CRC errors with large files...

[baralheia]

Hello all. First time poster here, and I've got a doozy of a problem. I just hope this is in the right section. Pretty much all large files are corrupt if I save them to either of my hard drives. The limit seems to be somewhere around 30mb... under that I'm fine, over that I get CRC errors out the wazoo. I get occasional glitches in Windows, and I tried to run System File Checker, but it couldn't repair a LOT of stuff, complaining of hash mismatches. I've run Scandisk and it doesn't find any problems. I ran MemTest86+ for 48 hours, without a single memory error. I've used SeaTools for Windows and both drives pass all tests; SeaTools for DOS reports the drives are fine but the file system has errors it can't fix. I ran SpinRite through on both drives... Took it a couple of days but came back without any unusual errors. I can't for the life of me figure out what's going wrong... Can anyone point me in the right direction here?

System specs can be accessed below on the "My System Specs" link.

 

[whs]

That sounds like a corrupted MFT. Have a look at this: (check the web - there are more tools)

The MFT (Master File Table) is sometimes corrupted. If Microsoft's Checkdisk (chkdsk) failed to repair the MFT, run TestDisk. In the Advanced menu, select your NTFS partition, choose Boot, then Repair MFT. TestDisk will compare the MFT and MFT mirror (its backup). If the MFT is damaged, it will try to repair the MFT using the backup. If the MFT backup is damaged, it will use the main MFT.
If both MFT and MFTMirr are damaged and thus cannot be repaired using TestDisk, you might want to try commercial software like Zero Assumption Recovery, GetDataBack for NTFS.

Source: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Advanced_NTFS_Boot_and_MFT_Repair

 

[baralheia]

Okay, so I tried TestDisk and followed your instructions. It asked me if I wanted to fix the MFT mirror from the main MFT, I told it yes, and then it said "Failed to fix MFT mirror: Write error." Ooh boy. This doesn't look good.

A friend of mine suggested that perhaps the issue is not with the drive, or data on the drive, but instead it's in the SATA controller on my motherboard... It was my understanding, though, that if a hard drive controller was going south, you'd see errors in HDD testing tools like SeaTools. Would this be correct, or is this line of thinking way off base?

 

[CommonTater]

Hello all. First time poster here, and I've got a doozy of a problem. I just hope this is in the right section. Pretty much all large files are corrupt if I save them to either of my hard drives. The limit seems to be somewhere around 30mb... under that I'm fine, over that I get CRC errors out the wazoo.

First step... check your cables and power connectors... It wouldn't be the first time a bad or dirty connection has sent techs flying off in a dozen directions....

If your drives are passing all non-FS diagnostics (i.e. Read/Write/Erase stress testing) it's likely you don't have a serious hardware problem. More likely you have somehow managed to corrupt your file systems ... and when that happens, the first step is a virus scan... to play it safe.

The next step is to ensure that you have proper drivers installed for your SATA controller... Check Device Manager and if there's a newer version, get it... If not, try an older version... It's entirely possible the current driver is a bit buggy...

To attempt to fix the File System corruption use CHKDSK /F /R C: from a CMD window... Note: C is the letter indicating the drive to be tested... sub in your own drive letter as needed. This is going to take a while... with 500gb drives, about an hour to 90 minutes each. Please note that when you go to do your system drive it will want to schedule it for the next reboot and you should play along...

There are third party tools but frankly I've never trusted them or found need of them.

In the extreme... You end up doing a fresh install, using the windows installer's partitioning tool to destroy and recreate all partitions on your system.

 

[CommonTater]

A friend of mine suggested that perhaps the issue is not with the drive, or data on the drive, but instead it's in the SATA controller on my motherboard... It was my understanding, though, that if a hard drive controller was going south, you'd see errors in HDD testing tools like SeaTools. Would this be correct, or is this line of thinking way off base?

Yep... Diagnostics are written specifically to find problems with hardware. If the thing passes the diagnostics it's a pretty fair bet it's ok.

 

[whs]

To attempt to fix the File System corruption use CHKDSK /F /R C: from a CMD window... Note: C is the letter indicating the drive to be tested... sub in your own drive letter as needed.

CHKDSK C: /F /R might work better

 

[CommonTater]

To attempt to fix the File System corruption use CHKDSK /F /R C: from a CMD window... Note: C is the letter indicating the drive to be tested... sub in your own drive letter as needed.

CHKDSK C: /F /R might work better

Just a simple question...
Did you try it my way and see what happens?
Did you try it your way and see what happens?

Really... It might be an idea to check these things before you go correcting people...

 

[whs]

To attempt to fix the File System corruption use CHKDSK /F /R C: from a CMD window... Note: C is the letter indicating the drive to be tested... sub in your own drive letter as needed.

CHKDSK C: /F /R might work better

Just a simple question...
Did you try it my way and see what happens?
Did you try it your way and see what happens?

Really... It might be an idea to check these things before you go correcting people...

No, I did not check it your way. I just suggested the "official" cmd syntax. But maybe you can tell me what your way does in contrast to the cmd syntax. All I know is that cmd is very iffy when it comes to syntax errors.

CHKDSK [volume[[path]filename]]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L[:size]] [/B]

volume Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
mount point, or volume name.
filename FAT/FAT32 only: Specifies the files to check for fragmentation
/F Fixes errors on the disk.
/V On FAT/FAT32: Displays the full path and name of every file
on the disk.
On NTFS: Displays cleanup messages if any.
/R Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information

PS: I just checked your way. It does work. I apologize - did not mean to be wise guy. That is the first time that cmd works when I deviate from the given syntax.

 

[CommonTater]

PS: I just checked your way. It does work. I apologize - did not mean to be wise guy. That is the first time that cmd works when I deviate from the given syntax.

Ok... apology accepted.

FYI... I've been working professionaly in computers since before MS-DOS. I started out as a service tech working on IMSAI and ALTAIRE *kits* then moved over to the Intertec Superbrain, Victor 9000 and then PCs. I'm pretty sure that when I quote a simple dos command I'll get it right.

 

[whs]

PS: I just checked your way. It does work. I apologize - did not mean to be wise guy. That is the first time that cmd works when I deviate from the given syntax.

Ok... apology accepted.

FYI... I've been working professionaly in computers since before MS-DOS. I started out as a service tech working on IMSAI and ALTAIRE *kits* then moved over to the Intertec Superbrain, Victor 9000 and then PCs. I'm pretty sure that when I quote a simple dos command I'll get it right.

Thanks for your generosity. Unlike you, I spent my life on large systems (since 1961) and am still wrestling with the intricacies of the PC. But with some patience, I might get there - if I live long enough, LOL. The forums are a great asset in this regard.

 

[baralheia]

I haven't run chkdsk yet, but there's signs of progress: After a few unsuccessful attempts to install the latest Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers (v9.6.0.1014), and a few reboots, I finally got them to install without giving me any CRC errors. A couple of large-ish downloads so far are working correctly too. I'll run chkdsk and see what it finds now, and hopefully that takes care of that

 

[CommonTater]

I haven't run chkdsk yet, but there's signs of progress: After a few unsuccessful attempts to install the latest Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers (v9.6.0.1014), and a few reboots, I finally got them to install without giving me any CRC errors. A couple of large-ish downloads so far are working correctly too. I'll run chkdsk and see what it finds now, and hopefully that takes care of that

LOL... and if you've been following the side chatter... *either* form of the command is fine.

 

[CommonTater]

PS: I just checked your way. It does work. I apologize - did not mean to be wise guy. That is the first time that cmd works when I deviate from the given syntax.

Ok... apology accepted.

FYI... I've been working professionaly in computers since before MS-DOS. I started out as a service tech working on IMSAI and ALTAIRE *kits* then moved over to the Intertec Superbrain, Victor 9000 and then PCs. I'm pretty sure that when I quote a simple dos command I'll get it right.

Thanks for your generosity. Unlike you, I spent my life on large systems (since 1961) and am still wrestling with the intricacies of the PC. But with some patience, I might get there - if I live long enough, LOL. The forums are a great asset in this regard.

Well... here's one of those "little intricacies" you almost have to be a programmer to stumble across...

All windows programs have to work with a standard command line, dictated by the file association mechanism...

"ProgramPath" Flags "Filespec"​

For example: "C:\Program Files\MPClassic\MPC-HC.exe" /play /close "%1"

You will see this literally all over the place in windows. The reason it's that way is that explorer locates the last space on the command line and replaces the rest with the filespec when you click a file...

So when in doubt try this form for your command lines first...

 

[whs]

Very interesting. As you have probably gathered, I am not an expert in cmd. I just know a few things from hearsay. That's why I stay close to the prescribed format. But this little tut will enhance my understanding. Thank you.

 

[CommonTater]

Very interesting. As you have probably gathered, I am not an expert in cmd. I just know a few things from hearsay. That's why I stay close to the prescribed format. But this little tut will enhance my understanding. Thank you.

My pleasure... Best way to learn the command shell is to play with it... Stay away from the dangerous stuff like Format and Deltree... but otherwise messing about with it will give you quite the education. Simply typing HELP will get you started....

 

[baralheia]

Well, no such luck. Still having CRC errors in large files such as the EVE Online installer. Tracked down the chkdsk log and it says it fixed some errors... Log is attached below. I also happened to notice lots of warnings and errors while I was in the event viewer; most of the warnings explain that a file didn't pass verification but the corrupted bits were corrected, and the errors are kind of random... Registry hive errors, services couldn't be started due to hash validation failure, update installation errors (error 0x80070643), COM+ couldn't remove an event object, etc. I'm going to have to reformat, aren't I? :/ I've got data I don't want to lose and I'm not sure I can trust that these files are even still intact. :/

 

[CommonTater]

Well, no such luck. ... I'm going to have to reformat, aren't I? :/ I've got data I don't want to lose and I'm not sure I can trust that these files are even still intact. :/

I'm sorry to say that might well be the case. Whatever corrupted your file system has done some real damage... What worries me the most is that you say you are still getting errors on new files, but that could be corrupted drivers...

For data recovery, my suggestion would be to hook your hardrive to a different computer and get the data off it, making careful note of any errors you get in the transfer. I would not trust the task to your current machine in it's current state.

When you reinstall windows, make sure you wipe out all existing partitions and do long formats of the new ones you create to verify the disk is behaving. I strongly suggest you make a C: partition of about 50gigs for windows and make the rest of the drive into 1 or more data partitions... programs on C... Data on D... that way you should be able to reinstall the system in future without blowing up your data partitions.

Lastly... good luck with this. You've got a real mess on your hands!

 

[baralheia]

I'll probably need to open a new thread in Installation and Setup, but I'm still having problems... I backed up my stuff, did a long-format of the drive, and started anew... but now I can't even get 7 to install, keeps telling me "Windows cannot install required files", usually at right around 9% of the unpacking step. I'm frustrated to tears over this stupid, stupid computer... Never had this many problems with a computer I've owned before.

 

[whs]

What did you use for the reinstallation - DVD or the recovery partition ?? This error possibly points to either a read error on a DVD or a write error on your HDD.

 

[FoxIX]

I am certainly no expert in this field so forgive me if there is no possiblity of this causing the mentioned issue, but I have also had problems with CRC errors in large files. I just automatically assumed it was something to do with my internet connection as it only happened with files I downloaded. I didn't do anything to try and fix this, and it seems to have gone away.

So, just as a suggestion, could it be because they are downloaded files in the above problem? And if definitely not, would you suggest I follow your instructions throughout this thread myself?

Thanking you in advance.