Delayed Write Failed

[Guest]

I have two hard drives, I'll call them Drive C and Drive D. Drive C contains
all my applications, Drive D contains all my data files.

Last night while I was playing a computer game, all of a sudden I got a pop
up in my system tray, "Delayed Write failed to D:\$Mft. The data has been
lost. This may be due to computer hardware failure or a network systems
failure. Please save the data elsewhere."

Sometime later I went to download an anti-spyware program and save it to
drive D-- and was told that there WAS no Drive D. My computer absolutely
refused to acknowledge that I had more than one hard drive.

I restarted the computer and accessed Drive D again and breathed a sigh of
relief.

I get up today and the same popup is there: "Delayed Write failed to
D:\$Mft. The data has been lost. This may be due to computer hardware failure
or a network systems failure. Please save the data elsewhere." Once again my
computer absolutely insists there is only one hard drive. The difference is,
I restart the computer and even go into BIOS setup and it claims, "No primary
slave drive detected."

Now I'm starting to panic. What do I do? How do I access Drive D again?

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have two hard drives, I'll call them Drive C and Drive D. Drive C contains
all my applications, Drive D contains all my data files.

Last night while I was playing a computer game, all of a sudden I got a pop
up in my system tray, "Delayed Write failed to D:\$Mft. The data has been
lost. This may be due to computer hardware failure or a network systems
failure. Please save the data elsewhere."

Sometime later I went to download an anti-spyware program and save it to
drive D-- and was told that there WAS no Drive D. My computer absolutely
refused to acknowledge that I had more than one hard drive.

I restarted the computer and accessed Drive D again and breathed a sigh of
relief.

I get up today and the same popup is there: "Delayed Write failed to
D:\$Mft. The data has been lost. This may be due to computer hardware failure
or a network systems failure. Please save the data elsewhere." Once again my
computer absolutely insists there is only one hard drive. The difference is,
I restart the computer and even go into BIOS setup and it claims, "No primary
slave drive detected."

Now I'm starting to panic. What do I do? How do I access Drive D again?

Sounds like the drive is failing, and you'll need to remove it, replace it
and restore from your backup.

If you don't have a backup, remove the drive, and install a new one in its
place. Attach the drive to a USB2 drive case, or another system, and apply
power. Listen and watch carefully for signs that the drive is not
responding.

If the drive is not recognised by the BIOS, no software will help you
recover the data. All recovery software requires access to the drive, and
if the drive has failed electrically, it can't get it.

Check cabling and tell the bios to rescan the disks.

If it does respond and is recognised, copy the data off as quickly as you
can. Sometimes imaging software is the fastest way to do this, by several
hours, and for your situation time is likely important.

If the drive does not respond or is not recognised, verify that jumpers are
correct for its new location. On a USB2 drive case, jumpers will be either
Master or none.

If it continues to be unrecognised and you need the data and don't have
backup, you will probably need to contact a data recovery company. If the
drive has failed electrically, they likely need to open it, and you will
have to pay for clean-room facilities. Prices I have paid for this have
started at CDN$1000. It's my understanding that there are some less
expensive services.

In any case, remove the drive as soon as you can. It is very likely
failing and will *not* heal, and continued attempts may aggravate the
situation.

HTH
-pk

 

[Ron Martell]

I have two hard drives, I'll call them Drive C and Drive D. Drive C contains
all my applications, Drive D contains all my data files.

Last night while I was playing a computer game, all of a sudden I got a pop
up in my system tray, "Delayed Write failed to D:\$Mft. The data has been
lost. This may be due to computer hardware failure or a network systems
failure. Please save the data elsewhere."

Sometime later I went to download an anti-spyware program and save it to
drive D-- and was told that there WAS no Drive D. My computer absolutely
refused to acknowledge that I had more than one hard drive.

I restarted the computer and accessed Drive D again and breathed a sigh of
relief.

I get up today and the same popup is there: "Delayed Write failed to
D:\$Mft. The data has been lost. This may be due to computer hardware failure
or a network systems failure. Please save the data elsewhere." Once again my
computer absolutely insists there is only one hard drive. The difference is,
I restart the computer and even go into BIOS setup and it claims, "No primary
slave drive detected."

Now I'm starting to panic. What do I do? How do I access Drive D again?

Go to the website of the manufacturer of the problem drive and
download their diagnostic software. Run that to check out the drive
for possible hardware failures or problems.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Matt]

If the drive is not recognised by the BIOS, no software will help you

recover the data. All recovery software requires access to the drive, and
if the drive has failed electrically, it can't get it.

Actually this isn't true, certain low-level recovery programs are able
to side-step the BIOS and recognise the drive even if the BIOS does not.

When a drive gets like yours, copy all your data off as soon as
possible. If you can't access your drive to do that, your best off
taking it to a computer repair company that offers data salvage, IF the
information is worth more than the cost of recovery.


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[Guest]

Shortly after posting my original message I turned the computer off
completely and left for work. I just got home and booted up and the drive was
recognized again. But like has been said on this thread, I'm not taking
chances. I'm copying all data as we speak not only to my main drive but also
to portable flash drives.

What puzzles me though is that the drive is relatively new. It's maybe a
year or so old year and a half max, no more. Is hard drive life expectancy
that short? I've had drives that lasted quite a bit longer than that.

--AMG

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

What puzzles me though is that the drive is relatively new. It's maybe a
year or so old year and a half max, no more. Is hard drive life expectancy
that short? I've had drives that lasted quite a bit longer than that.

As with all mechanical devices, how long a hard drive lasts is not a
fixed amount of time. Drives can fail at any time, starting from
almost as soon as they are installed. And some last ten years or so.

You can talk about *average* longevity for drives (usually expressed
as mean time before failure), but averages are never applicable to
every unit.

It may not be common for a drive to fail in a year and a half, but
it's by no means a great rarity.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Shortly after posting my original message I turned the computer off
completely and left for work. I just got home and booted up and the drive
was
recognized again. But like has been said on this thread, I'm not taking
chances. I'm copying all data as we speak not only to my main drive but
also
to portable flash drives.

Well, that's good news. Glad to hear it.

What puzzles me though is that the drive is relatively new. It's maybe a
year or so old year and a half max, no more. Is hard drive life expectancy
that short? I've had drives that lasted quite a bit longer than that.

Look at the drive specifications for MTBF - mean time before failure.
However, it's not unknown for drives to fail in relatively short periods of
time, while others last years and years. Some manufacturers have been the
targets of class-action suits over bad batches of drives that failed
prematurely.

But as pointed out, averages can't be relied on to apply to specific cases.
The average lifespan for an American male is over 75 years, but it's not
unusual for people to die long before that.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Okay thanks for the information... here's some more information:

Apparently if I leave the computer turned off for a period of time, Drive D
is once again detected and fully accessible. But each time I leave the
computer ON for long enough, the error resurfaces and the computer stops
detecting the drive.

Could this mean that my computer has an inadequate power supply, and I need
to get a stronger one?

Then again, this only happens to Drive D, my second hard drive. It doesn't
affect Drives E or F (my DVD-RW and CD-RW drives), nor Drive G (my Iomega ZIP
Drive), nor my printer nor scanner. These devices and the rest of my computer
continue to function properly.

Does this sound like a power supply problem, or does it sound like Drive D
is losing integrity?

I'm almost done transferring data and will get some more flash drives soon
as I have the money.

--AMG