Results 1 to 20 of 20

Thread: SATA drive

  1. #1
    Registered User andystyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Glesgae!
    Posts
    582
    Rep Power
    9

    SATA drive

    I upgraded my IDE drive to a SATA, and have noticed some problems...after I load up my Windows XP (Pro) username, the system can sometimes take forever and a day to get everything up and running. And then once it IS up and running, opening something like Media Player or tinternet can take a lot of that horrible hard-drive thinking noise too.

    Other times the machine loads up A-OK. Has anyone else had this problem - is it a SATA thing or a software thing? My thought is software, but having wiped and re-installed the problem comes back...

    Any thoughts? Cheers!

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: SATA drive

    Have you re-installed the operating system? A slow system can be caused by a virus, and some of these cloak themselves very effectively fron anti-virus software (feel my pain).
    The other thing I did not realise when I first upgraded my drive was that the faster drives need and upgraded data cable with 80 wires, each data line being separated by an earth line.

  3. #3
    Registered User andystyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Glesgae!
    Posts
    582
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver
    Have you re-installed the operating system? A slow system can be caused by a virus, and some of these cloak themselves very effectively fron anti-virus software (feel my pain).
    Aye, I wiped the lot and restarted from scratch. But you have a point! I'll update my virus guard and scan the system.

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver
    The other thing I did not realise when I first upgraded my drive was that the faster drives need and upgraded data cable with 80 wires, each data line being separated by an earth line.
    I'll nip down to my local PC store and see if they have any. Cheers for the info, I'll hopefully post later with a big happy smile!

  4. #4
    Registered User El Salsero Gringo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    London
    Posts
    4,881
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver
    The other thing I did not realise when I first upgraded my drive was that the faster drives need and upgraded data cable with 80 wires, each data line being separated by an earth line.
    I thought SATA was Serial ATA - just using a 4 core cable and 4 pin connectors?

  5. #5
    Registered User David Franklin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,426
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by El Salsero Gringo
    I thought SATA was Serial ATA - just using a 4 core cable and 4 pin connectors?
    Correct in essence - from Wiki:
    The SATA standard defines a data cable using seven conductors and 8 mm wide wafer connectors on each end.
    You most definitely do not want a 80 wide ribbon cable; that's strictly for PATA drives.

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Berkshire
    Posts
    1,476
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by andystyle
    I upgraded my IDE drive to a SATA, and have noticed some problems...after I load up my Windows XP (Pro) username, the system can sometimes take forever and a day to get everything up and running. And then once it IS up and running, opening something like Media Player or tinternet can take a lot of that horrible hard-drive thinking noise too.

    Other times the machine loads up A-OK. Has anyone else had this problem - is it a SATA thing or a software thing? My thought is software, but having wiped and re-installed the problem comes back...

    Any thoughts? Cheers!
    Sounds to me like a hardware problem with your SATA Hard Drive. SATA should be quicker than IDE. I suggest getting hold of another physical hard drive and seeing if that makes a difference.

  7. #7
    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    10,015
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by Will
    Sounds to me like a hardware problem with your SATA Hard Drive. SATA should be quicker than IDE. I suggest getting hold of another physical hard drive and seeing if that makes a difference.
    I'd agree it's likely to be a hardware problem, though maybe not the disk itself... Could a motherboard problem... or even a cable problem...
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

  8. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Berkshire
    Posts
    1,476
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi
    I'd agree it's likely to be a hardware problem, though maybe not the disk itself... Could a motherboard problem... or even a cable problem...
    Agreed, thought statistically the Hard Drive is by far the most likely cause due to the fact that unlike the motherboard and cable, it has moving parts

  9. #9
    Registered User andystyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Glesgae!
    Posts
    582
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi
    I'd agree it's likely to be a hardware problem, though maybe not the disk itself... Could a motherboard problem... or even a cable problem...
    I think I'll tinker with it over the weekend...it does have a funny little quirk though. If it loads up slowly and I lose patience (after about a minute!) and reset the machine, it usually loads up fine the next time!

  10. #10
    The Gobby one! WittyBird's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Geekville
    Posts
    6,889
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by andystyle
    I think I'll tinker with it over the weekend...it does have a funny little quirk though. If it loads up slowly and I lose patience (after about a minute!) and reset the machine, it usually loads up fine the next time!
    Oh yes I would be laughing about that as well, while I stamped on it

  11. #11
    Papa Smurf
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Planet Scathe
    Posts
    12,528
    Blog Entries
    6
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by andystyle
    I upgraded my IDE drive to a SATA, and have noticed some problems...after I load up my Windows XP (Pro) username, the system can sometimes take forever and a day to get everything up and running. And then once it IS up and running, opening something like Media Player or tinternet can take a lot of that horrible hard-drive thinking noise too.

    sounds like you dont have enough memory to me !

  12. #12
    Registered User andystyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Glesgae!
    Posts
    582
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe
    sounds like you dont have enough memory to me !
    Na, memory is fine - got 1GB which does me for games, so loading Windoze shouldn't be an issue. Added to which, sometimes (like this afternoon) it started grand.

    Serves me right for trying to move with the times...IDE all the way!

  13. #13
    Registered User andystyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Glesgae!
    Posts
    582
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by WittyBird
    Oh yes I would be laughing about that as well, while I stamped on it
    I've been sorely tempted.

  14. #14
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by El Salsero Gringo
    I thought SATA was Serial ATA - just using a 4 core cable and 4 pin connectors?
    It is quite possible I have got that wrong. The pimply wotsit behind the counter told me it was a SATA drive, and I never thought to check on what SATA meant. It was a very nice IDE Maxtor drive, and my PC told me that I needed the 80 wire cable.

  15. #15
    Registered User David Franklin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,426
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: SATA drive

    On a serious note, have you made sure you have installed any necessary drivers? From what I see on forums, if you're using SATA raid, problems are almost a given unless you install the right drivers. I think normal SATA is less fussy, but as you seem to be having problems it might be worth a check.

    You might also want to check your bios settings to see what drives it thinks are there and what types and priorities they all have. I think it's possible to have a scenario where the machine spends a lot of time trying to access the disk using the wrong settings/interface before finding the right one.

  16. #16
    The Gobby one! WittyBird's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Geekville
    Posts
    6,889
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver
    It is quite possible I have got that wrong. The pimply wotsit behind the counter told me it was a SATA drive, and I never thought to check on what SATA meant. It was a very nice IDE Maxtor drive, and my PC told me that I needed the 80 wire cable.

    Johnny Nostars in PC World?
    Why didn't you ask someone who knew what they were talking about You'd probably have got more sense out the woman in your local chippy

  17. #17
    Papa Smurf
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Planet Scathe
    Posts
    12,528
    Blog Entries
    6
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by andystyle
    Na, memory is fine - got 1GB which does me for games, so loading Windoze shouldn't be an issue. Added to which, sometimes (like this afternoon) it started grand.

    Serves me right for trying to move with the times...IDE all the way!
    sounded like paging and swapping to me, ah well

    is it windows thats the issue? you tried an ubuntu cd or something so if thats ok ? as DF says drivers could be an issue. Ive never used a SATA drive as a boot drive and havent come across any such problems with a secondary SATA drive.

  18. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Inverness for now
    Posts
    1,863
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: SATA drive

    Maybe worth checking maxtor's website, if I remember rightly they have some utilies that might help diagnose the problem.

    http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...ware+Downloads

    Think you've been mis-sold a bit as SATA is definitely a very small 4 pin data cable, and you need to provide a driver disk before windows will do anything as it doesn't yet support SATA drives natively.

  19. #19
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by pmjd
    Maybe worth checking maxtor's website, if I remember rightly they have some utilies that might help diagnose the problem.

    http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...ware+Downloads

    Think you've been mis-sold a bit as SATA is definitely a very small 4 pin data cable, and you need to provide a driver disk before windows will do anything as it doesn't yet support SATA drives natively.
    I was not mis-sold anything. I wanted an IDE drive and got one. The pimply youth volunteered the wrong info, and I thought that was another acronym to look up sometime. The drive works fine with the right cable, and I have since bought two more just like it.

  20. #20
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Inverness for now
    Posts
    1,863
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: SATA drive

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver
    I was not mis-sold anything. I wanted an IDE drive and got one. The pimply youth volunteered the wrong info, and I thought that was another acronym to look up sometime. The drive works fine with the right cable, and I have since bought two more just like it.
    Sorry, was just reading posts a bit too quickly and thought you were looking for a SATA drive originally rather than an IDE drive.

    Plus I've managed to get your posts and andystyle's muddled up, can you tell it's a Friday?

    andystyle = try the manufacturers website for any handy utilities that might diagnose any faults.
    Last edited by pmjd; 11th-August-2006 at 04:07 PM.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Does Ceroc drive you to drink?
    By Gus in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 60
    Last Post: 8th-November-2006, 03:24 PM
  2. Blind people can't drive
    By Dreadful Scathe in forum Chit Chat
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 5th-September-2006, 10:44 PM
  3. What kind of drive does it take to become a good dancer?
    By mooncalf in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 13th-July-2005, 04:04 PM
  4. Women cant drive...
    By Dreadful Scathe in forum Chit Chat
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 8th-April-2004, 06:12 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •