Help with Raptor HD being slow

D

DarkCyber

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 14, 2003
Messages
1,273
Ok, just recently, my computer has gotten really slow. I am running an Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 with 2 gigs of ram with my 36 gig Raptor hd as my OS hd. It really seems related to my Raptor hd. One reason I believe it is the hard drive is because the hd light seems to run a lot, every time I do anything the hd light is running. I have run SpeedFan and it shows ALL of my hard drives are fine. What/how can I test it or check it to see if it is the hard drive? And if it's not, aside from a virus (which is unlikely), I am open for suggestions here.

I have cleaned everything out, temp files, cache, temp internet files...etc., defragged it numerous times...etc. and still is sluggish.
 
HDtune will show you the transfer rates. And WD's lifesomething tools on their website will diagnose a drive.
 
xenotype said:
HDtune will show you the transfer rates. And WD's lifesomething tools on their website will diagnose a drive.
Click to expand...


Thanks! I will try HDtune, I have it somewhere, but forgot about it. I will have to search to see if I can find the actual transfer rate this hd is suppose to have, so I can compare.

That is DataLifeGuard Tools for WD.
 
quit going to pron sites.

do u have viruses or spyware?

how full is the hard drive

check task manager and see how many processes u have running.
 
No virus' or spyware.

It has 16 gigs of free space

57 processes running

Registry has been cleaned several times as well.
 
Open up task manager, and click the CPU column. Start watching for processes that spend alot of time near the top of the list. Then google those process names and see if they are legit.

If something is accessing the drive while you are running HD Tune, it will report false low numbers. If the HD light is on constantly, it means something is accessing the drive all of the time, not that the drive is slow.

Don
 
Well, I grabbed HD Tune Pro and ran it on two different pc's. I have two pc's that have a 36 gig Raptor as the OS hd. On my AMD X2 4400+, while doing the Error Scanning I am getting around 50 MB/s speed. On my troubled system, the Intel Core 2 Duo E6420, I am only getting around 3.7 MB/s :eek: Wow! Something is screwed up here.
 
Ok, I have now ran 3 different AV scanners and they did find some stuff. I originally was using AVG Free version and then tried System Mechanic Pro and it found a couple and then finally ran BitDefender and it found like 50 something infected items. :mad:

Anywho...the drive seems to be running a tad faster now. Is there some way I can check or verify that the onboard SATA controllers are not flaking out on me?
 
have you run HD Diagnostics? does it come up with any bad sectors?

you should also run chkdsk. make sure u run as administrator, or it wont let you.
Start > Programs > Accessories > Right-click Command Prompt > Run as administrator

once its up, type chkdsk /f since its your OS, itll ask you if you want to run it on next startup, say yes, and reboot ur comp. (duh)

see if it comes up with any bad sectors.


Try running Adaware to see if it finds anything malicious.


ID say its either that, or as stated befor, your processes

another thing that would help is upgrading your RAM to 4gb. not necessary, but it will help. Vista is a memory hungry system
 
Is there some way I can check or verify that the onboard SATA controllers are not flaking out on me?
Click to expand...
Not that I'm aware of.

It's pretty obvious your spyware/adware protection is lacking. For "Free", ya get what ya pay for. ;)

I'm betting your HDD cleaning/defrag habits are the same. Get Crap Cleaner to dispose of the trash, and run a defrag program.
 
Well, AVG has been really good in the past. But it sure dropped the ball this go around. Plus, I have been running ThreatFire as well on my pcs. Actually I keep all of my pcs defragged nightly.

I have run HD Tune and WD Data Life Guard and both show both of my Raptors are fine, no bad sectors...nothing.

Bit Defender has a built in Adaware and Spyware checker, it did find several things as well. Even after all of that though, my pc still feels sluggish.

I am running Windows XP Pro, not Vista.

I have run two different registry cleaners...Easy Cleaner and I cannot remember the other one, I restored an image back onto my Raptor that was about a week old, that was before I installed those registry cleaners. Crap Cleaner will be next...it is good!
 
Is your drive running in DMA mode? Google for how to check; I don't recall offhand. If not, it probably isn't malware causing you problems but drivers.
 
unhappy_mage said:
Is your drive running in DMA mode? Google for how to check; I don't recall offhand. If not, it probably isn't malware causing you problems but drivers.
Click to expand...

From the looks of it, you cannot use DMA on SATA. If you can, there are no options under the SATA controllers in the Device Manager to enable or disable it. It is not even listed period.
 
have you enabled write caching from within device manager? Having it off can make a huge difference in performance.
 
DarkCyber said:
From the looks of it, you cannot use DMA on SATA. If you can, there are no options under the SATA controllers in the Device Manager to enable or disable it. It is not even listed period.
Click to expand...

You most certainly can and do use DMA on sata drives. Just because your driver doesn't reveal this capability to you doesn't mean it doesn't exist ;)
 
Well, I am glad to report that after running Bit Defender AV 2008 and it finding and cleaning around 150 infected files (WOW) all is well with my raptor now. It is back to normal.

Wow, AVG Anti-Virus sucks! DO NOT USE IT, if you want to rid yourself of viruses.

Write caching is and has been enabled on my raptor and other hd's as well.

unhappy_mage,
I meant DMA is not listed as an option on my pc. That may not be the case on others, it is just not listed on mine. Is there a way to force the drivers to show the DMA option?
 
Wow, AVG Anti-Virus sucks! DO NOT USE IT, if you want to rid yourself of viruses.
Click to expand...

Just remember, AVG Antivirus is a 1 trick pony. It ONLY goes after viruses. It does not fix root kits nor will it do anything for spyware. For rootkits, you must install and run AVG Antirootkit, and for spyware and adware, hmm, hows about AVG Antispyware. All available here.

I have been using that combination for the last 3 years with no problems. I also run Adaware and Spybot from time to time just to be sure. And on the days when I am really bored, I run Hijack this and analyze all the odd .dll's on my system.

There is no freeware combination that can compare, and few Pay versions of software that does what the AVG Free suite does without polluting your system with worse crap than some adware. I have fixed many systems for friends and relatives by simply uninstalling Nortons and installing AVG.

Don
 
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