A common occurrence which can be used as an example of an I/O error is a failed CD or DVD burning project.  Persons who have tried to burn a CD or DVD and have an error pop up saying “BUFFER UNDERRUN ERROR” have been victims of I/O errors.  This happens due to data not being sent to the CD or DVD recorder fast enough to be then transferred to the disc.

Some software applications compensate for this by using additional space on your hard drive to act as a buffer for the recorder; the recording drive usually has a built in buffer of a certain size and if this buffer is completely empty then an error will occur; what these software applications do is ensure that some data is always ready to be sent to the recording drive’s buffer.  Though this task requires more resources, newer machines with more overall power can handle the task without a hitch.

Another example of an I/O error is manifested in CRC errors during file copy operations; CRC stands for Cyclic Redundancy Check – a common method of error checking used in different operating systems.  Persons may not see an error while the copy operation is taking place but when they get to another PC and try to access the file they copied, they will notice that it is either corrupted and cannot be opened or gives an error during the installation.

Yet another example of an I/O error is shown when a file needs to be copied from a CD or DVD to a hard drive during the installation of an operating system (OS for short); this is not a common error and as such it is usually troublesome to find the solution.  Persons who experience this kind of error are usually PC technicians or users who are attempting to use the restoration discs that were shipped with their PC.

There are steps which people can take to help safeguard against these types of errors but some steps may come at a cost as not all computer users may be able to handle these things on their own.

One thing to do is get a UPS to protect against power outages as this will prevent premature ending of a file operation process. Another step is to replace a hardware component if errors are always occurring on the device and lastly – in the event of errors during OS installation is to replace the memory; though the memory is not the primary suspect in these cases, it is often the villain which is overlooked.  If memory is not the cause then cables and other hardware parts should definitely be considered thereafter.