"Write Cache Enabled" won't stay disabled

[Frank]

I can't seem to permanently disable write caching to my two ATA hard
drives.

right click "my computer" --> properties --> Hardware -->
Device Manager --> Disk Drives --> select drive --> Properties -->
Disk Properties --> uncheck "Write Cache enabled"

After either a normal reboot or system crash (the reason I need to
disable caching), caching is again turnrd on for both drives,
resulting in data loss at the next crash.

How do I turn off caching and have the setting stick?
Exactly where is this setting stored? Reg key?
Thanks,
Frank

 

[John John]

What service pack level are you on?
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q290757

John

 

[Frank]

This is with SP2. I saw an old post on this problem where going from
SP2 to SP4 didn't help. If there is a KB article or other info on
this please point me to it.

Until I find the answer, how do you flush the cache manually? If I
can locate the storage for the setting, it could be reset
automatically at each boot. Is it a reg key?

 

[Steve Parry]

I can't seem to permanently disable write caching to my two ATA hard
drives.

right click "my computer" --> properties --> Hardware -->
Device Manager --> Disk Drives --> select drive --> Properties -->
Disk Properties --> uncheck "Write Cache enabled"

After either a normal reboot or system crash (the reason I need to
disable caching), caching is again turnrd on for both drives,
resulting in data loss at the next crash.

How do I turn off caching and have the setting stick?
Exactly where is this setting stored? Reg key?
Thanks,
Frank

Not sure if it will help but this details the locations for 9x Windows

http://www.mdgx.com/newtip12.htm

Perhaps adding this key to W2K will work?

 

[John John]

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Sync.html

The Write Cache options are handled by the disk driver, the problem you
experience is because the disk driver needs to be updated to properly
handle the instructions. There was a hotfix available to correct some
of these issues but with Windows 2000 out of the mainstream support
phase I don't know if you can get the hotfix. See:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;332023

Quite frankly I fail to see why you refuse to upgrade to SP4 but I am
sure you must have a valid reason. You say you "saw an old post on this
problem where going from SP2 to SP4 didn't help" but I think you are
wrong to outright dismiss that the fix to your problem might be to apply
SP4.

John

 

[Frank]

Thanks for the pointer to sync. It should help while I work on this
problem: periodic system halts listed as NMI parity error, but it
doesn't appear to be the memory itself. The machine may not be worth
the effort it takes to troubleshoot and fix this, but it's a good
learning experience.

I don't understand this part of the KB Article ID 332023 you
referenced:

"Warning: If you implement this fix (by installing the updated drivers
and turning on the Power Protected write cache option), protections
that are built in to the Windows 2000 disk drivers to make sure that
critical data is written to the disk immediately instead of being
written to the disk later from the disk's built-in cache are removed.
Do not implement this fix unless your computer and any connected hard
disks are protected against accidental or inadvertent power loss
through hardware design that may include such features as redundant
battery-backed power supplies."

What is the "critical data" mentioned, and why would turning write
caching OFF make data less safe? Since the PE interrupt causes an
immediate halt, I don't know how this compares to a power loss, since
the drives are still powered in my case. Are they referring to
separate caches - main memory and onboard the disk - that the hotfix
does not handle properly by telling the disk to write immediately?

 

[John John]

I'm not sure what is meant by the "critical data" mentioned in KB332023.
Just a guess, might be information about cluster location and the
likes, information stored in the MFT. But that is just a guess...

The NMI Parity error can be misleading, it may or may not be caused by
RAM. This is the official Microsoft blurb:

NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE

This is a generic error message in which the hardware abstraction layer
can't report on the true cause of the error. In such a situation,
Microsoft recommends calling the hardware vendor. This error can
sometimes be caused by mixing parity and non-parity SIMMs, or by bad SIMMs.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/93521/EN-US/
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q315223
http://www.onthebrightside.net/NMI_error/index.html

Once again, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I suggest
that you apply Service Pack 4.

John