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new hdd

penfold
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 2,280
Thanks: 25
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Registered: ‎01-08-2007

new hdd

My dads xp system has been running really slow for a while.  Hes not sure about Linux.  I noted his hdd was only 30gig and only had 2gig of space left and the data was very fragmented+++. I presume that was some of the cause.  Got him a 160gig drive and tonight cloned his old one.  Clone went well and booted ok but it seems even slower even after a few reboots to see if it settled down. Hdd light seems to be on permanently. I ran defraggler and although there was lots of free storage the data was still very fragmented.  I am running defraggler on it but is there anything else that it could be.?
17 REPLIES 17
CX
Grafter
Posts: 750
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Registered: ‎16-09-2010

Re: new hdd

Is DMA mode enabled? After encountering errors (either through bad sectors, or dodgy cabling), Windows XP would drop down through each of the speeds (UDMA/133 -> UDMA/100 -> UDMA/66 -> UDMA/33 -> MW DMA -> PIO) and wouldn't attempt to go back up again. PIO mode will be awfully slow (around 16MB/s max, plus high CPU usage). An older disk, running for a few years, could well have had a number of events leading to Windows going down to a slower mode.
Check it in Device Manager, under the appropriate IDE controller. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I don't have an XP system to hand at the moment.
TORPC
Grafter
Posts: 5,163
Registered: ‎08-12-2013

Re: new hdd

Have you run a AV scan ?Huh
D/load & install the free malwarebytes antimalware
Also uninstall any redundant programs that are no longer used
See what Items are running on startup and turn off what you reasonably can in Msconfig
NedLudd
Grafter
Posts: 1,898
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Registered: ‎20-10-2012

Re: new hdd

How much memory does his machine have?
Geoff,
York.
penfold
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 2,280
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Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: new hdd

I will check the dma settings thanks.
The system was already optimised via msconfig and I gave it a clean up before cloning, but thanks anyway. I did notice the system refused to boot when I first connected the new drive and after cloning when I removed the old drive and put it back together it refused to boot from the new drive even though it had booted from it previously.  Needed to swap which ide connector I was using on the ide cable
penfold
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 2,280
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Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: new hdd

It has 1gig of ram.
Athlon 2400xp cpu. Its an old system
NedLudd
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Registered: ‎20-10-2012

Re: new hdd

1 meg! That's probably the cause of the lack of speed.
Geoff,
York.
penfold
Aspiring Pro
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Re: new hdd

1gig ned.... I was under the impression 1gig is enough for a 32bit xp system
NedLudd
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Registered: ‎20-10-2012

Re: new hdd

That's the minimum! You may have trouble getting hold of memory now as it's an old machine.
The reason the disk is so active will be the swap file. It will be constantly accessing it on the disk rather than loading it into memory
My old XP box had 4gig and the swap file was held in memory!
Geoff,
York.
Thunderclap
Grafter
Posts: 673
Registered: ‎08-09-2008

Re: new hdd

1gig is more than enough.

Some random thoughts...
Is the jumper [ if there ] on the new HDD set as Master?
You are using an Ultra ATA133 IDE cable - it's made from 80 wires not 40?
The HDD is plugged into the last plug on the IDE cable? - that's the master cable plug
Is the Volume defined as Primary and Bootable?
Have you forced XP to run check disc  [ chkdsk /f ] on bootup on the volume? That might expose any bad sectors/clusters.
penfold
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 2,280
Thanks: 25
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Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: new hdd

Cheers.
Jumper is set to master.
Not a clue if its an ultraata 133 cable. Will check
Its on the middle connection.  The last one worked during the clone but the new drive caused the system to fail to boot first time. When reassembled after clone it saw the drive on that connection but refused to boot from it.
Volume is bootable and primary
Will run a chkdsk
Thanks for the thoughts
HPsauce
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Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: new hdd

Quote from: Thunderclap
1gig is more than enough.
Maybe, maybe not. I'd run Task manager and see how much memory is in use, and how big the swap file is before making  any diagnosis.  Wink
Also, having "cloned" it did you expand the partition to use the new space.
Thunderclap
Grafter
Posts: 673
Registered: ‎08-09-2008

Re: new hdd

FYI the quickest way to tell if it's an Ultra cable is just to run your finger across the ribbon. If it feels 'bumpy' and you can feel the wires, then it's a box standard IDE cable - suitable for optical drives. If it feels smooth-ish, then it's likely to be an Ultra cable. Why an Ultra cable - there are 80 wires instead of 40 with the extra wires being an earth/GND in between each data line. This allows an increase in speed. Often most PCs ship with Ultra cables but some older 98/ME machines can have the older style - which can cause upgrade hell. But as you've done these checks, it's unlikely to be a hardware issue now. Just a thought though, any settings/jumpers on the motherboard to do with the disc volume?
You could always try a 'Windows Safe Mode' boot and see how quick comes up?
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mf...
penfold
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 2,280
Thanks: 25
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Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: new hdd

Hi. I I expanded the partition to fill the space. As mentioned it seemed to have trouble on one of the connections on the ide cable, and it does have ridges in it.
Thunderclap
Grafter
Posts: 673
Registered: ‎08-09-2008

Re: new hdd

FYI here's a photo of the two styles of IDE cable - they are 'plug interchangeable' but, one runs at a slower speed.
On the Left, a hi-density IDE cable and on the right, the older and slower style.

++++ I should add - check the Motherboard can supprt the faster mode