Files Are Not Saved and You Receive a "Windows Delayed Write Failed" Error Message When You Remove Flash Card

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This article was previously published under Q328504

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SYMPTOMS

A delay may occur when you copy or save a file from Windows Explorer or from another program (such as Microsoft Word) to a flash card on your portable computer. This delay may result in data loss. For example, when you save or copy a file to a flash card and then remove the flash card from the flash card reader, the file may not be saved to the card. In some situations, a temporary file is saved to the card. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

Windows Delayed Write Failed

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CAUSE

This problem occurs in situations where Windows does not flush the flash card correctly when a flash card is removed from the flash card reader within approximately 20 seconds of writing data to it. As a result, the file system of the card is in a non-flushed state.

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RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

    Date         Time     Version        Size        File name
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   14-Apr-2003  18:53   5.0.2195.6736     35,856   Classpnp.sys
   14-Apr-2003  18:53   5.0.2195.6736    140,976   Fastfat.sys

Note Because of file dependencies, this update requires Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4).

Note To make this fix work, you must create the following registry key on the computer that hosts the compact flash reader

Subkey: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\<Provider>
Entry Name: HotPlugAlwaysEnable
Type: REG_MULTI_SZ
Data: <device name string>

where:

<Provider> is the type of disk. This is typically Disk.
<device name string> is the actual device name string.

For example, for "USBAT USB Card Reader" devices, the registry would look like the following:

Subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Disk
Entry Name: HotPlugAlwaysEnable
Type: REG_MULTI_SZ
Data: USBAT Compact Flash

To find the <device name string>, look up the device in Device Manager. In this example, the device is shown as “USBAT Compact Flash USB Card Reader.” The string begins with the vendor string (“USBAT”). That is followed by the product ID string (“Compact Flash”). The “USB Device” or other description at the end is not needed in this string.

Optionally, you can use the tool Hotplugreg.exe from Microsoft to determine the <device name string> for your device.

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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, wait at least 20 to 30 seconds after you save the file to the compact flash card before you remove the card from the flash card reader.

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