USB2.0 drive delayed write failure - tried everything!

[Guest]

Hello,

I am getting the 'delayed write failure' error when writing large files to
an external USB2.0 HDD. I've done a through research and tried all the
suggestions, but can't fix it. Here is the situation in more detail:

Equipment:
Shuttle SB61G2
Pentium 4 2.4C
2GB RAM
Windows XP Pro, fully up-to-date
Two 120GB IDE HDDs (both work fine)
One 250GB USB2.0 HDD in two partitions (ie.., the drive with the problem)
Multiple other USB devices: e.g. printer, soundcard, game controller, etc,
but no thumb drives connected.

Here is what I have tried so far and the results:
USB cable. Tried multiple new cables, all have the same problem
USB port. Tried several different ports on my PC, but the malfunction is
consistent.
USB hub. I am connecting the USB HDD direct to the PC, not using a hub
USB other. All other USB devices work fine, (so kb article 908673 is not
relevant)
XP settings. Enable Write Cashing is OFF, but doesn't help.
Registry settings. Followed the workaround in kb article 330174, but it did
not help
Drive. Error-checking done including fix sectors, but doesn't help.

I'd be very grateful for any ideas!

Many thanks,

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hello,

I am getting the 'delayed write failure' error when writing large files to
an external USB2.0 HDD. I've done a through research and tried all the
suggestions, but can't fix it. Here is the situation in more detail:

Equipment:
Shuttle SB61G2
Pentium 4 2.4C
2GB RAM
Windows XP Pro, fully up-to-date
Two 120GB IDE HDDs (both work fine)
One 250GB USB2.0 HDD in two partitions (ie.., the drive with the problem)
Multiple other USB devices: e.g. printer, soundcard, game controller, etc,
but no thumb drives connected.

Here is what I have tried so far and the results:
USB cable. Tried multiple new cables, all have the same problem
USB port. Tried several different ports on my PC, but the malfunction is
consistent.
USB hub. I am connecting the USB HDD direct to the PC, not using a hub
USB other. All other USB devices work fine, (so kb article 908673 is not
relevant)
XP settings. Enable Write Cashing is OFF, but doesn't help.
Registry settings. Followed the workaround in kb article 330174, but it
did
not help
Drive. Error-checking done including fix sectors, but doesn't help.

I'd be very grateful for any ideas!

Many thanks,

This *can* mean that the drive itself or the USB case or ports are failing
or otherwise malfunctioning. It can be related to some specific
motherboard chipsets (particularly VIA). You may find that newer
board-level drivers help... or not.

In addition, there are suggestions that some video cards share IRQs with the
USB ports, which can be fixed with driver updates (not via Windows Update).
I see mentions of this with ATI cards, and it seems that the Shuttle SB61G2
uses an ATI video chip.

Try attaching the drive directly to your system via its internal cables.

If it then works properly, the problem isn't with the drive itself. And
that is something you *must* be sure of if you are using this drive for
anything but temporary, volatile storage.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Patrick,

Many thanks for your thoughts. I've got good evidence that the drive and
motherboard work ok: it's been in use for more than a year working fine
until I made two changes to my computer:

- Added more memory 1GB -> 2GB (Memtest 0 errors after 180 minutes)
- Changed video card Radeon 9600 -> nVidia 7600 GS (drivers up to date)

Also, small files are ok 100% of the time. It's only long files that
produce the delayed write failure. That makes me think it can't be an IRQ
conflict, as those could occur anytime.

Is there anything else I can try in BIOS or XP?

Many thanks