HDD problem I think?

[lee2001notts]

Hi,

I've been having this VERY annoying problem in the last 2-3 months.

I reinstalled windows xp 11 days ago. it has been been fine and for no reason yesturday my buffer level drops on burning a dvd it now takes 44 minutes instead of 10 to burn..

Whenever I listen to any MP3's it was fine but now whenever it loads just in the slightest the audio cracks n goes horrible for a few seconds. cant listen to the music if you want to look around the web aswell.

I had this problem a few weeks ago - I reinstalled windows it was fine for about 2 weeks then suddenly goes like this. from when it was fine I didnt install any programs to make it do this.

It also takes 6-7 mins to turn on where as usual 2-3 this is very annoying as this is a fairly new system.

Specs:

Asus P5VD2-MX
E6400 @ 2.30ghz
1024mb 667MHZ (2x512)
250GB Sata Hitachi HDD (60% free space)
BFG 8800GTS 320mb

I find this problem a bit wierd as it is fine for 10-14 days befor it goes all crap and slow. I'm using NOD32 antivirus and ive scanned, ive also defragged to no avail.

Would greatly appreciate help with this. Thanks

[Ultra Steel]

When I've had burn problems like this, the problem has been the cdrom drive I've been reading from, not my HDD.

Make sure you've enables S.M.A.R.T. tech for your hard drive in bios, if available, and then run at least the HDD Diagnostics from Windows, unless you have better 3rd party one like Norton Systemworks.

Once you know the HDD is bad or good, you can start looking at CR-Rom issues. (I put the HDD thing first because if it dies, you're screwed NOW, if the CD-Rom fails, you can recover from that easy.)

Good luck, let me know what you find.

[atomic tofu]

so many possible things right? hehe...

1...why did you reinstall? Needed to or just felt like it?
2...only reinstall and touch nothing hardware?
3...legit version of Windows? (you don't have to answer that one of course, lol)

I recently reinstalled windows on 2 old Pavilions, those things are so slow compared to my E6600 self built...but they only take about 1 minute to boot...I should time it actually. Of course 1 minute is nothing...then they need a few minutes when they are up to load all the anti malware apps I put on them

[lee2001notts]

Thanks for your responses,

SMART is enabled. Which HDD diagnostic tool should I use?

I reinstalled windows because it had the same problem as ive got now ( it seems to be fine for a week or 2 then goes wrong)

Yeah it is a legit version of windows all updated.

I ran Diskeeper last night and it seems to have helped a bit but not a lot :\

[Ultra Steel]

Originally Posted by lee2001notts

SMART is enabled. Which HDD diagnostic tool should I use?

:\

Well, in "My Computer" right click on the drive>properties> tools tab, click on Error Checking and check both boxes. Let the scan run, and walk away. Aside from whatever it finds, the scandisk will tell you that windows wouldn't allow it acess to some in-use files, and ask if you'd like it to schedule a scan at next boot. Tell it yes, and restart your pc, and see if it finds any bad data, sectors, or other info.

I use Norton Systemworks, which has a suite of monitors and scanners to check stuff. But for a free check utility, try:
PC World - PC World Downloads - HDD Health v2.0 Build 151


There are many more- serch the web or PCWorld for other downloads too. Start with these too, and let us know what you come up with, mmmk?

Best of luck!

[lee2001notts]

Thanks a lot for your help.

I thought SMART was enabled but I was wrong :\ I enabled it and it said sumthin about status bad f1 to enter bios or f2 to continue does that mean the hard drive is dieing?

[Ultra Steel]

Yeah, its prob got an issue- Back it up ASAP.

From Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART)



If you experience a SMART alert using your drive, you should immediately stop using it and contact your drive manufacturer's technical support department for instructions. Some companies consider a SMART alert sufficient evidence that the drive is bad, and will immediately issue an RMA for its replacement; others require other steps to be performed, such as running diagnostic software on the drive. In no event should you ignore the alert. Sometimes I see people asking others "how they can turn off those annoying SMART messages" on their PCs. Doing that is, well, like putting electrical tape over your car's oil pressure light so it won't bother you while you're driving!