Solid hdd light, disk 100% highest active time, very slow

[pirates712]

While some people come at this from other angles (software, hardware) I'm going to pursue a different angle pirates712. I just need to rule out some things in my head, hang in there!

1) When you got the laptop did it have windows on it, and working properly?

I got the laptop the summer before windows 7 came out, so it originally had Vista. It came with a free upgrade to 7, and I did a clean install of windows 7 when they shipped me the upgrade disks. One of the disks was a bunch of upgrade nonsense but the second one was an actual install disk.

2) Did it come with restore discs? please answer and if yes, see 3)

No, but like I mentioned above I did get an actual install disk with the upgrade kit.

2b) Did you create them? please answer and if yes, see 3)
2c) How are you installing windows then?
3) Was there a point at which you reinstalled windows BEFORE linux was installed, and it was working properly? Say, just a general format or restore before the HDD death...

Yup! I think I reinstalled Windows at least twice just because I had screwed around with some things (modified explorer files and such) and windows kinda got screwed up. Both times windows installed fine with no issues.

I could be off, but i'm trying to rule out bad install medium.

Well, it originally started acting up August of 2011. I replaced the hard drive, then when I had problems reinstalling I thought it might be the install disk, so I downloaded an iso and that didn't work either (this was Home Premium). Around Christmas I built a desktop so since I was using linux on the laptop I put my copy of 7 on that. Through my university I managed to get a free copy of 7 Professional, which has the same problem, so I think installation medium can be ruled out.

 

[profdlp]

Have you tested the battery?

 

[Ageeb]

Yup! I think I reinstalled Windows at least twice just because I had screwed around with some things (modified explorer files and such) and windows kinda got screwed up. Both times windows installed fine with no issues.

At least we know you're working from a solid baseline then software-wise. One other thing since I'm thinking of it, does the laptop proceed through POST at expected speeds? As in, when you reboot it flashes your bios and any screens fairly quickly and it's not until it's handed over to Windows that it begins to slow down?

 

[pirates712]

The battery I use in it 24/7 is the original and quite ruined from being plugged in for years, but I have an extended battery that's fairly new that I could get 3-4 hours on with linux.

 

[pirates712]

Yup! I think I reinstalled Windows at least twice just because I had screwed around with some things (modified explorer files and such) and windows kinda got screwed up. Both times windows installed fine with no issues.

At least we know you're working from a solid baseline then software-wise. One other thing since I'm thinking of it, does the laptop proceed through POST at expected speeds? As in, when you reboot it flashes your bios and any screens fairly quickly and it's not until it's handed over to Windows that it begins to slow down?

If I boot it not plugged in, it will go through the bios at a normal speed and it isn't until it gets to the end of the black windows screen with the windows logo that the hdd light comes on solid. In other words, the little colored spheres come together and form the windows logo, and approximately when it would usually go to the next screen the light comes on and it slows to a crawl.

 

[profdlp]

You mentioned a hard drive parking utility. Could it tie into something in the BIOS which needs to be disabled since you now have a different hard drive?

 

[pirates712]

I don't remember seeing anything like that in the bios, there are very few actual settings you can change.

 

[Ageeb]

You mentioned a hard drive parking utility. Could it tie into something in the BIOS which needs to be disabled since you now have a different hard drive?

I hope that's it! You'll feel like a super-star if it is

 

[pirates712]

Those are drivers loading and you have a hang, possibly from drivers not wanted by Win7 which you provided anyway.

This is why I suggest you get a baseline perfect reinstall for which these forums are the top resource there is.

This was a fresh install, the problem starts during the installation of windows, so I don't see how a 3rd party driver could be an issue.

 

[karlsnooks]

pirates,
For starters:
WIN | type MSCONFIG | ENTER | STARTUP tab
uncheck ALL except for:

Sidebar    C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
SynTPEnh    %ProgramFiles%\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe

REBOOT!

WIN=key with MS logo on top

 

[karlsnooks]

Pirates,
Until your problem is eliminated:
UNINSTALL

AVG 2012    AVG Technologies    4/11/2012        2012.0.2127
DigitalPersona Personal 4.11    DigitalPersona, Inc.    4/14/2012    79.3 MB    4.11.3826
TechPowerUp GPU-Z        4/14/2012        
TeraCopy 2.27    Code Sector    4/7/2012    5.48 MB    
Uninstall Startup Inspector        4/14/2012        
Validity Sensors software    Validity Sensors, Inc.    4/7/2012    5.17 MB    2.7.500
Windows Driver Package - ENE (enecir) HIDClass  (09/04/2008 2.6.0.0)    ENE    4/7/2012        09/04/2008 2.6.0.0

REBOOT!

Install MSE, Microsoft Security Essentials, link in my signature.

Do not be surprised if your problem is now gone!

 

[karlsnooks]

Pirates,
I would also disable ALL entries in the Task Scheduler, although I don't think that's the killer in your case. Just my personal preference which also gives me a speedier system.

 

[pirates712]

These are the bios options I have:

-Set date/time
-set admin / power on password
-hdd and memory tests
- language
- button sound
- processor c6 states
-fan always on
- Boot options (enable/disable cd rom/ usb boot, change boot order)

Also, it makes absolutely no sense that any installed software would cause this issue. The original problem where this happened when the laptop was plugged in was fixed when I was able to boot into safe mode with command prompt and change the power plan through that. As soon as I gave the command to change the power plan, the problem went away (given that the laptop is plugged in). Until then it would not even boot windows, let alone install any kind of software or even connect to a wireless network for that matter. The problem starts WHILE WINDOWS IS INSTALLING which completely rules out any 3rd party software. There has to be some sort of power setting in Windows that I haven't found yet. Given that various linux distros worked perfectly for months indicates that this is not a hardware problem nor a problem with the bios. When I unplug the laptop, Windows says "hey, I'm on battery now" and changes something that causes this issue, and whatever it is it's related to the difference between the "high performance" and "balanced" power plans. If I set my laptop to the "balanced" plan, it will instantly lock up and it will take me 10 minutes to get it set back just because of how slow the laptop has become. I sincerely appreciate the help but I don't feel that a clean install or uninstalling programs will help, I've tried that.

 

[EzioAuditore]

Have you tried that hdd and memory tests mentioned in bios?
Also boot to windows with it being plugged in, open resource monitor and unplug it. Does it show any abnormalities in the hard disk read/write?
In the power options advanced settings, select 'turn off/power down harddisk after' say 5 min. Wait 6+ minutes, is the hdd led still on?
Do you've any peripherals attached like a sd card, stuck printer trying to access some file etc?
Do a clean boot.
Also run the SMART monitor tool posted earlier (by greg, probably?) and see what it reports.
You said it works fine in high performance plan.
So put

Powercfg -setactive Scheme_GUID

in a .bat file in your startup folder to have high performance selected always.
Use powercfg /list (in a command window) to display the GUID of plans.

 

[pirates712]

I had the same problem in safe mode as I did during a normal boot, it's just that windows doesn't load as much stuff when it boots into safe mode, so it only took me 20 minutes to boot into safe mode vs. several hours for starting windows normally.

Also, I'm sorry I've wasted your Saturday night, but I feel like I'm on the phone with tech support, with them telling me to go through a list of procedures that I know won't solve the problem, meanwhile I'm trying to explain to them that the problem isn't what they think it is.

As for the "clean install", the disk has been formatted at least 5 times since the last time I tried installing windows (due to installing various linux distros), and I deleted all of the partitions when installing 7 and created a new one for windows. This same problem ocurred on a brand-new, fresh out of the box hard drive.

 

[profdlp]

...I feel like I'm on the phone with tech support, with them telling me to go through a list of procedures that I know won't solve the problem...

Paraphrased: I am unwilling to try anything anyone suggests.

...meanwhile I'm trying to explain to them that the problem isn't what they think it is...

What do you think it is? There are a lot of us who would like to know.

 

[pirates712]

...I feel like I'm on the phone with tech support, with them telling me to go through a list of procedures that I know won't solve the problem...

Paraphrased: I am unwilling to try anything anyone suggests.

...meanwhile I'm trying to explain to them that the problem isn't what they think it is...

What do you think it is? There are a lot of us who would like to know.

"There has to be some sort of power setting in Windows that I haven't found yet. Given that various linux distros worked perfectly for months indicates that this is not a hardware problem nor a problem with the bios. When I unplug the laptop, Windows says "hey, I'm on battery now" and changes something that causes this issue, and whatever it is it's related to the difference between the "high performance" and "balanced" power plans. If I set my laptop to the "balanced" plan, it will instantly lock up and it will take me 10 minutes to get it set back just because of how slow the laptop has become."

 

[pirates712]

Have you tried that hdd and memory tests mentioned in bios?
Also boot to windows with it being plugged in, open resource monitor and unplug it. Does it show any abnormalities in the hard disk read/write?
In the power options advanced settings, select 'turn off/power down harddisk after' say 5 min. Wait 6+ minutes, is the hdd led still on?
Do you've any peripherals attached like a sd card, stuck printer trying to access some file etc?
Do a clean boot.
Also run the SMART monitor tool posted earlier (by greg, probably?) and see what it reports.
You said it works fine in high performance plan.
So put

Powercfg -setactive Scheme_GUID

in a .bat file in your startup folder to have high performance selected always.
Use powercfg /list (in a command window) to display the GUID of plans.

I've attached some snips of what happens when I go from being unplugged to being plugged in, being plugged in to being unplugged, and the dip in percent active time that occurred when I saved one of the snips with the laptop unplugged. Interestingly, anything that has already been opened will be just as fast as it usually is unless it needs to access the hard disk.

I tried setting the "turn off hdd after" to 1 minute on battery and waited 5 minutes, but the hdd light stayed on anyway

I did run the hdd smart diagnostics utility when I was checking out the bios settings. The hdd passed just fine.

No peripherals are attached.

 

[pirates712]

Given that various linux distros worked perfectly for months indicates that this is not a hardware problem nor a problem with the bios.

That means to me it's likely Win7.

To get the cleanest slate for a perfect install, you want to reset BIOS to defaults, set SATA to AHCI, wipe the HD, follow the steps in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

See if the problem persists after a baseline perfect reinstall and nothing else.

The bios options I posted above are the only ones I have. I can't change between sata and ahci.

 

[EzioAuditore]

I tried setting the "turn off
hdd after" to 1 minute on battery and waited 5
minutes, but the hdd light
stayed on anyway

Did the hdd spin down after the timeout period? If it did, then it sound like a faulty led then?
And let me ask one thing, you might have already answered that but still. . .
- it works fine when on high performance plugged even when plugged out.
- it works fine when plugged in irrespective of the plan.
Are these right?