Windows Disk Caching always turns itself off

[karanrawat21]

Hey guys .
I got this problem which is extremely annoying and which is recurring too >.<

A few days ago , my disk caching settings switched off , and every time I enable it , it switches off again after some time.Here is a photo of the setting in particular:
http://i.imgur.com/AOAtf.png
I aint a beginner with PC's so I am willing to follow any advanced instructions given.

Some notes:

1:UMA is enabled.
2:The Hard-drive works fine , just its much slower than before.
3:Whenever I enable caching the setting just turns off
4:Ive scanned all my hard drives , still no help.

Hard Drive model: WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0 ATA Drive

Tried resetting BIOS settings and reinserted SATA cables.

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hello, & Welcome to Tom's Hardware!

You didn't mention what computer make/model #. Check your storage HDD to see if the same thing happens. And don't forget to have to reboot for this feature to take place.

 

[karanrawat21]

First things first: The computer is not from an OEM , its assembled together.

System Specs:

Processor: i5 2400
Motherboard: Gigabyte H61M-D2-B3
RAM: Corsair 4 GB ValueSelect
HDD: WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0 ATA (WD Caviar Blue)
Graphic Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 5670

2: The HDD happens to be my storage and primary HDD , its the HDD on which I have the OS installed and it also happens to be my only HDD.

If you need more details I would be delighted to list them here. Thanks Mr Kirk .

 

[John_VanKirk]

Also just for completeness, on the Policies Tab of the HDD properties, uncheck the WriteBack Cache, then click OK to apply it, then reboot, and go back to recheck it, then click OK to apply it.

Please check in the BIOS, in the integrated peripherals section to see if you have the SATA AHCI enabled, or report back how this parameter is set.

 

[karanrawat21]

I unchecked , restarted , checked the setting to on and restarted and it still turns itself off >.<

Btw my SATA setting in integerated peripherals is set to IDE and whenever I set it to AHCI I cant boot.

 

[John_VanKirk]

There have been several reports of write back cache problems with IDE set drives, that were reported to clear when the SATA configuration is set to AHCI.

It's easy to set your BIOS SATA configuration to AHCI, but you have to follow the directions closely and in proper order.

First when boot into Windows, go to into the Registry (Regedit) and make one change, which will load the SATA base driver first.
Here is the Microsoft instruction sheet on how to do that

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976#method1

You can use the Fix It method, or the "let me do it myself" method (my preference)


Then you reboot, and immediately go into the BIOS, and make the SATA Configuration change from IDE to AHCI. Then F10 to Save, Yes, and reboot.
Your system should then boot properly now using the AHCI mode, and with a little luck possibly the write back cache will work OK.

You are better off using the AHCI mode anyway, for several reasons.
Let us know if that worked for your problem.

 

[karanrawat21]

The caching option still turns off after a while of usage and the HDD now behaves like a removable drive, I have an option to disconnect it too.
Could this be due to corrupted Windows files?
Is this fine, btw what are some of the advantages of AHCI over IDE?

NOTE: Performance is still the same as before (in IDE mode) , my boot time is still much more than it was a month ago.

+ Ive got many corrupt sectors on my drive too , I guess they could be the reason for the slow performance.

Whenever I play BF3 , I always get an error during the game which reads updatechecker.exe stopped working. (The game does not stop it just minimises)
I guess updatechecker.exe is a Windows file , which got corrupted :\

Anyways thanks for the advice .

 

[John_VanKirk]

The AHCI SATA mode permits NCQ and hot swappable drives, among other features, and is an evolution step forward in SATA drives. ASUS now sets it as the default for SATA drives.

The write back cache is actually a firmware feature in the HDD, so if you are seeing reallocated sectors on this drive, it's even a more compelling reason to replace the drive.

In regard to the updatechecker.exe, it is a service that checks for updates for a manufacturer's files. It is not a Windows file.
If you have an ASUS board, and loaded all the fluff with the standard drivers, it may well be ASUS checking for BIOS updates (bad) or loaded into your registry HKLM in the run branch. Might check. It's not needed. You can search for it's location and that will tell you who placed it there.

You can also see all the autoload files manufacturers place in 10 different registry location that start when you boot up your computer, by using CCleaner.
In the Tools \ StartUp choice, they are all listed, and ones that are questionable can be "disabled" to see just how needed they are, or just deleted if you don't want them clogging up your startup with superfulous stuff.

 

[karanrawat21]

Well my drive is dying and Windows keep giving me error messages that I should backup as it is going to fail.
Btw I have a Gigabyte mobo, the updatechecker problem is no longer present although extremely slow HDD performance is.

I think I should just buy a new HDD , but the increase in prices due to the floods in Thailand have just made me go mad .

 

[karanrawat21]

Anyone?

 

[John_VanKirk]

I would certainly invest in a new SATA III HDD and get you data transfered over ASAP. As I said previously the write back cache problem initially posted is a function of the HDD, rather than a software issue.

You could test your failing drive using HD Tune (Pro). The Health Tab will show you SMART issues, reallocated sectors, spinup time, etc. and the Error Check Tab scans the complete surface for errors and bad sectors. If you wanted, you could test the read transfer rate compared to other similar drives also.

In the overall scheme of things, you need to replace this drive with a reliable one.