diff --git a/weed/storage/disk_location_ec.go b/weed/storage/disk_location_ec.go
index 30bec6791..c41afed38 100644
--- a/weed/storage/disk_location_ec.go
+++ b/weed/storage/disk_location_ec.go
@@ -102,12 +102,16 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) FindEcShard(vid needle.VolumeId, shardId erasure_coding.S
 // the orphan-shard layout reported in #9212.
 func (l *DiskLocation) HasEcxFileOnDisk(collection string, vid needle.VolumeId) bool {
 	idxBase := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, l.IdxDirectory, int(vid))
-	if info, err := os.Stat(idxBase + ".ecx"); err == nil && !info.IsDir() {
+	// A 0-byte .ecx is a corrupt stub left by a failed EC distribute copy;
+	// it cannot drive mount and must not steer placement decisions toward
+	// this disk. Treat it as absent so the caller falls through to a
+	// sibling disk that may hold a valid index.
+	if info, err := os.Stat(idxBase + ".ecx"); err == nil && !info.IsDir() && info.Size() > 0 {
 		return true
 	}
 	if l.IdxDirectory != l.Directory {
 		dataBase := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, l.Directory, int(vid))
-		if info, err := os.Stat(dataBase + ".ecx"); err == nil && !info.IsDir() {
+		if info, err := os.Stat(dataBase + ".ecx"); err == nil && !info.IsDir() && info.Size() > 0 {
 			return true
 		}
 	}
@@ -130,7 +134,7 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) loadEcShardWithIdxDir(collection string, vid needle.Volum
 		if err == os.ErrNotExist {
 			return nil, os.ErrNotExist
 		}
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create ec shard %d.%d: %v", vid, shardId, err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create ec shard %d.%d: %w", vid, shardId, err)
 	}
 	l.ecVolumesLock.Lock()
 	defer l.ecVolumesLock.Unlock()
@@ -138,7 +142,10 @@ func (l *DiskLocation) loadEcShardWithIdxDir(collection string, vid needle.Volum
 	if !found {
 		ecVolume, err = erasure_coding.NewEcVolume(l.DiskType, l.Directory, idxDir, collection, vid)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create ec volume %d: %v", vid, err)
+			// Wrap with %w so MountEcShards / startup reconcile can use
+			// errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) to decide whether to try the
+			// next local disk vs. surface the failure.
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create ec volume %d: %w", vid, err)
 		}
 		l.ecVolumes[vid] = ecVolume
 	}
diff --git a/weed/storage/erasure_coding/ec_volume.go b/weed/storage/erasure_coding/ec_volume.go
index fa24d2118..fd5e5b5db 100644
--- a/weed/storage/erasure_coding/ec_volume.go
+++ b/weed/storage/erasure_coding/ec_volume.go
@@ -67,7 +67,15 @@ func NewEcVolume(diskType types.DiskType, dir string, dirIdx string, collection
 	dataBaseFileName := EcShardFileName(collection, dir, int(vid))
 	indexBaseFileName := EcShardFileName(collection, dirIdx, int(vid))
 
-	// open ecx file
+	// open ecx file. Wrap errors with %w so callers walking up the stack
+	// (notably Store.MountEcShards) can use errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist)
+	// to decide whether to try the next local disk vs. bail. A 0-byte .ecx
+	// is a legitimate index for a volume that had no live needles at encode
+	// time (e.g. all needles deleted before WriteSortedFileFromIdx) and
+	// must mount successfully here. A 0-byte stub left by a failed copy
+	// stream is indistinguishable from that empty case by file size alone;
+	// preventing such stubs is the receiver-side cleanup in writeToFile's
+	// job, not this open path.
 	ev.ecxActualDir = dirIdx
 	if ev.ecxFile, err = os.OpenFile(indexBaseFileName+".ecx", os.O_RDWR, 0644); err != nil {
 		if dirIdx != dir && os.IsNotExist(err) {
@@ -75,18 +83,23 @@ func NewEcVolume(diskType types.DiskType, dir string, dirIdx string, collection
 			firstErr := err
 			glog.V(1).Infof("ecx file not found at %s.ecx, falling back to %s.ecx", indexBaseFileName, dataBaseFileName)
 			if ev.ecxFile, err = os.OpenFile(dataBaseFileName+".ecx", os.O_RDWR, 0644); err != nil {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("open ecx index %s.ecx: %v; fallback %s.ecx: %v", indexBaseFileName, firstErr, dataBaseFileName, err)
+				if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("open ecx index %s.ecx (fallback %s.ecx): %w", indexBaseFileName, dataBaseFileName, os.ErrNotExist)
+				}
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("open ecx index %s.ecx: %v; fallback %s.ecx: %w", indexBaseFileName, firstErr, dataBaseFileName, err)
 			}
 			indexBaseFileName = dataBaseFileName
 			ev.ecxActualDir = dir
+		} else if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot open ec volume index %s.ecx: %w", indexBaseFileName, os.ErrNotExist)
 		} else {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot open ec volume index %s.ecx: %v", indexBaseFileName, err)
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot open ec volume index %s.ecx: %w", indexBaseFileName, err)
 		}
 	}
 	ecxFi, statErr := ev.ecxFile.Stat()
 	if statErr != nil {
 		_ = ev.ecxFile.Close()
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("can not stat ec volume index %s.ecx: %v", indexBaseFileName, statErr)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("can not stat ec volume index %s.ecx: %w", indexBaseFileName, statErr)
 	}
 	ev.ecxFileSize = ecxFi.Size()
 	ev.ecxCreatedAt = ecxFi.ModTime()
diff --git a/weed/storage/store_ec.go b/weed/storage/store_ec.go
index cef80faf9..8d9cb695d 100644
--- a/weed/storage/store_ec.go
+++ b/weed/storage/store_ec.go
@@ -164,13 +164,25 @@ func (s *Store) MountEcShards(collection string, vid needle.VolumeId, shardId er
 	// holding the .ec?? shard being mounted: ec.balance / ec.rebuild can
 	// place the .ecx on one local disk while later distributing shards
 	// across sibling disks of the same volume server. The per-disk
-	// IdxDirectory used by LoadEcShard would ENOENT the .ecx and fail
-	// with "cannot open ec volume index" instead of returning
-	// ErrNotExist, so the loop below would bail before trying other
-	// disks. Look up the .ecx owner across all DiskLocations once and
-	// route NewEcVolume at the directory that actually has the file.
+	// IdxDirectory used by LoadEcShard would ENOENT the .ecx, so look up
+	// the .ecx owner across all DiskLocations once and route NewEcVolume
+	// at the directory that actually has the file. A 0-byte .ecx is
+	// treated as missing here (writeToFile can leave a stub on a failed
+	// EC distribute) so we still scan the rest of the disks.
 	ecxIdxDir, ecxFound := s.findEcxIdxDirForVolume(collection, vid)
 
+	// Collect failures so an all-disks-fail return reports every disk we
+	// tried rather than just the first one. Before this loop reordered
+	// itself to keep going after the first non-ENOENT error, a single
+	// shard-on-disk-without-.ecx situation would bail the loop and the
+	// operator saw "cannot open ec volume index" naming exactly one disk
+	// even when others held a valid index.
+	type diskError struct {
+		dir string
+		err error
+	}
+	var failures []diskError
+
 	for diskId, location := range s.Locations {
 		idxDir := location.IdxDirectory
 		if ecxFound {
@@ -185,7 +197,8 @@ func (s *Store) MountEcShards(collection string, vid needle.VolumeId, shardId er
 				}
 			}
 		}
-		if ecVolume, err := location.loadEcShardWithIdxDir(collection, vid, shardId, idxDir); err == nil {
+		ecVolume, err := location.loadEcShardWithIdxDir(collection, vid, shardId, idxDir)
+		if err == nil {
 			glog.V(0).Infof("MountEcShards %d.%d on disk ID %d", vid, shardId, diskId)
 
 			// Apply the orchestrator-supplied source disk type so the EC
@@ -207,14 +220,35 @@ func (s *Store) MountEcShards(collection string, vid needle.VolumeId, shardId er
 				DiskId:      uint32(diskId),
 			}
 			return nil
-		} else if err == os.ErrNotExist {
-			continue
-		} else {
-			return fmt.Errorf("%s load ec shard %d.%d: %v", location.Directory, vid, shardId, err)
 		}
+		if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+			// Shard or index not on this disk; another disk may own it.
+			continue
+		}
+		failures = append(failures, diskError{dir: location.Directory, err: err})
 	}
 
-	return fmt.Errorf("MountEcShards %d.%d not found on disk", vid, shardId)
+	if len(failures) == 0 {
+		// No disk had the shard or the index; this volume server is not
+		// holding any artefacts for the requested shard. Name what we
+		// scanned for so the operator can tell "no .ecx anywhere" apart
+		// from "shard not on this server".
+		if !ecxFound {
+			return fmt.Errorf("MountEcShards %d.%d: no .ecx index found on any local disk", vid, shardId)
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("MountEcShards %d.%d not found on disk", vid, shardId)
+	}
+	// Some disks returned a real (non-ENOENT) error. Report them all so
+	// the caller can see whether the failures cluster around one disk
+	// (likely hardware) or are spread out (likely a config problem).
+	var b []byte
+	for i, f := range failures {
+		if i > 0 {
+			b = append(b, "; "...)
+		}
+		b = append(b, fmt.Sprintf("%s: %v", f.dir, f.err)...)
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("MountEcShards %d.%d load failures: %s", vid, shardId, string(b))
 }
 
 func (s *Store) UnmountEcShards(vid needle.VolumeId, shardId erasure_coding.ShardId) error {
diff --git a/weed/storage/store_ec_mount_cross_disk_test.go b/weed/storage/store_ec_mount_cross_disk_test.go
index 08743f345..20790574a 100644
--- a/weed/storage/store_ec_mount_cross_disk_test.go
+++ b/weed/storage/store_ec_mount_cross_disk_test.go
@@ -236,3 +236,239 @@ func TestMountEcShards_SameDiskEcxStillWorks(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("EcVolume .ecx resolved at %q, want directory %q (same disk as shard)", got, want)
 	}
 }
+
+// startEcMountStore plants two empty disk directories and returns a Store
+// configured over them, draining the announcement channels in the
+// background so MountEcShards does not block. Shared setup for the
+// missing-.ecx and 0-byte-.ecx tests below.
+func startEcMountStore(t *testing.T, dirs []string) *Store {
+	t.Helper()
+	for _, d := range dirs {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(d, 0o755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("mkdir %s: %v", d, err)
+		}
+	}
+	store := NewStore(nil, "localhost", 8080, 18080, "http://localhost:8080", "store-id",
+		dirs,
+		[]int32{100, 100},
+		[]util.MinFreeSpace{{}, {}},
+		"",
+		NeedleMapInMemory,
+		[]types.DiskType{types.HardDriveType, types.HardDriveType},
+		nil,
+		3,
+	)
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			select {
+			case <-store.NewEcShardsChan:
+			case <-store.NewVolumesChan:
+			case <-store.DeletedVolumesChan:
+			case <-store.DeletedEcShardsChan:
+			case <-store.StateUpdateChan:
+			case <-done:
+				return
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		store.Close()
+		close(done)
+	})
+	return store
+}
+
+// TestMountEcShards_MissingEcxOnAllDisks covers the case where the EC
+// distribute step has dropped shards on the volume server but no .ecx
+// ever arrived (the operator-reported "Node 1 has 17 shard files but
+// zero .ecx" pattern). MountEcShards used to bail on the first disk's
+// "cannot open ec volume index" error — which is not os.ErrNotExist
+// because NewEcVolume wrapped it with %v — and the operator saw a
+// confusing per-disk error. The mount path now keeps scanning every
+// local disk and, when none own an index, returns one clear error.
+func TestMountEcShards_MissingEcxOnAllDisks(t *testing.T) {
+	tempDir := t.TempDir()
+	dir0 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk0")
+	dir1 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk1")
+	store := startEcMountStore(t, []string{dir0, dir1})
+
+	const collection = "mybucket"
+	vid := needle.VolumeId(11)
+	const dataShards = 10
+	const datSize int64 = 10 * 1024 * 1024
+	expectedShardSize := calculateExpectedShardSize(datSize, dataShards)
+	const shardOnDisk0 erasure_coding.ShardId = 6
+
+	// Plant a shard file on disk0 but no .ecx anywhere.
+	base0 := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, dir0, int(vid))
+	f, err := os.Create(base0 + erasure_coding.ToExt(int(shardOnDisk0)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("create shard: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := f.Truncate(expectedShardSize); err != nil {
+		f.Close()
+		t.Fatalf("truncate shard: %v", err)
+	}
+	f.Close()
+
+	err = store.MountEcShards(collection, vid, shardOnDisk0, "")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("MountEcShards should fail when no .ecx exists on any disk")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "no .ecx index found on any local disk") {
+		t.Errorf("expected aggregated 'no .ecx' error, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMountEcShards_ZeroByteEcxIsIgnored covers the user's "0-byte .ecx
+// on one disk, valid .ecx on a sibling disk" case. writeToFile uses
+// O_TRUNC and can leave an empty stub on a failed copy stream during EC
+// distribute. The mount path must skip the stub and use the valid index
+// from the sibling disk, not fail with "cannot open ec volume index".
+func TestMountEcShards_ZeroByteEcxIsIgnored(t *testing.T) {
+	tempDir := t.TempDir()
+	dir0 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk0")
+	dir1 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk1")
+	store := startEcMountStore(t, []string{dir0, dir1})
+
+	const collection = "mybucket"
+	vid := needle.VolumeId(12)
+	const dataShards, parityShards = 10, 4
+	const datSize int64 = 10 * 1024 * 1024
+	expectedShardSize := calculateExpectedShardSize(datSize, dataShards)
+	const shardOnDisk0 erasure_coding.ShardId = 7
+
+	// shard on disk0; 0-byte .ecx stub on disk0; valid .ecx on disk1.
+	base0 := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, dir0, int(vid))
+	f, err := os.Create(base0 + erasure_coding.ToExt(int(shardOnDisk0)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("create shard: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := f.Truncate(expectedShardSize); err != nil {
+		f.Close()
+		t.Fatalf("truncate shard: %v", err)
+	}
+	f.Close()
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base0+".ecx", nil, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write 0-byte .ecx stub on disk0: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	base1 := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, dir1, int(vid))
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base1+".ecx", make([]byte, 20), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write valid .ecx on disk1: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base1+".ecj", nil, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write .ecj: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := volume_info.SaveVolumeInfo(base1+".vif", &volume_server_pb.VolumeInfo{
+		Version:     uint32(needle.Version3),
+		DatFileSize: datSize,
+		EcShardConfig: &volume_server_pb.EcShardConfig{
+			DataShards:   dataShards,
+			ParityShards: parityShards,
+		},
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("save .vif: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if err := store.MountEcShards(collection, vid, shardOnDisk0, ""); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("MountEcShards should ignore the 0-byte .ecx stub and use disk1's valid index: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	loc0 := store.Locations[0]
+	ev, found := loc0.FindEcVolume(vid)
+	if !found {
+		t.Fatalf("EC volume %d not found on disk0", vid)
+	}
+	if got, want := filepath.Dir(ev.FileName(".ecx")), dir1; got != want {
+		t.Errorf("EcVolume .ecx resolved at %q, want %q (sibling disk with valid index)", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMountEcShards_EmptyEcxMountsSuccessfully pins the empty-volume
+// case: when an EC volume's .idx had no live entries at encode time,
+// WriteSortedFileFromIdx legitimately produces a 0-byte .ecx. Mount
+// must accept that as a valid empty index and let the EC volume come
+// online — there is no reliable way to distinguish a legitimately
+// empty .ecx from a stub left by a failed copy, and preventing the
+// stub case is writeToFile's job at copy time, not NewEcVolume's at
+// mount time. Pre-fix this returned "no .ecx index found on any local
+// disk" because NewEcVolume mapped 0-byte to os.ErrNotExist.
+func TestMountEcShards_EmptyEcxMountsSuccessfully(t *testing.T) {
+	tempDir := t.TempDir()
+	dir0 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk0")
+	dir1 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk1")
+	store := startEcMountStore(t, []string{dir0, dir1})
+
+	const collection = "mybucket"
+	vid := needle.VolumeId(13)
+	const dataShards, parityShards = 10, 4
+	const datSize int64 = 0
+	const shardOnDisk0 erasure_coding.ShardId = 0
+
+	// Plant a 0-byte shard, a 0-byte .ecx, an empty .ecj, and a .vif —
+	// the on-disk layout after encoding a volume that had no live needles.
+	base0 := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, dir0, int(vid))
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base0+erasure_coding.ToExt(int(shardOnDisk0)), nil, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write 0-byte shard: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base0+".ecx", nil, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write 0-byte .ecx (empty volume's legitimate empty index): %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base0+".ecj", nil, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write .ecj: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := volume_info.SaveVolumeInfo(base0+".vif", &volume_server_pb.VolumeInfo{
+		Version:     uint32(needle.Version3),
+		DatFileSize: datSize,
+		EcShardConfig: &volume_server_pb.EcShardConfig{
+			DataShards:   dataShards,
+			ParityShards: parityShards,
+		},
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("save .vif: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if err := store.MountEcShards(collection, vid, shardOnDisk0, ""); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("MountEcShards should accept a 0-byte .ecx as a valid empty index: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	loc0 := store.Locations[0]
+	if _, found := loc0.FindEcVolume(vid); !found {
+		t.Errorf("EC volume %d expected to be loaded on disk0 after mount", vid)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestIndexEcxOwners_IgnoresZeroByteStub guards the reconcile owner
+// selection: a 0-byte .ecx on the orphan disk must not win against a
+// valid .ecx on a sibling disk, otherwise reconcileEcShardsAcrossDisks
+// would point loaders at the stub and leave orphan shards unloaded.
+// Same invariant as findEcxIdxDirForVolume, but for the bulk scan path.
+func TestIndexEcxOwners_IgnoresZeroByteStub(t *testing.T) {
+	tempDir := t.TempDir()
+	dir0 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk0") // 0-byte .ecx stub
+	dir1 := filepath.Join(tempDir, "disk1") // valid .ecx
+	store := startEcMountStore(t, []string{dir0, dir1})
+
+	const collection = "mybucket"
+	vid := needle.VolumeId(99)
+
+	base0 := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, dir0, int(vid))
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base0+".ecx", nil, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write 0-byte .ecx stub on disk0: %v", err)
+	}
+	base1 := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, dir1, int(vid))
+	if err := os.WriteFile(base1+".ecx", make([]byte, 20), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write valid .ecx on disk1: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	owners := store.indexEcxOwners()
+	owner, ok := owners[ecKeyForReconcile{collection: collection, vid: vid}]
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("indexEcxOwners did not find any owner; expected disk1 with the valid .ecx")
+	}
+	if owner.location != store.Locations[1] {
+		t.Errorf("indexEcxOwners chose disk %s as owner; want disk1 (which holds the valid .ecx, not the 0-byte stub)", owner.location.Directory)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/weed/storage/store_ec_reconcile.go b/weed/storage/store_ec_reconcile.go
index 0ca3e1f91..391a4d451 100644
--- a/weed/storage/store_ec_reconcile.go
+++ b/weed/storage/store_ec_reconcile.go
@@ -127,7 +127,11 @@ func (s *Store) findEcxIdxDirForVolume(collection string, vid needle.VolumeId) (
 			}
 			seen[scan] = true
 			base := erasure_coding.EcShardFileName(collection, scan, int(vid))
-			if info, err := os.Stat(base + ".ecx"); err == nil && !info.IsDir() {
+			// A 0-byte .ecx is not a usable index — EC distribute's writeToFile
+			// opens with O_TRUNC and can leave a stub on a mid-stream failure.
+			// Treat it the same as absent so the scan continues to a sibling
+			// disk that may hold a valid index.
+			if info, err := os.Stat(base + ".ecx"); err == nil && !info.IsDir() && info.Size() > 0 {
 				return scan, true
 			}
 		}
@@ -163,6 +167,17 @@ func (s *Store) indexEcxOwners() map[ecKeyForReconcile]ecxOwnerInfo {
 				if !strings.HasSuffix(name, ".ecx") {
 					continue
 				}
+				// A 0-byte .ecx is a corrupt stub from a failed copy and
+				// not a credible owner — skip it so the scan keeps looking
+				// for a real index on a sibling disk. Without this, an
+				// orphan-shard reconcile could pick the stub as owner and
+				// point NewEcVolume at it, which now fails by design
+				// (NewEcVolume rejects 0-byte .ecx), leaving the orphan
+				// shards unloaded even when a valid index exists nearby.
+				info, statErr := entry.Info()
+				if statErr != nil || info.Size() == 0 {
+					continue
+				}
 				base := name[:len(name)-len(".ecx")]
 				collection, vid, err := parseCollectionVolumeId(base)
 				if err != nil {