[bennystylee]

Hi all,

I am having a bit of a problem (big understatement) with my PC and for the life of me cant work out what the issue is.

I am running an :
AMD Athlon 3000+
Foxconn board with VIA Kt600 Chipset (VT8237 south bridge)
3GB ram,
ATI Radeon 9550,
1 x 250GB western Digital drive,
1 x external 1Tb backup Western Digital.
Windows XP Professional Service pack 3.
(she is around 5 years old and much loved)

The problem is around a month ago I had the dreaded delayed write error on my machine (my first viewing of this beast), no new hard ware, in fact the only thing that had changed was me running automatic updates on my PC and installing several security updates from Microsoft head quarters... - Anyway that caused a huge amount of pain and ended up corrupting the 250 GB Western Digital drive i had at the time (it ran really slow took 55 counts of the blue swipe passing by on XP splash screen). So i went and bought a new hard drive and an external backup again. The old drive wasn't being picked up by windows so i put it in as a slave and get-data-back picked it up and I eventually didn't loose any of my work! (note lots of stress, hair pulling, beard greying and time taken out from the above statement)

So i then reinstalled windows, no problems for a week or so then I got the dreaded Delayed write again (yes I know on a new hard drive) alarm bells started and I reinstalled windows again (quicker as I can now do it with my eyes closed).

So here I am thinking thats it, thats all fixed and then last night I had a delayed write failure again - this time on my external USB 1TB drive. I was watching a video in windows media player (from the external drive) and it stopped - windows said it couldn't find the file and then the delayed write error appeared!) Anyway I quickly turned my machine off and went to bed.

So at 5 am this morning I lay in bed thinking really is this all happening again! and I turned my machine on. Now this is a symptom that has happened since all this has been going on, I turn my machine on - it bleeps and then it doesn't leave the Foxconn boot screen. Usually I just reset it and its fine (this has been happening say once a week sometimes once a month since I have had this computer) - this morning it took 5 goes to get it to restart (don't know if that will help the diagnoses) Anyway my PC has now booted - it looks and runs Ok (11 blue swipes on the XP splash) and all drives are there and intact - I am now running a full virus scan.

The thing is I think this is something beyond a new hard drive and I don't know what it could be? Is my CMOS battery failing (I am not getting any error messages) do I need to re-flash my bios (I really am scared about doing that)..... All i want and need is a stable system to work on and at the moment I just don't feel it is stable. I have googled the delayed write error without much joy (there seem to be many with this issue and ATI related) and performed all here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330174

I don't have or ever performed the large system cache registry fix that people say maybe an issue.
and to be honest I am at a real loss as to what to do.

Does any of this shout a glaring problem to anyone?

thanks in advance for any help you can offer me.

*One other thing to note the delayed write either occurred when I was watching a video (179mb(ish) video via windows media player) or whilst using Photoshop (CS3 - scratch disk was different from the drive reported in the delayed write error) and the file open at the time was around 20mb in size. My system has been stable and fine for years (5 of them) and I have pushed her quite hard (I am a web developer using a local DEV WAMP setup and all the gubbins that goes with that I also have the CS£ web suite installed on my machine - so nothing that would cause untoward system stress...

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Edited by bennystylee, 19 October 2009 - 03:16 AM.

[Advertisements]

Hi bennystylee and welcome to Geeks to Go.

The delayed write could be a few different issues. Lets see if we can get a handle on it.

First. Do not do a bios update. The bios update would only be required if it will fix a specific problem. Many times the update goes wrong and you are left with a junk main board.
Second. Do not use any registry cleaners at all. They have proved to do more harm than could. They will remove from the registry what they think is correct. In essence, they remove entries that will destroy the registry and render the OS useless. You will then have to re-install.

Since you have reinstalled the OS a few times on different drives, I am leaning away from that as a possibility (for the time being).

Lets see what you have

Download (from my signature) Everest.
Run everest
On the far left expand computer
Click on summary
Go to the top and click on report
click on quick report-summary
click on plain text.
copy the info to your next post.

There is no need to include anything below Debug PCI

[attachment=35113:Everest_...y_Report.jpg]

Also lets check the memory. You have 3gb. How many sticks do you have?
If multiple sticks, you can try running on 1 stick and see if the problem goes away, and then swap to the other sticks. The idea is to test each stick individually because if you have bad memory we need to find out which stick is bad.
The idea of checking each stick individually is the same for the memtest86 test I want you to run.
Download memtest86 from my signature.
It is an iso file for a CD. You will need to burn it as an iso file. Use Burncdcc from my signature. It is a no frills program strictly for iso files.
Boot from the CD. You may have to change the boot sequence in your bios to boot CD 1st.
The program will run automatically. Look for any errors.

[attachment=35114:MemTest_86.gif]

123runner

[123Runner]

Hi bennystylee and welcome to Geeks to Go.

The delayed write could be a few different issues. Lets see if we can get a handle on it.

First. Do not do a bios update. The bios update would only be required if it will fix a specific problem. Many times the update goes wrong and you are left with a junk main board.
Second. Do not use any registry cleaners at all. They have proved to do more harm than could. They will remove from the registry what they think is correct. In essence, they remove entries that will destroy the registry and render the OS useless. You will then have to re-install.

Since you have reinstalled the OS a few times on different drives, I am leaning away from that as a possibility (for the time being).

Lets see what you have

Download (from my signature) Everest.
Run everest
On the far left expand computer
Click on summary
Go to the top and click on report
click on quick report-summary
click on plain text.
copy the info to your next post.

There is no need to include anything below Debug PCI

[attachment=35113:Everest_...y_Report.jpg]

Also lets check the memory. You have 3gb. How many sticks do you have?
If multiple sticks, you can try running on 1 stick and see if the problem goes away, and then swap to the other sticks. The idea is to test each stick individually because if you have bad memory we need to find out which stick is bad.
The idea of checking each stick individually is the same for the memtest86 test I want you to run.
Download memtest86 from my signature.
It is an iso file for a CD. You will need to burn it as an iso file. Use Burncdcc from my signature. It is a no frills program strictly for iso files.
Boot from the CD. You may have to change the boot sequence in your bios to boot CD 1st.
The program will run automatically. Look for any errors.

[attachment=35114:MemTest_86.gif]

123runner

[bennystylee]

Thank for getting back to me I wanted to post this
link
incase the information I have placed there sheds a different light on the situation - I have included details from errors in my system log there.

I will run the program you mentioned and start on memtest and post back in a little while - currently my PC is being scanned with Anti-Vir. From the information I have got I am tempted to run a checkdsk repair on both drives and then see what happens...

I have cc cleaner installed and have only recently started using it! And after what you have said that is ringing alarm bells - could that really have cause all this pain?

thanks

Edited by bennystylee, 18 October 2009 - 07:31 AM.

[rshaffer61]

I just wanted to chime in here for a minute.
Looking thru the other forum you are posting on I see a HD controller problem.
This all may be related to a failing controller.
How old is the system and or the MOBO?
Please understand that age does not mean this is the problem as even a new MOBO can have a problem.
It may be something 123Runner you could look into as it would answer the issue here.

[happyrock]

make sure you have set your paging file size equal to 1.5 times than the installed ram...set the minimum and the maximum to the same value...
you should also swap out the drive data cable with a new cable to rule that out...it also will give you those kind of errors

[bennystylee]

make sure you have set your paging file size equal to 1.5 times than the installed ram...set the minimum and the maximum to the same value...

Yeah i have always seen this around - but with 3GB i cant set to 4.5 so off the top of my head (on mac at the moment) I set 2096 min and 4096 max

is it the general consensus to set them to the same value? - I remember ages ago working these values out from a site.

[bennystylee]

I just wanted to chime in here for a minute.
Looking thru the other forum you are posting on I see a HD controller problem.
This all may be related to a failing controller.
How old is the system and or the MOBO?

5 years old. Oh this is sounding expensive. I was naively hoping to start work again in the morning. For me (not as experienced as you guys) having two new hard drives on the system and the same thing happening is saying that this maybe bigger than software and hard drives.

Please understand that age does not mean this is the problem as even a new MOBO can have a problem.
It may be something 123Runner you could look into as it would answer the issue here.

thanks

[happyrock]

make sure you have set your paging file size equal to 1.5 times than the installed ram...set the minimum and the maximum to the same value...

Yeah i have always seen this around - but with 3GB i cant set to 4.5 so off the top of my head (on mac at the moment) I set 2096 min and 4096 max

is it the general consensus to set them to the same value? - I remember ages ago working these values out from a site.

set them both to 4096..reboot...also install a new data cable...BE SURE TO UNPLUG FROM THE WALL FIRST

[bennystylee]

make sure you have set your paging file size equal to 1.5 times than the installed ram...set the minimum and the maximum to the same value...

Yeah i have always seen this around - but with 3GB i cant set to 4.5 so off the top of my head (on mac at the moment) I set 2096 min and 4096 max

is it the general consensus to set them to the same value? - I remember ages ago working these values out from a site.

set them both to 4096..reboot...also install a new data cable

will do - i got a new data cable with the new hard drive last week as also thought this may of been an issue - but that didn't fix it...

Thanks

[happyrock]

because this involves your external drive.. click on Start... Run...type in cmd press enter...
in the dos box type in chkdsk d: /r
note the single space before the /
replace d: with the drive letter of your external drive

chkdsk will then unmount your external drive and check the disk for any errors

[rshaffer61]

Happyrock good catch on the external drive.
I missed that one.

[123Runner]

The event viewer errors from the other site is showing controller issues.
As I recall bennystylee stating he was having these errors on his other internal and external drive. He replaced them both and is still having the errors.
I doubt that the problem is a bad hard drive (actually 4) other than possible corruption at this time due to the delayed write.

Are these drives all western digital? Also the other sites reference to western digital being bad is his opinion. We all have our preferences. I have pretty much used them all without any issues.

You can, if you wish, run the manufacturers diagnostic utilities on the drives (link in my signature). That would at least eliminate bad drives.

123runner

[happyrock]

after you have run chkdsk ...
go to Event Viewer...Application...scroll to find Entry called winlogon.. double click on that you'll get a Summary...tell us what the fist part of the report about how many and what kind of errors...
the proper thing to do is keep running chkdsk until it does not correct any more errors...
since you lost so much hair when this first happened I highly suggest you back up your data to cd/dvd's as insurance on the possibility that the drive is on its last legs...this should be done as a normal part of your backup strategy

The event viewer errors from the other site is showing controller issues.

I did not read the other thread but if your having controller issues...try reinstalling your chipset drivers

[bennystylee]

Lets see what you have

Download (from my signature) Everest.
Run everest
On the far left expand computer
Click on summary
Go to the top and click on report
click on quick report-summary
click on plain text.
copy the info to your next post.

results: (below Debug PCI not included)

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition © 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer ********
Generator **********
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2009-10-18
Time 16:38


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name *******
User Name *******

Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 2166 MHz (13 x 167) 3000+
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8377 Apollo KT600
System Memory 3072 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (08/18/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter ATI Radeon 9550 / X1050 Series Secondary (256 MB)
Video Adapter ATI Radeon 9550 / X1050 Series (256 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon 9550 (RV350)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (CW7987AP191L)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller

Storage:
IDE Controller VIA Bus Master IDE Controller - 0571
SCSI/RAID Controller VIA RAID Controller - 3149
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive WDC WD2500AAJB-00J3A0 (232 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive WD 10EADS External USB Device (931 GB, USB)
Optical Drive BENQ DVD DD DW1650 (DVD+R9:4x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 99998 MB (74344 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 138466 MB (104058 MB free)
F: (NTFS) 953867 MB (796923 MB free)
Total Size 1164.4 GB (952.5 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 (IntelliPoint)

Network:
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC (192.168.1.10)

Peripherals:
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB2 Controller VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device


--------[ Debug - PCI ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edited by bennystylee, 18 October 2009 - 10:50 AM.

[bennystylee]

The event viewer errors from the other site is showing controller issues.
As I recall bennystylee stating he was having these errors on his other internal and external drive. He replaced them both and is still having the errors.

I was having delayed write errors on two of my old drives but I didnt know about the system log then so I can't say 100% for sure that they were the same - although I was getting the same Delayed write error popup bottom right of the screen (but didnt look at the system log)

I doubt that the problem is a bad hard drive (actually 4) other than possible corruption at this time due to the delayed write.

2 internal drives (wd 250gb and 400gb) in the "old" system and one brand new external drive (wd 1TB) on this system now

Are these drives all western digital?

Yes - i personally have not had problems with WD until this lot right now (but this has really put me off)

You can, if you wish, run the manufacturers diagnostic utilities on the drives (link in my signature). That would at least eliminate bad drives.
123runner

Both drives just passed quick test

Edited by bennystylee, 18 October 2009 - 09:57 AM.