HDD slows Windows 7 system down

[RPT]

May it be that MHDD testing runs Sata drive without disk internal logic at high speed while Windows using ACHI command makes disk and system crawling?

How to troubleshoot if HDD runs MHDD tests at normal speed but starting Windows 7 (64) slows PC down to 40 minutes until Windows log in window appears.
Same also with restore process using W7 original set-up DVD - it took near 2 days to finish system restore to previous date with error "0x8000ffff"
System Restore did not complete successfully. Your computer's system files and settings were not changed.

Details:
An unspecified error occurred during System Restore. (0x8000ffff)

Looks like disk slows somehow down whole PC except when booting from USB direct to MHDD.

Toshiba MK2533GSG 1.8" SATA drive

[Captain_WD]

Hey there RPT,

Here's a KB from MS for the error that you are getting during System Restore: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2695585
I would test the drive with the tool provided by the manufacturer as it knows the drive's firmware best and see if it passes all tests. If the drive fails part of the test that may be the reason why the OS log appears late. I'd also try to test the drive on another computer and see if the results are the same or the SATA controller of this PC is causing the issue.
Post back with some results.

Captain_WD.

[jermy]

can you post the SMART ?

[RPT]

So,it still can be a faulty disk?
Working normally with Mhddd,when fails with Windows?

How to obtain SMART data?
I have just plain USBCD to boot this PC.
I don't have any 1.8" SATA adapter to connect this HDD to any other PC.

PS. I added 2 photos from Mhdd.

Attachments

[RPT]

What is the meaning of read error rate Val=100 Worst=100 Raw=0 (same HDD model compared has same values)
Because Val and worst are equal it difficult to interpret.

Reallocated sectors count val=89 Worst=89 Raw 232 (same HDD model compared 100-100-0)

Current pending sectors Val and Worst both =100 Raw=0 Is this 100 kind of a factory default and currently there is no pending sectors? (same modelHDD compared (100-100-0)

How to understnad val 100 and worst 100? Doesn't seem to make much of sense at first glance.

Drive doesn't look very good but how it makes the whole PC to crawl in Windows while running normally mhdd test?

[Captain_WD]

"
"Normalized value", commonly referred to as just "value". This is a most universal measurement, on the scale from 0 (bad) to some maximum (good) value. Maximum values are typically 100, 200 or 253. Rule of thumb is: high values are good, low values are bad.
"Threshold" - the minimum normalized value limit for the attribute. If the normalized value falls below the threshold, the disk is considered defective and should be replaced under warranty. This situation is called "T.E.C." (Threshold Exceeded Condition).
"Raw value" - the value of the attribute as it is tracked by the device, before any normalization takes place. Some raw numbers provide valuable insight when properly interpreted. These cases will be discussed later on. Raw values are typically listed in hexadecimal numbers.
"

Basically the Normalized and Threshold values can be seen as 0% to 100% while the Raw values show you the true count of each attribute. You can easily find each value's meaning online.

What I see from this S.M.A.R.T. data is that the drive has had problems with certain sectors which means it is possible that it has bad sectors. Those sectors can be physical scratches on the drive's platter, forming air pockets. These air pockets cause the read/write head to bounce down and up whenever it hovers over them and sometimes land on another place on the platter, thus further damaging it and creating more bad sectors. I would recommend backing up all the data from the drive and consider replacing it. You can run chkdsk /r from the CMD to try to isolate these sectors and thus prolong the life of the drive a bit more.

Captain_WD.

[RPT]

Thanks.
Problem is that it's a 1.8" HDD SATA interface and I don't have an suitable adapter to attach drive to any living system. But I already ordered one for future cases.
I didn't want to swap drive to other PC as this most likely ruins MS W7 licensing.
To me it was such something difficult to understand how HDD makes w7 crawl. Its not something like "OS log appears late" - I'd say it almost never appears, except if you know that there exist also MS after never. No one usually looks at black screen for 20 minutes, expecting to appear there still something.
In other hand I didn't want to spoil original HDD W7 installation until it was not clear what has happened - may be it was a w10 install ...

So far by now I have installed to problematic laptop a new Toshiba 1.8" HDD and installed W7 from DVD and everything looks fine.
Probably next I'll give up and do the same new W7 to old HDD.
Then of course I'd loose any track to what's happened earlier ... if install succeeds (but likely it's drive and this trial closes the case.)

[Captain_WD]

You should be able to connect that drive with a simple SATA to USB cable externally to any system. Unlike 3.5" drives, these smaller ones can be power solely by the USB port and you can operate with it. Another option is to either get an enclosure or a dock station and thus connect it.

Captain_WD.

[RPT]

Hello

This 1.8" Toshiba MK1633GSG power connector doesn't look normal.
Please see attached images.
Let's hope the one I ordered from Ebay fits this connector.

Attachments

[jermy]

What you need is a mSATA to SATA like this

[RPT]

Hi

Thanks
Link is correct to "micro" SATA
But mSATA in posting is a typo ....

I already bought this, which by photo is also suitable for the future tasks:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221604452622?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

[jermy]

You right, uSATA not mSATA
Oh, and yours is cheaper

[fzabkar]

I would test the drive with the tool provided by the manufacturer as it knows the drive's firmware best and see if it passes all tests.

I've never been able to find any Toshiba tools at Toshiba's web site, but I tried again today.

"Your entry doesn’t appear to be valid. Please double-check that your product is from the US or Latin America and try again."

I tried both "HDD1F15" and "MK1633GSG".

In any case the OP is already using the most appropriate tool for the job. The problem appears to be that the drive has "slow" sectors. If the data are important, the OP should boot to a tool such as ddrescue and clone the drive. Otherwise, if the OP wishes to test the drive, then a full surface scan with MHDD will identify any slow blocks and report their access times. That's something that manufacturers' tools such as WD's Data LifeGuard and Seagate's SeaTools will not do. Manufacturer tools appear to be designed to minimise warranty returns rather than providing a real assessment of the drive's health. They're just concerned with whether a sector is readable or unreadable, not how long it takes to read it.

The most obvious problem in the OP's SMART data is the raw value of the Reallocated Sector Count, namely 232 bad sectors. Neither Data LifeGuard nor SeaTools will report this number. IMO that's dishonest. It certainly is misleading, especially in Seagate's case.

Moreover, some drives, particularly WD's, record a number of SMART attributes which are not reported to the user. To see them, you need to dump the firmware and analyse the relevant SMART modules. I have written a tool that does just that:

Hidden SMART attributes in WD HDDs:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=127&p=155

Often I find that these hidden attributes have hit the threshold, which means that the drive has technically failed, but the user is never made aware of this.

What is the meaning of read error rate Val=100 Worst=100 Raw=0 (same HDD model compared has same values)

Here is what a WD "engineer" has to say on the subject:
http://community.wd.com/t5/Desktop-Mobi ... d-p/525826

That should tell you what really goes on inside WD's Tech Support. It's a very enlightening read, for all the wrong reasons.

As for a USB enclosure, don't bother, unless you wish to retain a failing drive for non-critical storage. The best way to test your drive is in situ with MHDD. MHDD accesses the drive directly, at the register level, without going through BIOS or DOS. You cannot get any closer to the drive than that, at least not with DIY tools. A Windows environment adds a huge amount of obfuscation, and a USB enclosure adds even more.

[fzabkar]

I should add that attribute 188 is reporting 35 Command Timeouts. That would be consistent with the slowdowns in Windows.