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Hard Drive Response Delays - Windows Explorer hanging
Hi folks -
Win7 Pro 64-bit / MSI Big Bang XPower X58 / 2 SSDs + 5 HDDs (1 is external USB) / HX850 PSU
The HDDs on the SATA II ports don't always respond immediately when I click on a directory or a file. It takes anywhere from a few seconds to ~20 secs. and then everything is fine. A few times (over 6 years) the system hangs indefinitely and I've been forced to reboot.
SSDs (SATA III ports) are unaffected; the external HDD is fine.
Problem HDDs are both on SATA II ports - two are WD Black, two are Samsung HJ 103SJ.
The trouble was always with just one HDD so I replaced it but it's still happening. Lately the problem seems to be spreading: my 2-month old WD Black FZ5001FZWX is the worst offender.
I don't defrag on a regular basis but I don't ignore it altogether. These delays are beyond a defrag issue; they're clearly caused by Windows Explorer hanging.
I configured new a power plan where everything is set to "never" turn off and that didn't help. It doesn't appear to be a hardware issue, unless the SATA II ports are slowly dying (though I've never heard of that happening).
I'm pretty much convinced it's a Windows Explorer problem - that is the service that hangs - but I haven't a clue how to address it.
Well...thanks for any thoughts / ideas you care to share. And thanks for a great website!
-Richard