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From: MZB on 25 Apr 2010 21:49 OK, I continue to have computer problems where it suddenly, without warning, slows to a crawl. After doing some reading and trying different things, I discovered that my IDE Controller (Primary IDE channel from Device Manager Advanced Settings) was in PIO mode. It should be in DMA mode. Apparently, this occurs after a bunch of disk errors, or it could be due to a bad controller cable. I did find a program that will revert things to DMA mode (until the next time it slips, of course). The next thing I should be doing is checking my hard drive. I ran Dell Diagnostics and it passed every test. But it has been suggested that I check via SMART. Here is where I am stumped. I d/l the software from HDTUNE but I don't know how to check SMART (I don't even know what SMART is). Suggestions on how I can "get smart." Mel
From: Brian K on 25 Apr 2010 22:40 Mel, one of the best tests would be the HD Manufacturer's Diagnostic (DOS) CD. Did you uninstall your Primary IDE channel and reboot?
From: MZB on 26 Apr 2010 00:06 Brian: If I uninstall it and reboot, would it automatically reinstall? Toshiba is the only company without its own diagnostics (that's the drive I have!) Mel "Brian K" <remove_this(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message news:r27Bn.21477$pv.14398(a)news-server.bigpond.net.au... > Mel, one of the best tests would be the HD Manufacturer's Diagnostic (DOS) > CD. > > Did you uninstall your Primary IDE channel and reboot? > > > >
From: Brian K on 26 Apr 2010 00:32 "MZB" <moo(a)noway.prudigy.net> wrote in message news:kj8Bn.229469$Ye4.186370(a)newsfe11.iad... > Brian: > > If I uninstall it and reboot, would it automatically reinstall? > Yes. That's the usual fix for a PIO issue. The channel automatically reinstalls on the next boot. Hopefully in DMA mode. Try SeaTools for DOS. They all work much the same. http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=SeaTools&vgnextoid=720bd20cacdec010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD Dropping back to PIO isn't necessarily a hardware issue.
From: William R. Walsh on 26 Apr 2010 12:25
Hi! > OK, I continue to have computer problems where it suddenly, > without warning, slows to a crawl. > I discovered that my IDE Controller was in PIO mode. It should > be in DMA mode. Yes, it should be. And you're absolutely right, Windows will give up on DMA mode and switch back to PIO after X amount of errors. I've had two Dell machines in the past two weeks decide to do this out of the blue, with no apparent provocation. The sudden dropoff in performance was the clue. Both systems have Samsung hard drives. Neither one has had a relapse after deleting and reinstalling the Intel IDE controller from Device Manager. The hard drives themselves appear to be fine, and the cables look as good as new. > I don't know how to check SMART (I don't even know what > SMART is). SMART is "Self Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology". (Whew!) Basically, it's a standardized way that a hard drive can tell a user, operating system or application program what its relative state of health is. Various parameters pertaining to the different ways in which a drive may fail are (in theory) monitored by the drive. However, it's up to your operating system or computer BIOS to tell you when one of these parameters has reached the point where it may be considered that the drive has failed. Some parameters are updated all the time (time spent powered on, temperature, ECC usage) while others require the drive to be idle and spinning for an offline scan to take place (offline correctable sectors, pending sector count). If nobody (BIOS, utility software or OS) steps up to the plate to deliver the message, however, the drive can be screaming "back up your data NOW!" and no one will hear it. Of course, SMART isn't always useful. The allegation has been made that SMART data was originally honest and that marketing had their way with it, rendering it a lot less useful in the name of making the drive look "better" as opposed to being honest about when things were going wrong. I cannot swear to the veracity of that claim, but I can say that all drives behave differently...some monitor things that others don't, while others don't really show much change in SMART data even when the drive has had a few problems. Seagate and Maxtor drives seem to have the most honest and comprehensive SMART data. > Suggestions on how I can "get smart." The best tool I know of for quick and easy SMART access is SpeedFan (http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php). It lets you see at a glance what your hard drives are doing, and it provides a link to a website that lets you compare the performance and statistics from your drive to that of others. You can use it immediately, right within Windows and without interrupting your other work. You can also force the drive to run its short or extensive test routines, which may result in useful updates of the SMART data. William |