setup Windows,"
NOT "Repair Windows Installation.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.

Note, in some cases, you won't receive the repair option, only an option to
reinstall. We have discovered that sometimes this is caused by damaged
boot.ini file that can be repaired as follows and also note, in the
instructions, "K" refers to the CD drive in which you have placed the XP CD,
replace that drive letter with the appropriate letter on your system, "K" is
simply an example.

Reboot, this time taking the immediate R option (this is the section I told
you to skip above. In this case, you will need to get to the Recovery
Console to perform the function below), and if the CD letter is say K: give
these commands

COPY K:\i386\ntldr C:
COPY K:\i386\ntdetect.com C:
(two other files needed - just in case)
ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\boot.ini
DEL C:\boot.ini
BootCfg /Rebuild

Once you've completed this function, reboot and see if you can access XP as
sometimes, the problem is the damaged boot.ini. If you still cannot access
XP, then reboot and re-run the repair install instructions at the beginning
of this message.

If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
either purchase a retail version of XP which will allow you to perform the
above
among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting all
files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Please don't post attachments to the newsgroups.

 

[Bud G Seed]

Why Michael, I don't send rubbish ?

Please don't post attachments to the newsgroups.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

 

[Bud G Seed]

I rarely post anything but this one has had me baffled for ages.

I searched the groups heavily for this but no-one was able to help me with
this.

I know you guys do a great job and help heaps.

I was lucky to find and use this solution to great effect and was hoping it
would help others too.

Please do not abuse me for helping others.

Regards

Bud.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Because there's no way to know for sure that your name isn't being forged by
someone else, perhaps someone who has seen you post attachments and as a
ruse posts a dangerous attachment. Further, suppose you had a virus and
didn't know it, that might be a reason why the attachment got posted in the
first place...has happened a lot over the years.

We always encourage users to scan any attachment, even from friends,
relatives anybody they know just to play safe as most viruses are received
from people we know. Nonetheless, most anything that can be posted to these
newsgroups in an attachment can be included in the body of the message and
that is much safer for the other users, especially those who might
unwittingly open an attachment. I'd also point out, it's not beyond the
realm of possibility that someone would post a virus that might be missed by
an antivirus scan.

Also, many who see attachments don't open them for precisely that reason,
they have no way of knowing what it is, hence that defeats your stated
purpose of wanting to be helpful.

I don't doubt your sincerity but if you are truly sincere about wanting to
help and wish to post something useful, it would be better to do so in the
body of your post than as an attachment.

 

[Bud G Seed]

Thanks for the advice Michael, I will keep it in mind.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

You're welcome, Bud.

 

[Guest]

Michael:
Do you make this change on the PC that is experiencing the error or on
the server that the user is trying to save the file too?

Mike

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

You should make the change on the PC experiencing the error.

 

[Guest]

I have changed the setting and rebooted. It still appears to come up when
saving a large excel file, even though there is plenty of disk space. Any
other recommendations? Thanks

Mike

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

Hmm, that's more ominous. The first thing you need to do is to make sure
the disk is not failing. Go to the hard drive manufacturer's website and,
making note of their instructions, download their diagnostic tools and run
them.

If the disk checks out fine, since, in your previous question you asked
about whether or not you check the local PC or the server, you should make
sure of where you are trying to send the files. If you are trying to send
the files to a network server, there may be some security reason you are
having this issue and you would need to check the system admin.