Delayed write failure..... Please Help!

[mpaulic]

Hello,

I was hoping that someone can help with a problem I'm having.

Here is the setup;
-Small office network.
-Windows 2003 fileserver, fully up to date. Used as a file server.
-User A's local machine, Windows XP Prof, fully up to date.
-User B's local machine, Windows XP Prof, fully up to date.
-The file server has various shared folders on the network.
-The local machine maps these foldrs as local network drives when the users
logs in.
-All drive mappings is common to all computers.
-I set up a standard backup using the windows backup to backup the users
\work\ folder.
-For user A the backup work just fine.
-For user B the backup fails with a delayed write failed.

I've been reading & reading with no luck. I found a number of articles that
describe the issue close but not exact.

I found an article ID#890352 that exactly describes a system event warning
that comes up at the time of the delayed failure. But its for a W2003 server
based OS not a WinXP Prof machine.

I also found a forum thread that described increasing the SessTimeout
parameter from 45 to 300 in the registry under
\HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters. But
there is no SessTimeout parameter in my users machines. So...?

Here is the warning out of the event log;

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: MRxSmb
Event Category: None
Event ID: 50
Date: 4/21/09
Time: 10:02:00 AM
User: N/A
Computer: OWNER
Description:
{Delayed Write Failed} Windows was unable to save all the data for the file
\Device\LanmanRedirector. The data has been lost. This error may be caused by
a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save
this file elsewhere.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00040004 00560002 00000000 80040032
0010: 00000000 c000020c 00000000 00000000
0020: 00000000 00000000 c000020c

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks,
Mat

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Hello,

I was hoping that someone can help with a problem I'm having.

Here is the setup;
-Small office network.
-Windows 2003 fileserver, fully up to date. Used as a file server.
-User A's local machine, Windows XP Prof, fully up to date.
-User B's local machine, Windows XP Prof, fully up to date.
-The file server has various shared folders on the network.
-The local machine maps these foldrs as local network drives when the
users
logs in.
-All drive mappings is common to all computers.
-I set up a standard backup using the windows backup to backup the users
\work\ folder.
-For user A the backup work just fine.
-For user B the backup fails with a delayed write failed.

I've been reading & reading with no luck. I found a number of articles
that
describe the issue close but not exact.

I found an article ID#890352 that exactly describes a system event warning
that comes up at the time of the delayed failure. But its for a W2003
server
based OS not a WinXP Prof machine.

I also found a forum thread that described increasing the SessTimeout
parameter from 45 to 300 in the registry under
\HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters. But
there is no SessTimeout parameter in my users machines. So...?

Here is the warning out of the event log;

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: MRxSmb
Event Category: None
Event ID: 50
Date: 4/21/09
Time: 10:02:00 AM
User: N/A
Computer: OWNER
Description:
{Delayed Write Failed} Windows was unable to save all the data for the
file
\Device\LanmanRedirector. The data has been lost. This error may be caused
by
a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. Please try to
save
this file elsewhere.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00040004 00560002 00000000 80040032
0010: 00000000 c000020c 00000000 00000000
0020: 00000000 00000000 c000020c

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks,
Mat

I suggest you post the following items:
- The full backup command
- The contents of the ntbackup log file that relates to this event.

By the way - why do you run ntbackup on the workstations? Since you have a
file server, the usual method is to run a centralised backup process on this
server.

 

[mpaulic]

I suggest you post the following items:
- The full backup command
- The contents of the ntbackup log file that relates to this event.

By the way - why do you run ntbackup on the workstations? Since you have a
file server, the usual method is to run a centralised backup process on this
server.

Thanks for the quick reply.

-I'n not sure how to get the full backup command. I used the windows backup
to create the job & scheduled it daily.
-The backup log is below.
-Umm... To show you how green I am..... I'm not sure how to go about
cetralizing the backup of individual machines from the server. (I know
computers quite well but I'm not a server tech guys. It took me forever to
setup the server especially with active directory.) Back to the backup. Eack
user has a single folder that I want backed up from thier local machine to a
location on the server. (I don't want to backup thier entire PC) Can you
point me to a resource to set that up?

Here is the lob
Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/21/09 at 10:00 AM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: SYSTEM"
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM"
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/21/09 at 10:00 AM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 4/21/09 at 10:00 AM.

Error: The device reported an error on a request to write data to media.
Error reported: Unknown error.
There may be a hardware or media problem.
Please check the system event log for relevant failures.
The operation was ended.
Backup completed on 4/21/09 at 10:01 AM.
Directories: 3
Files: 1
Bytes: 2,977,494
Time: 1 minute and 29 seconds

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Thanks for the quick reply.

-I'n not sure how to get the full backup command. I used the windows
backup
to create the job & scheduled it daily.
-The backup log is below.
-Umm... To show you how green I am..... I'm not sure how to go about
cetralizing the backup of individual machines from the server. (I know
computers quite well but I'm not a server tech guys. It took me forever to
setup the server especially with active directory.) Back to the backup.
Eack
user has a single folder that I want backed up from thier local machine to
a
location on the server. (I don't want to backup thier entire PC) Can you
point me to a resource to set that up?

Here is the lob
Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/21/09 at 10:00 AM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: SYSTEM"
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM"
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/21/09 at 10:00 AM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 4/21/09 at 10:00 AM.

Error: The device reported an error on a request to write data to media.
Error reported: Unknown error.
There may be a hardware or media problem.
Please check the system event log for relevant failures.
The operation was ended.
Backup completed on 4/21/09 at 10:01 AM.
Directories: 3
Files: 1
Bytes: 2,977,494
Time: 1 minute and 29 seconds

If you scheduled the backup task to run some time later then you will find
the complete backup command line in the Task Scheduler (via the Control
Panel). If you did not schedule it then you should so that you can see the
command line.

Backing up files on a server is no different than backing them up on a
workstation. Presumably you require your users to save their files on a file
share whose physical location is a folder on the server. All you need to do
is to back up this folder. This is far more reliable than backing up files
on each workstation. Remember to perform a test recovery at regular
intervals (e.g. every six months) so that you *know* that you could retrieve
your users' files if it came to the crunch.

 

[mpaulic]

The backup line command is;

C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and
Settings\bjohnson.FILESERVER\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\Bobs daily backup.bks" /n
"Bobs-Backup.bkf created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM" /d "Set created 13/04/2009 at
1:47 PM" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hcff /m normal /j "Bobs daily backup" /l:s /f
"H:\Backups\Bobs-Backup.bkf"

All our data is is on the server and the server backs itself up. But there
are some users and some circumstances where the user wants & makes sense to
work locally. When they have completed the project the archive it to the
server. So I created a \work\ folder on each pc and simply backup this folder
to the server daily. This is the backup I'm talking about. Funny thing is
that there are 5 PC's that are working fine this way and I recently added
this last PC to the domain & setup the backup & it shows this problem. So...

Ya, I've checked my backups every so often.
Thanks for the quick reponces.
Cheers! I'm off to watch the Cannucks game!
Mat

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

The backup line command is;

C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and
Settings\bjohnson.FILESERVER\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\Bobs daily backup.bks" /n
"Bobs-Backup.bkf created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM" /d "Set created 13/04/2009
at
1:47 PM" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hcff /m normal /j "Bobs daily backup" /l:s
/f
"H:\Backups\Bobs-Backup.bkf"

I suspect you're dealing with a permissions issue. To confirm this
suspicion, replace the above command line in the Task Scheduler with a call
to the following batch file:

@echo off
echo %date% %time% %UserName% >> c:\test.txt
net use >> c:\test.txt
copy /y "%comspec%" H:\Backups 1>>c:\test.txt 2>>&1
set bks=C:\Documents and Settings\bjohnson.FILESERVER\
set bks=%bks%Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\
set bks=%bks%Windows NT\NTBackup\data\
set bks=%bks%Bobs daily backup.bks
echo %bks% >> c:\test.txt
ntbackup.exe backup "@%bks%" ^
/n "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM" ^
/d "Set created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM" /v:yes /r:no ^
/rs:no /hcff /m normal /j "Bobs daily backup" /l:s ^
/f "H:\Backups\Bobs-Backup.bkf"
set LogDir=%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\
set LogDir=%LogDir%Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('dir "%LogDir%" /od /b') do set LogFile=%%a
echo %LogDir%\%LogFile% >> c:\test.txt
type "%LogDir%\%LogFile%" >> c:\test.txt

After running this batch file through the Task Scheduler, examine the log
file c:\test.txt. If this does not show you how to resolve the issue,
include it in your reply.

About storing/backing up files locally: If this was my show then I would use
robocopy.exe instead of ntbackup.exe to back up local files to the server. I
cannot see any advantages in using ntbackup, only drawbacks.

 

[mpaulic]

Hello,

Most important first; The Cannucks won & swept theseries!
(I hope your not a anti-Cannuck guy)

Ok, I ran the batch job & if I understand what we were looking for from
this, the network connection for the target of the backup is ok, drive h:. So
I'm not sure what else this is telling me.

I'll look at robocopy.exe. Thanks.

Here is the output of the batch file.

04/22/09 13:02:00.59 bjohnson
New connections will be remembered.


Status Local Remote Network

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK H: \\DELLFILESERVER\Personal$\bjohnson
Microsoft Windows Network
OK M: \\DELLFILESERVER\Molding Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected N: \\DELLFILESERVER\Assembly Microsoft Windows Network
OK O: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Other
Microsoft Windows Network
OK P: \\DELLFILESERVER\Public Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected Q: \\DELLFILESERVER\QC Microsoft Windows Network
OK S: \\DELLFILESERVER\Personal$\Share
Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected T: \\DELLFILESERVER\toolroom Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected V: \\DELLFILESERVER\PDM-Vault$
Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected W: \\DELLFILESERVER\Plant$\Warehouse-Shipping
Microsoft Windows Network
OK X: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Personnell
Microsoft Windows Network
OK Y: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Administrative
Microsoft Windows Network
OK Z: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Public
Microsoft Windows Network
The command completed successfully.

1 file(s) copied.
C:\Documents and Settings\bjohnson.FILESERVER\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\Bobs daily backup.bks
C:\Documents and Settings\bjohnson.FILESERVER\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\backup01.log
Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/22/09 at 1:02 PM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: SYSTEM"
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM"
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/22/09 at 1:02 PM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 4/22/09 at 1:02 PM.

Error: The device reported an error on a request to write data to media.
Error reported: Unknown error.
There may be a hardware or media problem.
Please check the system event log for relevant failures.
The operation was ended.
Backup completed on 4/22/09 at 1:03 PM.
Directories: 3
Files: 1
Bytes: 4,091,606
Time: 1 minute and 18 seconds

 

[mpaulic]

Hello,

Ok, I ran the batch job and looked at the output. If I understnd the intent
correctly the target network location for the backup job is ok, drive h:. So,
I'm not sure what else this is telling me.

I'll look at robocopy. Thanks.

Here is the output of the batch job.

04/22/09 13:02:00.59 bjohnson
New connections will be remembered.


Status Local Remote Network

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK H: \\DELLFILESERVER\Personal$\bjohnson
Microsoft Windows Network
OK M: \\DELLFILESERVER\Molding Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected N: \\DELLFILESERVER\Assembly Microsoft Windows Network
OK O: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Other
Microsoft Windows Network
OK P: \\DELLFILESERVER\Public Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected Q: \\DELLFILESERVER\QC Microsoft Windows Network
OK S: \\DELLFILESERVER\Personal$\Share
Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected T: \\DELLFILESERVER\toolroom Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected V: \\DELLFILESERVER\PDM-Vault$
Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected W: \\DELLFILESERVER\Plant$\Warehouse-Shipping
Microsoft Windows Network
OK X: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Personnell
Microsoft Windows Network
OK Y: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Administrative
Microsoft Windows Network
OK Z: \\DELLFILESERVER\Office$\Public
Microsoft Windows Network
The command completed successfully.

1 file(s) copied.
C:\Documents and Settings\bjohnson.FILESERVER\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\Bobs daily backup.bks
C:\Documents and Settings\bjohnson.FILESERVER\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\backup01.log
Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/22/09 at 1:02 PM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: SYSTEM"
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 13/04/2009 at 1:47 PM"
Media name: "Bobs-Backup.bkf created 4/22/09 at 1:02 PM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 4/22/09 at 1:02 PM.

Error: The device reported an error on a request to write data to media.
Error reported: Unknown error.
There may be a hardware or media problem.
Please check the system event log for relevant failures.
The operation was ended.
Backup completed on 4/22/09 at 1:03 PM.
Directories: 3
Files: 1
Bytes: 4,091,606
Time: 1 minute and 18 seconds

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Hello,

Most important first; The Cannucks won & swept theseries!
(I hope your not a anti-Cannuck guy)

Ok, I ran the batch job & if I understand what we were looking for from
this, the network connection for the target of the backup is ok, drive h:.
So
I'm not sure what else this is telling me.

I'll look at robocopy.exe. Thanks.

Until I checked Wikipedia I didn't have the faintest idea who The Canucks
are and what their game is, either because they are not well known on the
Old Continent or because I spend more time looking at the PC screen than
looking at the TV screen . . .

Your report tells me a few things:
- The target folder for your backup is accessible.
- You're not dealing with a permission problem.
- The various settings and environmental variables appear to be fine.

Here are a few potential causes for your problem:
- The target drive is full.
- You have implemented disk quotas and you have exceeded your quota on drive
H:.
- You have a hidden USB device that is hogging drive H: even though it is
shown as a network drive.

I note you have quite a zoo of mapped network drives. I recommend that you
disconnect the unused drives and use a higher drive letter for the personal
share. Drive H: is too low for comfort - you must expect conflicts with USB
devices.