Harddrive VERY slow

[gdenehy]

Hi all,
Can someone point me in the right direction here...
I have recently upgraded to an MSI 6712 MB (KT4V)
I have an ST380011A 80MB HDD which has become very slow.
I am running XP Pro SP2 with 256 DDR ram.

It used to be fine, but now my HDD is VERY slow. FreshDiagnose says
that I am only getting 4MB/s read speed (which is what it feels like)
and 20MB/s write Speed.

It is running in DMA mode 5. It has an ATA-66 cable (multiwire)

What could be wrong here? I believe it was working much faster before.

I have played with the pagefile settings, I have defragged, I have
updated the VIA drivers (which dont seem to affect the IDE).
I dont know what to try next....

Email me at greg AT thedenehys.com

Thanks.

Greg

 

[Yves Leclerc]

This is a newsgroup posting and email tech support. The replies will/may
not be sent to you email. You should be check out this post later so as to
see if there is any soultions for you.

You will need to check the ATA cable and make sure that it is not 'pinched'.
Pinched wires can break.

Also, hard drives will always slow down so as to match the "slowest" device
on the ATA-66 cable. This is normally why the hard drive and any CD/DVD
drives are connected to two different cables. If they are on the same
cable, then the hard drive can be slowed down.

Finally, check of "spyware" programs on your system. These programs get
installed without your knowledge and can slow everything down.

 

[gdenehy]

I have tried 2 different cables.
The HDD is the only device on the cable. I even tried removing my CD's
off the other cable.
I have run evry anti-spyware thing I can get my hands on.

Next?

 

[gdenehy]

I have tried 2 different cables.
The HDD is the only device on the cable. I even tried removing my CD's
off the other cable.
I have run evry anti-spyware thing I can get my hands on.

Next?

 

[gdenehy]

I have tried 2 different cables.
The HDD is the only device on the cable. I even tried removing my CD's
off the other cable.
I have run evry anti-spyware thing I can get my hands on.

Next?

 

[Trent©]

I have tried 2 different cables.
The HDD is the only device on the cable. I even tried removing my CD's
off the other cable.
I have run evry anti-spyware thing I can get my hands on.

Next?

Check ALL your BIOS settings...especially any caching and anything
pertaining to IDE settings.

Did you use the new cables that came with the new mainboard?

Check the ATA setting on the drive. Make sure its set to maximum.

Did you run a chkdsk or scandisk?


Have a nice one...

Trent

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

 

[gdenehy]

Well, I have checked all IDE BIOS settings to the best of my knowledge.
What am I looking for specifically? Everything seems fine...
I have run a full scandisk.

 

[Richard Urban]

What is wrong is that you need an ATA-100 cable. They are very much
different than ATA-66 cables. ATA-66 drives will run correctly with 40 wire
cables. The ATA-100 (DMA-5) drives need an 80 wire cable.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[gdenehy]

Well I did not know that! Thanks!
Is that REALLY going to make it that slow tho??? There are not 80 pins
on the connectors, so how could it make it drop down to 4MB/s?

 

[PA20Pilot]

Hi,

..........There are not 80 pins on the connectors,

True, but each connector is using two wires on the newer cabling.

.........Is that REALLY going to make it that slow tho???

Doesn't seem like it would does it.

---==X={}=X==---


Jim Self
AVIATION ANIMATION, the internet's largest depository.
http://avanimation.avsupport.com

Your only internet source for spiral staircase plans.
http://jself.com/stair/Stair.htm

Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
Technical Counselor

 

[Bob Willard]

What is wrong is that you need an ATA-100 cable. They are very much
different than ATA-66 cables. ATA-66 drives will run correctly with 40 wire
cables. The ATA-100 (DMA-5) drives need an 80 wire cable.

Ooh, no. There are two flavors of IDE cable: the 40-wire version is only
good for U/33 and slower; the 80-wire version is required for U/66 and
faster (but will also work for slower speeds).

If the OP has a 40-wire cable, then the POST should report the HD on that
cable as U/33 (or the equivalent U/DMA mode 2).

 

[Bob Willard]

Well I did not know that! Thanks!
Is that REALLY going to make it that slow tho??? There are not 80 pins
on the connectors, so how could it make it drop down to 4MB/s?

It is a 40-pin connector in either case. The 80-wire cable uses the extra
40 wires for added grounds.

And using an old 40-wire IDE cable should drop the peak transfer rate down
to 33 MB/s, which means a burst rate of <33 MB/s. Of course, to see the
difference, you either need to look at the POST report from the BIOS during
booting; or, get HDtach to reliably report what the hardware is doing
without the filter of the OS.

 

[Leythos]

Hi,

.........There are not 80 pins on the connectors,

True, but each connector is using two wires on the newer cabling.

Not true, I think there are 7 grounding connections, the alternate cable
wire in the bundle is connected to one of the 7 grounds - this alternating
of the ground signal provides for lowering cross-talk (static between the
data wires).

........Is that REALLY going to make it that slow tho???

Doesn't seem like it would does it.

On drives that support the higher performance you absolutely need the 80
conductor cable in order to use them at the higher speed.

 

[gdenehy]

I have an 80 wire cable. I even tried 3 different ones that I know are
good. Still no luck. Next?

 

[gdenehy]

Also, I am getting only 4MB/s WAY less than even U/33

 

[Trent©]

I have an 80 wire cable. I even tried 3 different ones that I know are
good. Still no luck. Next?

You had the old board...it worked fine.

You have the new board...it DOESN'T work fine.

What seems to be the common denominator here?! lol

Re-check the BIOS settings. You've got video caching turned off...or
BIOS caching turned off...or SOME caching turned off.

And check the peripheral settings section...pertaining to that IDE
channel.

You might even try turned on the typematic rate. Maybe you had that
turned on with the old board.

Again...check the ATA settings on the DRIVE...although you haven't
changed it going from one mainboard to the next. But, still...it may
not be set to the maximum.

Most drive manufacturers have hard drive utilities that can check and
set ATA settings on the drive.

Good luck...let us know.


Have a nice one...

Trent

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

 

[gdenehy]

Everything works fine and fast except reading from the drive.
Caching shouldnt make that much difference to pure HDD read speed, but
I beleive it is all set correct. As I said, the system runs fine when
it doesnt needs much acess to the HDD.
There is nothing pertaining to IDE except on and off.
I have used the utilitites to make certain that the drive is set to ATA
100

 

[Bob I]

Is "Use DMA....." turned on for the IDE channel in Device manager?

 

[gdenehy]

Sure is. And it says it is in UDMA mode 5

 

[Kerry Brown]

Have you done a repair install or clean install of Windows XP? Changing
motherboards (even the same model) almost always requires at least a repair
install. Just updating the VIA drivers would not be enough.

Kerry Brown
KDB Systems