Fix: Windows 7 Data Corruption issues on Lenovo and HP systems

Microsoft previously warned that users running on various Lenovo or HP-based systems could run into some data corruption issues. Microsoft’s announcement of the bug originally referred to Build 7000. However, they have yet to make any announcements as to whether the bug has been fixed in recent builds. The cause of the problem occurs because of a conflict between the Offline Files service and one of the following storage drivers:

• Iastor.sys
• Iastorv.sys

Microsoft describes the issue in its KB967252 article like this:

Consider the following scenario. You have a computer that is running Windows 7 Beta. The Offline Files service and the Client-Side Caching (CSC) driver are enabled on the computer. In this scenario, you may encounter a data-corruption issue. This issue affects not only the files that are made available offline in the CSC database but also other files that may reside on the hard disk. For example, when your computer comes out of hibernation, the ChkDsk.exe tool may open and report a data-corruption error.

The article does state that hotfix files are obtainable, but they do not seem easy to obtain. An alternative solution would be to check if you are using one of those drivers so you can decide as to whether you need to take further action.

1) Open the Start menu, type device manager in the Search box and push Enter.

2) Select your disk drive, right click and select Properties.

3) At the Properties window, click on the Driver tab, then click on Driver Details. Check to see if your driver is one of the following: Iastor.sys or Iastorv.sys

If you are using one of those drivers, you want to disable the Offline Files service. Open the Start menu and type in Services. Click on Services with the gear icon beside it.

Look for Offline Files in the Services list and double-click on it. Then Disable the Service.

Press OK and you should be safe from the Data Corruption issues you could have faced.

Related posts:

1. Microsoft issues fix for Windows 7 MP3 Corruption Bug (KB961367)
2. Microsoft blacklists leaked Lenovo OEM Windows 7 Key
3. Microsoft to improve boot performance in Windows 7, manages to boot in under 15 seconds “in the lab”