Windows - Delayed Write Failed

[DraGoN-BoY]

Just performed a few registry tweaks and service tweaks.
Rebooted the computer and got a upleasent meassage.
Windows - Delayed Write Failed.
I am using windows XP, SP1a. Everything is laggy now and I can't do anything. Tried running in safe mode but still get the problem.
Anyone know which reg value i screwed up? :cry:

[Wiggo]

What "tweaks" did ya perform and why didn't ya do a backup? :?:

[DraGoN-BoY]

No idea. Just a whole bunch from TT sites, the XP optimization guides and some others.

I'm dumb. Guess I've learnt my lesson the hard way.

[PersianImmortal]

The particular tweak that causes delayed write failure is LargeSystemCache=1, or if using Cacheman, setting the Disk Cache to "Maximize throughput for...".

I have had a warning for several months in my XP guide (Reformat to Relax) not to do this if your system meets any of the following:

Note that data corruption may occur if the Large System Cache feature is enabled in Windows XP. If you have more than 512MB of RAM, a large NTFS disk or multiple large volumes (60-100 gigabyte hard drives possibly in RAID arrays), and/or AGP graphics with large AGP resource requirements (AGP aperture greater than default) then you will get hard drive corruption. Don't enable Large System Cache in these circumstances.

Tonight I made the warning in RED so people can't miss it. If you follow a tweak guide, please read everything carefully.

[DraGoN-BoY]

Thanks alot Persian.
Next time I'll remember to backup and read more carefully and not to rush.
I've learnt my lesson.

[asklepios]

don't you think that this tweak is causing more problems to readers then the performace enhancement it might provide. shdn't you remove it? just wondering...

[DraGoN-BoY]

The guide is fine. Works great. Just not when readers like me tend to skim through it and miss the critical points.

[Wiggo]

readers like me tend to skim through it and miss the critical points.

This happens far too often with these "tweak guides" but enough warnin's are there in them so are ppl just not usin' their brains, readin' them while their brains are asleep or are they just a tad too illiterate? Maybe we should do away with "tweak guides" all together so that we don't get these constant annoyances anymore? :?:

[asklepios]

Maybe we should do away with "tweak guides" all together so that we don't get these constant annoyances anymore? :?:

this is a perfect response from a 98se lover. :p
the two guides from PI are a must for any XP user. i mean running XP un-tweaked would be a simple pain in a**. all other tweaks have been tried and tested by loads of users and are not causing any trouble, just this one tweak is a cause of major concern. doing away with "Tewak Guides"??? bad idea :thumbs do

[Wiggo]

this is a perfect response from a 98se lover. :p

Sorry pal but over 60% of my PC's are XP Pro os'd (10 out of 17 and all but one are old PC's plus SE is great on older hardware, a real shame that most ppl don't know how or won't spend a few minutes to get to know how to get it to work stable which ain't hard at all, and forget about the XP Home version as with all these PC's here it just ain't worth the few dollars cost savin')

the two guides from PI are a must for any XP user. i mean running XP un-tweaked would be a simple pain in a**. all other tweaks have been tried and tested by loads of users and are not causing any trouble, just this one tweak is a cause of major concern. doing away with "Tewak Guides"??? bad idea :thumbs do

Yes there are a few good tweaks in there (most I won't use because I need those services on several machines) but some ppl just head straight on into them without realisin' the impact of what they're doin'. Sorry m8 but that's the way ppl are these days. :shrug:

[Mr. C]

Gentlemen, I feel PersianImmortal has good guides and the proper warnings in place.
Let's face it, he is no slouch and he is willing to go through the painstaking process of tweaking a system to it's utmost efficiency.

We all know that is what it takes, patience - perserverance and research.
How do we know that? Maybe because some of us learned it the hard way, just as hopefully DraGoN-BoY has.

There's no shortcuts, it's one step at a time and thorough testing between steps. I'm reasonably certain I've read something to that effect in PI's fine work.

I think it's just a cross we will have to bear - there will be those that come here, skim the guides just enough to apply every tweak contained within, and then whinge when their system won't perform.
(now you can see why PersianImmortal gets so exasperated at times - even with all his research and documentation to guide them, he still can't take them by the hand and make them do it PROPERLY)

But, a lot have done it correctly, we just never hear from them because they take their results and happily go on their way.

DraGoN-BoY and others like him, might rush a bit and make an error. At least DraGoN-BoY has bothered to learn something from his mistake, and will probably prove to be quite a tweaker now that he understands just a bit better the fine art of tweaking.

Some folks got it and some don't - most of us here just worked real hard until we got it right.
That's tweaking, and you love it or you don't.

I certainly don't recall any "Easy & Foolproof Guide To XP" on this site, and I'm certain you will agree with me when I say, I hope I never do see a guide here by that title.


: peace2:

[PersianImmortal]

Thanks for the support. I do feel DragonBoy's pain in that he's got problems after using my guide. Hopefully next time round he will be 100% problem free :)

However I feel something is overlooked in that my XP tweak guide (the first on in particular) is not about getting a dramatic improvement in framerate. I don't see it as a guide to "tweaking" XP with a few clicks of the mouse and a magic registry setting or two, I see it as a walkthrough of XP with commentary - what I recommend are the optimal settings for XP for most people. I hope while people go through the guide they also learn a bit more about XP instead of thinking it's a big pretty black box.

I know whenever I install XP I go through my own guide to make sure each setting is optimized, and it makes a very noticeable difference to my loadup times, in reducing stuttering/pausing in games, in reducing wasted hard drive space and generally preventing any crashes or freezes from ever occuring. If you don't have the best settings in your BIOS and Windows, then unsurprisingly you will have a lot of "mysterious" errors, crashes, corruptions, etc. etc.

The guide is about getting your system to run its best all round, including regular maintenance tips to keep from having to reinstall XP every 3 months.


PS - Just to answer Asklepios, I've left the Largesystemcache tweak in my guide because firstly you can also activate it using Cacheman, and I can't exactly take Cacheman out of my guide, and secondly if I take it out, people might use it from another source or accidentally set it in Cacheman not knowing what it does. I want my XP guide to have all known tweaks, and the reasoning and any warnings behind them.

[asklepios]

PS - Just to answer Asklepios, I've left the Largesystemcache tweak in my guide because firstly you can also activate it using Cacheman, and I can't exactly take Cacheman out of my guide, and secondly if I take it out, people might use it from another source or accidentally set it in Cacheman not knowing what it does. I want my XP guide to have all known tweaks, and the reasoning and any warnings behind them.

now that actually makes more sense to me. thanx PI :)