Strange error message...

G

granjan

I have a Dell Dimension 8400 with Windows XP MCE SP3 fully updated. Things
were going well til the following message showed up when I was not doing
anything on the computer. It was on but not in use...just the desktop
showing.

Windows - Delayed write failed
Windows was unable to save all the data for file G:\Extend\$UsnJrnl:$J
The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your
computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save the file
elsewhere.

G is my external hard drive.
I googled the message and got several hits but none of it makes sense to me.
All I need to know is is there something I should do? What hardware failed?
I don't have a network set up...just my dsl modem. Any ideas?
Thanks
Janice
 
S

Shenan Stanley

granjan said:
I have a Dell Dimension 8400 with Windows XP MCE SP3 fully updated.
Things were going well til the following message showed up when I
was not doing anything on the computer. It was on but not in
use...just the desktop showing.

Windows - Delayed write failed
Windows was unable to save all the data for file
G:\Extend\$UsnJrnl:$J The data has been lost. This error may be caused by
a failure of
your computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save
the file elsewhere.

G is my external hard drive.
I googled the message and got several hits but none of it makes
sense to me. All I need to know is is there something I should do?
What hardware failed? I don't have a network set up...just my dsl
modem. Any ideas?

Could be a one-time issue. Essentially the write-caching failed on the
drive for one of a million possible reasons. The system was checking the
drive for some reason (you AV software, some background process, etc.) It
may mean nothing.

Backup your data from the drive, run a CHKDSK on the drive to ensure it is
okay.
 
T

trashcan

Could be a one-time issue. Essentially the write-caching failed on the
drive for one of a million possible reasons. The system was checking the
drive for some reason (you AV software, some background process, etc.) It
may mean nothing.

Backup your data from the drive, run a CHKDSK on the drive to ensure it is
okay.

I had the same problem awhile back and used this fellows 'cacheset'
program to resert the cache and no problems since....

http://www.gibni.com/windows-delayed-write-failed-solved
 
S

SC Tom

granjan said:
I have a Dell Dimension 8400 with Windows XP MCE SP3 fully updated. Things
were going well til the following message showed up when I was not doing
anything on the computer. It was on but not in use...just the desktop
showing.

Windows - Delayed write failed
Windows was unable to save all the data for file G:\Extend\$UsnJrnl:$J
The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your
computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save the file
elsewhere.

G is my external hard drive.
I googled the message and got several hits but none of it makes sense to
me. All I need to know is is there something I should do? What hardware
failed? I don't have a network set up...just my dsl modem. Any ideas?
Thanks
Janice

Besides what has already been mentioned, another item comes to mind. If the
system is run without the drive being plugged in all the time, Write Caching
should be disabled to prevent loss of data and thus, this message. To do
that, plug it in and open My Computer. Right-click on the G: drive, pick
Properties, then the Hardware tab. Click on the drive in that list and click
Properties. Under the Policies tab, check "Optimize for quick removal." OK
out to save the setting.
Also, if you do unplug the drive, it's a good idea to click on the "Safely
Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray, and select that drive. When the
"Safe to Remove Hardware" message comes up, unplug the drive.
 
G

granjan

Thanks for all the replies. So far I have unchecked a setting 'allow
indexing service...etc.' and run a chkdsk with no unusual occurances. I
guess I will just wait and see if it shows up again. Hopefully it will be
alright. Most of the time the disk is plugged in but turned off until I
need it for backup.
 
S

SC Tom

granjan said:
Thanks for all the replies. So far I have unchecked a setting 'allow
indexing service...etc.' and run a chkdsk with no unusual occurances. I
guess I will just wait and see if it shows up again. Hopefully it will be
alright. Most of the time the disk is plugged in but turned off until I
need it for backup.

Then you should disable write caching for that drive.
--
SC Tom

 

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