Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread

[Genocidicbunny]

Okay, an update on my last problem. I did an antivirus and malware scan, came up clean after 3 passes with both. Still having the problems. I also cant really look at SMART info, and SeaTools doesnt even detect the HDD'. Im thinking that has to do with the nVidia SATA drivers.
Dont have time today, but I may do a system reinstall sometime this week, see if that affect anything. If it doesnt, then well, a new HDD or mobo may be in order ( Seriously Seagate and nVidia, how hard is it to get your poo poo together? )

 

[Cutlass]

huh ?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Im referring to this:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=7852598&postcount=508

 

[Cutlass]

But your post doesn't exactly ask a recognizable question?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Just refer to the post I linked to. I posted again cus it was two pages ago, so Im fairly certain its already lost to most people. It wasnt really a question, more of an update.
But if you want a question: Why the hell is this poo poo not working?

 

[Cutlass]

I don't have an answer with the available information. But unless a hard drive crashes altogether, it is rarely the cause of your problems. Why it's running that slow, dunno. Make all non essential processes manual on start up and see if you still experience it.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I did, it had no effect.
Also, I managed to get to SMART ( Thank god for Everest Ultimate trial) and the E: drive shows around 2.4 million read errors. On the other hand, I did read in several places that Seagate/ new Maxtor HDD's start with a lot of them anyways. Problem is though, its going up, and like 50k per HDD-heavy task.

EDIT -- HAHA! I fixed it methinks! What seems to have happened is one of my mounted ISO's was corrupted. This was causing a bad block error around 50x/second. Im guessing that this was seriously swamping the OS with IO ( funny that I didn't see it in process explorer.) Anyways, dismounting all the virtual drives seems to have done it. Now to figure out which iso file was the one.

 

[Zelig]

Using Daemon Tools by any chance?

I've found Daemon Tools handles some errors much less gracefully than it should...

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

EDIT -- HAHA! I fixed it methinks! What seems to have happened is one of my mounted ISO's was corrupted. This was causing a bad block error around 50x/second. Im guessing that this was seriously swamping the OS with IO ( funny that I didn't see it in process explorer.) Anyways, dismounting all the virtual drives seems to have done it. Now to figure out which iso file was the one.

If you install 7-Zip, it adds something called "Check integrity" or soemthing, to the context menu, which checks for corrupted files. And it recognizes ISO files as an archive, if you want a suggestion.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Ok, a question -- what exactly in a hard drive makes the regular "grinding/chattering noise"? The platters spinning, the arm going all over the place, etc? 'Cause I thought for some reason it'd be quiet. I tried googling and I got stuff on the HDD making more noise than usual, or something.

It went all crazy, it was grinding last night and it was hard to sleep. I wish I could oil my HDD, but then I'd ruin it. Probably have to go with one of those things you stick in there that makes it sound quieter.

Also, does it mean anything when the HDD light rapidly blinks on and off & is mostly quiet? Occasionally it goes bright and there's a tiny "clink", however its always done that, it's the normal chattering noise but shortened.

 

[lndm]

It's the heads. It would be either fragmentation or handling multiple successive files from different locations on the drive or handling multiple files at once and windows not arbitrating efficiently between them. If the light blinks but there is little noise, these things could still be happening with files that are close on the platters.

There are things you could try for the noise, like sealing the case (including selected ventillation holes), which requires careful planning. You could rubber mount the drive, place soft foam strategically nearby the drive, and try using a different slot in the case. You could put the computer on rubber feet, or mount it in a padded shelf with a door that closes (and vents at the back but a padded wall behind that).

 

[Genocidicbunny]

If you install 7-Zip, it adds something called "Check integrity" or soemthing, to the context menu, which checks for corrupted files. And it recognizes ISO files as an archive, if you want a suggestion.

Yeah I went and tried that just to see what would happen, and it reported no errors on the bad iso. So that's kinda gone out the window.

And yes, I did use Daemon Tools. Used to at least...

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

It's the heads. It would be either fragmentation or handling multiple successive files from different locations on the drive or handling multiple files at once and windows not arbitrating efficiently between them.

Thank you. Today I checked the fragmentation of the files, it was very messy so I did a defrag while at school. (It's been a couple of weeks since I did it. I uninstalled and deleted and added quite a few files.) Sometimes when I open a folder with a bunch of files, the hard drive goes crazy with the chattering. I suppose the files would be physically all over the place and so it would be looking for them.

If you use a file recovery to get a deleted file, would it be less likely to recover a fragged file?

Also, since the fan cleaned out, I can ehar the fans spinning -- it's a high-pitched, but quiet noise. Is this normal? I'm thinking that the dust may have prevented the fan from spinning properly, so it didn;t make that sound before. Sort of a modulating whirring noise. Like the fan keeps changing speed.
EDIT: Speedfan shows the thing changing speed every few seconds, it's around the 1400 RPM range. It changes by about 20 RPM every time.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Yeah I went and tried that just to see what would happen, and it reported no errors on the bad iso. So that's kinda gone out the window.

And yes, I did use Daemon Tools. Used to at least...

Well, I haven't tested it with ISO files. ZIP and RAR, yes. So it might just be an ISO thing.

 

[lndm]

Sometimes when I open a folder with a bunch of files, the hard drive goes crazy with the chattering. I suppose the files would be physically all over the place and so it would be looking for them.

Opening a folder is one of the simplest procedures. It shouldn't take long on its own. Do you have it set to show previews or thumbnails?

Hows the RAM consumption on this machine? I wonder whether it's living in swap ATM.

If you use a file recovery to get a deleted file, would it be less likely to recover a fragged file?

For one thing, a deleted fragmented file is more likely to have been partially overwritten before you get to it.

WRT your fan, ignore minor fluctuations in speedfan. They may be showing you what you're hearing but this isn't reliable IMO.

Your fan may be on its way out, but it may last a fairly long time yet (until you decide that you would rather change it out than listen to it). The noise you describe is actually very common. It is a sign that the bearings have a little play in them. The dust may have been damping the secondary resonance (you're some geek to know the word modulating ), as well a slowing the fan but it would still have been increasing wear with its weight and the heat it was building up.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I did have the folder on thumbnails -- it was the pictures folder and I have a few thousand pics of Tom Petty -- figures!!

Currently the page file is at about 500 MB, which is pretty low. I've seen it go up to several gigs when I'm playing games.

My mom says that fans aren't really that hard to replace, as she's done it before. And they're also cheap, so I'll see what I can do about it. My mom opened up the fan for me as I wasn't quite sure how to, and it looks fairly easy to pop in and out.

Also, when I opened it, it appears that if the fan dies somehow, the blue light on the side of the case would go out. Just the way it's all connected together.

 

[lndm]

Is this a case fan you're talking about? Your processor needs one and it should be below your power supply fan. Unless your machine is specifically baffled to use the case (third) fan, you may be able to disconnect it with no loss of cooling. At the least I'd do a trial boot and watch speedfan.

I'm into quiet computers. I have one with passive CPU cooling and an oversized slow running power supply fan with an almost sealed case. Quiet as...

If interested, I'll post more on how to successfully do away with the case fan.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I have at least two fans in my computer, if there's a third I can't see it. The one with the blue light is the case fan. I'm not going to try risking to disconnect it.

 

[lndm]

The third would be inside your power supply case. Some are visible through the grate at the back, and some are up underneath the base of the power supply.

You mentioned getting a new supply, so if you ever do it you may consider one with a fan as wide as the case as it ought to be more quiet.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

well, I didn't go poking around the case, I only opened one side up, the one with the fans. I think sometimes when I pull the case out to plug stuff in the back, I can feel air coming out the back, but I thought that was the CPU fan.

I'm not gonna poke around the case without anti-static precautions, I read somewhere turning off the PSU, plugging in the wall and leaning on the case can ground yourself, is thet right?