Computer or Hdd?

[cornemuse]

I had mentioned elsewhere my computer started giving 'out of memory' box. Now, the problem is when transfering files between sata connected (2 internal, one with 'esata' external, c & d internal are drive 'trays'), if, the files are small, say, 1.5 gigs or less, works fine. Say, 20 gigs total files, the 'drop down' file transfer box initally shows approxamently (& approxamently correct) time to copy. Quickly tho, tne number starts climbing, say, 7 minutes at first, then 15, 20, 35 minutes & rising. If I cancel & then copy/paste or drag&drop, all goes well.

This happens from 'any' drive to 'any' other drive

Seriously, the only thing changed is upgrading anydvd from about 2 months ago. This computer is NOT connected to inet, (cat 5 not even plugged in) everything transfered via usb flash/hdd 1st scanned with anti-virus before pasting.
XP Pro sp3 computer 3 yrs old, or so.

Any Ideas where to look??

-corne-

[fritzi93]

Check your page file settings?

[nic2k4]

Quickly tho, tne number starts climbing, say, 7 minutes at first, then 15, 20, 35 minutes & rising.

Wait a little longer before cancelling, if you're copying 20GB of files it should take at least 3-4 minutes. It's not unusual for the Windows counter to go up and then go back down after a while. It's only an indication of the file transfer and is not really meant to be taken too seriously. The only thing you can trust is a file transfer speed display like in newer Windows versions and Linux. There are many processes running in the background, anything that's accessing the HDD will cause delays in your file operations. Running an antivirus with file scanning on access will also slow things down.

[cornemuse]

f you're copying 20GB of files it should take at least 3-4 minutes.

The 3-4 minutes is actually closer, I was being conservative.

I tried giving it more time, half an hour later, or longer, it was still copying that same 20 gigs.

-c-

[nic2k4]

That's definitely not right. You should start by changing the SATA cables with locking ones and make sure that there's no tension on them (don't tie them together with other cables). If that doesn't make a difference I would suspect the drive trays, those things are often more trouble than they're worth (especially the cheap ones). If you can, try connecting the drives directly to the motherboard.

[cornemuse]

That's definitely not right. You should start by changing the SATA cables with locking ones and make sure that there's no tension on them (don't tie them together with other cables). If that doesn't make a difference I would suspect the drive trays, those things are often more trouble than they're worth (especially the cheap ones). If you can, try connecting the drives directly to the motherboard.

Sata connection was an issue with one of them, they are now individually suspended with 'twist-ties'. The HDD in the tray uses the hdd's plugs as connection to bay.
I even tried swapping out the bays, (I have a lot more hdd's in trays than bays on computer[s]).

(Another computer with same type setup has never been a problem, (same bays/trays])

These:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817993031

I say it once again: Everything worked fine till 2 months or so ago. (except the connection issue which happened to be the 'C' drive).

-c-

(edit: actually, I did connect the hdds directly to mb, same result)

[jman98]

You're asking a bunch of strangers on the internet to remotely and definitively diagnose your problem. Do you understand that people are making sincere efforts to help you? You sure do seem contrary for a guy who needs help.

Is this computer protected by a UPS device?
If yes, are you sure that it's in good working order?
If no, is there any chance that the computer could either have lost power while the computer was still running or had a surge (ie. due to a lightning strike in your area)? If so, I've seen power outages cause weird disk drive problems where the disk drive is mostly OK but not 100% OK.

One more thing to do if you really want to try to solve this yourself. You could always gamble on replacing the computer's power supply. I have seen a lot of really strange problems that defy a good explanation that magically went away when a power supply was replaced. Yes I know that you will come back here and swear that you are 100% certain that can't be it, but I"m telling you again that I've seen a lot of weird problems get fixed by replacing a power supply. Since you seem to have tried everything else and gotten nowhere and are still grasping at straws for an answer, that's a pretty good straw to grasp at.

[cornemuse]

You sure do seem contrary for a guy who needs help.

I am sorry if some take me for this. I was answering/addressing issues brought up by others. I am greatful, truly.

I will try power supply swap next.

All this computer is used for is moving/copying files from 1 hdd to another. It dosent get used a whole lot. It has never been connected (online) ever. W XP sp3, imgburn, dvdshrink, fixvts, dvdsubedit. About it, All transfered via flash drive. No antivirus, flash drv scanned before file transfers.

Dont mean to P.O. anyone. I didnt realize that was how I was coming off.

-c-

[racer-x]

Seriously, the only thing changed is upgrading anydvd from about 2 months ago. This computer is NOT connected to inet, (cat 5 not even plugged in) everything transfered via usb flash/hdd 1st scanned with anti-virus before pasting.
XP Pro sp3 computer 3 yrs old, or so.

Then try uninstalling "anydvd" or whatever you think is the problem. Better yet, restore a previously saved image prior to installing said s/w and see if that fixes the problem. That's what I would do, anyway.....

[gll99]

You didn't accidentally turn off write caching on the disks by any chance?

I had a problem with an internal large drive transferring at low speed a long while back but it also caused corrupted data. The problem was a flaky button battery on the mb. Hard to figure out so a wild guess but it was a really cheap fix

As already mentioned a failing ps or even the ps fan can cause weird issues.

[newpball]

I had mentioned elsewhere my computer started giving 'out of memory' box. Now, the problem is when transfering files between sata connected (2 internal, one with 'esata' external, c & d internal are drive 'trays'), if, the files are small, say, 1.5 gigs or less, works fine. Say, 20 gigs total files, the 'drop down' file transfer box initally shows approxamently (& approxamently correct) time to copy. Quickly tho, tne number starts climbing, say, 7 minutes at first, then 15, 20, 35 minutes & rising. If I cancel & then copy/paste or drag&drop, all goes well.

This happens from 'any' drive to 'any' other drive

Seriously, the only thing changed is upgrading anydvd from about 2 months ago. This computer is NOT connected to inet, (cat 5 not even plugged in) everything transfered via usb flash/hdd 1st scanned with anti-virus before pasting.
XP Pro sp3 computer 3 yrs old, or so.

Any Ideas where to look??

-corne-

How old are the drives and how large are they? What version of SATA are they and what is the highest version of SATA your motherboard support. How much internal memory do you have?

[nic2k4]

Sata connection was an issue with one of them, they are now individually suspended with 'twist-ties'.

In that case you should make sure the drives are still in DMA mode.

The HDD in the tray uses the hdd's plugs as connection to bay.
I even tried swapping out the bays, (I have a lot more hdd's in trays than bays on computer[s]).

(Another computer with same type setup has never been a problem, (same bays/trays])

Yeah, but the drive is connecting to the tray's PCB which then gets connected to the motherboard with a SATA cable. That's just more potential failure points. Poor quality solder jobs can go bad at any time, remove a tray often enough and a bad solder joint will give and sometimes they just corrode. Those bays work Ok 90% of the times, but when you start having problems you should simplify your troubleshooting by taking them out of the loop. Don't forget to check the drive DMA status it won't reset itself, so even if you connect the drive directly to the motherboard nothing will change.

[cornemuse]

I swapped power supplies yesterday, negative.

I went & bought a 'new' 500' gig WD hdd & at 1st was gonna clone it from the old one (also WD 500 g, 3 yrs old, but still in sealed bag till 1 1/2 years ago, when I set this thing up) I decided to start anew & started from scratch, XPP, SP-3, etc. At this point everything seems to be working fine!. I had done the 'error checking' option in properties, tools, also defrag, to no avail. I will try reformatting the orig drive & re-install etc, see what happens, , ,

(Also, I had tried the 'repair' option from the xp install disk, uh-uh) (also sys restore, not)

I guess either drive or system (both?) was screwed up, ,

-corne-

[racer-x]

Make an image of your current (working) drive and restore that image on your old (crapy) drive and see what you get.

[cornemuse]

I formatted the 'screwed up' drive & copied/cloned the new one to it. It works fine, now, but for some reason, now before windows starts, I get a dialog to choose 'which os to start', the choice being 'windows'. No secondary partitions, just one, the primary. How does one turn this off? I am stumped, How did it even get here?

-c-

(I used 'DVDSubedit', also copied some files, both worked out well)

[nic2k4]

Try This.

https://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/sysdm_....mspx?mfr=true