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21392
September 7th, 2003 15:00
Hard drive failure?? Very slow response / performance during general usage - Inspiron 4100
Hi everyone,
My computer has been running fine for over a year and then suddenly it started running very slow last night. This has continued after a reinstallation of Windows and Virus check. Below I have listed 1) Symptoms 2) System changes 3) Problem resultion steps taken. All help much appreciated.
Symptoms:
- The computer is generally running VERY slow.
- This includes start up, shart down and general use. For example of the slow speed:
If I click on the Show Desktop icon in the Quick Link bar it takes about 5 seconds to show the desktop (the first time. Subsequent times it runs more normally).
If I click Start > Settings > Control Panel it takes over 10 seconds for the control to appear (the first time. Subsequent times it runs more normally).
- I can hear the processor and it is running in jumps. That is it does not sound like it is running smoothly. Instead it works for a second then stops, works, stops, etc in similar intervals irrespective of what I am doing. As I type this now now the processor is silent with no load being placed on it.
- I could summarize the slow performance as being whenever I perform a new task that hasn't been performed recently.
System Changes:
I have been on holidays for two weeks. I came back last night and the computer was running fine. I copied some images across from image cds that I had burned from my digital camera at some Kodak shops. I didn't run any executables, only copied across the images to the hard drive. I can't say that the perfromance problems occurred as soon as I did this, but it was during the same hour. This is the only change to the system I made (besides surfing the net).
Problem resolution Steps taken:
I re-installed windows xp. That is, refiormatted the hard drive and began again. The reinstallation process also seemed to also run slower than normal.
I have run Norton Anti-Virus. No viruses, or boot sector virsues detected. Note that my version of Norton is about a year out of date (however my gut feeling is this is not being caused by a virus).
I have run Intel® Processor Frequency ID Utility and this showed the processor was running properly at the correct speed.
Ctrl-Alt-Del shows the System Idle Process running at normal levels (i.e. 90 to 99%) and there is no process that is hogging memory.
My gut feeling is this is a hardware issue. Can someone please help me as this is frustrating and slowly driving me crazy.
Cheers, TIm
Message Edited by Timmy_B on 09-09-2003 04:22 AM
ryri
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360 Posts
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September 7th, 2003 19:00
First: you can't hear the processor, as the processor is merely a complicated system of elecrical signals. What you are hearing is the hard disk moving (and reading/writing data).
Given the information you provided, i am leaning toward a failing hard disk. run chkdsk /f on the drive (you will probably have to reboot) and see if that helps. If that doesn't help, boot from the dell drivers cd into the diagnostic program and do a through test on the drive (may take a couple of hrs). If it passes that test, i'd suggest reformatting and reinstalling. A simple reinstall of windows just replaces system files, it doesn't fix registry errors and other types of problems.
Please download the patch for the blaster worm before reformatting, if you do. You will not have enough time to go online and get the patch without getting the virus otherwise. (Alternatively, you can enable the built in firewall before going online).
If you don't reformat, make sure that you do have all windows security updates. Reinstalling windows removes some of them.
Timmy_B
4 Posts
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September 8th, 2003 07:00
Ok, I ran the Dell Diagnostics overnight (extensive not quick version).
I aborted the diagnostics this morning, as it had been running for 9 hours and had not completed. It was stuck at:
IDE Disk 0 - Seek Test
The following errors had also been reported prior ti this:
IDE Disk 0 - Confidence Test : Fail
Status: Fail Status Code: DOS DDG-D DISK 192 066
Device: IDE_Disk_0 Test: Confidence_Test-Read_Test
Release: 1083 Module(s): Disk
Msg: Block 19103232: Address not found.
IDE Disk 0 - Read Test : Fail
Status: Fail Status Code: DOS DDG-D DISK 020 068
Device: IDE_Disk_0 Test: Read_Test
Release: 1083 Module(s): Disk
Msg: Block 19103232: Uncorrectable data error or media is write protected.
Any ideas? Also the computer has been working correctly a couple of times this morning for 5 minutes or something before it returns to the slow state.
I timed the start up and shut down times and they are around 3 to 5 minutes.
Can anyone suggest a cuase and the next step to resolving this?
Thanks, Tim
kayatai
121 Posts
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September 8th, 2003 10:00
did you do what ryan suggested? run chkdsk /f
sounds like your hdd is having some issues, if chkdsk doesn't resolve them by finding bad sectors etc, it may be time for a new hard drive.
Timmy_B
4 Posts
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September 8th, 2003 15:00
I have run the disk check utility and the volume is now clean. The performance problem still now remains and the heard drive still sounds if it is running slow and sporadically.
Thanks everyone for the tips. Tim
Timmy_B
4 Posts
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September 9th, 2003 07:00
spiked_martini
948 Posts
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September 9th, 2003 15:00
I'd run the diagnostics again, and leave them until they finish (yes, it does take forever, but if you start it running before you go to sleep, and leave it while you're at work or school, it should finish). If you get fails, then it's a hard drive issue. There isn't really any other way to be absolutely sure, other than trying a different hard drive, and seeing if the problem persists. At this point, if I were you, I'd be getting a new hard drive - the fails you've already gotten from the diagnostics, and the fact that it's a fairly cheap fix, make it a worthwhile thing to try, IMO.
ali_qureshi
1 Message
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November 14th, 2004 23:00