added an old drive, XP is slower

  • Thread starter Thread starter Talal Itani
  • Start date Start date
T

Talal Itani

A few days ago, I added a and old slow disk drive to my XP PC, for backups.
Since then I noticed that the PC is slower, and I can hear this old drive
crunching. Is it my imagination? Is XP now using this drive for things?
Thanks.

Talal Itani
 
Talal Itani said:
A few days ago, I added a and old slow disk drive to my XP PC, for
backups. Since then I noticed that the PC is slower, and I can hear this
old drive crunching. Is it my imagination? Is XP now using this drive
for things? Thanks.

Talal Itani
Click to expand...

XP actually is smart enough to work in the opposite
manner from what you are experiencing, it will use
the fastest/ lowest latency drive on your system for
its swap file, for instance. There are various times
when the OS or the file system will access/poll all the
attached drives and that could be the slow-up you
are seeing, due to the one slow drive.

If it is for backup, you might consider a $15 USB
enclosure for this "old drive".

Luck;
Ken
 
Ken Maltby said:
XP actually is smart enough to work in the opposite
manner from what you are experiencing, it will use
the fastest/ lowest latency drive on your system for
its swap file, for instance. There are various times
when the OS or the file system will access/poll all the
attached drives and that could be the slow-up you
are seeing, due to the one slow drive.

If it is for backup, you might consider a $15 USB
enclosure for this "old drive".

Luck;
Ken
Click to expand...

Thanks Ken, but why is a drive in a USB enclosure better for backups, than
an internal drive?
 
Talal said:
Thanks Ken, but why is a drive in a USB enclosure better for backups, than
an internal drive?
Click to expand...
If your power supply blows your computer,
internal drives may nor survive.
Also you can remove a backup USB drive after backup.
And that way keep it out of harms way.
 
Talal said:
Thanks Ken, but why is a drive in a USB enclosure better for backups, than
an internal drive?
Click to expand...

I prefer an external drive because I connect it to the machine only when I
am doing a backup, and store it in another room otherwise: a bit safer from
disasters. Actually, I have two usb drives that I use in alternating order
to backup four machines.
 
Sjouke Burry said:
If your power supply blows your computer,
internal drives may nor survive.
Also you can remove a backup USB drive after backup.
And that way keep it out of harms way.
Click to expand...

Good point, thanks, I will do that.
 
Roby said:
I prefer an external drive because I connect it to the machine only when I
am doing a backup, and store it in another room otherwise: a bit safer
from
disasters. Actually, I have two usb drives that I use in alternating
order
to backup four machines.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
Roby said:
I prefer an external drive because I connect it to the machine only when I
am doing a backup, and store it in another room otherwise: a bit safer
from
disasters. Actually, I have two usb drives that I use in alternating
order
to backup four machines.
Click to expand...

I will take the opportunity to ask you: What software do you use for
backing up PCs?
 
Talal said:
I will take the opportunity to ask you: What software do you use for
backing up PCs?
Click to expand...
Ghost 2003 to make an image copy to internal
disk, then file copy that disk to usb disk.
That copies OS disk and data disk in one go.
I would have used a second USB disk, if I had not
destroyed that one(The flatcable was displaced
one pin, and moved that disk into the dustbin....)
 
If you added the older slower drive to your Primary IDE channel on the same
IDE cable as your current harddrive, then both harddrives are limited to the
speed of your old drive.
 
DaveW said:
If you added the older slower drive to your Primary IDE channel on the
same IDE cable as your current harddrive, then both harddrives are limited
to the speed of your old drive.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
If you added the older slower drive to your Primary IDE channel on the same
IDE cable as your current harddrive, then both harddrives are limited to the
speed of your old drive.
Click to expand...


False.

Independent device timing
 
Thanks.
Click to expand...


This is another example of why it is bad to post on basic
topics as you will get wrong answers, while someone
sufficiently motivated to write a larger work, on the net
for example, will tend to get at least these basics right.
 
kony said:
False.

Independent device timing
Click to expand...


I agree, the net is full of true information, and also full of false
information. The minds of the humans contain much true information, and
also much false information. That old drive is only 40GB, I used it to save
some old data, and it bothers me because it keeps crunching. I cannot
figure it out. I will unplug it.
 
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