Disk Activity Locks Computer

  • Thread starter Thread starter GaryMO
  • Start date Start date
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GaryMO

I purchased a locally made desktop last year... an otherwise fine PC with one
annoying problem.

Whenever the disk is active (i.e. the disk lite is lit), the mouse, keyboard,
etc. all lock until the lite is off.

If there is brief disk activity (Word saving a file), it is not bad, but if it
is longer (pkzip compressing a large file), it can lock up for several seconds.

Here is the configuration:

TotalDiskDrives=TotalDiskDrives=4
DiskDrive0=DiskDrive0=Floppy Drive A:
DiskDrive1=DiskDrive1=HardDiskDrive C: FreeSpace: 8787 MB , TotalSpace: 32231
MB
DiskDrive2=DiskDrive2=HardDiskDrive D: FreeSpace: 246 MB , TotalSpace: 1915 MB
DiskDrive3=DiskDrive3=CD-ROM Drive E:
Processor=Processor=x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 7
SysResources=SysResources= 24% free
Memory=Memory=510 MB total (49% load)
OS=OS=Windows 98 4.10 (Build 2222)
Video=Video=1024 x 768 , True Color (32 bit)
Multimedia=Multimedia=CD-ROM , Sound

[NETWORK]
CPUMake=CPUMake=Intel P4
CPUSpeed=CPUSpeed=2404
USB=USB=Detected
NIC=NIC=Detected

Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Check the disk status in device manager. DMA should be enabled.
I purchased a locally made desktop last year... an otherwise fine PC with one
annoying problem.

Whenever the disk is active (i.e. the disk lite is lit), the mouse, keyboard,
etc. all lock until the lite is off.

If there is brief disk activity (Word saving a file), it is not bad, but if it
is longer (pkzip compressing a large file), it can lock up for several seconds.

Here is the configuration:

TotalDiskDrives=TotalDiskDrives=4
DiskDrive0=DiskDrive0=Floppy Drive A:
DiskDrive1=DiskDrive1=HardDiskDrive C: FreeSpace: 8787 MB , TotalSpace: 32231
MB
DiskDrive2=DiskDrive2=HardDiskDrive D: FreeSpace: 246 MB , TotalSpace: 1915 MB
DiskDrive3=DiskDrive3=CD-ROM Drive E:
Processor=Processor=x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 7
SysResources=SysResources= 24% free
Memory=Memory=510 MB total (49% load)
OS=OS=Windows 98 4.10 (Build 2222)
Video=Video=1024 x 768 , True Color (32 bit)
Multimedia=Multimedia=CD-ROM , Sound

[NETWORK]
CPUMake=CPUMake=Intel P4
CPUSpeed=CPUSpeed=2404
USB=USB=Detected
NIC=NIC=Detected

Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

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Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
 
Thank you very much for the reply. I went to device manager, and can not find
any reference to DMA in for the drives or controllers... where exactly should
it be (I have Win 98)?
 
Thank you very much for the reply. I went to device manager, and can not find
any reference to DMA in for the drives or controllers... where exactly should
it be (I have Win 98)?
Click to expand...

In Dev. Mgr, right-click on the drive, choose properties, and
there will be a DMA box that should be checked.

I don't think that's the problem though, since running a system
without DMA enabled generally does not freeze everything...
maybe some stuttering and slower drive access.

Had the system ever had chipset drivers installed?
Check which chipset the motherboard uses and download, install
drivers from respective chipset manufacturer. If you can't
determine this then post the make and model of the motherboard,
which is "usually" silkscreened on the board, either on an edge,
next to CPU socket and dimms, or inbetween AGP and/or PCI slots.
 
Check for the combinations of the shared IRQ's. This is the only thing I can
think of at this time...

--

Jerry G.
==========================


I purchased a locally made desktop last year... an otherwise fine PC with
one
annoying problem.

Whenever the disk is active (i.e. the disk lite is lit), the mouse,
keyboard,
etc. all lock until the lite is off.

If there is brief disk activity (Word saving a file), it is not bad, but if
it
is longer (pkzip compressing a large file), it can lock up for several
seconds.

Here is the configuration:

TotalDiskDrives=TotalDiskDrives=4
DiskDrive0=DiskDrive0=Floppy Drive A:
DiskDrive1=DiskDrive1=HardDiskDrive C: FreeSpace: 8787 MB , TotalSpace:
32231
MB
DiskDrive2=DiskDrive2=HardDiskDrive D: FreeSpace: 246 MB , TotalSpace: 1915
MB
DiskDrive3=DiskDrive3=CD-ROM Drive E:
Processor=Processor=x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 7
SysResources=SysResources= 24% free
Memory=Memory=510 MB total (49% load)
OS=OS=Windows 98 4.10 (Build 2222)
Video=Video=1024 x 768 , True Color (32 bit)
Multimedia=Multimedia=CD-ROM , Sound

[NETWORK]
CPUMake=CPUMake=Intel P4
CPUSpeed=CPUSpeed=2404
USB=USB=Detected
NIC=NIC=Detected

Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Do you defragment the hard drives on a regular basis? Perhaps you should set a
minimum size for the swap file?
 
it is cleaned and defraged... the swap file size is Windows default.
Click to expand...

To check that the drives are in fact in DMA mode as they should be
download this small free program,
http://www.cdspeed2000.com/go.php3?link=download.html
(size 218k)
Nero Info Tool.Run it(can be run from inside the .zip file) and check
the,"Configuration" tab.
If any of your drives are NOT in DMA then you may need to download the
correct driver's pack for your mother board.To help diagnose this
click here,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/diag.html
and get,"Everest Home Edition" free system diagnostic.
Also your drives may be in compatibility mode so.....
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/mode.html
and also,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/drivers.html

HTH :)



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