Delayed Write Failed

[ardea]

Now and again when closing a program which has data stored on the ReadyNAS+ I see a "Delayed write failed to (a NAS based file)" warning pop up, and data is lost.

At home here we have 3 desktops+NAS & router in a wired network, which includes a WAP for 2 laptops. All PCs are running XPpro SP3 and updates, and the message is seen on all, on occasion. I'm the sole user of the desktops, (not all at once!)and network traffic is never more than from 1 PC and 1 Laptop. As far as I can tell, only one machine was attempting to access the NAS each time of the faults. The fault is intermittent, and does not happen every time data is written to the NAS or on every program closure. So far it has only happened on program closure.

It seemed kinder to set the NAS (4x500Gb recd. Seagate) drives to spin down for the more than 12 hrs a day the system's not in use, but this could result in an attempted access during spin down. Indeed, it's my suspicion that maybe some, but not all, software does not like finding the NAS drives spun down, and is not content to wait? Is this likely?

If not, what else should I look at?

PS. MS fixes appear to be aimed at local drives (set cache to OFF) or earlier versions of XP, (server writes....cured in SP2)

[PapaBear]

If you are suspicious of spin-down, you might try to manually save the file before closing the program. It may also help to periodically save the file while working on it. I have spin-down set to spin down the drives on my backup NVX, but not the primary NVX where I directly access the files with two desktops and a laptop (all running Win7 64bit). On rare occasion I use an older laptop that is limited to XP but do not encounter any problems there either.

What time delay do you have on your spin-down?

[ardea]

Thanks for your attention PapaBear!

Spin down is set for after 60 mins idle. This is easily exceeded (by me at any rate) when designing, or browsing - Opera is a culprit and also has its' bookmark/contact files, email, mail account config. etc. on the NAS so they can be backed up to the second NV+.

[PapaBear]

I would disable the spin down on the primary NV+ and only have it on the secondary. I initially had spindown also set on my primary, but turned it off because of the delay in loading files. I did not have it set on my original NAS, also an NV+, and it ran for over 3 years 24/365 and put over 25,000 hours on my two original drives before they were replaced by larger drives. I know some thing that spin down will save wear and tear on the drives, but others think they are better off spinning consistently. High mileage automobiles that have had their miles on the open highway are in far better shape than ones with lower mileage but have all their miles in stop and go traffic.

I'm not convinced that spin down saves any electricity, as it takes more current to spin the drives up than to keep them spinning. Plus, the fan is still turning. That being said, I have spin down on my secondary NAS just to reduce the noise level a bit.

Disable the spin down on your primary and see if the problem goes away.

[ardea]

Will try your suggestion, thanks for your advice!