Slow response time during file access - can't determine cause

[Ruhnie]

Looking for some suggestions on things to try, as my next step is a reformat and reinstall of windows. Here's a summary of the types of issues I'm seeing:

- opening file explorer (specifically My Computer) freezes for upwards of a minute before displaying
- opening files in any program causes that program to freeze for 30s to a min before loading
- iTunes takes forever to open
- games load slowly, specifically when loading zones/maps

However, once in an app and running, the system responds fine if I'm not accessing any new files. Games run as they always have, no framerate loss or lag. Here's what I've tried so far:

- Seagate disk diagnostics passed
- TrendMicro House Call run and removed all problems (no viruses found)
- Spybot and Adaware run
- Defrag w/ Diskeeper
- Registry cleaner run

After all of this I am still not having any success, and am wondering if some kind of HD failure is imminent. Does anyone have any ideas? Any help is MUCH appreciated!

 

[law9933]

Does it work correctly in Safe Mode? If so, then it could be a driver or a auto starting program.

 

[Ruhnie]

Originally posted by: law9933
Does it work correctly in Safe Mode? If so, then it could be a driver or a auto starting program.

You know, I always tend to forget trying the simple steps lol. Thanks for the tip, I need to check that out.

 

[daveybrat]

Go to device manager and find out what mode your hard drive is running in. It sounds to me like it's running in PIO mode instead of DMA mode.

You can find it under the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and it's the Primary IDE channel.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Ruhnie]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
Go to device manager and find out what mode your hard drive is running in. It sounds to me like it's running in PIO mode instead of DMA mode.

You can find it under the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and it's the Primary IDE channel.

Let us know how it goes.

Well it's an SATA drive, so I don't see any setting for PIO or DMA on it. Thanks for the tip though