Odd Issue with my pc (WD5000AAKS??)

[desodorante]

Hi everyone, I am having a very odd issue with my PC.
Basically, everything is ok (CPU load, RAM, Temperatures, SMART, Voltages, Processes, Network, etc). BUT, all of the sudden, a program hangs, so I switch to another program, wich is ok, but after I click something there, it hangs as well...but the rest of the programs are ok.
I mean, some programs hang when I do something, while the rest is OK, or some might hang, but is not the entire computer or an specific program, and then they come back to life until I do something again. I was able to check that its like it is waiting for the HDD to do I/O (the program freezes, then it does some I/O and freezes again, and so on) but not all the programs are not in the same disk. If I reboot, the problem persists. If I power off and unplug the computer for a few minutes, it keeps happening.
As I said I tested EVERTHING, used memtest+, hijackthis, speedfan, WD diagnostic tools, changed the sillicone grease in my Processor and Videocard(sorry I dont know how you call that thing in English, it is called "Grasa Siliconada" in Spanish), cleaned everything, checked processes, runned HDD regenarator, all you can imagine.
BTW, I havent changed anything in my pc for months, so it is not some software issue.
So, I got the feeling it was my WD HDD. I unplugged it......the PC works fine (XP is in the other HDD).....but all the tests ive runned in the disks show everything is ok.
What do you recommend? Firmware upgrde maybe? could it be my motherboard? I did have some trouble with IDE/SATA HDD combinations in the past...

My hardware:
P4 Prescott 2.8Ghz
3x256 DDR Kingston (not the cheap one)
Radeon 9550 256mb 3dConnect AGP
Intel 945PERL
Seagate ST3120827AS 120gb SATA1
WD WD5000AAKS 500gb jumped in SATA1

Hope you can Help me!:frown:

[SealLion]

Hey there, desodorante.

Here's what I came across while googling your issue. I'll list a few here for both of us to go through



First, Are you running Vista??
I take it that you are since you have SATA, yes??


can you run scan disk on startup??

Or does that also hang like some other proggy would like the defrag program??


Is the CPU fan spinning??

Don't quote me on this, but perhaps you have HDD trouble. Specifically, a defective HDD.

aRe you able to find programs via the START menu??


Experiment with something for a moment here, desodorante: Can you go Alt+Ctrl+Del to shut down a hanging program??

Also, have a look here:
16-Bit Programs Hang Using Dynamic Data Exchange (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/242283)


NOw, the above link talks about Windows NT, yes. Ok, well, there might be some relevant material for you there, such the DDE. That is the Dynaminic Data Exchange.

Do any of the programs that your using exchange data with one another??
If they do, it might cause one program to hang while the other keeps going.

This is just a start. We'll go through some more ideas and potential reasons/causes :smile:

[kazuya]

Maybe some antivirus,firewall cause this problems.What have you installed?

[desodorante]

@SealLion & kazuya: First of all, Thanks :smile: . Im running XP SP2 w almost all the patches of an SP3. No 16bit processes running. All the fans are Ok. Now, whats odd about the issue is that my computer is working just fine, when all of the sudden, a program hangs, then another, but the first one is fine again, but it freezes again and so on and so on. All the programs start going through this routine, randomly, some might, some wont, and it all seems to be related to "waiting" for HDD I/O (theres I/O peaks happening only between a few seconds), but to make it even odder, I have programs freezing in both HDDs (it includes the task manager and process can be killed normally)

Basically what I run is:
C:
Slsk 157
Comodo Firewall Pro
Avira Personal 9
Opera 9.64
aMSN 0.97.2
and sometimes:
Foobar
CDBurnerXP
Where is it?
Uvnc server
DynDns Updater
FolderSize Service

D: (WD5000AAKS)
P2PFire
Neo-Rs v1 beta4
Utorrent

I can run almost all of this programs at the same time, leaving enough free memory (Virtual memory is disabled), CPU avg in 12%, nothing particular happening and then the freezing starts.
All the tests, and diagnostics I have performed on the HDDs tell me everything is ok, I have fixed a lot of computers, recovered disks, I mean, after doing everything I know, Im clueless on this one.
So to make it even odder, unplugging my WD HDD makes the issue go away....im really thinking it's the motherboard :frown: or maybe im stressing the disk too much (17hs a day downloading through P2P @ 185kb/s and 40kb/s upload)
Hope this helps you understand

[kelly]

Just my 2 cents, Backup all of your data in the OS drive, format it & install a fresh copy of OS.

[kazuya]

Hard to say what the problem is.better to start tests with eliminating it with some programs.Or if you know if this started after some software install,bios upgrade,hardware change?Well first try to disable antivirus and firewalls,see if it's same after that,then next prog and so on.when this starts to happen post me a screenshot from task manager under performance.It could be motherboard,hard drive or memory also.

You sad
unplugging my WD HDD makes the issue go away,maybe then it's really hard drive prob,or programs installed on that or you start loosing memory with all that programs running.test a little bit

also scan for viruses with different antivirus software and use anti spyware software to.try to defragment your hard drives,a believe since you download much they are very fragmented

[desodorante]

Thanks kazuya but this happened in the past just once in around 3 months or so (I bought this pc in 2006, the "suspicious" HDD is only 6 months old), the problem is that it started happening every single day, so it is not soft related. Besides my AV and firewall are the same as they were when this did not happen. I already uninstalled a ton of programs even solved some issues I had (like having an active ONSPEED dll). It might be the HDD, but it is puzzling as the SMART and diagnostics tell me everything is ok. Regarding the memory usage, I have that 100% under control, with only 3x256 and all those programs running I know my processes just as my birthday.
I do have to say I have NEVER defrag my HDDs :tongue:
I guess I will have to wait until I get some free time and work on that HDD....thanks again!

[SealLion]

Ok, I'd like you to visit this web page here:

Fix problem with programs hanging using AGP and Athlon Processors (Windows 2000/XP) - TACKtech Corp. (http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=231)

The website mentions hanging proggy's when using AGP processors. You mention that you've got a 'Radeon 9550 256mb 3dConnect AGP'.

REad that page first and we'll go through some more items that we can look at.

it basically suggests that you may need to edit a part of your registry.

before you do edit it, of course, make a copy of your registry key and save it somewhere and work with the newly edited key. Then see if problems persist. If problems still persist, then replace the edited key with your old saved key.


By-the-way...are you recieving any errror messages while proggy's are hanging, such as ' a fatal error occurred........'??

Also, I have found that the following website has always been useful for me. Have a look here too for helpful info. I have always found that techsupportguy is a pretty decent place to find solutions to problems:


HelpOnThe.Net: Tech Support Guy - Free help for Windows XP, Vista, 98, and more! (http://www.techguy.org/)


YOu might want to search using 'hanging programs' in concert with a search relating to your processors.


Also, what about your mouse??

Can you move your mouse or does it hang too for a few seconds while your programs are hanging??


Also, watch the Task Manager and see if there is anything bumping the processor usage up to 100% when the hanging occurs.

Also, I know that we briefly touched on this before, but let's go back to your CPU.
While idling, it should be only a few percent or less. Has 12 % been your average EVEN before this problem occured??

Also, how about the HDD light?
Is it off??
Is it constantly on?
because it MAY indicate that something is chugging away at your HDD.

You need to check on some of these things.

Also, what kind of mouse are you using??
If you are using a PS/2 mouse, then try USB. If you are using USB, then try PS/2. This is just an idea to get some other things out of the way.

YOu also mentioned that you haven't defragged in a while.

start defragging now. See if that gets some things solved. Defragging your machine, I am sure, you know is important. So do that.

Also, I'd like you to check for the following:

What mode is your HDD in??

This is important to know.

Is it in PIO mode or what??


What about switching cables??

Have you tried that??

Give those ideas a try and we'll go over some more ideas later. :smile:


By-the-way....if any of my ideas have helped you in some way....can I please get some candy?? :biggrin::smile:
3 Musketeers is one of my favs :biggrin:

[desodorante]

Thanks again SealLion :wink:
I think I solved the issue. I had a similar issue with my old HDD, after a few months of using it, just died on its own, and the only way to make it work was to unplug both the power and sata cables and plug them again (weird!). Turned out the Index Server in windows was fu**ing it up, so I disabled that and voila, problem solved. I remember I could hear it spinning down and up and the heads "tacking" (TACK! TACK! TACK!). SO, new HDDs are not that noisy :tongue:....turns out I had that piece of sh*t turned on for my new HDD.:redface:
Just heard it, checked that and felt quite dumb actually.
Thanks everyone!

[SealLion]

ok, well that's one problem solved.

Glad things worked out for you. :smile:

Now can I please have some candy??:biggrin:




I accept the following as payment for services rendered whether they've been helpful or not.....






Either this kind.....:







http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9089/candy74236497429553.jpg







.... this kind.....:



http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/7671/url7348926.jpg







.....or this kind......(Prefer this kind actually....










http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8274/candygirls7572142757765.jpg







But NOT this kind, please.....





http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/8216/fatwomen494477826057787.jpg

[desodorante]

Thanks again SealLion :wink:
The problem is still present.....I work AND go to college so basically im not home from 7 AM to 12 PM 4 days a week and maybe home by 7:30 PM one day a week.....SOOO, I honestly appreciate your enthusiasm and help but I am not planning on spending anymore of my precious free time in fixing this.....I will either stop using Bittorrent or wait for my pc to die......I dont care anymore.
Again, thanks, honestly :smile: . I will prepare your gift this weekend! :biggrin:

[desodorante]

SealLion, check your inbox. Your reward is waiting for you.

[SealLion]

I could not believe my eyes when opening the .rar file.

I'd just like to take this fine opportunity to say that desodorante's fingers in choosing the most divine gifts for me are as divine as the pope's nostril hairs that tickles the underbelly of my terrestrial erector set upon with so many saponifying liquors. :smile:


(er.....that's a joke by-the-way)

Thank you, my friend. :smile:
Thanks again.
And your welcome for the help, too of course. :smile:

[desodorante]

last week, I had some free time at work, so I researched a bit (for the 20th time) and found a known issue in the Windows KB regarding intensive I/O operations in NTFS ¬¬ ....I installed it Sunday, left the computer downloading as usual, and got no problems so far.
I suggest everyone to apply the patch if you haven't (no clue if it is included in SP3) as we all stress our HDDs (mine is not compressed as the article says).

Windows XP stops responding when heavy I/O operations occur on an NTFS-formatted volume. (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969262/)

Thank you Microsoft for rendering my computer useless one more time!

[SealLion]

so this solved your problem??

Good to hear this. Now I went to the link and read this:


You enable the Compress drive to save disk space option on this volume. ....

It mentions about heavy I/O operations. I imagine that they're talking about downloading such as torrenting, yes??

so can you give me an idea of about how much you would download in a given week?
How many GB for example.

I am trying to limit my current downloading b/c I have so much material on my HDD and I can hardly catch up with either listening to or watching movies on my computer and thus the reason for wanting to limit my current downloading.

Look at the file size that they are giving for this thing;



576,512

I think that this is the file size that they are giving for it.....I hope I'm wrong.


And if it is......then that's bloody ridiculous. :confused:



o

[desodorante]

About the patch: I don't think Microsoft considers any of the aspects of P2P as important for their products. Heavy I/O operations could be achieved by reencoding a video while playing music and compressing a file etc etc etc.

About my "legal activities in the internet": I download 10gb a day (approx), so that makes 70gb a week, and no, I hardly ever see/listen to any of it :frown:, since my Tv out burned and I don't like to watch it in my 17" CRT (given that I have a Sony 29" tv in front of my matress) besides my previously mentioned lack of free time....So last week I purchased a (very cheap and very chinese) DVD/Divx player with USB!! just u$s 45 :biggrin: , eventually, I will catch up my download speed LOL.
About the I/O in my HDD: Just consider the fact that I have Emule and Utorrent both reading and writing to my disk (plus everything else) all day long, doing tiny 4-10kb writes to around 70 files per second while also reading a few dozens of files. That's a lot of operations, and a lot of work for the disk (emule has 50 simultaneous dl approx, while Utorrent does 20). So regardless of the lack of compression, it just seems that XP is not designed for this kind of job, and stops responding properly.

About the file: That is the patch's file size is in Kb:tongue:

Cheers!

[anon]

I think that this is the file size that they are giving for it.....I hope I'm wrong.


And if it is......then that's bloody ridiculous. :confused:

It's the filesize in bytes, it's just a fixed Ntfs.sys :tongue: