Re: USB "delayed write failed" Anyone knows why ?

On 4/27/2024 11:42 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> [Disclaimer: Here goes nothing! :-)]
> 
> R.Wieser <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>> On a machine runnung XPsp3 :
>>
>> A while ago  tried to copy a couple of 1...4 GB files to an USB stick, and 
>> it threw the "delayed write failed" error (after a couple of hundred MByte), 
>> after which the machine froze and I had to power-cycle it to get it to 
>> respond again (not even the task-manager wanted to come up).
> 
>   A quick Google search (see below) reveals that besides the basic error
> ("Windows-Delayed Write Failed"), the system reports which file
> had/'caused' the error. If so, was that a file on the USB stick or on
> a/the hard drive?
> 
>   If on the USB stick, did you test the USB stick for errors? (I have
> Windows 11, so my built-in tools are limited :-(, but AFAIR, Windows XP
> still had 'sector' scan tools.)
> 
>> A bit of googeling gave me the answer : unticking "Enable write caching on 
>> the disk" - even though that was in a section that was grayed out because 
>> its parent, "Optimize for performance", wasn't selected ("Optimize for quick 
>> removal" was).
>>
>> No, the question is not why I had to untick something in a grayed-out 
>> section, don't worry. :-)
>>
>> My question is even worse than that :
>>
>> Does anyone know (or have a link to an MS article to) why that the "delayed 
>> writing" (which I assume was still doing its job) causes such a big problem 
>> ?
> 
>   With "such a big problem", do you mean the machine freezing, which is
> indeed a big problem, or something else?
> 
>   The (first) document I found, indeed also talks about a hang, but that
> involved a file on the HDD.
> 
> 'Error message on Windows XP, "Windows-Delayed Write Failed, windows was
>  enable to save all the data for the file'
> <https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/error-message-on-windows-xp-windows-delayed-write/11545d85-783e-40cd-beeb-c31997661e64>
> (searched on "delayed write failed windows xp")
> (The green "[ (V) Answer ]" bar in that document implies that a hard
> drive error was the cause, but the OP never specifically confirmed
> that.)
> 
>> And don't worry, its just curiosity.  There is nothing hanging on the 
>> answer.
> 
>   Phew! :-)
> 

This can also be caused by a Paged or UnPaged Pool memory shortage.
There is a trial version of a certain program, that leaks memory
on purpose (to deny people usage of the program), and that can cause
storage failures with that error code. This "situation" normally is
only practical on Windows XP, and it would take a long-uptime machine
and dedicated abuse, to squeeze one of those errors out of a later
OS. The machine would die on some other error, before it would just
emit those, for a later OS. The machine might even freeze if it was
Windows 11, rather than get wedged nicely enough for a Delayed Write Failure.

Maybe if a write operation does not complete in about ten seconds or
so, you could get one of those. But memory problems can be pretty
good at slowing the storage path enough to encourage the error code
to show up.

   Paul