System hangs by higher HDD Activity!! Please Help!?

[Wishmaster]

Perhaps I am missing something here, if so apologies.

It sounds to me as if your HD is simply being overworked.

I see you have tried cloning to another drive, but are both drives 5400 RPM?

Also, you mentioned copying from 1 partition to another when this problem seems the worst.

If the drive needs to move the heads near the end of the drive (seperate partition) then back to the front back and forth, on the same drive, this is a significant strain on the HD.
Especially a 5400RPM drive.

Of course there are other factors that may come into play as well.
Amount of cache the HD has, and level of frgamentation on each drive.

IF doing just regular task, and not copying/moving DATA around, does the system seem to operate normally?



In your 1st post you also mentioned you use no AV software at all?
You really should TBH.

I also agree lowering the start up programs to what you feel are needed would be a good idea.
For example, what I consider needed start-up items for my system are:
Anti-Virus, ATI CCC, X-Fi Software, Acronis, Gadget Sidebar.
And I let STEAM auto start as well. (but use it ALOT)

Everything else I have disabled as its not needed at start up.
Of course everyone will have slightly different needs as to what they consioder needed.

 

[Gracy123]

...

Hi

Most of the answers are already somewhere in the thread but here once again:

1. My primary HDD is a Hitachi Travelstar 7k500 7200RPM 16MB Cache, considered the fastest (or let's say one of the fastest) 7200 2,5" HDDs. I defragment all partitions usually once a week with Perfect Disk together with Boot defragmentation. The one I cloned to was 5400RPM.

2. Yes, I usually experiment with copying with one partition to the other, but I notice similar delay when installing/uninstalling bigger software, doing imaging, scanning the harddrive for malware, etc., etc. - all more intense HDD jobs

3. When not moving data around, here is what I notice but I lost sense if this is considered normal ? (for example because of information moved from RAM to the HDD, etc.) - (copy-pasted from my very first post here):

"This one is hard to explain - programs that are started but haven't been used for a while (Minimized Mozilla or IE windows, Skype, etc.) take time to open while the HDD activity at this time appears hard! For example I maximize a Mozilla windows that hasn't been in use for some time - the window maximizes right away but it remains blank for up to maybe 1 second while the HDD is reading something (based on the LED). Maximizing skype (especially one with more contacts) also takes up to one seconds to fully display the content. Once the program or windows has once recently been used it works as it should - minimizing and maximizing it works right away with no delay..."

I hate AV software as it always gets in the way. Last time I had a virus was in 2003 I think (I consider myself an experienced user ). I do use malware software now and then though.

About startup software - I have it limited to the basics only, I don't know why it seems so much to you:

Fingerprint-sensor software (I use fingerprinting on every day basis for logging in, etc.)
ScreenShot software (also used daily for work)
Vaio Gate additional and very practical Shortcut bar
Vaio Smart Network - very practical for switching on/off WWAN/WLAN/Bluetooth
Firewall
Incredimail email checker
and some additional Vaio stuff that are absolutely needed, for example for Screen auto-dimming, backlid keyboard control, etc., etc.

that's it. No messengers, nothing that's not needed or/and big.

 

[Packet]

i think i got it - VIDEO (since we've eliminated other possibilities.)

What video card do you have? How much video ram?

Are you using Aero?

 

[Gracy123]

i think i got it - VIDEO (since we've eliminated other possibilities.)

What video card do you have? How much video ram?

Are you using Aero?

NVIDIA GeForce 310M

But it doesn't feel like video... it is not that there is a lag in displaying items... programs stop responding, which I don't think has anything to do with the video....

 

[Packet]

Oh ok - I was thinking that maybe there was a perceived lag there...possibly offloading causing issues.

humour me, you do have the latest or atleast the 197.xx series Nvidia (and not the microsoft) drivers installed, right?

 

[Gracy123]

humour me, you do have the latest or atleast the 197.xx series Nvidia (and not the microsoft) drivers installed, right?

I currently use 198.28 drivers (official from sony), but I also used to have 258.96 (unofficial-modified)... they were crashing every now and then so I decided to go with the latest sony after reinstalling.

 

[Gracy123]

I'm still thinking whether the reason could be lack of RAM (so that Windows caches more stuff to the virtual memory which are then slower read out of the HDD...) but I can't get a clear indication of that... How do I determine it :huh:

According to Task Manager only 30-50% is used (currently 38%) and according to Resource Monitor not many Hard Faults/sec occur

 

[Gracy123]

Bump!

 

[Snakeyeskm]

You clearly have a memory/resource issue. Furthermore, as you have stated, a clean install does not have these issues. While they are several programs that you have said that you need on ongoing basis, try going into msconfig and unchecking all startup programs, needed or not (unless you have already tried this). Then see if this problem occurs. If it does go back into msconfig and run the diagnostic startup and see if the problem occurs.

 

[gregrocker]

Like most tech enthusiasts, I clean reinstall factory installs with Win7 retail installer using the Product Key on COA sticker. Sometimes a factory utility goes missing but the overall performance is much better. I have done hundreds of these and every one has been a vast improvement on the factory install.

Before you slap me down again since I'm impertinent enough to repeat a suggestion that is the first step for any tech enthusiast, may I suggest you shrink your OS partition to try a Dual Boot clean reinstall to see how it fares alongside your factory install. This will test whether the issue remains on the same hardware, what is missing and whether you can live a clean reinstall.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2672-partition-volume-shrink.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[Gracy123]

While they are several programs that you have said that you need on ongoing basis, try going into msconfig and unchecking all startup programs, needed or not (unless you have already tried this). Then see if this problem occurs. If it does go back into msconfig and run the diagnostic startup and see if the problem occurs.

As stated numerous times already - I have done this long time ago (both). There aren't any extra programs in the startup - only those I need. Windows boots quite fast as well.

Like most tech enthusiasts, I clean reinstall factory installs with Win7 retail installer using the Product Key on COA sticker. Sometimes a factory utility goes missing but the overall performance is much better. I have done hundreds of these and every one has been a vast improvement on the factory install.

Before you slap me down again since I'm impertinent enough to repeat a suggestion that is the first step for any tech enthusiast, may I suggest you shrink your OS partition to try a Dual Boot clean reinstall to see how it fares alongside your factory install. This will test whether the issue remains on the same hardware, what is missing and whether you can live a clean reinstall.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2672-partition-volume-shrink.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

While this is a good suggestion and something I might try just to compare the results, it could only be a temporary solution, as some important features do not work on a clean install (no separate drivers available from Sony) - for example a backlid keyboard control.

To be honest I wouldn't say a new installation doesn't have the problem at all - I think it is just not that obvious and hard! The more programs/services run - the worse it gets - this is my feeling about it.... So it could still be a hardware issue.

Last thing I did was scan the HDD with Hitachi Drive Fitness Test - both the short and long tests returned 0 errors. Ran all possible HDD tests from HD Tune and compared the results to those from another PC's 5400RPM's HDD - not a single one is lower - all are better as they should be, considering mine is a 7200 RPM.

 

[gregrocker]

At this point the thread is too long to re-read when I have a dozen open cases with some doing tricky partitioning operations, so forgive me if I repeat anything as I'm working from memory.

What I would do at this stage is study the Event Viewer>Admin View closely to google repeat errors to resolution. This is how troubleshooting is done and helps familiarize you with what's going on better. You will learn some are not worth bothering with, while others need resolution.

Another useful log to study is the Performance log on Advanced Tools menu accessed by clicking the WEI score link at Computer>Properties. Check for cued issues at top of Tools menu, Generate a System Health Report.

Type Problems in Start Search box to see if any solutions have been sent to unreported probs. Win7 is interactive in this way.

 

[Gracy123]

Unfortunately problem still there

It's getting hopeless

 

[gregrocker]

Try the clean install to separate partition for comparison purposes. You can postpone activation for up to 180 days to compare: http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/125874-re-install-windows-7-a.html#post1086729
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/875-activation-trial-period-extend-up-120-days.html

A reinstall with Recovery Disks is not a clean reinstall so you have no baseline to compare the featherlight instantaneous performance of Win7 without the corrupting factory bloatware. This will provide it.

If you decide you want the clean install we can help you remove the factory bloatware install to recover its space and the System MBR into the new install.