rsync/cygwin - strange behavior with VFAT-formatted USB-disk

[Lejf Diecks [ergo!via GmbH]]

Hi,

we do a nightly backup using rsync (v2.5.6 as server on RedHat 7.3 and rsync
2.5.5 on Windows 2000/Cygwin). The backup media connected to the
Windows-Client is a VFAT-formatted Maxtor USB-Disk.

Everytime I run rsync from the windows-client, the following error occurs:

--- <snip> ---
rsync.exe -avzr --compress --stats --delete --timeout=240 --modify-window=2
rsync at server::development  cygdrive/e/backup/development
.
.
MOD-SR1/common/
MOD-SR1/common/help/
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (105057 bytes read so far)
rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at io.c(150)
.
.
Wise InstallBuilder 8.0X/RUNTIME/DIRECTX5/
Wise InstallBuilder 8.0X/RUNTIME/DIRECTX5/directx/
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (105057 bytes read so far)
rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at io.c(150)
--- <snip> ---

And then rsync stops working. The same error message everytime. But there is
nothing special about the files and the rsync-server is running with
root-permissions.

I guess it has something to do with the with the VFAT-formatted USB-disk -
I've tried the same command with my local NTFS-formatted harddisk as backup
media - and everything works fine!

Any ideas :o( ??

Regards,
Lejf Diecks

Systemtechnik/Entwicklung
----------------------------------------------------------------

ergo!via GmbH
Kieler Innovations- und Technologiezentrum (KITZ)
Schauenburgerstr. 116
D-24118 Kiel