Computer help, very very slow boot up - NS4Sale

matty0500 · 01-14-2007, 01:35 AM

Ok, so this might be kind of long winded. My problems started about a month ago. My secondary hard drive, a seagate barracuda 160gb SATA hdd would just randomly disconnect itself from my system while it was on. My computer would make the sound like a USB device disconnecting and then my hard drive would be gone, and then usually a couple minutes later it would come back. To fix this i would try to just make sure all the cables were well connected to the mobo and power supply and that would usually fix it for a day or two, and then it would happen again. This went on for a while and i didn't think a whole lot about it. Then one morning i got up to boot up my computer and it got to the windows xp pro loading screen and then the BSOD popped up and the computer reset itself, and it would keep doing this until i turned it off. I tried switching my SATA ports, removing my secondary HDD and just leaving my primary in but nothing was working. I got an old IDE HDD and plugged that in and did a fresh install of XP pro on it and all went well, i plugged in my 160gb secondary and backed up all my data onto an external hdd before i messed with anything else to make sure i didn't lose all my data. So the computer was working ok at this point with the old IDE drive and my secondary SATA drive. I figured i'd try my primary SATA again in hopes that i could get it to work, and it did but now it takes at least 10 minutes for my computer to boot. It sits at the windows xp pro loading screen and that little bar passes at least 30 times before it goes to the login screen. Once the computer is started it runs perfect, it just takes forever to turn it on. If anyone has any idea what could be causing this i would love to solve this problem. Thanks in advance for any help offered, Matt.

treid · 01-14-2007, 03:18 AM

it seems as though your primary drive is failing, you say your using it again, and your xp takes forever to boot. Try the ide again and see what happens. If thats normal, try formatting the primary, then using hdclone to transfer your partition from the ide to the primary. After thats done (it will take a couple hours) disconnect the ide and try boot again. If itts still sluggish, i think your due for a new hard drive.

matty0500 · 01-14-2007, 10:45 AM

that's what i was thinking too, i was just hoping it wasn't. my primary is a western digital 80gb sata that i just bought about a year and a half ago so it looks like it's time for a warranty claim. Thanks for the help.

Rednecktech · 01-14-2007, 01:09 PM

You really should run WD Lifegaurd Tools on the drive first, it should tell you if there are any troubles with it. You can download them from the WD website below. Also try swapping your SATA cable with another, I've had a couple cables that caused similar issues because of faulty connectors not making a solid connection. http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?swid=1

matty0500 · 01-14-2007, 02:18 PM

Oh, and there's one more issue i forgot to mention. My secondary hdd has been doing something else weird for about a month now, every time i boot my computer runs CHKDSK on it, and i can't cancel it, any idea why this would be? Next time mysterybyte is open i'm gonna grab a couple SATA cables and hopefully that will help, i'm also going to format my C as the only things on that drive really are the OS and basics like norton and spy sweeper. Thanks for all your help guys, Matt.

Rednecktech · 01-14-2007, 02:20 PM

Check disc running often at boot is usually a sign of a failing drive. I have lots of SATA cables here if you want to drop by for some

treid · 01-14-2007, 04:59 PM

but how could he have a faulty cable, if he hasnt been fiddling with it?

Rednecktech · 01-14-2007, 06:24 PM

You don't have to "fiddle" with anything for it to be faulty or become faulty.

treid · 01-15-2007, 12:44 AM

oh, but, i dont see how it could? Could you fill me in? I love knowledge haha

TerrorX · 01-28-2007, 01:32 PM

If i were you i would try a reformat of your primary SATA and install Xp or Vista. I have found that can fix a lot of problems. I know there are otherways but i'ma lazy guy and i feel safe with formats. Cleans the junk off. I have had that long time boot problem too and that usually fixes it up.