I'm getting the same thing on BOTH of my new workstations with SATA drives when installing application software.
I've Googled the problem and answers range from failing hardware, to bad network connections. Here's what I've collected thus far:
Some common reasons for a delayed-write failure are:
1. Problems with a device driver, especially a SCSI or RAID device driver.
Some RAID device drivers are known to issue spurious "Delayed Write Failed"
errors in XP Service Pack 2. Most manufacturers have been alerted to this, so
check to make sure the disk drivers are up-to-date.
2. Cabling problems. A faulty or broken cable -- especially for an external
USB or Firewire enclosure—can generate this error. It can also happen if the
cable is too long, or if it is hooked up through a hub that isn't up to spec.
Another possible culprit is if you have a UDMA drive that requires an 80-pin
cable, and you are using a 40-pin cable.
3. SCSI termination errors. This has become less likely with the advent of
self-terminating SCSI hardware, but it shouldn't be counted out.
4. Media errors. This is the worst possible scenario -- essentially, drive
failure. If you can garner statistics on the drive via SMART (such as SMART &
Simple (http://www.beyondlogic.org/solutions/smart/smart.html), you may be
able to determine if there's a mechanical failure in the offing. Gibson
Research's SpinRite tool (http://grc.com/) is also useful for assessing media
errors, but be warned: It may take a long time to do a thorough test.
5. BIOS settings on the computer are forcing faster UDMA modes than the drive
controller can handle. This is unlikely, especially with newer hardware (which
can support UDMA far more flexibly), but it can usually be fixed with a BIOS
upgrade, or by resetting the BIOS entries for the hard drives to auto-detect
settings. Devices set to UDMA Mode 6 that produce this error, for instance,
might need to be set to Mode 5.
6. Controller issues. I've observed that USB controllers that contend strongly
with other hardware can produce this error. In systems that have both "long"
and "short" PCI slots (i.e., 64-bit and 32-bit), try moving the USB controller
to the long slot. Older PCI cards will not fit in such a slot.
7. Memory parity issues. If the problem appears after installing new memory,
the memory in question may be faulty or not of the correct type for the
motherboard in question. (This may go hand-in-hand with other problems such as
random lockups, too.)
8. The LargeSystemCache Registry tweak and ATI video adapters. One peculiar
set of circumstances that has been observed on multiple machines with ATI
video adapters and more than 512MB of memory involves the LargeSystemCache
Registry setting, a DWORD entry found in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory
Management. This setting governs the amount of memory set aside by the system
for certain kernel processes. If it's set to 1 (which allegedly improves
performance on systems with more than 512MB of memory), it can cause data
corruption on some systems, and produce the "Delayed Write Failed" error. Try
resetting it to 0 if it's been set.
===========================================================================
My computer with a fresh clean install of XP Pro a few weeks ago was running
fine until I decided to look in Google for some "XP tweaking guide". I must
say that I'm a computer techincian in life so I know what was tweaking and I
also knew what I was looking for. I'm not that kind that change everything not
knowing what I'm doing.
So I read 2 guides online while performing some changes I wanted to my system
like turning off Indexing for example and disabling Automatic Update, etc. I
may have done about 15 changes in all, most of wich are very common.
Then I restarted the computer and started to get A LOT of Delayed Write Failed
Error messages. Often about C:\$Mft and also about all files the computer was
trying to touch.
I was a little on panic, I knew I would have to reformat clean install again
and I didn't wanted to do that until I figured out what the problem was. So I
began to search on Google with keywords, 15 minutes, half an hour, 1 hour
later I found enough informations to test something. BTW, I didn't liked what
Microsoft said about 40-wires and 80-wires cables hooked up to the hardrive
because I'm running a SATA WD360 Raptor and I haven't modified my BIOS at all
either.
I reformatted and fresh installed XP. Then I ran RegEdit to go change
"LargeSystemCache" from 0 to 1. Restart, nothing happened. I ran RegEdit again
to put it back to 0.
Now I installed the ForceWare package because I'm running an Abit NF7-S v2.0
mobo. Then I ran RegEdit to go change "LargeSystemCache" from 0 to 1. Restart,
nothing happened. I ran RegEdit again to put it back to 0.
Finally, I installed the Catalyst 4.1 because there is an ATi All-in-Wonder
9600PRO inside the case. Then I ran RegEdit to go change "LargeSystemCache"
from 0 to 1. Restart, BANG! Delayed Write Failed! It was impossible to reran
RegEdit to set it back to 0 because the computer was so slow, hang, gave
error... I tried about 3 restart before waking up and try it in Safe Mode. Now
I was able to set it back to 0. Restart, and after a CHKDSK, all was fine
again!
I took time to install Catalyst 4.2 over 4.1 and try again but the problem was
still there.
So, I still don't know why nobody else have tried that before to point out
exactly where the problem was. I looked around Google a lot but didn't find
any testing result close to that. I don't understand either WHY that happen
AFTER the ATi video driver were installed but I had a clue because many of you
were talking about ATi maybe being the problem.
So I hope that was helpfull for you. ATi and "LargeSystemCache" registry
setting are a no go. Don't bother tweaking that registry. *****Hopefully, all
tweaking guides over Internet will be updated to clarify this***** Now I just
hope a program or a driver cannot by itself change that setting. Can anyone
confirm why would a company need to change that setting anyway?
If you have spare time and another spare HD, I suggest you try the exact same
procedure and see if you get the same results. Clean install then immediatly
try to modify the "LargeSystemCache". If no problem, put it back to 0 and then
install the ATi driver and try again to modify "LargeSystemCache". If 2 or 3
more can confirm, it would be great.
I'll took another 1 hour to install again a fresh XP for the last time I hope.
Then 2-3 hours to set it back like it was, installing all programs again and
fine tune it all over again. But this time my "Ghost" hd would be ready. I was
just sitting between 2 computers because time was missing to fully migrate one
over the new one.
=============================================================================
Description:
Application popup: Windows - Delayed Write Failed : Windows was unable to save
all the data for the file [name_of_the_file_you_want_to_save].
The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer
hardware or network connection. Please try to save this file elsewhere.
Cause:
This problem occurs when the data redirector of a System flushes the contents
of the file, and writes to a file handle with read-only access instead of to a
file handle with write access.
When the redirector received an opportunistic lock break to none, it purged
the cache for the file, but did not uninitialize the cache for the file.
More Information:
The redirector also needed to purge and uninitialize when the set end of file
occurs because the opportunistic lock break is asynchronous. Because it did
not uninitialize the cache for the file, it wrote to the incorrect file
handle.
Remediation:
Warning: Serious problems might occur if you configure the registry
incorrectly by using the Registry Editor. Microsoft recommends that you create
a backup of your current registry before making changes.
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
3. In Registry Editor, locate the following subkey in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet \Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
4. In the right pane, click EnableOplocks, and then press ENTER.
5. In the Value data box, type 0, and then press ENTER.
6. Quit Registry Editor.
Reference:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=812937
I hope this helps. I'm working on the problem now on two new machines less than a week old.
www.Gibni.com 
Though it may be caused by different factors for some (such as the OP has nVidia) but this was what happened with mine a few years ago IIRC.
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