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Slowdown when External HD on??

  • 14-12-2004 8:28pm
    #1
    joseph brand
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,537 ✭✭✭


    Just wondering if anyone else gets a slowdown in pc performance when an external HD is connected??

    I have a Maxtor one touch 120Gb which kills my Dell Dimension 4300, bought back in Feb 2001. It still has original Mobo but have since added an Nvidia Geforce FX 5700, Creative Audigy Soundblaster and changed master HD to a maxtor 40 GB.

    Why would an ext HD slow a Pc?? Do I need new Mobo considering it is 4 yrs old???

    Cheers for any help. :confused::confused:


Comments

  • #2
    Gryzor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,715 ✭✭✭Gryzor


    used to happen to me if i connected my external HD to a USB 1.1 port. but when i switched to the USB 2 port it was fine


  • #3
    RicardoSmith
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,264 ✭✭✭RicardoSmith


    Might be better getting a cheap USB2 card, and see if that helps. Should take some of the load away from the system. That said I have a couple of USB EXT disk and I don't have that problem on any machine I've connected them too.


  • #4
    Invader Zim
    Closed Accounts Posts: 141 ✭✭Invader Zim


    USB is a DOG!

    I have have innumerable problems with it (on dozens of PC's).

    From past experience you are best off not trying to diagnose it but rather chop and change until the problem goes away.
    The best option as mentioned above is a USB2 card (€15-20) - this will give MUCH transfer speeds with teh external disc anyway.

    Also, 4 years old?, probabaly win 98/ME/2000?

    98/ME - get the latest USB drivers (google for them)
    2000 - Service pack 4 is a MUST, it solved many (not all) USB problems.


  • #5
    RicardoSmith
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,264 ✭✭✭RicardoSmith


    I never had a problem with USB I think its brilliant.

    Once I saw where it wouldn't work on a new computer until Windows was reinstalled.


  • #6
    joseph brand
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,537 ✭✭✭joseph brand


    I have XP home.

    Seems to be working fine now.

    Pretty sure I had a virus of some sort as it's working ok today but I did scans with AVG anti virus (trial), Spybot and Ad-Aware. My friend took a lend of my HD and said that one particular file, when he tried to open it, it would freeze his PC.

    I got him to delete it in case my Pc would not and now it is ok. Maybe it was the
    'dodgy' file.

    Thanks guys/gals, by the by, I think I have USB 2, how would I find out??

    Thinking of getting new mobo with firewire as another friend has it and it s**ts all over USB according to his face.


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  • #7
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,599 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    I hate the way windows XP searches removable drives for something to run , slows things down


  • #8
    RicardoSmith
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,264 ✭✭✭RicardoSmith


    Capt'n Midnight wrote:
    I hate the way windows XP searches removable drives for something to run , slows things down

    Turn it off then? Cancel the search. How hard is that?
    joseph brand wrote:
    Thinking of getting new mobo with firewire as another friend has it and it s**ts all over USB according to his face.

    The problem with FW is a lot of PC's (yours for example) don't have it. So its not as handy that way. If USB2 is working properly its not much slower than FW. However there are lots of slow USB2 chipsets, and some of these are quite a bit slower than FW. Whereas FW chipsets seem to be a lot better. Also FW uses much less of the CPU and you can daisy chain devices and even RAID FW HD's together.

    For me the better availablity of USB2 is more important that outright speed. But if I had to have the fastest external drives then I'd use FW. Theres a new version of FW called Firewire 800 which is alot faster.

    Heres more info
    http://www4.tomshardware.com/storage/20040402/


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