Dramatic HD slow down

Bobby wrote:
I recently noticed that my PC was running slowly.

I wasn't sure what was causing it and checked CPU, memory,
temperature etc. Everything seemed fine. Then I checked my HD
performance - it was awful.

I previously benchmarked my entire system (using Performance Test v4)
and when I tested my HD the performance had changed dramatically:

Original sequential write: 24.7 Current benchmark: 2.9
Original sequential read: 42.1 Current benchmark: 2.3
Original random r/w: 3.2 Current benchmark: 1.5

I guess that explains the slow down on my PC.

Does anyone have any idea why this might have happened to my HD? It's
a Maxtor ATA6 (133), 7200rmp, 8Mb cache drive. Only two months old.
I'm running XP Pro SR1.

Check what transfer mode the drive is using. (control panel, IDE,
properties)

Check the cable hasn't moved.

Have you recently added a new IDE device?
--
~misfit~

Check what transfer mode the drive is using. (control panel, IDE,
properties)

I checked. Channel 0 (my HD) is running in *PIO* mode.

Check the cable hasn't moved.

Cable fine.

Have you recently added a new IDE device?

No.

Running any Norton junk?

Yes. NAV 2004. NSW 2004. Been running it for a while though without
problems.

Why would Norton cause this behaviour in my HD? Is it a known problem?

"Bobby" wrote in message
...
Check what transfer mode the drive is using. (control panel, IDE,
properties)

I checked. Channel 0 (my HD) is running in *PIO* mode.

Check the cable hasn't moved.

Cable fine.

Have you recently added a new IDE device?

No.


Why did you set PIO ? You should set it to DMA.
For more info about PIO / DMA, visit following site:
http://www.veritest.com/bi/cont1998/...a.asp?visitor=

ElJerid wrote:
"Bobby" wrote in message
...
Check what transfer mode the drive is using. (control panel, IDE,
properties)

I checked. Channel 0 (my HD) is running in *PIO* mode.

Check the cable hasn't moved.

Cable fine.

Have you recently added a new IDE device?

No.


Why did you set PIO ? You should set it to DMA.
For more info about PIO / DMA, visit following site:
http://www.veritest.com/bi/cont1998/...a.asp?visitor=

Yeah man, PIO is your problem for sure. See if you can change it to DMA in
windows, then open control panel again and see if it's changed to ultra DMA
mode 5, that's what it should be. If it hasn't go into your BIOS and see if
you can change it there.
--
~misfit~

Bobby wrote:
Running any Norton junk?

Yes. NAV 2004. NSW 2004. Been running it for a while though without
problems.

Why would Norton cause this behaviour in my HD? Is it a known problem?

Norton AV is known to slow down some systems considerably. However your
problem is PIO mode, you need to get it running in DMA.
--
~misfit~

How do I do this? The DMA option is greyed-out in Control Panel.

"~misfit~" wrote in message
...
Bobby wrote:
Running any Norton junk?

Yes. NAV 2004. NSW 2004. Been running it for a while though without
problems.

Why would Norton cause this behaviour in my HD? Is it a known problem?

Norton AV is known to slow down some systems considerably. However your
problem is PIO mode, you need to get it running in DMA.
--
~misfit~

I didn't set it to PIO. It was DMA and has become PIO and the DMA option is
greyed-out.

"ElJerid" wrote in message
...

"Bobby" wrote in message
...
Check what transfer mode the drive is using. (control panel, IDE,
properties)

I checked. Channel 0 (my HD) is running in *PIO* mode.

Check the cable hasn't moved.

Cable fine.

Have you recently added a new IDE device?

No.


Why did you set PIO ? You should set it to DMA.
For more info about PIO / DMA, visit following site:
http://www.veritest.com/bi/cont1998/...a.asp?visitor=

Thanks very much Dave.

This would indeed cure my problem. But I had already received a reply via a
Microsoft newsgroup and I used Control Panel to remove the IDE channel and
reboot. It achieved the same thing. System is now back to normal. Jeez, PIO
mode is really awful.

Thanks again mate.

Bobby

"lorisarvendu" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 15:18:20 -0000, "Bobby" wrote:

How do I do this? The DMA option is greyed-out in Control Panel.

"~misfit~" wrote in message
...
Bobby wrote:
Running any Norton junk?

Yes. NAV 2004. NSW 2004. Been running it for a while though without
problems.

Why would Norton cause this behaviour in my HD? Is it a known
problem?

Norton AV is known to slow down some systems considerably. However your
problem is PIO mode, you need to get it running in DMA.
--
~misfit~



If Windows detects transfer errors on a device running in UDMA mode,
it can switch the device to PIO mode permanently. The problem is
detailed he


http://support.microsoft.com/default...roduct=win2000

But to save you time, here is the workaround listed at the bottom of
this page:

------
To re-enable the typical, or faster, transfer mode for an affected
device:
1. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then click Computer
Management.
2. Click System Tools, and then click Device Manager.
3. Expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers node.
4. Double-click the controller for which you want to restore the
typical DMA transfer mode.
5. Click the Driver tab.
6. Click Uninstall.

When the process completes, restart your computer. When Windows
restarts, the hard disk controller is re-enumerated and the transfer
mode is reset to the default value for each device that is connected
to the controller.
-----

Uninstalling a hard drive like this in either Win2k or XP causes no
problems at all. I've just done it on my second PC whilst doing this.

The only thing you need to watch out for is if you have assigned a
particular drive letter to the device. This may be reset on startup,
and the device will take the next available drive letter.

-DaveB

Bobby wrote:
Thanks very much Dave.

You're welcome.
--
~misfit~

"lorisarvendu" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 15:18:20 -0000, "Bobby" wrote:

How do I do this? The DMA option is greyed-out in Control Panel.

"~misfit~" wrote in message
...
Bobby wrote:
Running any Norton junk?

Yes. NAV 2004. NSW 2004. Been running it for a while though
without problems.

Why would Norton cause this behaviour in my HD? Is it a known
problem?

Norton AV is known to slow down some systems considerably. However
your problem is PIO mode, you need to get it running in DMA.
--
~misfit~



If Windows detects transfer errors on a device running in UDMA mode,
it can switch the device to PIO mode permanently. The problem is
detailed he



http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=win20
00

But to save you time, here is the workaround listed at the bottom of
this page:

------
To re-enable the typical, or faster, transfer mode for an affected
device:
1. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then click Computer
Management.
2. Click System Tools, and then click Device Manager.
3. Expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers node.
4. Double-click the controller for which you want to restore the
typical DMA transfer mode.
5. Click the Driver tab.
6. Click Uninstall.

When the process completes, restart your computer. When Windows
restarts, the hard disk controller is re-enumerated and the transfer
mode is reset to the default value for each device that is connected
to the controller.
-----

Uninstalling a hard drive like this in either Win2k or XP causes no
problems at all. I've just done it on my second PC whilst doing
this.

The only thing you need to watch out for is if you have assigned a
particular drive letter to the device. This may be reset on startup,
and the device will take the next available drive letter.

-DaveB