Hard drive problem

[Art]

My system consists of a Pentium 2.8 GHz processor (533 MHz FSB) with 512 MB
of DDR RAM. The motherboard is an ASUS P4PE-BP. I have two hard drives, each
in a mobile rack. One is a WD 80 GB, the other is a Maxtor 80 GB. Both
drives are less than one year old. Only one drive is ordinarily running when
I'm using the computer. The second drive is used solely for cloning
purposes. Both hard drives are set as Masters. The OS is Windows XP
Professional.

I've always felt the computer was more sluggish than it should be with these
components ever since I built it about six months ago, but this is the first
time I've tested the hard drives. When I tested the drives (each one tested
separately) using HD Tach 2.70 (freebie
version -ttp://www.simplisoftware.com), it was clear something is awry with
both hard drives. My Sequential Speed (MB/sec) is shown as only about 3
MB/sec for both drives, and Read Burst Speed and average Read speed was
reported at only 3.2 MB/sec for both drives. CPU utilization is shown as
95.6% for one drive and 99.6% for the other drive (no programs running in
the background). The Random Access Time reported for both drives seems OK -
about 13ms.

(I tested HD Tach on another machine, similarly equipped with two removable
drives, and both drives tested OK with readings of about 50 MB/sec (average)
for Read speed and CPU utilization in the 2% range.)

My BIOS reports both drives are running in Ultra DMA Mode 5. The Intel
Application Accelerator v. 2.3 is installed. I checked the jumpers (set as
Masters) on both drives and reseated the IDE cables. Also uninstalled the
IDE controllers and rebooted. But the results reported by HD Tach remain the
same.

Would appreciate any help on this problem.

Art

 

[Shep©]

My system consists of a Pentium 2.8 GHz processor (533 MHz FSB) with 512 MB
of DDR RAM. The motherboard is an ASUS P4PE-BP. I have two hard drives, each
in a mobile rack. One is a WD 80 GB, the other is a Maxtor 80 GB. Both
drives are less than one year old. Only one drive is ordinarily running when
I'm using the computer. The second drive is used solely for cloning
purposes. Both hard drives are set as Masters. The OS is Windows XP
Professional.

I've always felt the computer was more sluggish than it should be with these
components ever since I built it about six months ago, but this is the first
time I've tested the hard drives. When I tested the drives (each one tested
separately) using HD Tach 2.70 (freebie
version -ttp://www.simplisoftware.com), it was clear something is awry with
both hard drives. My Sequential Speed (MB/sec) is shown as only about 3
MB/sec for both drives, and Read Burst Speed and average Read speed was
reported at only 3.2 MB/sec for both drives. CPU utilization is shown as
95.6% for one drive and 99.6% for the other drive (no programs running in
the background). The Random Access Time reported for both drives seems OK -
about 13ms.

(I tested HD Tach on another machine, similarly equipped with two removable
drives, and both drives tested OK with readings of about 50 MB/sec (average)
for Read speed and CPU utilization in the 2% range.)

My BIOS reports both drives are running in Ultra DMA Mode 5. The Intel
Application Accelerator v. 2.3 is installed. I checked the jumpers (set as
Masters) on both drives and reseated the IDE cables. Also uninstalled the
IDE controllers and rebooted. But the results reported by HD Tach remain the
same.

Would appreciate any help on this problem.

Art

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--
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[sdlomi]

My system consists of a Pentium 2.8 GHz processor (533 MHz FSB) with 512 MB
of DDR RAM. The motherboard is an ASUS P4PE-BP. I have two hard drives, each
in a mobile rack. One is a WD 80 GB, the other is a Maxtor 80 GB. Both
drives are less than one year old. Only one drive is ordinarily running when
I'm using the computer. The second drive is used solely for cloning
purposes. Both hard drives are set as Masters. The OS is Windows XP
Professional.

I've always felt the computer was more sluggish than it should be with these
components ever since I built it about six months ago, but this is the first
time I've tested the hard drives. When I tested the drives (each one tested
separately) using HD Tach 2.70 (freebie
version -ttp://www.simplisoftware.com), it was clear something is awry with
both hard drives. My Sequential Speed (MB/sec) is shown as only about 3
MB/sec for both drives, and Read Burst Speed and average Read speed was
reported at only 3.2 MB/sec for both drives. CPU utilization is shown as
95.6% for one drive and 99.6% for the other drive (no programs running in
the background). The Random Access Time reported for both drives seems OK -
about 13ms.

(I tested HD Tach on another machine, similarly equipped with two removable
drives, and both drives tested OK with readings of about 50 MB/sec (average)
for Read speed and CPU utilization in the 2% range.)

My BIOS reports both drives are running in Ultra DMA Mode 5. The Intel
Application Accelerator v. 2.3 is installed. I checked the jumpers (set as
Masters) on both drives and reseated the IDE cables. Also uninstalled the
IDE controllers and rebooted. But the results reported by HD Tach remain the
same.

Would appreciate any help on this problem.

Art

Why don't you set up with the tray one as slave--mine runs ok with just one
removeable. Sometimes, it's a system with only one hd(tray out); others, it
is a sys. with a master and a slave. You soon learn to look at the change
in drive letters avail. in windows explorer.
HTH & good luck, sdlomi

 

[DaveW]

Are you sure you're using 80 wire 100/133 IDE cables?

 

[Art]

Yes, the IDE cables are 80 wire ribbon cables. As a matter of fact I also
changed the cables to ensure they weren't causing the problem, but the
problem persists. I also removed all other devices (CD-ROM, CD-RW, floppy,
etc.) and connected each hard drive separately and individually as Primary
Master and Secondary Master, yet the problem still persists, i.e., on each
drive my Read speed tests out as only 3 MB/sec and CPU utilization is shown
as between 92% - 94% with no other programs running. I'm coming to the
conclusion that the problem rests with the motherboard's IDE connectors and
nothing short of replacing the MB will correct the problem. Naturally, I'm
loathe to do so until I've exhausted every other possible solution to this
problem.

Art

Are you sure you're using 80 wire 100/133 IDE cables?

version -ttp://www.simplisoftware.com), it was clear >>something is awry
with both hard drives. My Sequential Speed (MB/sec) is shown as only about 3and 99.6% for the other drive (no >> programs running in the background).
The Random Access Time reported for both drives seems