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Win7 crash/slowdown, IDE/HDD problems
This will be my first post on these forums, I have been a long time lurker though. :P
I'll try to be as detailed as possible on the issues I am having with Windows 7, I am pretty sure they are all related.
It started out a few weeks ago, I started getting this error where Windows 7 would stop loading during bootup (stuck at the initial Windows 7 load screen), after a while of loading (2-3 minutes) the computer would go into a BSOD crash and reboot. After the reboot the same thing happened.
I tried going into Safe Mode but during loadup the system would halt when loading CLASSPNP.SYS ( \Windows\System32\DRIVERS\CLASSPNP.SYS )
Naturally I went into the Windows repair option that greets you after a crash, the system would sit there for a while and then it would perform a system rollback/restore and everything would be fine again.
But after a few days the same thing would happen again but were solved thanks to the repair option. Now these issues first happened after I had plugged in and installed my Blu-Ray burner, it's a LG BH08LS20.
BUT there has always been this other issue with the system.. Ever since I first booted up the PC (it is brand new and Windows 7 was the first OS to be installed on it) the IDE activity light coming from the motherboard didn't work. At first it would just shine with a steady light even when the computer was doing its POST checks, this was before the BD drive was even installed. I thought I had reversed the connector somehow so I switched it on the motherboard, now it wouldn't work at all, so I set it back so at least the light would come on. Keep this thing in mind, the IDE activity light I mean.
So since my first suspect was the BD-burner I disconnected it (removed the SATA-connector) but it did not solve the issue. So I reconnected that drive.
The next thing I tried was to install the ASUS drivers for the motherboard which came on a DVD.. It went through the process (I had only installed a select few before), and what happens? The IDE light starts working after the Chipset drivers are installed!
I restart the PC a few times and the IDE light works normally. But the next day the issue is back, Windows 7 still loads mind you but the IDE light does not blink, it sits there with a steady light.
I disconnect any USB devices that I have connected to the PC, and after I disconnect the monitor (it has a USB connection since for Windows XP Eizo has software that can "remote control" the screen for different colour profiles and it also doubles as a USB hub with 2 extra USB connections under the screen) the IDE light starts working. Now the IDE light issue was solved until today, now its back! Weird thing is, I have no USB gadgets connected besides my Logitech G15 keyboard and a Logitech MX518 mouse.
And today the I had problems using certain software in Windows 7.. Photoshop CS4 32-bit would not load, the whole PC would stall/slow down, this software worked when Win7 was newly installed. However the 64-bit version loads without a problem. VSO ConvertXtoDVD which has worked fine before did not want to load. I looked around the Task Manger but did not see any abnormal CPU usage, however there seemed to be a lot of activity on the harddrive. I thought that explorer.exe had a lot of I/O activity going on so I closed that down (End Task).. Now VSO would load (after a while), but Photoshop still freezes, even if Explorer.exe is crashed and then reloaded. Hmm? If I go to the Resource Monitor whenever I load Photoshop the blue line in the graph goes to the top and stays there, and the system becomes unresponsive.
Something tells me all this is due to the harddrive/optical controller on the motherboard, some driver issue of some sorts.. but its weird that the IDE light issue shows up even at POST? Is it possible to check for errors here? Also CLASSPNP.SYS is related to the HDD controller as I understand it?
So to summarize..
• Windows 7 would refuse to load, halting at CLASSPNP.SYS . Though the issue has not returned since I installed chipset drivers.
• IDE Activity light sometimes shines with a steady light, I thought this issue was solved when the chipset drivers and unnecessary USB devices were disconnected, but this has now returned. IDE light sometimes shines even at POST (usually it will start there, the IDE light does not go off when in POST and then it shines always. If the IDE light goes off during/after POST it will work normally, shining only when there is activity on the harddrives)
• Certain software which in the past has worked without problems now refuse to load/slows down the system. HDD activity in resource monitor is very high (though you dont really hear the HDD load that much).
• All these issues seem to be connected. IDE light not working, having to disconnect USB devices, high activity on HDD.
Here are the devices that are hooked up to the PC.
Discs
- WDC WD10EADS-00L5B1 ATA Device
- WDC WD5001AALS-00L3B2 ATA Device (primary(
DVD/CD
- HL-DT-ST- BD-RE BH08LS20 ATA Device (primary)
- Optiarc DVD RW AD-5240S ATA Device
IDE ATA/ATAPI-controller
-Nothing on ATA Channel 0 (2 of them)
-Nothing on ATA Channel 1 (2 of them)
- Intel ICH10 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 3A26
- Intel ICH10 Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 -3A20
Now I have Windows 7 installed on 2 other computers, one stationary (older, Intel C2D) and one laptop, no problems there!
So sorry about the long and perhaps confusing thread, but I wanted to get all the details in there :P
If you have any questions please just ask, I'll answer them ASAP. I will also upload a picture of the BSOD message I got when Windows7 didnt want to boot (CLASSPNP.SYS error).
- Motherboard: ASUS P6T SE, lastest firmware
- Intel i7 920, not O/C:d
- DDR3 Tripple 6GB, 1600MHz
- ATI Radeon HD 5850
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