need advice on slow file system

[Industrial One]

Todd, your friend sounds like an OCD cyberhoarder. I can't blame the
hoe, I'm one too. I have the same desktop I've had since Windows95 and
I've always just replaced the HDD every time I got a new computer and
ran a repair install to fix the hardware incompabilities.

I also have the same weird performance problems on my current machine
(which I got about a million files on.) After the uptime gets high
enough, everything suddenly hangs and it gets worse for no obvious
reason. No high CPU usage, no disk or I/O usage, no hardware
interrupts. Can't pinpoint the ****er. Let me know when you figure it
out so I can get my malfunctioning shit in gear too.

 

[Bob Willard]

Many thanks,
-T

The first thing I would do is, as Paul suggested, run HDtune (or
HDtach). If the HD params (e.g., DMA settings) were corrupted on the
old PC, they could have been corruptly cloned onto the new PC, and
HDtune/HDtach will show horrible performance. For best results,
HDtune/HDtach should be run as close to stand-alone as you can get, so
stop all running apps.

Next, run CPU-Z to see if the caches are disabled, or if the CPU clock
rate has been down-shifted, or if the memory params are out to lunch.
These problems don't sound like your case, but they are easy to check.

MSconfig will show if stuff you don't need is being invoked at boot
time. And, the Task Manager will show if stuff you don't need is
running. If you are lucky, killing off one process after another may
restore disk access time -- and you'll know which process is the culprit.

Then, you may want to run down the list of services that are running and
stop any that you don't think are needed; be particularly suspicious of
non-MS services.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Hi Yousuf,

Thank you for the help.

Disk access drags even after boot time. For instance,
if you try to install a piece of software that would ordinarily
take a minute, you risk being seen falling asleep by the customer
waiting for the thing. Now once the new software is up and running,
it goes like the wind, although you have a pretty good wait for it
to load.

It sounds like you could use what's available in Windows 7 now, which is
called the "In-place Upgrade Install", which basically reinstalls the
OS, without erasing or uninstalling any of the already installed
programs or data. I'm not sure if a similar feature is available on XP.

Yousuf Khan

 

[BillW50]

In

It sounds like you could use what's available in Windows 7 now, which
is called the "In-place Upgrade Install", which basically reinstalls
the OS, without erasing or uninstalling any of the already installed
programs or data. I'm not sure if a similar feature is available on
XP.

Yes, under XP it is called a repair install. Although some things like
IE and SP versions must match what is on the drive and the install XP
disc. Otherwise you can have some serious problems. And if something
goes wrong, there is no undo. So make a backup first.

 

[Todd]

<snip>

Please repost with more information, including examples of the kind of
file access you are attempting when the problem occurs.

Ben

Hi Ben,

I notice the problem mainly when I am uninstalling or reinstalling
software. I notice it when starting software too.

-T

 

[Todd]

The first thing I would do is, as Paul suggested, run HDtune (or
HDtach). If the HD params (e.g., DMA settings) were corrupted on the old
PC, they could have been corruptly cloned onto the new PC, and
HDtune/HDtach will show horrible performance. For best results,
HDtune/HDtach should be run as close to stand-alone as you can get, so
stop all running apps.

Next, run CPU-Z to see if the caches are disabled, or if the CPU clock
rate has been down-shifted, or if the memory params are out to lunch.
These problems don't sound like your case, but they are easy to check.

MSconfig will show if stuff you don't need is being invoked at boot
time. And, the Task Manager will show if stuff you don't need is
running. If you are lucky, killing off one process after another may
restore disk access time -- and you'll know which process is the culprit.

Then, you may want to run down the list of services that are running and
stop any that you don't think are needed; be particularly suspicious of
non-MS services.

Hi Bob,

Thank you! Very well thought out.

-T

 

[Todd]

Hi Ben,

I notice the problem mainly when I am uninstalling or reinstalling
software. I notice it when starting software too.

And copying files back and forth from the hard drive to the network

 

[Todd]

Possibly like an antivirus program. See if Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal
tool is installed and running. Also, you might try using msconfig to disable all
non-Microsoft services and any unnecessary applications in startup and see if that
makes a difference.

Ben

Thank you!

 

[Todd]

Let me know when you figure it
out so I can get my malfunctioning shit in gear too.

Will probably not see her till next week. I will get back

 

[Todd]

Todd, your friend sounds like an OCD cyberhoarder. I can't blame the
hoe, I'm one too. I have the same desktop I've had since Windows95 and
I've always just replaced the HDD every time I got a new computer and
ran a repair install to fix the hardware incompabilities.

I also have the same weird performance problems on my current machine
(which I got about a million files on.) After the uptime gets high
enough, everything suddenly hangs and it gets worse for no obvious
reason. No high CPU usage, no disk or I/O usage, no hardware
interrupts. Can't pinpoint the ****er. Let me know when you figure it
out so I can get my malfunctioning shit in gear too.

Hi One,

Try running under one of these Live CD for a sufficient amount
of time. This will tell you if the problem is hardware
of software.

http://spins.fedoraproject.org/xfce/#downloads

-T