Sorry; Write Delayed Failed [error message]; G:\$Mft file [unsaved

[Guest]

Sorry for posting a similar question.

I shared a external USB drive over my wireless network running Win XP Home
OS, did some file manipulation using SyncBack, and received the Write Delayed
Failed [error message]; G:\$Mft file [unsaved] and the data has been lost.

I can see the test files on the external HD but the other folders are empty.
I also receive an Error 100; Partition Table error from Powerquest's
PartitionMagic 8.0's program.

I am afraid of disconnecting the external HD because I don't want to lose
any data. Also I want to go back to a good System Restore point if possible.


Can disconnect my external HD and attach it to another USB port (both on its
host system and another system) to check if it is readable?
How do I check if my HD, esp. its Partition Table, is physically damaged?
Do I have to reformat my HD?

 

[Leif Nordmand Andersen]

Hi,

I've experienced this on external USB2 disks. It happens when the HD
get too hot.

I've had cases where i LOST everything.

But in most cases I could just switch off the harddisk and let it cool
down. Then switch it on again and run it. However i've had to dispose
of all my USB2 cases, since none of them can keep my HD's cool enough
to run stable.

You should be ok to switch it off, let it cool down and then start it
up again. If it happens often, check the temperature of the HD/case.

On some occasions, when I couldn't access the HD, I've actually put
the HD in the freezer in a plastic bag for some hours ... this usually
gives me sufficient time to recover the data from the HD, before
sending it for repair.

Regards Leif.

 

[Guest]

Is that really safe?

Hi,

I've experienced this on external USB2 disks. It happens when the HD
get too hot.

I've had cases where i LOST everything.

But in most cases I could just switch off the harddisk and let it cool
down. Then switch it on again and run it. However i've had to dispose
of all my USB2 cases, since none of them can keep my HD's cool enough
to run stable.

You should be ok to switch it off, let it cool down and then start it
up again. If it happens often, check the temperature of the HD/case.

On some occasions, when I couldn't access the HD, I've actually put
the HD in the freezer in a plastic bag for some hours ... this usually
gives me sufficient time to recover the data from the HD, before
sending it for repair.

Regards Leif.

Sorry for posting a similar question.

I shared a external USB drive over my wireless network running Win XP Home
OS, did some file manipulation using SyncBack, and received the Write Delayed
Failed [error message]; G:\$Mft file [unsaved] and the data has been lost.

I can see the test files on the external HD but the other folders are empty.
I also receive an Error 100; Partition Table error from Powerquest's
PartitionMagic 8.0's program.

I am afraid of disconnecting the external HD because I don't want to lose
any data. Also I want to go back to a good System Restore point if possible.


Can disconnect my external HD and attach it to another USB port (both on its
host system and another system) to check if it is readable?
How do I check if my HD, esp. its Partition Table, is physically damaged?
Do I have to reformat my HD?

 

[Mark Barrett]

Try changoing the configuration to disable write caching on that hard drive,
you can get to that setting through device manager.

Hi,

I've experienced this on external USB2 disks. It happens when the HD
get too hot.

I've had cases where i LOST everything.

But in most cases I could just switch off the harddisk and let it cool
down. Then switch it on again and run it. However i've had to dispose
of all my USB2 cases, since none of them can keep my HD's cool enough
to run stable.

You should be ok to switch it off, let it cool down and then start it
up again. If it happens often, check the temperature of the HD/case.

On some occasions, when I couldn't access the HD, I've actually put
the HD in the freezer in a plastic bag for some hours ... this usually
gives me sufficient time to recover the data from the HD, before
sending it for repair.

Regards Leif.

Sorry for posting a similar question.

I shared a external USB drive over my wireless network running Win XP Home
OS, did some file manipulation using SyncBack, and received the Write Delayed
Failed [error message]; G:\$Mft file [unsaved] and the data has been lost.

I can see the test files on the external HD but the other folders are empty.
I also receive an Error 100; Partition Table error from Powerquest's
PartitionMagic 8.0's program.

I am afraid of disconnecting the external HD because I don't want to lose
any data. Also I want to go back to a good System Restore point if possible.


Can disconnect my external HD and attach it to another USB port (both on its
host system and another system) to check if it is readable?
How do I check if my HD, esp. its Partition Table, is physically damaged?
Do I have to reformat my HD?

 

[Richard Lewis Haggard]

If you Google usb xp "delayed write failure", you'll come up with several
hundred similar problems. I've had this problem on four versions of Windows
(NT, Win2k, XP and W2k3 server), multiple machines, multiple drives,
multiple enclosures, USB 2 and Firewire.

Contrary to what you may hear, changing your settings, cooling the drive or
even that old standby of draping chicken entrails on your keyboard are not
likely to help. According to the most knowlegable of people, the issue can
be triggered by an attempt to write too much data in a go. The USB\Firewire
enclosures have a limited number of chipsets that they have to choose from
when designing their enclosures. The chipsets will all handle the max write
size used by Mac and Unix drivers but for reasons that are not clear, there
seem to be some problem with dealing with the larger size that Windows can
specify should the need arise.

For me, I can generate the problem by putting 80 gig on a 128 gig drive in
an ADS, Beacon, Western Digital and a couple of other enclosures for which I
am unable to recall the brand name and running either Microsoft's backup or
Norton Ghost over night.

According to a person who says that he's captured the failure event busTRACE
2003, a write operation is specified that the drive's chip set fails to
recognize as legal due to the size of data being transferred (512k). It
ignores the 'illegal' command and Windows gets its knickers in a huff
because the drive was uppity enough to snub its commands. The result is that
Windows thinks it has given a legal command while the drive thinks it was
the recipient of garbage. Windows refuses to talk to the drive there after
and data gets lost. Sometimes the failure is benign. Sometimes it results in
a corrupted disk.

For more information, here are links to people who appear to know the
details of the issue.
http://www.bustrace.com/products/delayedwrite.htm

Here's a link to a software fix that appears to work for some setups.
http://member.newsguy.com/~siccos/

Here's a link to an ongoing conversation from which the above links were
extracted.
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportfo...message.id=4526&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

--
Richard Lewis Haggard

Sorry for posting a similar question.

I shared a external USB drive over my wireless network running Win XP Home
OS, did some file manipulation using SyncBack, and received the Write
Delayed
Failed [error message]; G:\$Mft file [unsaved] and the data has been lost.

I can see the test files on the external HD but the other folders are
empty.
I also receive an Error 100; Partition Table error from Powerquest's
PartitionMagic 8.0's program.

I am afraid of disconnecting the external HD because I don't want to lose
any data. Also I want to go back to a good System Restore point if
possible.


Can disconnect my external HD and attach it to another USB port (both on
its
host system and another system) to check if it is readable?
How do I check if my HD, esp. its Partition Table, is physically damaged?
Do I have to reformat my HD?

 

[Leif Nordmand Andersen]

Hi Devious,

Most likely not .... however it has saved my data --- and about 5 of
my friends HD's which had died got a little new leash of life, enough
to save the data.

But tecnically ... it's most likely not 'safe'.

Regards Leif.