Fresh install - black screen

RogerR · 01 Jul 2016

Daughter's Samsung laptop.

Performance was r e a l l y slow and getting slower.
Did a fresh W7 install.
Worked well for a while but with occasional delays. Then progressively worse. Now a boot into safe mode may take an hour to complete.

Obviously this makes diagnostics extremely painful. I checked the HDD before the install and recall it had a bad sector that was repaired. Unfortunately this laptop requires disassembly to replace the HDD. (WHY do they do that!?) Since the issue happens even when stone cold, I don't think its heat related.

Looking for suggestions and a place to start.

RogerR · 01 Jul 2016

Startup Repair

Repair Action: System files integrity check
Result: Failed. Error Code : 0x490
Time taken: 980654ms

**axe0** · 01 Jul 2016

Hi RogerR,

Could you provide some specs of the laptop?
How old is the hardware?

Since disassembly can be difficult sometimes I'm not asking to check this, do you know if there is a possibility for a large amount of dust present in the laptop?

RogerR · 01 Jul 2016

8GB RAM, 750MB HDD (Samsung HN), Slot load DVD

I recall it is about 3 or 4 yrs old. The first owner claimed it never left his desk, my daughter has had it for less than a year (school and back). It is a pretty tight unit - no removable battery and little back venting - so not much opportunity for dust collection (nor places to blow it out). It does not feel very warm to the touch.

**axe0** · 01 Jul 2016

Due to the age there may be a few things causing the problem,
CPU,
RAM &
hard drive.

To start I would like to see a benchmark & SMART of the hard drive

Diagnostics Test

HDD TEST

Run HDTune to

check the health,
benchmark.

It may take some time, but please take the time you need to perform it properly.
When above is done please make screenshots of the following

the health,
the benchmark incl. following
- transfer rate,
- access time,
- burst rate,
- cpu usage.

RogerR · 01 Jul 2016

Running Chkdsk/f from Safe mode:

File record segment 3276, 3277, 3278, 3279 is unreadable.

RogerR · 01 Jul 2016

Health and benchmark

**axe0** · 01 Jul 2016

The CRC is abnormal high, may be another indication towards the hard drive.

RogerR · 01 Jul 2016

Error scan

RogerR · 01 Jul 2016

axe0 said:

The CRC is abnormal high, may be another indication towards the hard drive.

I decided to invest in a new HDD. If that doesn't fix it, I guess I will trash it. Maybe it's a race to the bottom as so many users switch to phones, but laptops really are junk these days.