Problem Accessing Hard Drive After Running Optimizer

After you run the Microsoft Exchange Optimizer program (Performance Wizard) on a computer with a 9-GB Seagate (model ST19171N or ST19171W) or a 23-GB Seagate (model Seagate ST423451N or Seagate ST423451W) or a 9-GB Hewlett Packard hard disk drive, you may observe the following problems:

• You may no longer have access to the data on the hard disk drive.
• When you attempt to access the data, the following error messages may be displayed:
  • Lost Delayed Write Data error message or an Event ID 26 in the Windows NT Event Log.
  • STOP 0x7F or 0x77.
• Using the Microsoft Windows NT Disk Administrator, you may notice that the total size of the drive does not equal the originally created partition size.

This problem is not 100-percent reproducible and although there are reports that other 9-GB drives may be affected, these reports have not been confirmed.

The Microsoft Exchange Optimizer program can create this problem because it uses low-level APIs to disable write caching on hard disk drives. Any program that uses these APIs will run into the same problem.

Exchange Server 4.0

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. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, 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: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 typical support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Component: Performance Wizard

Exchange Server 5.0

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange 5.0 Server U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):



The new Perfwiz.exe included in the Service Pack will not repair a hard disk drive that has already been altered by the old Performance Optimizer tool. It only prevents further problems on new hard disk drives.

To work around this problem, do not run the Microsoft Exchange Optimizer program.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server versions 4.0 and 5.0.

Restoring from backup to a new hard disk drive is the best method for recovering the data. Currently, the affected hard disk drive must be sent back to the manufacturer to be reset.

After implementing this fix, administrators will have to disable write caching themselves. Please contact your hardware manufacturer if you do not know how to disable write caching.

The 9-GB Seagate and Hewlett Packard hard disk drives are manufactured by Seagate and Hewlett Packard, vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this products performance or reliability.