Network drive problem

[TNGTony]

Hi all you computer gurus out there.

I am having a strange issue I just can't pin down. I have 4 computers. Two are hooked up via wireless router. The other two are hooked up through network cable going through the same router. All works great with one exception: If I attempt to copy a large amount of data from one of the hard wired computers to any other computer, the transfer will begin with normal speed, but then it will hang after a while. It doesn't matter if it is one large file or if it is many small files. It doesn't matter if you do one small file at a time or a large batch all at once. The system will hang and give you a "network drive no longer connected error. You reset the network and everything works fine again. As long as you do not try to transfer more than a gig or so (it varies, sometimes it will do 4 gigs before it hangs, sometimes a half a gig).

Here is where it gets interesting:
I have tried three different network cables. All three cables work fine tested on other computers. So it is not the cables.
I have tried connecting the computers directly to each other using the network cables. Same problem going from the "bad" computer, but no problem going the other way. So it is not the router.
I have tried transferring via the internet (very slow upload here 450k) and it will upload through the router and directly as long as you want with no stalling so it is not the LAN card.

So here is the question: What the heck could it be?

Using Windows XP Pro Networking and SMC Wireless router.

Thanks for any suggestions.

BTW, the reason I want to move this much info is I have 80 gigs on music files on one computer and I want to move it to another that has a DVD Burner so i can back up my music files. Before anyone makes a comment about where I got my music, I bought all of it! I have all the CDs and vynil to prove it. :)

See ya
Tony

[CoriBright]

I frequently burn DVDs (both data and video) across the network... both wired and wireless. Never had a problem with any of them.

[TNGTony]

Unfortunately, the "hang" problem happens when transfering the data from one computer to the other during the burn causing me to create yet another coaster. :)

I have to find a way to either fix the issue first.

Thanks
See ya
Tony

[P Smith]

Tony, try other network card, at least move it into different PCI slot; also in BIOS try to assign dedicated IRQ for that NIC PCI slot.

[Starrbuck]

Good advice. You might also try a different router if you can.

[koji68]

Unfortunately, the "hang" problem happens when transfering the data from one computer to the other during the burn causing me to create yet another coaster. :)



Ah! So you are trying to copy the files directly to the DVD through the network?

Try copying the files first to the HD of the PC with the DVD and then burn the DVD.

[P Smith]

koji68, if you'll read Tony's first post

[koji68]

koji68, if you'll read Tony's first post

I did read it. There is nothing there that gives a clue what the problem could be. But then later he posted: "the "hang" problem happens when transfering the data from one computer to the other during the burn" and that's a clear symptom of the problem could be.

Burning CD/DVDs over the network is not recommended unless you are using software like iSCSI or AoE (ATA-over-Ethernet.)

[TNGTony]

koji68,

Sorry if it wasn't clear. The hang proglem occurs on any large (or lots of slamm transfers) from one computer to the other, but not the other way around. It doesn't matter if I am tansfering direct to DVD or to the HD.

I would consider using a USB firelite type drive, but the computer that hangs is the one without USB ports.

I may buy a PCI USB/FireWire card for this computer if I can't get another workable solution.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Tony

[Bogy]

Tony, you state that you are using XP Pro Networking, but the computer that is hanging up does not have USB ports. That leads me to believe it is an older box. Are you running XP Pro on it? I had problems downloading 20 gig of mp3 files from my daughters computer to burn to DVD before installing a larger hd and XP. It had ME on it, with all kinds of problems that made things hang, and it used a wireless card. After the upgrade I didn't hear complaints about the box hanging anymore, although she used my laptop more than her desktop before she left for Kenya. She evidently used the laptop to load the music files back on to the desktop, because I didn't do it for her, and she didn't complain about not being able to load her files. That would have been 4 gigs of files at a time, with evidently no hangups, since I didn't hear about it.

Depending on just what your intention is for the computer in question, I would suggest installing the DVD burner in the computer with the music files to make your copies. That or, from my experience, you are faced with doing your transfers in small chunks.

[CoriBright]

I'll add ..... the older PC.... NTFS or FAT32?

[TNGTony]

Tony, you state that you are using XP Pro Networking, but the computer that is hanging up does not have USB ports. That leads me to believe it is an older box. Are you running XP Pro on it?

Bogy,

The older PC originally ran Windows 98 FAT32. But it was upgraded to NTFS when I intalled XP Pro on it in 2002. The computer DOES have USB ports on the motherboard. Unfortunately when I built the computer in 1998, USB was something new and very, very few devices used this new technology. I didn't even bother to check that the knock-out plates on the case were removed before I installed the motherboard in the case. So, the USB ports are inaccessible unless I dismantle the entire computer to get to them and then reassemble the unit to get it to work again. :)

I guess I'll have to work around it. Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Tony

[cdru]

Have you tried alternative file copy methods? For instance, set up a ftp server on one computer and try to copy a both ways. See if if locks up that way. From the way it sounds, it doesn't sound like a hardware issue but rather a software issue.

That being said, I've seen some weird things before. I once had a computer connected via cable modem to the internet. I could download very small pages or images, but not larger. Anything over about 16k would just hang. After a lot of troubleshooting, I discovered that a screw had fallen out of the backplate of the nic. Tightening it up solved the problem. Apparently there was some time of wierd grounding issue that caused the very poor performance.