XP install is going slooooooooowwwwwww...why?

[Tullphan]

The format portion of the install took all of about 3 seconds on the 74 gb Raptor. Now it's at the file copying part & it's proceeding as slow as cold molasses.
Anyone have any idea why?
Thanks.

 

[MrChad]

Drive configuration? Hardware specs?

 

[Tullphan]

Non-Raid setup. AMD A64 3200+, 1gb Mushkin Level 1 Ram, ATI 9700Pro, Plextor CDR-W & DVD +/-RW.

 

[Mojoed]

Slow is relative. Exactly how slow? (in minutes)

 

[Sideswipe001]

Slow CD-ROM drive?

 

[Tullphan]

It's 40% done & it's been about an hour. I consider that relatively slow, don't you?

 

[Tullphan]

Originally posted by: Sideswipe001
Slow CD-ROM drive?

It's a Plexy 48x...I don't think that's too slow of a CD-Rom.

 

[Sideswipe001]

That should be fast enough of one. Which part are you in? The blue screen copying files, or has it rebooted already into the GUI?

 

[Tullphan]

Still in the blue screen copying files. Heck, I installed XP on a K6-2 500 with 64mb of ram and a 20gb 5400rpm drive the other day & it installed faster than this!

 

[Sideswipe001]

There is something seriously wrong there. I'd be double checking that the CD-ROM isn't running in PIO mode or something. How long did it take the system to detect that there WAS a hard drive? Did it freeze for a while detecting it, or did it just pop up?

Something isn't right.

 

[Tullphan]

The hard drive was detected immediately upon bootup. I'm not sure of the PIO mode thing. It's been installed in my system for several months, so i'm assuming whatever setting it came with from the factory is the way it is now.
I'm gonna try installing from the DVD drive...it can't be any slower. I just hope it doesn't mess up the installation if I restart.

 

[Sideswipe001]

It won't mess it up. I would certainly try the other drive. That's just insane, and to me, the CD-rom is the most likely culprit.

 

[Tullphan]

To give you some idea, it's completed 18% more since my first post.

 

[Tullphan]

Have restarted 3 different times since last post. It keeps saying a file can't be found (& don't ask which one because it varied each time). I've used both optical drives & switched the power connector from the SATA adapter to the "regular" power connector.
Each time I restart, it starts out great, till it gets to about 3%, then it goes into "how slow can I go" mode.
Disheartening.
Has anyone here who owns a K8V SE Deluxe had the same problem?

 

[pac1085]

Try a different CD?

 

[Mojoed]

Ok, this exact thing happened to me years ago. I tried everything I could think of to no avail. I was about to give up entirely. On a whim, I changed the HDD IDE cable. Didn't work. Then changed the CD-ROM IDE cable. BOOM, problem fixed.

I gave that cable a CLOSE LOOK afterwards and didn't see anything until the second time I looked. About halfway down, wire #40 had a tiny tiny gauge exposing some copper. It was the same cable I had used prior to upgrading. I must have pinched it or nicked it up somehow in the transition.

If you've already eliminated transfer mode, tried different CD/HDD's/CD-ROM's, then I would definately try swapping cables. IF that doesn't work, your IDE controller/mobo could be damaged.

Keep us updated.

Edit: Spelling.

 

[Tullphan]

Originally posted by: pac1085
Try a different CD?

I've got 2 different (legitimate) copies of XP Pro...one with SP1, one without.

Originally posted by: Mojoed

If you've already eliminated transfer mode, tried different CD/HDD's/CD-ROM's, then I would definately try swapping cables. IF that doesn't work, your IDE controller/mobo could be damaged.

Keep us updated.

Edit: Spelling.

I don't guess I understand about the transfer mode thing...are they defaulted to one or the other? I've used 2 different optical drives that were working fine before I started this mess. I guess I could change them to Primary instead of Secondary?

 

[D1gger]

Originally posted by: Tullphan
Have restarted 3 different times since last post. It keeps saying a file can't be found (& don't ask which one because it varied each time). I've used both optical drives & switched the power connector from the SATA adapter to the "regular" power connector.
Each time I restart, it starts out great, till it gets to about 3%, then it goes into "how slow can I go" mode.
Disheartening.
Has anyone here who owns a K8V SE Deluxe had the same problem?

Often, I have found that when you start getting file not found errors on install, it is actually a RAM error. Download Memtest386 onto a boot floppy and run it. You may find you have a bad stick of RAM.

 

[Tullphan]

Originally posted by: D1gger

Often, I have found that when you start getting file not found errors on install, it is actually a RAM error. Download Memtest386 onto a boot floppy and run it. You may find you have a bad stick of RAM.

Well, that's what I thought too, but I was hoping that my 6 month old Mushkin wouldn't be going bad already.

 

[Tullphan]

Update: After waiting 2 hours for all the files to be copied, it went thru it's first reboot. NOTHING! NADA! ZILCH!!
Ideas?

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: Tullphan

Originally posted by: D1gger

Often, I have found that when you start getting file not found errors on install, it is actually a RAM error. Download Memtest386 onto a boot floppy and run it. You may find you have a bad stick of RAM.

Well, that's what I thought too, but I was hoping that my 6 month old Mushkin wouldn't be going bad already.

could be bad media too, but it sounds like you tried that already.

 

[yuchai]

Did you use a clean DOS disk to boot before running setup? If so, did you run SMARTDRV.EXE first?

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: D1gger
Often, I have found that when you start getting file not found errors on install, it is actually a RAM error. Download Memtest386 onto a boot floppy and run it. You may find you have a bad stick of RAM.

Agreed. Be certain to run the full battery of tests (believe there are 11 total), and not just the default. The full test should take roughly five to six hours. I tend to do this with any ram immediately upon receiving it as part of the initial burn-in test, just to be certain there are no minute errors lurking.

Next would check the cables, as suggested above, followed by changing IDE channels, if possible. New motherboard? Installed prior? Could possibly be a faulty board in some regard - likely the one or both IDE channels, if you test both with several different optical drives.

Good luck.

 

[Tullphan]

The system has been running smoothly for six months or more. The only thing that's been changed was the primary hard drive (that i'm struggling with) & a dvd r/w. I've not had any issues with this system until trying to put the SATA drive in today.
If there is a problem with the ram, why is it keeping the drive from booting up? Why haven't I noticed anything strange before?

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: Tullphan
The system has been running smoothly for six months or more. The only thing that's been changed was the primary hard drive (that i'm struggling with) & a dvd r/w. I've not had any issues with this system until trying to put the SATA drive in today.

The above bolded portion is the key that has been missing in earlier posts. Was never mentioned that this was a new drive. Nor was it mentioned if SATA has been used on this board before.

Has the SATA interface on the board been implemented prior? Would be wise to test both (the interface on the board, and the drive) in alternate implementations to be sure you aren't dealing with a defective drive and/or SATA interface, if possible. If said course of action is not an option, check with the retailer as far as what the return options are for the drive (assuming the drive is the newest piece of hardware in this case), or consult a local hardware retailer regarding the possibility of testing one or both of the parts. Better and more inexpensive to do the testing oneself, of course, but may not be an option.

Now that the situation has been explained a bit further, chances are this is not a ram issue, nor an IDE issue.