Storage Solutions Data corrupt from HDD USB to HDD USB copying

[mr.spidey88]

whenever i try to copy a large data (a lot of pics or similar small sized items) from one hard drive to another then it results in data corruption.both drives are connected to my system using USB 2.0 casing. and hard drives will become unresponsive and i had to turn them off and on again for them to work.

i can copy many GB's of data(big movies files and stuff) without any corruption but a lot of small sized data creates problem.
right now when dealing with such transfers i have to pause the data transfer after every few seconds and then continue after few seconds and so on.
any solution for this?

 

[amitkher]

whenever i try to copy a large data (a lot of pics or similar small sized items) from one hard drive to another then it results in data corruption.both drives are connected to my system using USB 2.0 casing. and hard drives will become unresponsive and i had to turn them off and on again for them to work.

i can copy many GB's of data(big movies files and stuff) without any corruption but a lot of small sized data creates problem.
right now when dealing with such transfers i have to pause the data transfer after every few seconds and then continue after few seconds and so on.
any solution for this?

1. I have seen memory errors causing such issues - run memtest for an hour.
2. Check hard drives for bad sectors - method will depend on operating system.
3. Since you have 2 USB hard drives, try copying the problematic data to internal drive first and then from internal to second USB hard drive. See whether it fails in USB to internal, or internal to USB. This will isolate the hard drive that is having the issue. In case of memory error - both of these transfers should have the issue.

 

[blr_p]

both drives are connected to my system using USB 2.0 casing. and hard drives will become unresponsive and i had to turn them off and on again for them to work.

Can you confirm these USB drives are connected to two seperate USB ports on your pC.

 

[mr.spidey88]

1. I have seen memory errors causing such issues - run memtest for an hour.
2. Check hard drives for bad sectors - method will depend on operating system.
3. Since you have 2 USB hard drives, try copying the problematic data to internal drive first and then from internal to second USB hard drive. See whether it fails in USB to internal, or internal to USB. This will isolate the hard drive that is having the issue. In case of memory error - both of these transfers should have the issue.

1. i dont know what is it but i will run it.
2. no bad sectors
3. there is no problem in copying problematic from USB drive to Sata internal or vice versa.problem only occurs when i try to copy large number of small files (lets say a big collection of pictures) from one USB drive to another USB drive. i can copy any other amount of data between these drives as long as the data don't contain many small size files.
I have checked and USB casings and HDDs are fine.
I think the issue is with the write/read buffer available for the USB drives. due to a large number of small sized files it gets full or something like that. in case of small file it reads data at faster speed but it cant write at that fast speed and write buffer can hold only a limited amount of data.maybe....
i have windows 7 ultimate 64 bit and 3GB RAM.and i have tried teracopy and windows default copy to copy data.[DOUBLEPOST=1376740803][/DOUBLEPOST]

Can you confirm these USB drives are connected to two seperate USB ports on your pC.

yes.
is there a way to connect two USB drives to a single port?

 

[blr_p]

No, do not attach both to the same port.

Any other USB ports on your system you can try with.

Trying to elliminate any USB current supply issues here.

 

[mr.spidey88]

No, do not attach both to the same port.

Any other USB ports on your system you can try with.

Trying to elliminate any USB current supply issues here.

i meant to say both drives are connected to different USB ports.
and i asked you a question "is there a way to connect two USB drives to a single port?"...beacuse as much i know they are always connected in a separate dedicated USB port.

 

[amitkher]

3. there is no problem in copying problematic from USB drive to Sata internal or vice versa.problem only occurs when i try to copy large number of small files (lets say a big collection of pictures) from one USB drive to another USB drive. i can copy any other amount of data between these drives as long as the data don't contain many small size files.

Ok, it is not clear what files you tried to copy from USB to internal. Is it the following ?
1. copy the large number of small files from a USB drive to internal drive. See if this fails.
2. If this fails, that source USB drive has issues.
3. If it doesn't fail, copy the same large number of small files from the internal drive to the other USB drive. See if it fails.
4. If it fails, the destination USB drive has issues.
5. If it doesn't fail, there is no issue with any particular drive, or your operating system. You can copy files this way until you fix the issue.

One more workaround - You could zip up the files to make one large file, and transfer the zip and then unzip.

Issue can likely be fixed by using a powered USB hub, but not sure so try borrowing first. You could also use all the different USB ports for both the hard drives.

I think the issue is with the write/read buffer available for the USB drives. due to a large number of small sized files it gets full or something like that. in case of small file it reads data at faster speed but it cant write at that fast speed and write buffer can hold only a limited amount of data.maybe....

File systems don't work like this. Small files are not read at a faster speed, they are actually typically slower to read than large files.

 

[mr.spidey88]

Ok, it is not clear what files you tried to copy from USB to internal. Is it the following ?
1. copy the large number of small files from a USB drive to internal drive. See if this fails.
2. If this fails, that source USB drive has issues.
3. If it doesn't fail, copy the same large number of small files from the internal drive to the other USB drive. See if it fails.
4. If it fails, the destination USB drive has issues.
5. If it doesn't fail, there is no issue with any particular drive, or your operating system. You can copy files this way until you fix the issue.

One more workaround - You could zip up the files to make one large file, and transfer the zip and then unzip.

Issue can likely be fixed by using a powered USB hub, but not sure so try borrowing first. You could also use all the different USB ports for both the hard drives.


File systems don't work like this. Small files are not read at a faster speed, they are actually typically slower to read than large files.

1. no it doesn't fail.
2. --
3. No it doesn't fail.
4.--
5.

i dont remember surely but i THINK i tried that zip approach too and if i remember correctly it hanged too

 

[amitkher]

1. no it doesn't fail.
2. --
3. No it doesn't fail.
4.--
5.

i dont remember surely but i THINK i tried that zip approach too and if i remember correctly it hanged too

Ok, so keep copying via internal drive till you find the solution. It nearly rules out memory issue also, so run memtest later whenever you find time, as it is unlikely to be the problem.

Since for smaller files there is more seek required, power consumption could be higher. Do your USB drives or enclosure take all the power from USB port, or is there a power adaptor too?

 

[blr_p]

i meant to say both drives are connected to different USB ports.

Do you have more USB ports on the system you can try or just two.

and i asked you a question "is there a way to connect two USB drives to a single port?

By using a USB hub. which is exactly what you do not want to do here.

Another question is have you successfully copied from one USB HDD to another in the past without problems on this present PC ?

 

[mr.spidey88]

Ok, so keep copying via internal drive till you find the solution. It nearly rules out memory issue also, so run memtest later whenever you find time, as it is unlikely to be the problem.

Since for smaller files there is more seek required, power consumption could be higher. Do your USB drives or enclosure take all the power from USB port, or is there a power adaptor too?

they aren't USB powered,they are powered by adapters..these drives are 3.5" inside casings.and as i said casings look fine to me.
anyway i can still copy small files collection but for that i have to keep pausing and unpausing at regular intervals,usually every 8-10 sec...i pause whenever i see a large number of files having status "read" in teracopy and unpause when i see it done writing them successfully..

 

[mr.spidey88]

Do you have more USB ports on the system you can try or just two.
By using a USB hub. which is exactly what you do not want to do here.

Another question is have you successfully copied from one USB HDD to another in the past without problems on this present PC ?

yes i have more USB ports and i have tried in all of them...
before now i dont remember copying data between two USB drives.it was usually from internal to USB....but only now i started syncing data between these two USB drives instead of copying data separately on both USB drives....so no i havent done what you asked.

 

[blr_p]

So the distinguishing charateristic is lots of small files cannot be reliably copied but there is no problem with big files at all.

It would seem power issues aren't the problem. Maybe its to do with the particular casings themselves. Do you have any other USB HDDs without casing you can try. like those offered by WD or Seagate.

 

[mr.spidey88]

So the distinguishing charateristic is lots of small files cannot be reliably copied but there is no problem with big files at all.

It would seem power issues aren't the problem. Maybe its to do with the particular casings themselves. Do you have any other USB HDDs without casing you can try. like those offered by WD or Seagate.

yeah,only lots of small files cause the problem.and yes no problem with big files,i can copy 500 GB of big files data and still no problem but even 1-2GB of small files data will make copying unresponsive after some time and files copied just before issue arises will be corrupt.
i have other casing from seagate external drive but it is still in warranty and i dont want to open it...but i dont think it has anything to do with power and casing.i still fell like its the write buffer issue or something like that, because if i give time for small files to get written on destination drive by pausing in between copy then i can manage copying these files successfully.

i just checked these external drives property in "device manager" and they are configured for quick removal(which means no write cache used). i changed it to "enable write caching in windows"..i will test this/these settings and report back...but i dont want to mess up with my main backup drives,so i will test with changed settings on other spare drive i have....i will update this thread with my findings.

 

[blr_p]

i have other casing from seagate external drive but it is still in warranty and i dont want to open it...but i dont think it has anything to do with power and casing.i still fell like its the write buffer issue or something like that, because if i give time for small files to get written on destination drive by pausing in between copy then i can manage copying these files successfully.

Then there should be the same problem with big or small files. At the end of the day data is being transferred.

i just checked these external drives property in "device manager" and they are configured for quick removal(which means no write cache used). i changed it to "enable write caching in windows"..i will test this/these settings and report back...but i dont want to mess up with my main backup drives,so i will test with changed settings on other spare drive i have....i will update this thread with my findings.

This might be a promising avenue. Would like to know more .

 

[6pack]

Wild guess from me, but I think the casings chip might be to blame. Casings have a small daughter board with a sata controller chip on them. My opinion is it might be faulty.

If the casings have 3.5" internal hdds which can be removed, suggest you to try remove one and install it in PC and see if you get the same error again.

 

[blr_p]

Wild guess from me, but I think the casings chip might be to blame. Casings have a small daughter board with a sata controller chip on them. My opinion is it might be faulty.

Had this thought when suggesting he try with non-casing USB HDDs.

 

[amitkher]

Ok, one thing you can try to see if there are power supply issues -

Suppose the 2 USB drives are X and Y.

1. Copy lots of small files from USB drive X to another folder in the SAME USB drive X while the Y drive is unplugged.
2. Copy lots of small files from USB drive Y to another folder in the SAME USB drive Y while the X drive is unplugged.
3. Do the same SIMLULTANEOUSLY on both the USB drives. I.e. copy lots of small files from X to X; and at the same time, other lots of small files from Y to Y.

If (1) and (2) succeed and (3) doesn't, more reason to believe the system is unable to supply enough power for 2 USB drives to do lots of seeking.

If one of (1) and (2) fail, that drive has faults.

If all fail, power delivery issues can be ruled out.

If all succeed, more research is needed.

 

[mr.spidey88]

Ok, one thing you can try to see if there are power supply issues -

Suppose the 2 USB drives are X and Y.

1. Copy lots of small files from USB drive X to another folder in the SAME USB drive X while the Y drive is unplugged.
2. Copy lots of small files from USB drive Y to another folder in the SAME USB drive Y while the X drive is unplugged.
3. Do the same SIMLULTANEOUSLY on both the USB drives. I.e. copy lots of small files from X to X; and at the same time, other lots of small files from Y to Y.

If (1) and (2) succeed and (3) doesn't, more reason to believe the system is unable to supply enough power for 2 USB drives to do lots of seeking.

If one of (1) and (2) fail, that drive has faults.

If all fail, power delivery issues can be ruled out.

If all succeed, more research is needed.

hmmmm...i need to take backup of data on my spare drive first then i will test all these scenarios + my write buffer enable thing too...
it will take me couple of days to make 2 drives test ready....i will try all these things and report back....
anyone want me to try something else then please do mention here.

PS: but again they are not drawing power from my system,they are adapter powered which is connected to my UPS,which is in fine shape,i recently changed its battery and all it supports loadwise is these 2 drives only,nothing else....and as i said before,using the zip approach also resulted in error(not sure though) ,so doing these steps would be like zip approach only and most probably will result in error....though i will test it this way too.

 

[mr.spidey88]

Wild guess from me, but I think the casings chip might be to blame. Casings have a small daughter board with a sata controller chip on them. My opinion is it might be faulty.

If the casings have 3.5" internal hdds which can be removed, suggest you to try remove one and install it in PC and see if you get the same error again.

i have two external casings and if i remember correctly i've faced this issue with both of them...chances of both casings being bad in a particular way are less,but possible.
i dont have a PC to connect to sata ports.but i dont think its drive issue.because i dont get any error if data transfer involves an internal drive(lappy internal drive) and any 1 USB drive...it is only in case of USB HDD to USB HDD.