"The volume that was
removed had open files on it. Next time please check first to see that
the volume can really be removed."
Does your Windows 98 PC sometimes crash at startup with a blue screen and that
message? Want to know why? Lots of people have worked together, sharing
data on a mail list, harassing manufacturers, and running tests. We now
know the source of the problem. There is a bug in early versions
of the driver for the Promise Ultra 100/66 Hard Disk Controller. There
is also an apparent fix.
Symptoms
Here are the original symptoms that I reported on the net when I was looking
for a solution. Does this sound familiar? "On reboot, while displaying
startup icons in TaskBar, Windows will show a blue screen that says "The
volume that was removed had open files on it. Next time please check first
to see that the volume can really be removed.". I cannot get Windows to
reboot using CTRL-ALT-DELETE and must do a hard reset. This happens about
half the time I reboot. The message would imply that I had pulled out a
floppy, Zip disk, or other removable drive but no disks had been removed!"
Many people responded and eventually we figured it out. You can read
the email thread here.
Primary Cures
Get latest Promise Ultra 100/66 Hard Disk Controller driver from Microsoft.
The bug seems to be caused by an old buggy version of the driver for the
Promise Ultra 100/66 Hard Disk Controller. If you upgrade your driver,
then you will probably fix the problem. Microsoft now has a new Promise
driver available from their Windows Update site that seems to work. It
also removed the delay from build 35&36 drivers. Skintigh reports that
his boot time is now 23 seconds faster! Please give it a try. If it doesn't
work then come back here and read on. Also send us a note because as far
as we know it is a real fix.
To try the new driver:
The Fix ---> Visit the Microsoft
Windows Update site and look for updates related to the Promise Driver.
It may say SCSIAdapter but that's OK. It's really for IDE. Install the
driver according to their instructions.
Or get latest driver from Promise.
If you can't find the new driver on the Microsoft site then look for it
on the Promise
support site. The product is the "Ultra 100" Windows Driver.
Other Cures
[NOTE: There is no guarantee that any of the fixes proposed on this
web site will work for you. They may even cause problems of their own.
I accept no liability for anything you do to your PC. Please proceed at
your own risk. Phil Burk]
The problem in the driver seems to be timing related. So various actions
like defragmenting your drive may change the timing of the boot-up and
make the bug appear to go away. But it may just be lurking in the shadows.
If something else changes the timing then the bug may reappear. The best
cure is to replace the buggy driver.
But if that is not possible, here are some other things you can do to
help avoid the blue screen.
-
Install the "Shutdown
Supplement" from Microsoft. Read more about that here.
It makes sure that the files are flushed properly to disk when shutting
down.
-
Disable the STIMON.EXE Startup Item.
-
Run SCANDISK
every time before shutting down.
If the above do not work for you, there here
is some older information on possible cures and some research on the bug.
If you want to join an e-mail-list of people working on this problem,
enter your e-mail address below. Notification of any new fixes will be
sent to that list.
If you want to read the archives of that list, visit "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/volumebug/".
This page hosted by Phil Burk of SoftSynth.com.