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From: Franc Zabkar on 30 Dec 2009 20:19 On 30 Dec 2009 15:55:52 GMT, Arno <me(a)privacy.net> put finger to keyboard and composed: >Franc Zabkar <fzabkar(a)iinternode.on.net> wrote: >> On Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:42:18 -0600, ANTant(a)zimage.com put finger to >> keyboard and composed: > >>>I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD ... > >> Model Family: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 family > >> 4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always >> - 65 > >> 9 Power_On_Minutes 0x0032 141 141 000 Old_age Always >> - 614h+43m > >> Hmmm, you have an old generation HDD that has run for only 614 hours >> and has been power cycled only 65 times ??? > >I think smartctl has some interpretation problems with attribute 9 >for some disks. I have a notebook disks (Samsung 160JI), that >tells me 2562261 "hours" in attribute 9, where it should say >"half minutes". > >Look at the selftest log, there is something more realistic >(4 years run-time) for the last selftest. If you take 614 hours >and assume smartctl took seconds instead of minutes as base >units, you end up pretty close to the same 4 years. Here are the two SMART reports: ===================================================================== Local Time is: Tue Dec 29 15:33:24 2009 PST 9 Power_On_Minutes 0x0032 141 141 000 Old_age Always - 614h+43m ===================================================================== Local Time is: Tue Dec 29 18:23:31 2009 PST 9 Power_On_Minutes 0x0032 141 141 000 Old_age Always - 617h+32m ===================================================================== Difference in Local Time is 2hrs 50min. Difference in Power_On_Minutes is 2hrs 49min. - Franc Zabkar -- Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
From: Rod Speed on 30 Dec 2009 21:31 ANTant(a)zimage.com wrote: >>>> Best check free memory. > I checked already. > However, the system only has 1 GB of RAM, That certainly explains the disk activity. > but I don't recall it being that slow. Bet you are just remembering it wrong and because you also use other systems, you find it slow now. More physical ram would certainly make it quite a bit faster. >>>> Other possible causes: >>>> - Spyware/malware. >>> Clean system. >>>> - Updated applications needing more resources >>>> or haveing (new) memory leaks. >>>> - A CPU with thermal throtheling and an unmaintained >>>> cooling system (dust, fan with lubrication problems) >>> Could be. How can I check to see how fast CPU is going at max? >> Everest can tell you. > http://pastie.org/761689 for the results. You need the overclock tab for that. >>> It's old. :) >>>> - Disk getting fuller and accesses more distributed (longer seeks) >>>> and maybe also more in the slower areas towards the end of the disk. >>> Isn't defrag supposed to fix that? >> Yes. > OK, I tried a few and don't see much improvements. Even defragged my pagefile. Yeah, it doesnt make any difference on systems of that vintage except in the more unusual situations like copying all the files for primitive backup etc. >>>> If it is not that, maybe try to assess what is actually getting >>>> slower: Access time or throughput and to what degree. >>> Any good benchmark tools? >> Real work is best, but you need to have done and recorded that when >> it was a new XP install to see if it really has degraded over time or >> whether thats just an illusion because you also use other more modern >> faster systems as well and so its just an illusion that it has go slower. >> If none of that shows up anything useful, I'd image the system, >> do a completely clean XP install on a freshly formatted hard >> drive and compare real world benchmarks on those two configs. >> You do sometimes see XP installs degrade over time and >> end up measurably slower than a clean install. > Or time for a new system. :D True, that will certainly make a very dramatic difference.
From: Ant on 31 Dec 2009 00:29 On 12/30/2009 6:31 PM PT, Rod Speed typed: >>>>> Best check free memory. > >> I checked already. > >> However, the system only has 1 GB of RAM, > > That certainly explains the disk activity. But the weird part is I don't remember it being this slow in the past. Not much has changed on this old box either. I even uninstalled newer stuff, and that didn't help. Oh well. > Bet you are just remembering it wrong and because > you also use other systems, you find it slow now. > > More physical ram would certainly make it quite a bit faster. > >>>>> Other possible causes: >>>>> - Spyware/malware. > >>>> Clean system. > >>>>> - Updated applications needing more resources >>>>> or haveing (new) memory leaks. >>>>> - A CPU with thermal throtheling and an unmaintained >>>>> cooling system (dust, fan with lubrication problems) > >>>> Could be. How can I check to see how fast CPU is going at max? > >>> Everest can tell you. > >> http://pastie.org/761689 for the results. > > You need the overclock tab for that. I didn't see an OC tab. Or did I overlook it? -- "Hey dad, look. I put honey on my back, and now the ants are carrying me home." --Chris from Family Guy /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site) | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: philpi(a)earthlink.netANT ( ) or ANTant(a)zimage.com Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.
From: Ant on 31 Dec 2009 00:30 On 12/30/2009 3:34 PM PT, Arno typed: >>> I see thios thing has only been restarted 72 times in 5 years. >>> Maybe you have a memory leak in the OS or some application? >>> Best check free memory. > >> I checked already. > > >>> Other possible causes: >>> - Spyware/malware. > >> Clean system. > > >>> - Updated applications needing more resources >>> or haveing (new) memory leaks. >>> - A CPU with thermal throtheling and an unmaintained >>> cooling system (dust, fan with lubrication problems) > >> Could be. How can I check to see how fast CPU is going at max? It's old. :) > > Hmm. There are some tools that can detect thermal throteling, > but I have no idea what they are. Maybe try to get the CPU > temperature with something like speedfan and see whether it > is suspicuously high. > >>> - Disk getting fuller and accesses more distributed (longer seeks) >>> and maybe also more in the slower areas towards the end of the >>> disk. > >> Isn't defrag supposed to fix that? > > That is a fundamental problem which cannot be fixed. A seek over > more tracks just needs longer time, so a fuller disk is typically > a bit slower. Hmm, could be slower. I have like 1-2 GB free on C: and 8 GB free on D: and E:. These are all partitions/drives on one HDD. -- "As a thinker and planner, the ant is the equal of any savage race of men; as a self-educated specialist in several arts she is the superior of any savage race of men; and in one or two high mental qualities she is above the reach of any man..." --Mark Twain /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site) | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: philpi(a)earthlink.netANT ( ) or ANTant(a)zimage.com Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.
From: Rod Speed on 31 Dec 2009 01:40
Ant wrote > Rod Speed wrote >>>>>> Best check free memory. >>> I checked already. >>> However, the system only has 1 GB of RAM, >> That certainly explains the disk activity. > But the weird part is I don't remember it being this slow in the past. Not much has changed on this old box either. I > even uninstalled newer stuff, and that didn't help. Oh well. Then it would be worth trying a clean install of XP after imaging the current install. >> Bet you are just remembering it wrong and because >> you also use other systems, you find it slow now. >> More physical ram would certainly make it quite a bit faster. >>>>>> Other possible causes: >>>>>> - Spyware/malware. >>>>> Clean system. >>>>>> - Updated applications needing more resources >>>>>> or haveing (new) memory leaks. >>>>>> - A CPU with thermal throtheling and an unmaintained >>>>>> cooling system (dust, fan with lubrication problems) >>>>> Could be. How can I check to see how fast CPU is going at max? >>>> Everest can tell you. >>> http://pastie.org/761689 for the results. >> You need the overclock tab for that. > I didn't see an OC tab. Or did I overlook it? Probably, its in the Computer tab on the left, second from the top. |