WinNT System Shutdown/Power Off Causes Boot-Sector Corruption (150009)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
This article was previously published under Q150009 SYMPTOMS
If you have Windows NT installed on a partition using the FAT file system,
the boot sector may become corrupted after performing a shutdown.
After you indicate you want to shut down Windows NT, the operating system
begins closing applications and network connections and performing file-
system shutdown functions. During this last process you will see the
message:
Please wait while the system writes unsaved data to the disk
As soon as the status is returned that each of these functions has been
completed, Windows NT displays the following message:
It is now safe to turn off your computer.
If you immediately turn off your computer, disk corruption may occur
that can prevent the computer from restarting.
CAUSE
The operating system thinks the file-system shutdown functions have
completed successfully, but there is still an asynchronous thread running
that has not yet completed its I/O to the volume. This process is used to
mark the volume clean by updating information on the disk. If the computer
is powered off while this last write is in progress, disk corruption may
occur.
RESOLUTION
If you look closely at the disk access light of a drive running Windows NT
and using the FAT file system, you will see that approximately 7 seconds
after the message is posted stating it is safe to turn off the computer,
further disk activity takes place on the drive.
To prevent disk corruption, wait for approximately 10 seconds after the
last message is posted--or observe the disk access light and wait for the
last write to take place--before you turn off the computer.
This behavior occurs only on partitions formatted using the FAT file
system; partitions formatted using the NTFS file system do not exhibit this
problem.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT versions 3.1,
3.5, and 3.51. This problem was corrected in the latest Windows NT 3.51
U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query on
the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 12/16/2003 |
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| Keywords: | KB150009 |
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