File corruption

[shaydenb]

I have suspected something was wrong for a while now.
Finally I was able to recreate the data corruption problem on my PC last night after Dungeon Siege reported an error while decompressing a file (objects.dsres).
The corruption seems most prevalent when copying large files.
Any suggestions appreciated.

Sys Info:
2 hard drives:
Drive (0) - 6 gig ATA 66 - system C: drive FAT32
Drive (1) - 40 gig ATA 100[set to 66] - data split evenly into 2 NTFS partitions D: and E:
Drive (0) is the master on controller 1
CDROM is the slave of Drive (0) on controller 1
Drive (1) is the master on controller 2
Controller is ATA 66
Motherboard is an Epox MVP3G2 2.5 years old with the latest BIOS applied.
384 MB Ram
Running XP Pro.

Test:
I copied a 300 MB file from f: to e: using the following command from the destination folder on f:.
xcopy object_1.drs e:\test\ /V
No errors encountered.
BTW - Results are the same with Windows Explorer
I the ran the following:
fc object_1.drs e:\test\object_1.drs
I get many errors.
I ran the same test from F: to C: with no errors on the file compare.
I have tried... switching the drives around, reseating the cables, studying the event logs, and Google.

My plan of action is to first replace all the cables.
Next is to install a PCI HD controller.
Next is to try a new drive.
Then a new motherboard.
I would rather not do any of these of course.
Thanks,
Steve

 

[firehawk]

Does the corruption always follow the second drive?

 

[shaydenb]

Yes it does.
I made sure the drive bios is set to 66 to match the controller.
Thanks for replying.
This is a real @#$@#.
Can't trust my data.

 

[firehawk]

I would say it is your drive then. What happens if you don't do the ata 66 jumper thing? Never heard of having to do that before. Should throttle automatically for you.

 

[Raven76]

I would suspect the drive as well.

Are you overclocking the FSB at all? Is the ATA66 drive a Maxtor by any chance?

 

[shaydenb]

The drive is a Western Digital. It came with a utility called udmadlg.exe. This util allows you to set the drive to 33, 66, or 100. If it is set to 100, it still works fine as far as I can tell. The mother board is an Epox mvp3g2.

 

[shaydenb]

Oh yea I forgot. I am not over clocking.
Also, I'm using a gforce 2 ultra and a SB Live!.

 

[firehawk]

With it set at 100 do you still get the corruption then? I don't like HD utilities! Can you run with out it?

 

[shaydenb]

It happens at either setting.
The utility writes to the drive bios. It doesn't load in the OS.

 

[shaydenb]

New Plan

I am going to try testing from C: to E:.
UDMA is disabled on disk (0) channel (1) (CDROM) for burning purposes. I'll try re-enabling that as well.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to help.
😎

 

[shaydenb]

The corruption happens when copying from C: to E: as well. Enabling / Disabling UDMA made no difference.
I ran Norton 2002 disk doctor last night and will see if that made any difference when I get home.
I've been wanting to get a 80 GB drive anyway. I just hope if I do, it will be resolved.

 

[firehawk]

Sounds like the best reason ever to get a new drive.

 

[shaydenb]

Resolution

I found a resolution to this problem. It bothers me that it makes no sense. If anyone has any theories, I am all ears.
I converted C: to NTFS.

 

[shaydenb]

BTW

Thanks to Lonman for his post that made me look to the file system:

"You might consider stepping up to ntfs too. I haven't lost a single bit of my data since I took the plunge. In fat32 I was always losing a cluster here or truncating a file there, using ntfs I've had to hard reboot many times (reset switch after a freeze or something) and I never lose anything. Btw, when I manage to hang my system, I'm never surprised... I'm pretty rough on this thing."

See ya.