Errors Accessing Hard Disk with Spin-Down Enabled (154436)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2
  • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.1
This article was previously published under Q154436

SYMPTOMS

When some IDE hard disks are configured to spin down during idle time to conserve power, you may experience the following symptoms when you access the hard disk after it has spun down:
  • Incorrect data is read from or written to the drive.
  • You receive general protection (GP) fault error messages.

CAUSE

These symptoms can occur if the hard disk requires more than 7.5 seconds to spin up. When this occurs, an error in the Windows 95 driver results in incorrect data being read from the drive, which can result in GP faults.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem immediately, download the fix by clicking the download link later in this article or contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download Remideup.exe now

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

The following files are installed by Remideup.exe: 
   File name     Version    Date/Time       Size   Destination folder
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
   Esdi_506.pdr  4.00.1116  8/25/97 11:16a  24,426 Windows\System\Iosubsys
   Voltrack.vxd  4.00.954   3/6/96 9:54a    18,518 Windows\System\Iosubsys

NOTE: The Voltrack.vxd file is installed on Windows 95 computers only. This file is not installed on computers running OSR2.

This issue is resolved in Microsoft Windows 98.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about issues resolved by updates to this component, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

171353 Computer with Ultra DMA IDE Controller May Hang

161642 Auto Insert Notification May Prevent Automatic Suspend

160800 "Fatal Exception Error" with Iomega IDE Zip Drives

154976 Error Message Running Jet Database Engine Stress Test

154435 Windows 95 IDE Support for SMART, DMA, and ATAPI Tape Drives

153471 Problems with Removable IDE Drives in Windows 95

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/9/2004
Keywords:kbdownload kbgraphxlinkcritical kbHardware kbpolicy kbprb KB154436
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