windows xp system getting slower and slower....

[acidvoodoo]

i've noticed that my windows XP system seems to be getting very slow. (got this computer in may)

athlon xp 1900
512mb ddr
maxtor ata 133 80gB 7200
NTFS file system

what i mean is, things like booting up, take longer, and are ALOT noiser then they used to be. also things like opening programs, or even closing programs, takes a long time sometimes. opening media files has some delay too.

if i listen to my hard drive, i can hear two type of clicks, if that means anything

the drive is like %43 full, and i've scan disked and defraged twice, which didn't really make any difference.

i am currently scanning for viruses


anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Confused]

Back up data on drive now and RMA it

Sounds like the hard drive is dieing, which is normally what the clicking is

 

[acidvoodoo]

so there no other possibility? i may be wrong about the clicks, it's just when it boots up or whatever, i hear the normal loading sounds, with a few, louder clicky sounds.


does anyone have a link to a maxtor diagnostic tool? i couldn't find it on thier site

 

[CtlAltl33t]

Check out computer management under administrative tools. It can tell you the "health" status of your drives. It is normally pretty accurate. If it says something bad, chances are it's right. If you got the PC in May, should still be under warranty. Hope this helps.

 

[fluxquantum]

backup, format, and reinstall. might work.

 

[acidvoodoo]

Originally posted by: CtlAltl33t
Check out computer management under administrative tools. It can tell you the "health" status of your drives. It is normally pretty accurate. If it says something bad, chances are it's right. If you got the PC in May, should still be under warranty. Hope this helps.

well it says it is healthy


did i forget to mention it freezes up sometimes, when i like open IE or other simple things?



and formatting is a last resort really

 

[Indus]

Install SP1. Its like a fresh installation of XP anyways and it'll speed up your system.

But the clicking noise means hard drive is about to die. You really want to backup and RMA that hard drive.

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: Indus
Install SP1. Its like a fresh installation of XP anyways and it'll speed up your system.

No, its not.. SP1 repalces many system files but doe not perform the new registry and settings creation that a full install would.

Bill

 

[Indus]

Originally posted by: bsobel

Originally posted by: Indus
Install SP1. Its like a fresh installation of XP anyways and it'll speed up your system.

No, its not.. SP1 repalces many system files but doe not perform the new registry and settings creation that a full install would.

Bill

That's true but it sped up my system and I didn't do a reformat.

I think it would speed him up as well, but ofcourse, nothing's as good as a clean install.

Also nowdays you can make your own SP1 cd so that helps.

 

[kursplat]

Back up data on drive now and RMA it

has anyone noticed this seems to be happening ALOT lately ? i've been seeing quite a few posts with hard drive clicking (just had one of mine start doing it too. clicks for a bit , locks the system for a minute then disapears from the device mngr. i've removed the info and RMA'd it to WD) sorry to get off topic but i'm willing to bet acidvoodoo's drive is going to fail soon.
good luck

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: acidvoodoo

Originally posted by: CtlAltl33t
Check out computer management under administrative tools. It can tell you the "health" status of your drives. It is normally pretty accurate. If it says something bad, chances are it's right. If you got the PC in May, should still be under warranty. Hope this helps.

well it says it is healthy
did i forget to mention it freezes up sometimes, when i like open IE or other simple things?
and formatting is a last resort really

If it freezes (mouse locks for a split-second or longer, even), then you are definately having HD problems. Worse case - the drive is dying. Best case - one of the cables is loose or faulty. I would recommend backing up, and checking the HD with a mfg's diagnostic program, and then checking (reattaching) the cables, check it again with the mfg's diags, and then continue to use the system if no errors were found by the diag. If you continue to hear strange things, and experience "freezing", especially when opening programs, then I would RMA the drive. Tell them that it is making funny clicking noises, and they usually will RMA drives, even if the diag program says that it is ok.