J
Jorge Coelho
I have this very large Outlook 2003 PST file (2.97 GB) which I must
regularly transfer from my desktop into my laptop when I go on the road and
back to my desktop when I return.
The desktop is a Core2 Duo at 3.0 Ghz with 4 GB of RAM and a very fast WD
Raptor 150 GB running Vista Home Premium English with SP1, the laptop is a
Toshiba Core2 Duo at 2.40 Ghz with 4 GB RAM running Vista Home Premium
Portuguese *without* SP1 (since it hasn't been released for this language
yet). I'm using a *wired* LAN at home with a LinkSys Router. Both the laptop
and the desktop are protected by ESET's Smart Security suite (NOD32 AV +
Firewall).
Prior to installing SP1 on the desktop I was already getting sporadic
network errors when transfering the file either to the laptop or from it.
The error is always the same and would occur midway through the transfer:
'network location no longer available'. However, clicking the 'Try Again'
button once usually seemed to temporarily 'fix' the issue.
This time, however, clicking 'Try Again' when transfering the PST file from
the laptop would NOT fix the problem, no matter how many times I clicked it.
The transfer would resume FROM THE BEGINING (doh?!) and would eventualy
result in another 'network location no longer available' error. Rebooting
the desktop did NOT fix the problem (I didn't try rebooting the laptop
because I had just turned it on).
Using the network bandwith monitor module of Winstep Xtreme, I could see the
transfer going at full speed (11+ MB per second on the 100 Mb/s LAN) when it
would suddenly drop to 8 or 12 KB/s for a few seconds, then go back to full
speed, etc, until it would drop to 0 KB/s and stay there, with the error
message popping up a few seconds later.
The only way I could get the transfer to finally succeed was by disabling
the Firewall on BOTH computers - but do not be to quick to blame the
firewall!!! With the firewall disabled, I was still seeing the transfer
speed 'hiccup' as regularly as before.
One thing I found really odd was that while the hard disk led on the laptop
only lit up a couple of times a second, the led on the desktop (the one with
the very fast 10,000 RPM WD Raptor) was flashing constantly! Didn't add up,
so I fired up the Resource Monitor applet you can find on the Windows Vista
Task Manager dialog. What I found out was that not only was the Outlook.pst
file being constantly written to, but so was some file with a LOT of
alphanumeric digits under C:\System Volume Information\. In a way, it was
like the information was being 'mirrored' into another file.
I suspect the Volume Shadow Copy feature might have something to do with
this, even though this is a Vista Home Premium installation, but, as I said,
it's only a suspicion. I also suspect that the real problem has something to
do with the 'mirroring' operation maxing out the hard disk tranfer rate,
which makes the data comming from the network fill up all the available RAM.
Once this happens, the network transfer basically stops until the hard disk
'catches up' (the reason why the network transfer speed suddenly drops down
to 8 Kb/s or less for a while and then goes back to full speed again). I
also think the only reason disabling the firewall on both systems changed
the outcome was because the smaller overhead 'bought' enough time for the
transfer *not* to time out.
Anybody here has seen this problem or care to discuss the issue?
regularly transfer from my desktop into my laptop when I go on the road and
back to my desktop when I return.
The desktop is a Core2 Duo at 3.0 Ghz with 4 GB of RAM and a very fast WD
Raptor 150 GB running Vista Home Premium English with SP1, the laptop is a
Toshiba Core2 Duo at 2.40 Ghz with 4 GB RAM running Vista Home Premium
Portuguese *without* SP1 (since it hasn't been released for this language
yet). I'm using a *wired* LAN at home with a LinkSys Router. Both the laptop
and the desktop are protected by ESET's Smart Security suite (NOD32 AV +
Firewall).
Prior to installing SP1 on the desktop I was already getting sporadic
network errors when transfering the file either to the laptop or from it.
The error is always the same and would occur midway through the transfer:
'network location no longer available'. However, clicking the 'Try Again'
button once usually seemed to temporarily 'fix' the issue.
This time, however, clicking 'Try Again' when transfering the PST file from
the laptop would NOT fix the problem, no matter how many times I clicked it.
The transfer would resume FROM THE BEGINING (doh?!) and would eventualy
result in another 'network location no longer available' error. Rebooting
the desktop did NOT fix the problem (I didn't try rebooting the laptop
because I had just turned it on).
Using the network bandwith monitor module of Winstep Xtreme, I could see the
transfer going at full speed (11+ MB per second on the 100 Mb/s LAN) when it
would suddenly drop to 8 or 12 KB/s for a few seconds, then go back to full
speed, etc, until it would drop to 0 KB/s and stay there, with the error
message popping up a few seconds later.
The only way I could get the transfer to finally succeed was by disabling
the Firewall on BOTH computers - but do not be to quick to blame the
firewall!!! With the firewall disabled, I was still seeing the transfer
speed 'hiccup' as regularly as before.
One thing I found really odd was that while the hard disk led on the laptop
only lit up a couple of times a second, the led on the desktop (the one with
the very fast 10,000 RPM WD Raptor) was flashing constantly! Didn't add up,
so I fired up the Resource Monitor applet you can find on the Windows Vista
Task Manager dialog. What I found out was that not only was the Outlook.pst
file being constantly written to, but so was some file with a LOT of
alphanumeric digits under C:\System Volume Information\. In a way, it was
like the information was being 'mirrored' into another file.
I suspect the Volume Shadow Copy feature might have something to do with
this, even though this is a Vista Home Premium installation, but, as I said,
it's only a suspicion. I also suspect that the real problem has something to
do with the 'mirroring' operation maxing out the hard disk tranfer rate,
which makes the data comming from the network fill up all the available RAM.
Once this happens, the network transfer basically stops until the hard disk
'catches up' (the reason why the network transfer speed suddenly drops down
to 8 Kb/s or less for a while and then goes back to full speed again). I
also think the only reason disabling the firewall on both systems changed
the outcome was because the smaller overhead 'bought' enough time for the
transfer *not* to time out.
Anybody here has seen this problem or care to discuss the issue?