Samsung 2TB Drive - Odd problem.

petersmart

petersmart

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I have just bought and installed a Samsung 2TB SATA Hard drive - type HD 204U1.

Because Sandra showed that it was the fastest of the HDs on the computer I decided to run Windows on it to speed up programs.

I partitioned it, as I usually do, into several partitions.

Windows XP Pro is installed on the C drive - partitioned to 80GB.

I also have 3 other partitions -1x 20GB for downloads, 1x 300GB for Photos and 1x 600GB for other data.

I also have other hard drives installed.

Since putting in the Samsung HD the computer seems faster and more responsive except for some very odd peculiarities.

When I use Shrink 3.2 to backup DVDs prior to further processing the Shrink buffer often just keeps getting bigger and bigger until everything freezes - usually about 650MB - The DVD re-writer keeps running at full speed but the light isn't on - then after about 2 mins it starts up again for a minute or two then everything freezes again - and so on.

DVD Fab works fine but if I then try to use Shrink on these files to get rid of unecessary files (Director's comments etc) to further reduce the file size it always seizes up as the buffer reaches the 550-650MB size.

Shrink runs quite a bit faster - normally starting at about 8000 - 9000 Kb/sec
and going up to about 15000 Kb/sec which is a lot faster than before.

Also each time I start up I get a warning about a PCI device not being installed but when I put in the motherboard disk it never gets recognised.

My computer uses an Asrock Mobo with Intel Duo core running at 2.6Ghz.

I normally run with the paging file turned off but have tried turning it back on with no difference.

Any ideas anyone?

I can't really send the drive back since there seems to be nothing physically wrong with it.

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First of all, why partition the drive - it's much more flexible to just use directories for different areas.

Secondly, it sounds like there is a problem with the DVD driver - perhaps a conflict somewhere. Yoiu need to identify which devices are installed and any that are not installed. Do you know how to use Device Manager? (see here if not: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windowsxp/f/opendmxp.htm)
 
first off you should always run a pagefile even with huge amounts of RAM, some programs will not run stable without one. i dont think anyone suggests this is a good idea.

was it a fresh install of windows or was it imaged?

what model asrock is it? is it possible the board may have become damaged during install?
 
arad85 said:
First of all, why partition the drive - it's much more flexible to just use directories for different areas.

Secondly, it sounds like there is a problem with the DVD driver - perhaps a conflict somewhere. Yoiu need to identify which devices are installed and any that are not installed. Do you know how to use Device Manager? (see here if not: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windowsxp/f/opendmxp.htm)
Click to expand...

I definitely know how to use DM - have been using computers since DOS was a kid :lol:

No probs with the DVD drivers - have used the drive for about 3 years now with no problems and this problem only shows up on Shrink - when using DVDFab to copy the DVDs there's no problems.

And still get the problem when using Shrink on DVD files on a HD.

I've partitioned HDs for years because the best way to get the OS to run fast is to use it on the outside edge of a HD where the disk spins fastest - also using a relatively small partition means that extra programs don't get spread all over the disk.

Also this way I can re-install Windows at any time if there's a problem without losing all the data on the HD.

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Bucketp said:
Sounds like driver issues to me, as Andy says use device manager to identify the issue, download relevant drivers and away you go (hopefully)!
Click to expand...

All the drivers are up to date.

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neil_g said:
first off you should always run a pagefile even with huge amounts of RAM, some programs will not run stable without one. i dont think anyone suggests this is a good idea.

was it a fresh install of windows or was it imaged?

what model asrock is it? is it possible the board may have become damaged during install?
Click to expand...

Well I always run without a pagefile if the RAM is big enough and to date have had no problems at all - and it definitely speeds up a computer if the OS is not constantly accessing the HD.

And I did turn the pagefiles back on with no difference.

It was a fresh install.

The Mobo has been in use for about 3 years with no probs - and all I did was plug in the new HD.

Also when I unplug the Samsung and revert to the old HD with the OS on it the computer then has no problems - except it runs a bit slower.
 
petersmart said:
All the drivers are up to date.

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Click to expand...
But if you have a boot message complaining of PCI device not being installed, something isn't right....
 
petersmart said:
Well I always run without a pagefile if the RAM is big enough and to date have had no problems at all - and it definitely speeds up a computer if the OS is not constantly accessing the HD.
Click to expand...
If the RAM is big enough, you won't be accessing the disk for pagefile usage anyway ;)
 
petersmart said:
Well I always run without a pagefile if the RAM is big enough and to date have had no problems at all - and it definitely speeds up a computer if the OS is not constantly accessing the HD.
Click to expand...

to quote an MS MVP:

Can the Virtual Memory be turned off on a really large machine?

Strictly speaking Virtual Memory is always in operation and cannot be “turned off.” What is meant by such wording is “set the system to use no page file space at all.”

Doing this would waste a lot of the RAM. The reason is that when programs ask for an allocation of Virtual memory space, they may ask for a great deal more than they ever actually bring into use — the total may easily run to hundreds of megabytes. These addresses have to be assigned to somewhere by the system. If there is a page file available, the system can assign them to it — if there is not, they have to be assigned to RAM, locking it out from any actual use.
Click to expand...

but back on topic..

have you tried grabbing the latest ASROCK chipset drivers?
 
neil_g said:
to quote an MS MVP:



but back on topic..

have you tried grabbing the latest ASROCK chipset drivers?
Click to expand...

Yup - used Driver Robot to get all the latest files and installed them - no difference.

And remember the computer runs fine when the old OS is plugged in.

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neil_g said:
there is a possible write caching issue with the HD204UI which requires a firmware update, available here:

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/faqView.do?b2b_bbs_msg_id=386

im yet to do mine in my NAS, could be related.

(i hold no responsibility for the above cocking up your hard drive/data, you follow the instructions at your own risk)
Click to expand...

I knew about that issue but I think all recent HDs of the type I have are problem free - or at least free of that particular problem - but I'll check the ser. No. to be sure.

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im wondering if we're even on the right track..

im starting to wonder if its one of those daft audio devices that has about 5-6 separate entries in device manager. is it a VIA chipset by any chance?

incidentally id skip "driver robot" and download direct from manufacturer also.
 
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neil_g said:
im wondering if we're even on the right track..

im starting to wonder if its one of those daft audio devices that has about 5-6 separate entries in device manager. is it a VIA chipset by any chance?

incidentally id skip "driver robot" and download direct from manufacturer also.
Click to expand...

It's a Realtek audio device.

I've now tried something a bit different which seems to be a "workaround" which works - well a bit.

I connected an IDE to SATA converter to the IDE slot and connected the Samsung HD to it.

I did this because I wondered if the Samsung was running too fast for the rest of the computer.

The converter reduces the throughput on the Samsung.

And it seems to work - well so far!

I still get the PCI message but Shrink now works properly - just faster - and the buffer now stays between 20MB and 120MB even when working from files on the hard drive.

Any views?

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petersmart said:
Err...Yeeess....?
Click to expand...
Does the error occur with the old disk in place? If not, you don't have the same driver set installed and this could be messing up the DVD drive...
 
neil_g said:
i wonder if the device with a problem is the SATA controller on the motherboard, either its just not compatible with the drive or the driver has gone to pot/needs updating
Click to expand...

arad85 said:
Does the error occur with the old disk in place? If not, you don't have the same driver set installed and this could be messing up the DVD drive...
Click to expand...

You don't understand - the DVD drive is OK because the problem still occurs with dvd files which are on the HD.

I'm going to try a clean re-install of Windows and then install the Mobo files before updating Windows - last time the updates were installed first.

I've just done a clean install of Windows to my 1TB WD HD with no problems at all - even with the 2TB Samsung plugged in so no problems with the Mobo at all.

I'll let you know how I get on.

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I wonder what would happen if you removed DVD Shrink2 then reinstalled it to a different hard drive?
 
neil_g said:
so with windows on the other drive and the samsung plugged in you dont get the PCI device issue?
Click to expand...

No it didn't - but - I think I've sorted it!

I've just done a clean install of Windows on the Samsung 2TB HD and this time I installed all the drivers before doing anything else.

Everything now seems to be working fine and Shrink 3.2 is back under control - working as it always did with NO probs - and running faster.

So don't know what the problem was before but NO nasty error messages - :clap::clap::clap:

I'm now going to update Windows and then start plugging in the other HDs and see what happens - hopefully it will all run smoothly - :thumbs:

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