HD access is SOOOOOOO slow ...

[rgstewart]

Something has happened to my HD within the last couple of days - I switched it on the other day, and it was taking AGES to boot up ... each time I started it after that it only got worse. Eventually I did a scandisk, which upon completion (8 hours to scan 8Gbs) told me the disk had 33 corrupt clusters, but had been able to fix the problems. I decided if 33 clusters went OVERNIGHT I'd be better binning the drive and starting with a new one ... little did I know it wasn't anything to do with the hard drive, really.

I have formatted a new drive, and am trying to install Windows on it, but it is taking FOREVER!! It scans the disk to make sure that's all right, then it just sits at a black screen with the text 'Copying files needed for Windows Setup ...'

I have restarted a couple of times and checked the contents of the clean C drive - it IS actually copying the files ... just really, REALLY slowly.

Does anyone know what other things might be causing the problem here? Could it be the cables, or the HD controllers on the motherboard? I haven't a notion, so any help would be REALLY apprectiated!

 

[BadBigBen]

...could be...

from the sounds of it, I would say that you have a very old system?... so first thing I would do is go get a new IDE cable and try it with that (since you already have another drive)...

another thing to check is to see if you have a BIOS update for your system, could well be that the BIOS is shot, or that CMOS parameters aren't correctly set...

if the above don't help, then I would suggest you do the following:

1.) upgrade system... can be expensive, buying a new mobo and all..

2.) if upgrading isn't viable, then I suggest you get yourself a PCI - IDE Controller, like the ones from Promise Technologies they come around $30 to $50 (€30 to €50)...

Ben

If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer...

 

[rgstewart]

Sorry if this sounds stoopid ... how do I check if the BIOS needs upgraded? I tried a new cable - nada.

 

[cdogg]

How fast is the PC and CD-ROM? What version of Windows?

You could try booting with a Win98SE floppy disk and copy the contents of the CD into a temp folder on the drive (assuming that it's been formatted in FAT32). Then you could run setup from the hard drive instead of the CDROM.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[attrofy]

It sounds like you may have taken a lightning strike - or a power surge, as I have seen that corrupt many sectors overnight. As such, some of your BIOS settings may have gotten wiped/reset.

I have also had a recent surge of MOBO's that keep loosing IDE channels - usually only one at a time -and it always seems to be the primary. Usually I have noticed complete inability to access the HDD at all, but since they aren't my computers, I can't say if there was a noticable slowdown precipitating this failure or not.

As for checking for a BIOS update, when your computer first boots up, the top left hand corner should tell you the Revision number of your BIOS. Check your board manufacturers website, and see if they have a newer version listed (usually under their drivers section)for your board then what is listed on your screen.

 

[BadBigBen]

No, you don't sound stupid... 'cuz simply put: BIOS updates should only be done when new Hardware isn't correctly recognized by the MoBo or if one has problems with existing Hardware, like Harddrives not acting the way they should... (I am assuming that for some reason or other you have DMA turned off for the IDE ports)...

try what Cdogg suggested aswell...

check the jumpering of the drives (IDE-0 Harddrive should be set to MASTER), and the CD-ROM is on the secondary IDE cable, also jumpered to MASTER...
in the CMOS setup screen, first LOAD DEFAULT VALUES, then make sure that VIRUS CHECK is deactivated, that the HD is set to LBA and preferrable to AUTO DETECT the same for the CD-ROM, set under ADVANCED CHIPSET CONTROL the Option for PLUG-n-PLAY OS to NO... also check to see if DMA is activated for the IDE controller aswell, least but not last make sure that SMART for HDD is turned to OFF, then EXIT and SAVE...

Ben

PS - Don't do a BIOS update until the above has been thoroughly checked... cuz flashing a wrong BIOS or a Shutdown during flashing will render your system inoperatable...

If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer...

 

[rgstewart]

Wow ... a landslide of support there! BBB - I have checked ALL the settings you suggested ... they are all as you described. I'll try moving the contents of the CD ROM to the HD to install from there, and get back if there are still problems.

Many thanks to everyone for all your advice.

 

[mws5872]

I would just replace the hd, they are really cheap now to buy and the hd sounds like it could be on its way out or have future realiability problems.

 

[rgstewart]

I've already replaced the HD, and tried new cables. I moved the contents of the CD to the HD and tried installing from there - no joy. It got to the part where it says 'Copying files needed for Windows installation' and that's as far as it will go.

What should I try next?

I'm considering just ditching the processor and motherboard in favour of new ones - all the drives etc. were bought recently, and the processor at the moment is only a PIII 500MHz. What do you think?

 

[BadBigBen]

@rgstewart - best bet would be to upgrade... a new mobo and processor should do just fine... as you can salvage most of the other stuff...

my opinion now centers more or less on a faulty IDE subsystem/controller on the said motherboard...

Ben


If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer...

 

[mainegeek]

Your symptoms are typical of a failed/failing CD-Rom drive.
As a test,try booting with the CD-Rom drive(s) disconnected.

 

[bcastner]

Repace the motherboard and PSU.

I suspect as part and parcel of the problem, your HDD is toast as well. You have not complaind about your video card.

Count yourself lucky.

 

[rgstewart]

Thanks again guys ... just to reiterate: I HAVE tried installing Windows from a new (tested and working) HD after moving the setup files from the CD ROM and disconnecting it. No dice - gets to 'Copying files needed for setup' then doesn't do a lot.

I think I'm gonna have to take the most recommended course of action - replace the mobo and processor (means new RAM too, though [gnashing of teeth!]).

Does anyone have any suggestions for cheap and reliable parts ... am currently buying through dabs.com.

Cheers.

 

[cdogg]

Slowness shouldn't be that much of a factor on a PIII 500MHz. Replacing the motherboard and CPU may be the ultimate solution, but before you do...

Want to double-check:

1) How is the hard drive connected? Is it on an 80 wire 40 pin IDE cable going straight into the Primary IDE controller on the motherboard?

2) Are there any other devices attached to that cable?

3) What does the BIOS say about the hard drive interface? Is it PIO Mode, ATA/33, ATA/66, or ATA/100?

4) Is it set in the BIOS to auto detect on the Primary controller?

5) Have you tried flashing the BIOS to the latest revision?


Sounds like the drive is fine just that it's not connected at the optimum speed. You could also try detaching all devices except the hard drive, RAM, and video card.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[rgstewart]

cdogg - thanks for your reply, but the computer was working fine up until about a week ago, then it just went as described above. So there's no problem with the way the HD is connected, or the connection speed.

Haven't tried 'flashing' the BIOS, because I don't understans what that means ... also recieved advise that this might not be such a good move for someone who knows nothing about it. If you think it might be worth trying, and can point me towards some instructions, I'm up for trying anything before committing to buying a new mobo, processor and RAM!

Also, does anyone know where I could buy an older (ergo, cheaper!) CPU? I'm not necessarily looking for bleeding edge technology ... just want something a little faster than the old PIII 500MHz.

 

[cdogg]

rgstewart,
I beg to differ! In your original post, you said:

I have formatted a new drive, and am trying to install Windows on it, but it is taking FOREVER!! It scans the disk to make sure that's all right, then it just sits at a black screen with the text 'Copying files needed for Windows Setup ...'

So, it's not the same setup you had up until a week ago, right?

Plus, you mentioned that you "[blue]tried new cables[/blue]". Did you make sure the replacement was 80 wire and not 40?

Go into your BIOS and try to verify as many settings for the hard drive as you can (post back with them). It should be set to Auto Detect for LBA. It would also help to know the interface speed reported (ATA/33, ATA/66, etc). Try to answer the other questions in my last post that you haven't addressed yet.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[paparazi]

As usual cdogg is giving excellent advice.
I will add though, take your setup back to bare minimum needed to install windows, remove all addon cards, extra roms and fit just one known good stick of ram (replace, beg steal or borrow if necessary)
Swop that CDrom as well
Use a boot floppy disk to fdisk (delete all partions and remake one primary dos partition) then format again.

At the "A" prompt type: fdisk, delete and remake just one primary DOS partition.
After restart reformat, typing: format C:/U
Now try installing Windows 9X again.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[rgstewart]

Okay, here's the history.

One day a couple of weeks ago I turned on my computer. It took a lot longer than usual to boot, and when loaded it took ages to open programs etc. So I ran scandisk to see what the deal was, and after 8 hours or so it completed, telling me I had 33 bad clusters on the drive. At that point I thought the HD was failing, and that was the cause of the slow speeds, so I removed the HD (one of 2 I had installed), checked the other thoroughly on another machine (scandisk, thorough, repartitioned and reformatted), then connected only my good, working, partitioned, reformatted drive to the otherwise unchanged system.

I also had 2 CD ROM drives, one of which is a CDRW, both of which have been verified as working in another machine, both of which WERE working, and as far as I can tell are continuing to work on the problem machine.

The cables I used as replacements were the correct type. I have not changed any of the BIOS settings from those with which it originally worked. These are the settings for the HD:

Type: Auto
Cylinders: 16383
Heads: 16
Sectors/Track: 63
Capacity (CHS/LBA): 8455 / 40060 Mbyte
Transfer mode: 16 Sectors
LBA Translation: Enabled
LBA Translation Mode: LBA
PIO Mode: PIO 4 / DMA 2
32 Bit I/O: Enabled

There are no other devices attached to the cable, the drive is plugged into the last pin-set on the cable, and the jumpers on the drive are set to 'Master'. Hope this sheds some light ... cheers for your persistence.

 

[lesgray]

Did you check your actual Windows CD for dirt, smudges, nicks etc. I had exectly the same thing on a P3-600 system last week and once we switched CDs, 'cause the one we were using was scratched, Windows loaded the way it is supposed to. (Windows 2K)

Les Gray

http://www.creartec.com

 

[Kesser]

how about your second drive? i had a machine that went really slow for no apparent reason and it was the drive that was slaved causing the prob.....

Could disconnect the slave and try again perhaps?