Problem copying large file over network

  • Thread starter Thread starter Erintech
  • Start date Start date
E

Erintech

Trying to copy a large file to a network share (either a NAS or Samba share
on Linux) I see this message after about 5 - 10% of copy progress:

"There is a problem accessing C:\junk\myfile" (Note: This is the LOCAL
file)

"Make sure you are connected to the network and try again"

The file size is 27GB.

- It copies OK with FTP
- The PC is dual boot. If I boot to XP the same copy works OK
- I have applied hotfix KB922045 and this has made no difference.
- Small files copy OK

Any thoughts?

thanks,
 
You may want to disable the automatic adjustment for the TCP window size.
This search result may help.

Vista Slow IssuesMicrosoft has a update that may fix this issue. Or check
these posts. Vista: Slow Network PerformanceHome Vista: Slow Network ...
www.chicagotech.net/vista/vistaslow.htm


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com
 
Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I tried disabling auto adjustment of TCP window size:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

This didn't help.

I also took a look at the other references, but generally these concerned
other issues, eg speed.

There is no obvious speed issue, just the fact that after 5 - 10% of the
file is copied, it stops with the error mentioned.

Any further suggestions would be welcome.
 
Kerry

Been out all day and not looked any further, but a couple of quick thoughts:

- The NAS is a Lacie Bigdisk. Quite likely it uses Samba but I can't be
sure..

- The Linux PC I have tried copying to is open Suse 10.3 and completely up
to date, so I assume Samba is pretty recent

- Regarding authentication, I don't think this is the problem because it
copies 5-10% of the file (2 or 3 minuted elapsed time) before it raises the
error; and because small files copy OK.

richard
 
None of the suggested links (for which I am very grateful) in this thread
have helped to resolve this issue.

I am beginning to think it may be a new bug.

In summary:

- Small files can be copied OK
- a large file (27GB) stops copying after a couple of minutes with the error
given in the original post. This happens when copying to a NAS , Linux
(Samba) share or another Vista PC
- The same file can be copied OK using FTP
- The PC is dual boot. If I boot into XP, the file copies OK suggesting
that the hardware and network are OK

I have applied the hotfix from KB932045
 
It could be a driver problem. Try different drivers for the NIC. On my
laptop I have to use an older version of the Broadcom wireless driver. The
newest driver sometimes is not the best. I would start with the newest
driver available and work backwards.

It could also be a software problem. Some security software has been known
to cause networking problems in Vista. Temporarily uninstall all security
software on the Vista computer. Disabling it doesn't work, particularly with
Norton , McAfee, and Zone Alarm.

FWIW I initially had similar problems. Copying large files to a Windows 2003
server worked but it could take as long as ten hours to finish the copy. XP
took a little over an hour. Installing the updates I linked to fixed the
problem on my Vista x86 RTM laptop. On my Vista 64 computer installing SP1
beta fixed it. The Vista x86 RTM laptop is still slow but much faster than
it was. Vista 64 with SP1 beta works very well copying large files.

Did you try using some of the 3rd party apps mentioned in the comments at
this link?

http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/05/08/slow-large-file-copy-issues.aspx
 
It could be a driver problem. Try different drivers for the NIC. On my
laptop I have to use an older version of the Broadcom wireless driver. The
newest driver sometimes is not the best. I would start with the newest
driver available and work backwards.

It could also be a software problem. Some security software has been known
to cause networking problems in Vista. Temporarily uninstall all security
software on the Vista computer. Disabling it doesn't work, particularly with
Norton , McAfee, and Zone Alarm.

FWIW I initially had similar problems. Copying large files to a Windows 2003
server worked but it could take as long as ten hours to finish the copy. XP
took a little over an hour. Installing the updates I linked to fixed the
problem on my Vista x86 RTM laptop. On my Vista 64 computer installing SP1
beta fixed it. The Vista x86 RTM laptop is still slow but much faster than
it was. Vista 64 with SP1 beta works very well copying large files.

Did you try using some of the 3rd party apps mentioned in the comments at
this link?

http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/05/08/slow-large-file-copy-issues.aspx
Click to expand...

This problem is probably related to reported problems in copying
archive (eg .ZIP) files which tend to be large, aspecially if they
contain swubordinate zipped files/folders. I have noticed this most
when using a wireless connection, where the connection times out and
grinds to a halt. I haven't really noticed the problem on a wired
network.

I have SP1 installed, and the problem remained, at least for me, so
SP1 does not solve all "large file copy" problems.
 
Jay Somerset said:
This problem is probably related to reported problems in copying
archive (eg .ZIP) files which tend to be large, aspecially if they
contain swubordinate zipped files/folders. I have noticed this most
when using a wireless connection, where the connection times out and
grinds to a halt. I haven't really noticed the problem on a wired
network.

I have SP1 installed, and the problem remained, at least for me, so
SP1 does not solve all "large file copy" problems.
Click to expand...

I'd suspect the wireless driver. I've had problems with many laptops using
wireless. Some of the OEMs change the wireless chipset enough that generic
drivers don't work. You sometimes need to use the laptop manufacturer's
drivers. There's also a beta wireless feature pack for Vista SP1 that may
help. I haven't tried it yet as my laptop is my work machine so I won't
install any beta software on it.
 
Hi

Kerry - you mention problems with a Broadcom NIC. My Dell has an embedded
(wired network) Broadcom NIC called a NetExtreme 57xx gigabit controller.

The problem first arose with the default drivers which Vista installed. I
grabbed the latest from Broadcom, but this didn't help.

Dell don't offer any Vista drivers for this PC, which is a couple of years
old. Following your advice I will try the XP drivers from Dell...

One other option is to get a replacement NIC card.

Thanks for the suggestion of using alternative network copy app, but the
original problem arose out of a Norton Ghost backup failure - it can't backup
to the network drive; I simplified the problem down to a network copy of a
backup file saved locally. So in order to get the network backup to work I
need to resolve the fundamental problem.

In the meantime, I have ftp'ed the file to another vista PC on my network,
and that PC *can* copy over the network to the NAS.

I conclude therefore:

- The NAS is OK
- The network is OK
- The file is OK
- FTP works OK, so some elements of the data transfer process are OK
- If the (dual boot) pc is booted to XP, the file copy works OK so again
the hardware and network appear OK

This leaves me with Vista and maybe the NIC drivers.

Having a network with a mix of Windows and Linux (open Suse 10.3) systems,
all this is pushing me further towards Linux. I've paid a lot of money to
"upgrade" to Vista, only to find I am effectively a beta tester a year after
its release, and if I want support from microsoft I have to pay them even
more money! (which seeing as this problem appears to be a new bug, they
won't be able to fix anyway)

Sorry about that, but I feel that a paying customer has a right to a more
robust OS.
 
Erintech said:
Hi

Kerry - you mention problems with a Broadcom NIC. My Dell has an embedded
(wired network) Broadcom NIC called a NetExtreme 57xx gigabit controller.

The problem first arose with the default drivers which Vista installed. I
grabbed the latest from Broadcom, but this didn't help.

Dell don't offer any Vista drivers for this PC, which is a couple of years
old. Following your advice I will try the XP drivers from Dell...

One other option is to get a replacement NIC card.

Thanks for the suggestion of using alternative network copy app, but the
original problem arose out of a Norton Ghost backup failure - it can't
backup
to the network drive; I simplified the problem down to a network copy of
a
backup file saved locally. So in order to get the network backup to work
I
need to resolve the fundamental problem.

In the meantime, I have ftp'ed the file to another vista PC on my
network,
and that PC *can* copy over the network to the NAS.

I conclude therefore:

- The NAS is OK
- The network is OK
- The file is OK
- FTP works OK, so some elements of the data transfer process are OK
- If the (dual boot) pc is booted to XP, the file copy works OK so again
the hardware and network appear OK

This leaves me with Vista and maybe the NIC drivers.
Click to expand...


If the copy worked OK from a different Vista pc then you have to determine
what the difference is between the two pc's.
 
Further tests & changes:

- Different network card (Linksys LNE100TX). This functions perfectly but
copy bug still occurs

- Went back to original NIC (Broadcom embedded) but with old (XP) driver -
again, it works perfectly but I still have the copy bug.

- Applied SP1 (the recent public release candidate). I STILL have the bug.

Regarding the difference between the two PC's:

PC with large file copy bug:

- Vista Ultimate
- Dell 8400


PC without the bug

- Vista home
- Newer Dell

So basically the hardware will be completely different (MB, hard drive,
memory type, peripherals etc) Impossible to track down what would cause the
bug to manifest itself.

I am going to escalate this problem to microsoft.
 
Please keep us updated if you find the solution. It's always good to know
what works in the real world.

Do you have the same AV/firewall/anti-malware programs on both computers?
 
Hello,


You can try to install Hotfix-932045.It should cure the problem.

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true: • The network
connection is slow or is prone to errors. For example, the network connection
uses long-distance, slow-wired links or modems. Or, the network connection
uses a wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth connection, and the network signal is
weak. For example, the wireless network signal may be weak because of the
distance from the access point or because of interference. The problem may
also be affected by network traffic, by network retries, by packet losses, or
by other factors that affect reliability of the connection.
• The file that is being transferred is large. For example, the possibility
of experiencing this problem is proportional to the size of the file that is
being copied. For example, you may experience the problem when the file is
approximately 100 megabytes (MB) or larger on an 802.11b 11 Mbps wireless
network.

CAUSE
========
This problem occurs because, in some scenarios, Windows Vista may not retry
the connection. Instead, the connection is dropped. When this problem occurs,
the file transfer is not successful.
 
Maybe the OS file system is the culprit.

Nitin Singh said:
Hello,


You can try to install Hotfix-932045.It should cure the problem.

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true: • The network
connection is slow or is prone to errors. For example, the network
connection
uses long-distance, slow-wired links or modems. Or, the network connection
uses a wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth connection, and the network signal is
weak. For example, the wireless network signal may be weak because of the
distance from the access point or because of interference. The problem may
also be affected by network traffic, by network retries, by packet losses,
or
by other factors that affect reliability of the connection.
• The file that is being transferred is large. For example, the
possibility
of experiencing this problem is proportional to the size of the file that
is
being copied. For example, you may experience the problem when the file is
approximately 100 megabytes (MB) or larger on an 802.11b 11 Mbps wireless
network.

CAUSE
========
This problem occurs because, in some scenarios, Windows Vista may not
retry
the connection. Instead, the connection is dropped. When this problem
occurs,
the file transfer is not successful.
Click to expand...
 
Erintech,

Did you ever find a solution to this? I've been having the problem for
quite some time and my situation seems very close to yours.

Thanks,

Phil
 
You want to try disabling network auto tuning. Or this search result may
help.
Vista file transfer issue
Vista file transfer issue. Can't copy large files between Vista and
Windows 2003 · Not Able to READ or Write to External Hard Drive Thru Network
....
www.chicagotech.net/vista/vistafiles.htm


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com
 
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