cineburk
asked on
Windows Delayed Write Failed
Hello,
I have had a reoccurring problem for the last 4 weeks (on a 2-year old XP Pro install).
Everyday, I book up around 9am. I use the computer all day (Outlook 2003, Firefox, Word). Then, around 4:30pm or 5pm, I start getting a bunch of "Windows Delayed Write Failed" error messages, pointing to various files (Firefox temp files, Windows temp files, network cache files etc.). If I click through these, they keep appearing for different files. So I either Shut Down cleanly, or have to pull the plug.
After rebooting, I then get an error message saying the BIOS can't find the OS on the hard drive. But if I power down for about 20 or 30 minutes, it boots back up fine and I'm good for another 8 hours. It's very, very weird.
Here's the details:
-MSI 945PL Motherboard (MS-7236) Intel ICH7 Chipset
-Intel C2D 6600 CPU
-2GB RAM (Patriot 667)
-WD Caviar Black 500GB Hard Drive (Replaced a Velociraptor 300GB drive when I thought that might be the problem)
- Windows XP Pro SP3 (on a Domain w/ SBS 2003)
I've done System File Check and it didn't fix it.
Any suggestions?
I have had a reoccurring problem for the last 4 weeks (on a 2-year old XP Pro install).
Everyday, I book up around 9am. I use the computer all day (Outlook 2003, Firefox, Word). Then, around 4:30pm or 5pm, I start getting a bunch of "Windows Delayed Write Failed" error messages, pointing to various files (Firefox temp files, Windows temp files, network cache files etc.). If I click through these, they keep appearing for different files. So I either Shut Down cleanly, or have to pull the plug.
After rebooting, I then get an error message saying the BIOS can't find the OS on the hard drive. But if I power down for about 20 or 30 minutes, it boots back up fine and I'm good for another 8 hours. It's very, very weird.
Here's the details:
-MSI 945PL Motherboard (MS-7236) Intel ICH7 Chipset
-Intel C2D 6600 CPU
-2GB RAM (Patriot 667)
-WD Caviar Black 500GB Hard Drive (Replaced a Velociraptor 300GB drive when I thought that might be the problem)
- Windows XP Pro SP3 (on a Domain w/ SBS 2003)
I've done System File Check and it didn't fix it.
Any suggestions?
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ASKER
I installed two system fans, and it's been good for a couple days now. Looks like it was just overheating. Thanks!
Here's some causes why you are receiving Windows Delayed Write Failed error messages.
Some common reasons for a delayed-write failure are:
1. Problems with a device driver, especially a SCSI or RAID device driver. Some RAID device drivers are known to issue spurious "Delayed Write Failed" errors in XP Service Pack 2. Most manufacturers have been alerted to this, so check to make sure the disk drivers are up-to-date.
2. Cabling problems. A faulty or broken cable -- especially for an external USB or Firewire enclosurecan generate this error. It can also happen if the cable is too long, or if it is hooked up through a hub that isn't up to spec. Another possible culprit is if you have a UDMA drive that requires an 80-pin cable, and you are using a 40-pin cable.
3. SCSI termination errors. This has become less likely with the advent of self-terminating SCSI hardware, but it shouldn't be counted out.
4. Media errors. This is the worst possible scenario -- essentially, drive failure. If you can garner statistics on the drive via SMART (such as SMART & Simple (http://www.beyondlogic.org/solutions/smart/smart.html), you may be able to determine if there's a mechanical failure in the offing. Gibson Research's SpinRite tool (http://grc.com/) is also useful for assessing media errors, but be warned: It may take a long time to do a thorough test.
5. BIOS settings on the computer are forcing faster UDMA modes than the drive controller can handle. This is unlikely, especially with newer hardware (which can support UDMA far more flexibly), but it can usually be fixed with a BIOS upgrade, or by resetting the BIOS entries for the hard drives to auto-detect settings. Devices set to UDMA Mode 6 that produce this error, for instance, might need to be set to Mode 5.
6. Controller issues. I've observed that USB controllers that contend strongly with other hardware can produce this error. In systems that have both "long" and "short" PCI slots (i.e., 64-bit and 32-bit), try moving the USB controller to the long slot. Older PCI cards will not fit in such a slot.
7. Memory parity issues. If the problem appears after installing new memory, the memory in question may be faulty or not of the correct type for the motherboard in question. (This may go hand-in-hand with other problems such as random lockups, too.)
8. The LargeSystemCache Registry tweak and ATI video adapters. One peculiar set of circumstances that has been observed on multiple machines with ATI video adapters and more than 512MB of memory involves the LargeSystemCache Registry setting, a DWORD entry found in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCu