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Computer hangs/freezes with 2 hdds plugged in + filename changed during transfer
HrtOfSword:
Long story short, my Dell Dimension 8400 desktop sometimes hangs and freezes when I access / click on stuff stored in the secondary SATA hard drive connected. Another problem that happens is that upon connecting the secondary SATA hard drive (I connect before turning on the power) and I boot up the PC, I sometimes get this "drive not detected" black screen and WINDOWS does not load. Sometimes only one hard drive out of two cannot be detected.
I don't usually connect the secondary SATA hard drive (and I turn the power off for it when I don't thru' the settings on bootup) and only connect it to transfer or backup files.
I suspect that this may be due to the data cable being old and worn out so it comes loose easily, it is worn out internally so it doesn't transfer data as well, or its connectors are dirty. The reason for this suspicion is because whenever I encounter the aforementioned two problems, the solution I discovered was to unplug and replug the data cables back to the harddrive. It usually works, although sometimes only for a short period (sometimes it works perfectly).
However the solution only solves the symptoms, and may not be solving the cause. So I would like to know what is the cause so that I can replace the parts and remove the cause of this problem.
Now for the long story, my first harddrive (call it HDD-A) used to run rather fast. Even with MSN Messenger, Azureus and a MMORPG running at the same time, it neither lagged the computer or internet connection. This was the case even if it was turned on for long periods of days or a week or two. However, after using HDD-A for about 3 years or so, it started lagging after being turned on for a couple of days. Then it started getting worse and would lag if I opened Azureus. At this point, it could still play mkv videos properly. Sometime around this period, my Norton Internet Security 2004 went nuts (probably a corrupted registry key) and would cause my computer to lag due to it scanning thumbs.db and other stuff every now and then. One of Norton's programs would sometimes "encounter an error" and close itself though Norton Internet Security and Anti-Virus didn't close (but it would rearrange the icons on the bottom right corner of the tab). I suspect that was also due to registry key corruption. After uninstalling Norton and installing some other anti-virus, I stopped having those Norton problems and it became slightly better for a while.
It deteriorated further and it got to the point in which playing an mkv video, especially those around 720p, would make the video lag behind the audio. This was especially the case whenever a particular portion of the video displayed multiple or complex changes in the image. It was also at this point that I started getting a few blue screens (less than five) and started having problems such as the harddrive not being detected, especially if I had just connected and/or disconnected the secondary harddrive.
(HDD-B was once used as a backup HDD such that if HDD-A died, I would be able to access the files in HDD-A using HDD-B.)
However, when I changed the harddrive to a second harddrive (call it HDD-B) with no change to any other part of the desktop, the mkv videos played fine without any lag at all. This led me to initially suspect that it might not be a problem with the components of the desktop but it may be the harddrive causing this problem. However, after using HDD-B for a month or so, it started deteriorating as well and similar problems as HDD-A started appearing, though less severe, even now (after using HDD-B for about 3-4 months).
What made me worry the most was when I was transferring a file from HDD-A to HDD-B. The filename of the Nyoro~n Subs version of Evangelion 1.0 was changed from the original long filename to just _NYORO~1. I did not change the filename (I only noticed it a few days later) but I remember that while the file was being transferred the small little window-tab that appeared displayed the short _NYORO~1 name instead of the full long filename. However, I didn't think much about it at that time as I encountered the same issue with the small window-tab while transferring other files, but those other files did not have their name changed after being transferred (they retained their full long filenames).
So I have four questions.
1. Does anyone know what is the underlying problem with my desktop? Am I right to say that it is a problem with my data cable?
2. Why or how did the filename of the video get changed during the transfer from one HDD to another?
3. Why is there a shortened version of the full long filename displayed for some files when they are transferred but not for others? Is it some kind of hidden system information like the information on the artist in an MP3 file?
4. Is there any way to prevent such a change (or corruption?) in filename?
Thank you.
Lupin:
Check your power requirements. How many hard disks do you have running? How many optical drives? What's your video card? If your computer has too many components, it's possible that your power supply no longer have enough juice to run them all. You mentioned that you're running you computer for days without turning off. Running your computer for days makes your supply capacitive, reducing the amount of power it produces. If this is the case, buy a new PSU.
Filenames can get changed when you're transferring between two different file systems. FAT file system uses a 8.3 format--8 characters for the name and 3 characters for the extension. My suggestion is to use NTFS in all your drives.
kureshii:
Actually, none of those issues sound like they're directly caused by a faulty or dying HDD. System slowdown is just a result of file system clutter, program bloat and registry spam, among other causes. Lagging video playback is usually a processor + settings issue, and doesn't usually have to do with the HDD.
Defrag the system disk, run cleanup programs (CCleaner recommended), and personally I don't know how to make AV work properly again since I don't use any (well, I use Clamwin, but that's a standalone scanner that doesn't do shell integration).
More importantly, do you hear weird clicky noises or other worrying sounds coming from your HDD when these system hiccups occur?
Other possible causes off the top of my head:
1) Overheating HDD (Does it have adequate ventilation, and a supply of cooler air from a case fan?)
2) General disk slowdown near capacity (Hard drives get slower as they start getting filled up)
HrtOfSword:
--- Quote from: Lupin on November 10, 2009, 11:22:13 AM ---Check your power requirements.
001. How many hard disks do you have running?
002. How many optical drives?
003. What's your video card?
--- End quote ---
001. Two hard disks (I can only have 2 hdd connected at one time as there are only 2 trays for hdd on my Dell desktop)
002. One DVD drive.
003. RADEON X300 Series & RADEON X300 Series Secondary
--- Quote from: Lupin on November 10, 2009, 11:22:13 AM ---If your computer has too many components, it's possible that your power supply no longer have enough juice to run them all. You mentioned that you're running you computer for days without turning off. Running your computer for days makes your supply capacitive, reducing the amount of power it produces. If this is the case, buy a new PSU.
--- End quote ---
Q1b. Does that mean that it is not a problem with my data cables, power cables and memory, but rather my PSU?
Q5. And just curious, why does running the computer on days make the PSU capacitive? And why does that in turn reduce the amount of power produced?
--- Quote from: Lupin on November 10, 2009, 11:22:13 AM ---Filenames can get changed when you're transferring between two different file systems. FAT file system uses a 8.3 format--8 characters for the name and 3 characters for the extension. My suggestion is to use NTFS in all your drives.
--- End quote ---
Q6. How do I tell whether a harddrive is using the FAT file system or the NTFS file system?
Q7. How do I set it on installation/format so that my harddrive is always NTFS and never is FAT?
Q8. On a sidenote, I would like to know the actual correct method of formatting a harddrive without installing the OS and with the ability to create partitions. What I did for my 500GB file backup only harddrive was I right-clicked on it, selected Format and clicked on start. There was no option for partitions in that small menu.
--- Quote from: kureshii on November 10, 2009, 11:31:31 AM ---Lagging video playback is usually a processor + settings issue, and doesn't usually have to do with the HDD.
--- End quote ---
The problem with HDD-A is that it sometimes does not have the lagging video problem and sometimes has it. Sometimes restarting the computer does the trick but sometimes it lags even though the computer just booted up.
--- Quote from: kureshii on November 10, 2009, 11:31:31 AM ---More importantly, do you hear weird clicky noises or other worrying sounds coming from your HDD when these system hiccups occur?
--- End quote ---
My fan (the big one for people) is noisier than my desktop so I don't exactly hear anything from my desktop (I used to hear lots of noises from my Windows ME PC so I know what it sounds like).
--- Quote from: kureshii on November 10, 2009, 11:31:31 AM ---Other possible causes off the top of my head:
1) Overheating HDD (Does it have adequate ventilation, and a supply of cooler air from a case fan?)
2) General disk slowdown near capacity (Hard drives get slower as they start getting filled up)
--- End quote ---
1) My desktop case is opened up for the ease of changing of HDDs, so it has lots of ventilation, even without a fan (it has fans though).
2. My HDD-A has been hovering around 300MB to 700-800MB since around two years ago but that was not when the video started lagging and Norton went crazy. It was quite some time (months or maybe a year plus) after hovering around 300MB to 700-800MB that the problems started.
Lupin:
--- Quote from: HrtOfSword on November 10, 2009, 12:07:10 PM ---001. Two hard disks (I can only have 2 hdd connected at one time as there are only 2 trays for hdd on my Dell desktop)
002. One DVD drive.
003. RADEON X300 Series & RADEON X300 Series Secondary
--- End quote ---
How about your power supply? What's its rating? I've had bad experiences with OEM computers. They usually use power supplies that only have enough juice to run the current setup.
--- Quote from: HrtOfSword on November 10, 2009, 12:07:10 PM ---Q1b. Does that mean that it is not a problem with my data cables, power cables and memory, but rather my PSU?
--- End quote ---
It might. PSU is the most underrated component in a computer. You said the problem only arises when you attach another drive. Try installing the other drive instead of the DVD drive. Check if you experience any lock-ups/slowdowns.
--- Quote from: HrtOfSword on November 10, 2009, 12:07:10 PM ---Q8. On a sidenote, I would like to know the actual correct method of formatting a harddrive without installing the OS and with the ability to create partitions. What I did for my 500GB file backup only harddrive was I right-clicked on it, selected Format and clicked on start. There was no option for partitions in that small menu.
--- End quote ---
Right click on My Computer and select Manage. On the left pane, select Disk Management. Windows will then list all drives present in your system. Just select the drive you want to format, right click then select Create New Partition. Here you can select the size, and type of partition that will be made for the drive. You can also choose to set a drive letter for the partition as well as the format the drive.
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