Storage Solutions hard drive too slow, hogging CPU

[mallik]

Hi all,

I have a Seagate 200 GB HDD IDE, around 2.5 years old. It was lying idle for a couple of months, and now when I connected it to the system, it is behaving weirdly. Whenever I perform any operation it, the whole system gets bogged down, and CPU usage shows 50 % or more. I used HD Tach and HD tune, and they show speeds of 1.4 MB/s. Another thing, in HD Tune test, the speed of 1.4 MB/s is almost constant (I am in office, or else would have posted a screen shot).

I haven't tested it for errors yet, but while using partition magic, it got really bogged down - that's when I realized there was some problem.

I am going to back up the data and see what I can do.

I am not able to connect my DVD drive on my IDE channel either. While booting up also, I think it shows up later in BIOS.

So what do you think it is ?

1. A software / BIOS issue?

2. A motherboard IDE slot issue.

3. A HDD issue.

Help will be appreciated

Thanks,

Mallik

 

[techfreak]

IMAO its HDD Issue ..As u got HD Tune pro ..scan for errors.i think ur HDD is showing signs of dying..BACKUP ASAP

 

[mallik]

Here are the HDTune images of my two HDDs, one SATA, the other IDE. I am in process of scanning the IDE for errors.

I am also trying to back up everything ASAP. But still I have my doubts about the IDE channel. I'll try connecting the HDD through USB (I have a HDD to USB converter) and let you know.

Thanks,

Mallik

 

[techfreak]

Is ur IDE running in DMA MODE??? and is it (IDE HDD )making any heavy sound while spining??