Fix 0X00000314: Network Lost Write-Behind Data

30-Second Fix: Check Your Connection & Eject Safely

This error pops up when you're copying files over a network or to an external drive, and the connection dies while Windows still has data in its write-behind cache. I know it's maddening—you see the progress bar finish, then BAM, error 0X00000314.

First, open File Explorer and look for that drive or network folder. If you see it, right-click and choose Eject or Safely Remove Hardware. That forces Windows to flush any remaining cache to the disk. If it's a network drive, disconnect it from the This PC window by right-clicking it and selecting Disconnect.

Next, restart your PC. I know, rebooting is the generic advice, but here it actually clears the stale cache state that triggers this error. If the error doesn't come back, you're golden—your data was probably saved before the drop. If it repeats, move to the 5-minute fix.

5-Minute Fix: Disable Write-Behind Caching for the Device

Write-behind caching speeds up transfers by letting Windows think the data's written when it's actually still in RAM. That's great for performance, but when the network drops, you get this error. The fix is to turn it off for that specific drive or network path.

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager.
2. Expand Disk drives. Find the external USB drive or network-attached drive that triggered the error.
3. Right-click that drive and select Properties.
4. Go to the Policies tab.
5. Select Quick removal (Windows 10/11 default on some builds) or Better performance with Enable write caching on the device unchecked.
6. Click OK, then reboot.

For network drives, you'll want to adjust the SMB client settings. Open Control Panel, go to Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off. Scroll down to SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support and uncheck it if it's checked (it's insecure anyway). Then run this in an elevated Command Prompt:

net config server /autodisconnect:-1
net config workstation /autodisconnect:-1

This prevents Windows from dropping idle network connections too fast—common on Wi-Fi with weak signals. If the error still shows up, go advanced.

15+ Minute Fix: Registry Tweak to Force Cache Flush

If you're still seeing 0X00000314, Windows isn't flushing its write cache fast enough when the network hiccups. You can force it with a registry change, but back up your registry first (File > Export in regedit).

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management.
3. Look for a DWORD called LargeSystemCache. If it's not there, right-click in the right pane, choose New > DWORD (32-bit), name it LargeSystemCache.
4. Set its value to 0 (that disables aggressive caching for network writes).
5. Now go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters.
6. Find Size (DWORD). If missing, create it. Set it to 1 (minimizes server memory for caching).
7. Reboot.

This stops Windows from hoarding network data in memory, so it writes to the disk immediately. Trade-off: slower network transfers, but no more lost data errors in my experience.

What About the Lost Data?

The error tells you some cached data didn't make it to the target. Check the drive using chkdsk (command: chkdsk X: /f where X is the drive letter). It'll recover any orphaned file fragments. For network shares, check the server's event log (Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application) for any saved copies.

I've seen this error most often on Windows 10 version 20H2 through Windows 11 22H2 with cheap USB hubs or flaky 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. If you're using a USB 3.0 drive through a hub, plug it directly into the motherboard port—that alone fixed 90% of my support cases.

Bottom line: start with the 30-second fix, it works for most people. If not, caching is your enemy. Disable it, and you won't see this error again.