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Do anything data-related, the computer becomes impossible to use

destrekor

destrekor

Lifer
This computer at work is driving me nuts trying to figure out what the issue is.

It's a brand new computer (few weeks old?) and it's used for some AutoCAD, ICE, etc.

The first symptoms were, when transfer data over the network to the server (or from it), the design programs would lock up. But even without them open, Outlook and everything else has a tendency to lock up as well.

It was also seen when trying to connect to a network printer in Outlook.


But now, I get a report it's the same situation when trying to install catalog updates from a CD/DVD to the local hard disk.
So, it almost seems like whenever you do anything related to data, at least over long periods of time (as opposed to saving one file), it just can't help but take 100% priority of the system, at the expense of everything else.
Considering it's a beefier system, it should be able to do all those things without slowing anything down (except perhaps any render time).

Thoughts?
 
Sure sounds like a bad stick of ram. My second guess would be the hard drive not managing it's. What does your event viewer have to say about it?
 
Since it is a computer at work, the logical step is to refer the problem to your IT manager. That's his little red wagon - let him pull it.
 
Kenmitch said:
If it's a brand new couple weeks old system why not contact the place of purchase and request a replacement?
Click to expand...

Ultimately, I'm trying to determine the cause. If it's something local or a configuration issue on that machine, a replacement may randomly fix it or we may even make the same mistake again - and we wouldn't know what the issue actually is.

I just recently started, so global configurations, the AD Tree, GPO (extremely minimal) and everything regarding their network - I'm just barely starting to get a clear top-down understanding, and in many ways that's a stretch to even say that much.
 
Symptoms could be a hard drive with some issues. Sometimes chkdsk takes care of it. Sometimes replacing the hard drive takes care of it. Sometimes it's unrelated, but not often. Bad memory usually shows problems in more ways than what you describe, but I can't ever recall seeing bad memory cause 100% cpu usage.
 
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Many IRQs are shared including the one involving the LAN. Recommend to have the system assembled and tested by a competent vendor or as do it yourself, you'll want to pull the system down (ie, start from a minimal build) and add stuff back in till the problem/issue exhibits.

Be sure to understand your MB installation manual and available BIOS options/settings thoroughly.
 
destrekor said:
Ultimately, I'm trying to determine the cause. If it's something local or a configuration issue on that machine, a replacement may randomly fix it or we may even make the same mistake again - and we wouldn't know what the issue actually is.

I just recently started, so global configurations, the AD Tree, GPO (extremely minimal) and everything regarding their network - I'm just barely starting to get a clear top-down understanding, and in many ways that's a stretch to even say that much.
Click to expand...

I see....My networking skills end at the cat5 cable 🙁
 
What computer, and what OS? When I first read your first post, it sounded like a hard drive problem. I run start with some file system and hard drive diagnostics.
 
ketchup79 said:
What computer, and what OS? When I first read your first post, it sounded like a hard drive problem. I run start with some file system and hard drive diagnostics.
Click to expand...

I can be more specific tomorrow morning, but I do know it's a recent Dell Precision tower.

Hard drive sounded very suspicious to me too - but I just don't even want to believe it is the possible issue. I'm also sure it'll be now, just because that's how things seem to turn out.

OS is Windows 7 SP1 x64
 
cubby1223 said:
Symptoms could be a hard drive with some issues. Sometimes chkdsk takes care of it. Sometimes replacing the hard drive takes care of it. Sometimes it's unrelated, but not often. Bad memory usually shows problems in more ways than what you describe, but I can't ever recall seeing bad memory cause 100% cpu usage.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I see I worded it kind of bad.

Oddly enough, this is not 100% CPU usage. The rest of the system just acts like all processing and memory resources were stolen out from under them.
When doing this disk activity, almost all (if not all) applications stop responding. Sometimes they register in task manager as not responding (AutoCAD doesn't, iirc), but is essentially frozen, Office programs go Not Responding for lengthy bursts, free up for a brief moment in time then lock up again.

We could force a completely 3D Walkthrough/Rendering, process full and detailed structural CAD designs, ramp up both CPU and Memory utilization, and yet not give other applications any grief for requesting some of their own resources.
 
A new computer doesnt really have that new computer feeling unless it has an SSD. Windows has gotten so bloated that you really cant do anything without one, unless you like constant freezing and waiting. Especially when a computer is loaded with a full suite of corporate crap.
 
sm625 said:
A new computer doesnt really have that new computer feeling unless it has an SSD. Windows has gotten so bloated that you really cant do anything without one, unless you like constant freezing and waiting. Especially when a computer is loaded with a full suite of corporate crap.
Click to expand...

That, that right there, is called exaggeration to an epic extreme.

SSDs helps make OS operations feel instantaneous or nearly there, true.

But regular operations on platter-based drives is hardly an excruciating experience.

A system featuring a Xeon E5-2xxx w/8GB RAM is not going to choke itself nearly to death every time data needs to move between CD-ROM and platter-based HDD. It'll take longer to do the operation - but when much older systems can do the same thing without interrupting every else the user does, this all seems like a moot point.


edit:

BTW: Dell's troubleshooting utilities don't give anything (and one section of the one test looks at all S.M.A.R.T. data available, or at least that seems to be the case). Event Viewer, Disk Management, Performance Monitor, Intel Rapid Storage monitor (which can also provide SMART data), and nothing in NetGuardian/LabTech (our remote agent/super-utility platform - if anyone isn't aware of it) even remotely points to any hardware faults.
I was both hoping it was and wasn't hardware. It being so new, that would suck for it to be hardware. But, that also removed the easy answer.
Now it's back to: "what the hell is going on?!"

Because seriously - I'm absolutely stumped.
 
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destrekor said:
I think a Dell Precision T7600. It's a recent Dell Precision, customized to some degree iirc.
Click to expand...

What software have you added to the machine? My thought is, if it is running totally stock, and still experiencing this issues, I see no reason you cannot just send it back to Dell.
 
ketchup79 said:
What software have you added to the machine? My thought is, if it is running totally stock, and still experiencing this issues, I see no reason you cannot just send it back to Dell.
Click to expand...

This, especially if you have any other similarly-configured machines running without exhibiting this issue. Have you by any chance tried resetting the CMOS memory settings on the motherboard?
 
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Running resource monitor or Performance tool and checking out % Disk time should immediately confirm or deny a hard drive issue. If it gets to 100% (and stays there) for the duration of the hiccup, you know the load on the disk is too high. Not only that, Resource monitor will also show you what SW is causing it.
Since this is a new computer, I would also guess that if you filled the drive up with data (not software), indexing service is putting quite a load on the drive just indexing that data. Naturally, putting another strain on it, such as transferring data to / from network or DVD is too much for a platter based drive. Queue depth shoots up, % disk time goes to 100% and your machine plays dead for a while.
 
Perhaps.

Next week will be a big test when the user has to upload a few CDs worth of catalog updates to the local server. At those times, her computer was rendered useless but that should never have been the case.
I've done my own tests recently to attempt to repeat the problem, but it doesn't appear I can force it to rear its ugly head. I may have killed it for good, but like I said, one big moment of truth awaits yet.

What seems to have solved the problem was when I used the provided Dell update utility. It grabbed two things:
1) Intel Storage Controller update
2) BIOS update

Due to limited access to her machine and no machine to replace it with temporarily (she has the beefiest PC in our company, because she needs it for rendering and other design workflow stuff), I couldn't truly go about the best troubleshooting approach. I'd love to have a confirmed "it was most certainly this single update I did, nothing else" type answer, but it could have been a few things.

Between my last diagnostics post here and the updates I applied, I had ran a few more HDD and other hardware diagnostic tools, and performed a few different tests and applied a few other system updates.
 
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