New hdd running slow and freezing

[seebs101]

Hello people.. i was just wondering if anyone could help me out..

My computer is only 2 months old, it has been working fine untill 2 weeks ago.
the hdd is running slow and locks up all the time the hdd light stays on.
i have reinstalled windows 7, even on a fresh install locks up and runs slow.
i have reformated the whole hdd unpartician, repartician'd reinstalled windows 7 and it still seems to be
running slow and freezing a bit for a computer with a AMD phenom II 955 and 8gig of ram

the hdd is a Western Digital 1TB 7200rpm SATAII DS 32meg Cache


could it be anything else besides my hdd?
or is it dying..

PLEASE HELP!

thanks

 

[andy5174]

Did you stress test your PC right after you build it?

If not, download Prime 95 and do the stress test.

download: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
instruction: http://www.playtool.com/pages/prime95/prime95.html

 

[sminlal]

Run task manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and select the "Performance" tab. If the CPU is 100% busy while you copy files even though nothing else is going on, then your drive is probably running in PIO mode instead of DMA mode - that can drastically impact it's performance.

 

[seebs101]

Run task manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and select the "Performance" tab. If the CPU is 100% busy while you copy files even though nothing else is going on, then your drive is probably running in PIO mode instead of DMA mode - that can drastically impact it's performance.

its not really when i copy files, its mainly when i try open apps, like ie or open my computer or try watch or listen to something it will have a big lag.

i just checked. im not really sure but the performance tab has 4 sections to it. im guessing cause its a quad core, but when it has a lock up the last section goes to the top untill it stops having lag.

 

[sminlal]

OK, one CPU maxed out during disk I/O with nothing else going one sounds very much like your drive is in PIO mode. Here's how to fix it:

--> Start -> (right-click on "Computer" ) -> Manage

--> Click on "Device Manager" in the left pane

--> In the right pane, double-click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" to open it up, then do the following for each channel in turn:

-----> Right-click on the channel and select "Properties".

-----> Click on the "Advanced Settings" tab

-----> In the "Devices" box, make sure that the "Current Mode" is some variant of DMA

If a channel is not running in DMA mode then that's your problem. To fix the problem, right-click on the controller and uninstall it, then reboot.

 

[seebs101]

it reckons there in Ultra DMA mode 5 and 6

 

[sminlal]

Guess that's not the problem then...

 

[sub mesa]

it reckons there in Ultra DMA mode 5 and 6

Are you sure, it may say its configured to use DMA mode, but the actual mode may differ and may be PIO mode. Post a HDTune screenshot to be certain.

 

[dbwsr]

I am having the exact p[roblem, it started three days ago. Have 1.5 TB Drives, and transfers now take about an hour to move 1 GB. Will Watch and advise if I see the Problem. Windows 7, and Vista dual Boot.