added an old drive, XP is slower

[Talal Itani]

A few days ago, I added a and old slow disk drive to my XP PC, for backups.
Since then I noticed that the PC is slower, and I can hear this old drive
crunching. Is it my imagination? Is XP now using this drive for things?
Thanks.

Talal Itani

 

[Ken Maltby]

A few days ago, I added a and old slow disk drive to my XP PC, for
backups. Since then I noticed that the PC is slower, and I can hear this
old drive crunching. Is it my imagination? Is XP now using this drive
for things? Thanks.

Talal Itani

XP actually is smart enough to work in the opposite
manner from what you are experiencing, it will use
the fastest/ lowest latency drive on your system for
its swap file, for instance. There are various times
when the OS or the file system will access/poll all the
attached drives and that could be the slow-up you
are seeing, due to the one slow drive.

If it is for backup, you might consider a $15 USB
enclosure for this "old drive".

Luck;
Ken

 

[Talal Itani]

XP actually is smart enough to work in the opposite
manner from what you are experiencing, it will use
the fastest/ lowest latency drive on your system for
its swap file, for instance. There are various times
when the OS or the file system will access/poll all the
attached drives and that could be the slow-up you
are seeing, due to the one slow drive.

If it is for backup, you might consider a $15 USB
enclosure for this "old drive".

Luck;
Ken

Thanks Ken, but why is a drive in a USB enclosure better for backups, than
an internal drive?

 

[Sjouke Burry]

Thanks Ken, but why is a drive in a USB enclosure better for backups, than
an internal drive?

If your power supply blows your computer,
internal drives may nor survive.
Also you can remove a backup USB drive after backup.
And that way keep it out of harms way.

 

[Roby]

Thanks Ken, but why is a drive in a USB enclosure better for backups, than
an internal drive?

I prefer an external drive because I connect it to the machine only when I
am doing a backup, and store it in another room otherwise: a bit safer from
disasters. Actually, I have two usb drives that I use in alternating order
to backup four machines.

 

[Talal Itani]

If your power supply blows your computer,
internal drives may nor survive.
Also you can remove a backup USB drive after backup.
And that way keep it out of harms way.

Good point, thanks, I will do that.

 

[Talal Itani]

I prefer an external drive because I connect it to the machine only when I
am doing a backup, and store it in another room otherwise: a bit safer
from
disasters. Actually, I have two usb drives that I use in alternating
order
to backup four machines.

Thanks.

 

[Talal Itani]

I prefer an external drive because I connect it to the machine only when I
am doing a backup, and store it in another room otherwise: a bit safer
from
disasters. Actually, I have two usb drives that I use in alternating
order
to backup four machines.

I will take the opportunity to ask you: What software do you use for
backing up PCs?

 

[Sjouke Burry]

I will take the opportunity to ask you: What software do you use for
backing up PCs?

Ghost 2003 to make an image copy to internal
disk, then file copy that disk to usb disk.
That copies OS disk and data disk in one go.
I would have used a second USB disk, if I had not
destroyed that one(The flatcable was displaced
one pin, and moved that disk into the dustbin....)

 

[Mike Walsh]

Maybe WinXP is indexing the drive. Try turning indexing off.

 

[DaveW]

If you added the older slower drive to your Primary IDE channel on the same
IDE cable as your current harddrive, then both harddrives are limited to the
speed of your old drive.

 

[Talal Itani]

If you added the older slower drive to your Primary IDE channel on the
same IDE cable as your current harddrive, then both harddrives are limited
to the speed of your old drive.

Thanks.

 

[kony]

If you added the older slower drive to your Primary IDE channel on the same
IDE cable as your current harddrive, then both harddrives are limited to the
speed of your old drive.

False.

Independent device timing

 

[kony]

Thanks.

This is another example of why it is bad to post on basic
topics as you will get wrong answers, while someone
sufficiently motivated to write a larger work, on the net
for example, will tend to get at least these basics right.

 

[Talal Itani]

False.

Independent device timing

I agree, the net is full of true information, and also full of false
information. The minds of the humans contain much true information, and
also much false information. That old drive is only 40GB, I used it to save
some old data, and it bothers me because it keeps crunching. I cannot
figure it out. I will unplug it.