Delayed Write Error Blues

silverproblem · 08-27-2009, 04:12 AM

About 2months ago got a delayed write error on a 500GB SATA drive, and after several reboots and it not showing up, i managed to get it to show up using a linux boot disk, and then copy everything off. about 2weeks ago i plugged that drive back in and magically its working again.

Just 2 days ago i booted up and got three 'Windows has recovered from a serious error' messages and then delayed drive write message about one of my other drives! this time my 500GB IDE. so right now im in shock. Rebooted and thank god it showed up, copied all the important stuff off. Bad luck right, two drives failing. So i disconnected the 500GB IDE. yesterday i boot up and another 'windows has recovered form a serious error' and delayed write message about my 200GB IDE drive!! rebooted and its back , so i copied the stuff off it too.

Additional info:
-my 500GB and 200GB IDE drives are both on the same ATA cable
-I use 4 case fans, so theres alot of molex double connections
-Mobo is Asrock Dual VSTA
-PSU is Extreme Coolmaster 650W
-My pc has exhibited no other strange symptoms such as lockups/random reboots/any other errors.
-my pc is subject to many nasties of the web

Any advice and opinions are welcomed

Madcatz · 08-28-2009, 09:50 AM

i'd run diag tests on the drive. I'd be guessing that the drives are fine and your just looking at maybe one bad drive (the one with windows on it) maybe has bad sectors, possibly got a virus/malware thats having fun with windows, or windows may be corrupted and need a fresh install. I'd also test the memory, you can click the memtest86+ link in my sig, download, burn to a cd, and boot your computer to that, same thing with the hard drive diag.

silverproblem · 09-08-2009, 04:42 PM

Thanks for your help. Ram turned out fine, and the HDD's too thankfully. turned out the IDE/ATA cable was faulty. Was over 5 years old and carked it lol.

08-27-2009, 04:12 AM	#1 (permalink)
silverproblem Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp 3	Delayed Write Error Blues About 2months ago got a delayed write error on a 500GB SATA drive, and after several reboots and it not showing up, i managed to get it to show up using a linux boot disk, and then copy everything off. about 2weeks ago i plugged that drive back in and magically its working again. Just 2 days ago i booted up and got three 'Windows has recovered from a serious error' messages and then delayed drive write message about one of my other drives! this time my 500GB IDE. so right now im in shock. Rebooted and thank god it showed up, copied all the important stuff off. Bad luck right, two drives failing. So i disconnected the 500GB IDE. yesterday i boot up and another 'windows has recovered form a serious error' and delayed write message about my 200GB IDE drive!! rebooted and its back , so i copied the stuff off it too. Additional info: -my 500GB and 200GB IDE drives are both on the same ATA cable -I use 4 case fans, so theres alot of molex double connections -Mobo is Asrock Dual VSTA -PSU is Extreme Coolmaster 650W -My pc has exhibited no other strange symptoms such as lockups/random reboots/any other errors. -my pc is subject to many nasties of the web Any advice and opinions are welcomed Last edited by silverproblem; 08-27-2009 at 04:16 AM.

08-28-2009, 09:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
Madcatz Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 1,391 OS: XP/7/Server 2008 My System	Re: Delayed Write Error Blues i'd run diag tests on the drive. I'd be guessing that the drives are fine and your just looking at maybe one bad drive (the one with windows on it) maybe has bad sectors, possibly got a virus/malware thats having fun with windows, or windows may be corrupted and need a fresh install. I'd also test the memory, you can click the memtest86+ link in my sig, download, burn to a cd, and boot your computer to that, same thing with the hard drive diag. __________________ memtest86+ \| Hard Drive Diags \| Speed Fan \| Unknown Device Identifier

09-08-2009, 04:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
silverproblem Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp 3	Re: Delayed Write Error Blues Thanks for your help. Ram turned out fine, and the HDD's too thankfully. turned out the IDE/ATA cable was faulty. Was over 5 years old and carked it lol.