Windows 10 Error 0x80070570 on Blu-ray recordable (BD-R) - zero-byte files dated 1974

[xio]

I was unable to add files to one specific folder on a Blu-ray disc. Later, there was a zero-byte file dated 1974-07-25 that would result in error 0x80070570 when trying to rename it in Windows Explorer. Trying to open it with Notepad or through the "type" command inside CMD results in an error that the file is damaged. The 1974 date stamp is only shown by the "dir" command in PowerShell and CMD, not in Windows Explorer.

Over time, I have been adding files to a Blu-ray disc (BD-R dual layer), and it has worked well so far. That Blu-ray disc is formatted in UDF 2.60, the file system Windows formats Blu-ray discs in. I have managed files on that disc using both Windows File Explorer and PowerShell.

However, now there is one specific folder on that Blu-ray disc, referred to as "Folder A" in this post, where no new files can be added and no new directory can be created inside. This is the first time I witness this happening.

Before that, I have continuously been adding new files to "Folder A" while intermittently adding new files to other directories. This means I created other folders, referred to as "Folder B" and "Folder C" here, and added files to them, and later I added new files to "Folder A". This is something I suspect UDF 2.60 has trouble dealing with. It seems like UDF 2.60 prefers if one adds many files in one batch to "Folder A" and then never touch that folder again.

Behaviour of "Folder A"
Windows Explorer and CMD are able to list the contents of "Folder A", but PowerShell outright refuses to. It appears that PowerShell refuses to list any folder which has at least one invalid file entry. The same applies for files with colons (":") or question marks ("?") in the name that might have been created under Linux. Windows Explorer and CMD can list those files, but PowerShell refuses to list a directory which has one or more files with an invalid name.

Trying to create a new folder inside "Folder A" through Windows File Explorer results in an error with the code "0x8000FFFF".

Inside PowerShell:

PS F:\Folder A> mkdir 1
mkdir : Datenfehler (CRC-Prüfung)

Surprisingly, files can be moved out of folder A. Files can be moved from folder A both to a different directory (including the root directory) on the same disc and to a different device (which, from the perspective of the UDF file system on the disc, is a deletion).

"dir" command excerpt:

16.07.2023  09:20         9.122.975 exampleFileName01.m4a
16.07.2023  09:37         6.305.999 exampleFileName02.m4a
16.07.2023  10:08        11.495.305 exampleFileName03.m4a
16.07.2023  10:36         9.947.355 exampleFileName04.m4a
16.07.2023  11:13        13.777.150 exampleFileName05.m4a
16.07.2023  11:26         4.652.099 exampleFileName06.m4a
16.07.2023  11:48         8.047.725 exampleFileName07.m4a
16.07.2023  12:10         8.104.393 exampleFileName08.m4a
16.07.2023  12:35         7.806.656 exampleFileName09.m4a
16.07.2023  12:39         1.441.035 exampleFileName10.m4a
16.07.2023  16:34        30.468.487 exampleFileName11.m4a
16.07.2023  16:45         3.852.431 exampleFileName12.m4a
17.07.2023  16:21         3.671.103 exampleFileName13.m4a
17.07.2023  18:56        16.677.169 exampleFileName14.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName15.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName16.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName17.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName18.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName19.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName20.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName21.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName22.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName23.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName24.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName25.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName26.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName27.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName28.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName29.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName30.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName31.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName32.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName33.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName34.m4a
25.07.1974  02:00                 0 exampleFileName35.m4a
Datei nicht gefunden

Let's just say seeing zero-byte files dated 1974 instead of the files I put on the disc was not a pleasant surprise. It felt like my computer was playing some unfunny prank.

Outside of "Folder A"

Outside of "Folder A", everything still works as normal. New files can be added, new folders created, and even "Folder A" itself can be renamed.

Does anyone know what might have caused this folder to become unwriteable?

It seems that UDF packet writing has trouble dealing with high numbers of files. A directory listing with a thousand files takes at least half a minute to load, which is only twice the speed of the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). On a FAT32/exFAT/NTFS flash drive, it takes at most two seconds.

In an earlier post I have described a similar phenomenon where a Blu-ray disc with UDF 2.60 becomes completely unmodifiable, causing any remaining free space to be wasted. This always occured on Blu-ray discs with at least a thousand files. The file counts varied wildly. Sometimes it happened at rougly 2000 files, other times at 7000 files. But constantly, it happened to Blu-ray discs with over a thousand files.

Running CHKDSK /F F:\ solved the problem. However, I am still wondering why it happened in the first place.

Command line output from CHKDSK:
(It's in German, but might still help. Disc volume label is "exampleName".)

PS F:\> chkdsk /F
Der Typ des Dateisystems ist UDF.
Das aktuelle Laufwerk kann nicht gesperrt werden.

CHKDSK kann nicht ausgeführt werden, da das Volume von einem anderen
Prozess verwendet wird.  Die Bereitstellung des Volumes muss zuerst
aufgehoben werden.
ALLE OFFENEN BEZÜGE AUF DIESEM VOLUME SIND DANN UNGÜLTIG.
Möchten Sie die Bereitstellung des Volumes aufheben? (J/N) j
Bereitstellung des Volumes aufgehoben. Alle offenen Bezüge auf dieses
Volume sind ungültig.
Volume exampleName ist UDF-Version 2.60.

CHKDSK verifiziert ICBs ...
Die ICB-Verifizierung ist abgeschlossen.
CHKDSK verifiziert ICB-Links ...
In Block "2496" wurden Verweise auf einen nicht vorhandenen ICB gefunden.
FID, die auf den ICB in Block "2496"verweist, wird im Verzeichnis-
ICB in Block "1" gelöscht.
Die ICB-Linkverifizierung ist abgeschlossen.
CHKDSK verifiziert Linkanzahl und übergeordnete Einträge...
Die Verifizierung der Linkanzahl und übergeordneten Einträge ist abgeschlossen.
CHKDSK überprüft Systemdateien.
CHKDSK überprüft, ob die Verzeichnisstruktur Zyklen enthält.
CHKDSK identifiziert verlorene Dateien.
Die Identifizierung der verlorenen Dateien ist abgeschlossen.
CHKDSK verifiziert die Objektgröße für ICBs mit alternativen Datenströmen...
Die Verifizierung der ICB-Objektgröße ist abgeschlossen.
Dateianzahl wird in der Integritätsbeschreibung des logischen Volumes in 2324 korrigiert.
Partitionsgröße für Partition "1" wird in 2592 korrigiert in der Integritätsbeschreibung des
logischen Volumes.

Es wurden Korrekturen am Dateisystem vorgenommen.
Es sind keine weiteren Aktionen erforderlich.

  23651200 KB Speicherplatz auf dem Datenträger insgesamt
  23281390 KB in 2324 Dateien
       180 KB in 17 Verzeichnissen.
         4 KB in 2 alternativen Datenströmen.
         4 KB in 2 Datenstromverzeichnissen.
       288 KB vom System benutzt
    369334 KB auf dem Datenträger verfügbar

      2048 Bytes in jeder Zuordnungseinheit
  11825600 Zuordnungseinheiten auf dem Datenträger insgesamt
    184667 Zuordnungseinheiten auf dem Datenträger verfügbar

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Why optical media?

Because optical discs are unmatched for archival. Hard drives can fail without warning, are not water resistant, and not electromagnetic-impulse resistant, so they are more vulnerable to natural disasters. Cloud storage is expensive and has questionable privacy.

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems that you are experiencing some issues with a specific folder on a Blu-ray disc, where you are unable to add files or create new directories. Additionally, there is a zero-byte file with a date stamp of 1974 that cannot be renamed or opened.
There are a few possible reasons for this behavior. One potential cause could be corruption within the UDF file system on the Blu-ray disc. UDF (Universal Disk Format) is a commonly used file system for optical media such as CDs and DVDs. Corruption within the file system can prevent certain operations from being performed, leading to errors and limitations within specific folders.
Another possibility is that there may be limitations or restrictions within the UDF 2.60 format itself. It's possible that the file system has difficulty handling large numbers of files or frequent modifications to folders. This could explain why you were able to add files to other folders on the disc but encountered issues with "Folder A" specifically.
To resolve the issue, you mentioned running CHKDSK /F on the Blu-ray disc, which seemed to fix the problem. CHKDSK is a command-line tool in Windows that checks the integrity of a file system and can attempt to fix any issues it finds. In your case, it appears that CHKDSK was able to identify and repair problems within the UDF file system, allowing you to add files and create new directories again.
As for why the folder became unwriteable in the first place, it's difficult to say without more information. It could be due to a previous error or corruption that occurred while writing files to the disc, or it could be a limitation inherent in the UDF 2.60 format. File system corruption can sometimes occur if a write operation is interrupted or if there are issues with the disc itself.
In summary, it seems that running CHKDSK /F resolved the issue with the unwriteable folder on the Blu-ray disc. CHKDSK can be a useful tool for fixing file system errors, but it's important to note that it is not always able to repair all types of corruption. If the issue persists or if you continue to encounter similar problems with UDF-formatted Blu-ray discs, it may be worth considering alternative storage solutions or exploring other file system formats that are better suited for your needs.

 

[xio]

Corruption within the file system can prevent certain operations from being performed, leading to errors and limitations within specific folders.

Indeed. Now what caused the corruption?

Another possibility is that there may be limitations or restrictions within the UDF 2.60 format itself. It's possible that the file system has difficulty handling large numbers of files or frequent modifications to folders.

These were just a few hundred files. In other occasions, UDF handled thousands of files in one directory without error.

running CHKDSK /F resolved the issue with the unwriteable folder on the Blu-ray disc

Indeed it does. I have attached the command output in the top post. However, this does not bring back the files that appeared as zero-byte files and were dated 1974. The cause of this needs to be found out so it can be prevented from recurring at all.

 

[xio]

1. Physical damage: Blu-ray discs can be sensitive to scratches, dirt, or other physical damage. If the disc is damaged, it could lead to errors and corruption when reading or writing data.

The disc is physically undamaged.

2. Power interruptions

Didn't happen at the time of writing.

Problems with the disc drive, firmware, or operating system can also contribute to file system corruption.

This is the likeliest cause.

It is recommended to keep your system and disc drive firmware up to date and use reliable software for disc burning.

It seems Microsoft has abandoned the development of the UDF driver.

1. Using reliable and high-quality Blu-ray discs from reputable manufacturers.

I am using Pioneer, which seems to be reputable. Also, Pioneer keeps a stable rotation speed while writing, where as my Hitachi-LG data storage Blu-ray drive spins to a much lower speed for reading than for writing. Since the drive also reads data intermittently, the repeated speed change causes a significant delay. It spends more time spinning up and down than actually reading or writing data. For packet writing, Pioneer is the brand that I found works.

- Consider using alternative file systems or storage solutions if you frequently encounter issues with UDF on Blu-ray discs.

Sadly, there are no alternatives for very long term archival. Other storage media has more vulnerabilities than optical discs. If the storage controller of a hard drive or SSD fails, the data is inaccessible. If an optical drive fails, the disc can be inserted into a new drive.

Even proprietary optical formats like Sony ArchiveDisc use UDF packet writing as far as I know, so operating systems can treat them like usual optical drives.

This video explains how optical discs have the longest life expectancy:

There may have been discrepancies between the file metadata and the actual content of the files. This could result from errors during the file writing process or issues with the file system's ability to maintain consistent metadata.

The file system should not care about the content of the files, and all files had valid alphanumerical names that were shorter than 30 characters.

 

[xio]

I searched for the names of those 1974 dated files in a HEX editor (HxD by MH Nexus, but others should work too).

I found out that those 1974 file listings appear as bare file names with null-bytes after them in the HEX editor, so the metadata was apparently not completely written.

Sometimes, Windows Explorer gets stuck not responding when writing to a Blu-ray disc (UDF 2.60 file system). What I do to prevent it is re-connecting the optical drive and then running CHKDSK /F on the Blu-ray before adding new files. Since I did that, this has not happened again so far. If it does, I will post here about it.