Memory slowness issue

[General Mailbox]

Greetings.
I have a 10yr old HP8705 800Mhz CPU, 512MB RAM that has slowed down
noticeably in opening programs, ect. I have been using this computer
consistantly on the ballpark of 6hrs a day for 10 yrs. You can count on two
hands any significant issues I've had with this and less than a dozen
warnings of viruses in its life so far. Processes at fresh bootup run
between 28 and 34. I have these MS newsgroups to thank for these 10yrs of
helping me keep the machine running well. It had to happen sometime I
suppose. Something is giving out causing memory access to fall below
average benchmark levels. All 3 DIMMs were changed out in guessing it might
be one or more of the memory chips, but did not change anything. My CPU is
showing 797MHz (800Mhz) (6x133), so that hasn't slowed down. In my opinion,
the temperature has always been a bit elevated for the CPU (114F avg) never
exceeding 120F. My readings from Everest Report is:
Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium IIIE, 800 MHz (6 x 133)
Motherboard Name Asus Pegasus
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
System Memory 512 MB (SDRAM)

Memory Read
CPU CPU Clock Motherboard Chipset Memory Read Speed

PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
840 MB/s
for what I think it should be to
PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
281 MB/s
which is what it is now.

Memory Write
PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
190 MB/s
for what I thik it should be to
PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
93 MB/s

which is what it is now.

Memory Latency
C3 800 MHz VIA EPIA PLE133 PC133 SDRAM 3-3-3-6 178.5
ns

for what I think it should be to
PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
2-2-2-5 343.1 ns

which is what it is now.

While it has been recommended by MS for WinXP to have a better machine, this
has done sufficient for me with e-mail and web browsing.
I say this to save time in anyone who would write "Get a new machine",
unless in this case there is no cure for it, then I would.

Thanks to all for your assistance!

B.rgds,
Kevin

 

[Bob I]

It may be that the Hard drive access has reverted to PIO mode rather
than using DMA. Look at the IDE Primary Channel Properties in Device
Manager. If it has fallen back to PIO remove the channel and then "Scan
for hardware" to reinstall using DMA access.

General Mailbox wrote:
> Greetings.
> I have a 10yr old HP8705 800Mhz CPU, 512MB RAM that has slowed down
> noticeably in opening programs, ect. I have been using this computer
> consistantly on the ballpark of 6hrs a day for 10 yrs. You can count on two
> hands any significant issues I've had with this and less than a dozen
> warnings of viruses in its life so far. Processes at fresh bootup run
> between 28 and 34. I have these MS newsgroups to thank for these 10yrs of
> helping me keep the machine running well. It had to happen sometime I
> suppose. Something is giving out causing memory access to fall below
> average benchmark levels. All 3 DIMMs were changed out in guessing it might
> be one or more of the memory chips, but did not change anything. My CPU is
> showing 797MHz (800Mhz) (6x133), so that hasn't slowed down. In my opinion,
> the temperature has always been a bit elevated for the CPU (114F avg) never
> exceeding 120F. My readings from Everest Report is:
> Computer:
> Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
> OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
>
> Motherboard:
> CPU Type Intel Pentium IIIE, 800 MHz (6 x 133)
> Motherboard Name Asus Pegasus
> Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
> System Memory 512 MB (SDRAM)
>
> Memory Read
> CPU CPU Clock Motherboard Chipset Memory Read Speed
>
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 840 MB/s
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 281 MB/s
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Write
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 190 MB/s
> for what I thik it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 93 MB/s
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Latency
> C3 800 MHz VIA EPIA PLE133 PC133 SDRAM 3-3-3-6 178.5
> ns
>
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 2-2-2-5 343.1 ns
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> While it has been recommended by MS for WinXP to have a better machine, this
> has done sufficient for me with e-mail and web browsing.
> I say this to save time in anyone who would write "Get a new machine",
> unless in this case there is no cure for it, then I would.
>
> Thanks to all for your assistance!
>
> B.rgds,
> Kevin
>
>

 

[Paul]

General Mailbox wrote:
> Greetings.
> I have a 10yr old HP8705 800Mhz CPU, 512MB RAM that has slowed down
> noticeably in opening programs, ect. I have been using this computer
> consistantly on the ballpark of 6hrs a day for 10 yrs. You can count on two
> hands any significant issues I've had with this and less than a dozen
> warnings of viruses in its life so far. Processes at fresh bootup run
> between 28 and 34. I have these MS newsgroups to thank for these 10yrs of
> helping me keep the machine running well. It had to happen sometime I
> suppose. Something is giving out causing memory access to fall below
> average benchmark levels. All 3 DIMMs were changed out in guessing it might
> be one or more of the memory chips, but did not change anything. My CPU is
> showing 797MHz (800Mhz) (6x133), so that hasn't slowed down. In my opinion,
> the temperature has always been a bit elevated for the CPU (114F avg) never
> exceeding 120F. My readings from Everest Report is:
> Computer:
> Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
> OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
>
> Motherboard:
> CPU Type Intel Pentium IIIE, 800 MHz (6 x 133)
> Motherboard Name Asus Pegasus
> Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
> System Memory 512 MB (SDRAM)
>
> Memory Read
> CPU CPU Clock Motherboard Chipset Memory Read Speed
>
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 840 MB/s
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 281 MB/s
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Write
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 190 MB/s
> for what I thik it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 93 MB/s
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Latency
> C3 800 MHz VIA EPIA PLE133 PC133 SDRAM 3-3-3-6 178.5
> ns
>
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 2-2-2-5 343.1 ns
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> While it has been recommended by MS for WinXP to have a better machine, this
> has done sufficient for me with e-mail and web browsing.
> I say this to save time in anyone who would write "Get a new machine",
> unless in this case there is no cure for it, then I would.
>
> Thanks to all for your assistance!
>
> B.rgds,
> Kevin
>
>

Use CPUZ to verify the current operating conditions.
See if the frequencies listed are correct or not. You
can also get info on the current RAM timing settings from
this program.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php (use the 32 bit, no install version)

If you need to test the memory integrity, try memtest86+. Doing
two complete passes, without any memory errors, is enough testing.

http://www.memtest.org

One of the on-screen indicators provided by that memory testing
program, is a bandwidth readout for your memory.

In this example, the memory read bandwidth is 1247MB/sec. So
it's where it says "Memory :" that you want to take note of the
number.

http://www.memtest.org/pics/nf2-big.gif

Post back what you find.

One advantage of letting a program like memtest86+ to test the
memory bandwidth for you, is WinXP is not running at the time.
So you know for a certainty, it is not a "Microsoft problem" of
any sort.

Paul

 

[db]

there a multitude of
reasons to explain
why your system is
slow.

but one of the easiest
things you can do to
test system performance
is to boot into safe mode
and then safe mode w/
networking.

if performance appears
to be better in the safe
modes,

then there are a couple
of steps you can take that
would help the performance
of normal mode operations.


--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen

>
>

"General Mailbox" <nospampls@home.net> wrote in message news:xr5tn.173748$wr5.131671@newsfe22.iad...
> Greetings.
> I have a 10yr old HP8705 800Mhz CPU, 512MB RAM that has slowed down
> noticeably in opening programs, ect. I have been using this computer
> consistantly on the ballpark of 6hrs a day for 10 yrs. You can count on two
> hands any significant issues I've had with this and less than a dozen
> warnings of viruses in its life so far. Processes at fresh bootup run
> between 28 and 34. I have these MS newsgroups to thank for these 10yrs of
> helping me keep the machine running well. It had to happen sometime I
> suppose. Something is giving out causing memory access to fall below
> average benchmark levels. All 3 DIMMs were changed out in guessing it might
> be one or more of the memory chips, but did not change anything. My CPU is
> showing 797MHz (800Mhz) (6x133), so that hasn't slowed down. In my opinion,
> the temperature has always been a bit elevated for the CPU (114F avg) never
> exceeding 120F. My readings from Everest Report is:
> Computer:
> Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
> OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
>
> Motherboard:
> CPU Type Intel Pentium IIIE, 800 MHz (6 x 133)
> Motherboard Name Asus Pegasus
> Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
> System Memory 512 MB (SDRAM)
>
> Memory Read
> CPU CPU Clock Motherboard Chipset Memory Read Speed
>
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 840 MB/s
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 281 MB/s
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Write
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 190 MB/s
> for what I thik it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 93 MB/s
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Latency
> C3 800 MHz VIA EPIA PLE133 PC133 SDRAM 3-3-3-6 178.5
> ns
>
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 2-2-2-5 343.1 ns
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> While it has been recommended by MS for WinXP to have a better machine, this
> has done sufficient for me with e-mail and web browsing.
> I say this to save time in anyone who would write "Get a new machine",
> unless in this case there is no cure for it, then I would.
>
> Thanks to all for your assistance!
>
> B.rgds,
> Kevin
>

 

[Anteaus]

My thoughts are that as mentioned, the IDE access-mode (PIO/DMA) is a very
likely culprit. This is often the cause of very slow operation. A symptom
will be that every disk-access causes high processor load.

If the memory parameters are incorrect, though, this might be due to
corruption of the BIOS NVRAM settings. If so, removing the mobo battery for a
while, operating the discharge jumper, or doing a "Load optimum settings" in
the BIOS settings might correct this. Before doing so, take a note of any
BIOS settings which need to be put back.

"General Mailbox" wrote:

> Greetings.
> I have a 10yr old HP8705 800Mhz CPU, 512MB RAM that has slowed down
> noticeably in opening programs, ect. I have been using this computer
> consistantly on the ballpark of 6hrs a day for 10 yrs. You can count on two
> hands any significant issues I've had with this and less than a dozen
> warnings of viruses in its life so far. Processes at fresh bootup run
> between 28 and 34. I have these MS newsgroups to thank for these 10yrs of
> helping me keep the machine running well. It had to happen sometime I
> suppose. Something is giving out causing memory access to fall below
> average benchmark levels. All 3 DIMMs were changed out in guessing it might
> be one or more of the memory chips, but did not change anything. My CPU is
> showing 797MHz (800Mhz) (6x133), so that hasn't slowed down. In my opinion,
> the temperature has always been a bit elevated for the CPU (114F avg) never
> exceeding 120F. My readings from Everest Report is:
> Computer:
> Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
> OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
>
> Motherboard:
> CPU Type Intel Pentium IIIE, 800 MHz (6 x 133)
> Motherboard Name Asus Pegasus
> Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
> System Memory 512 MB (SDRAM)
>
> Memory Read
> CPU CPU Clock Motherboard Chipset Memory Read Speed
>
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 840 MB/s
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 281 MB/s
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Write
> PIII-E 866 MHz ECS P6VAP-A+ ApolloPro133A PC133 SDRAM
> 190 MB/s
> for what I thik it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 93 MB/s
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Latency
> C3 800 MHz VIA EPIA PLE133 PC133 SDRAM 3-3-3-6 178.5
> ns
>
> for what I think it should be to
> PIII-E 800 MHz Asus Pegasus ApolloPro133A PC100 SDRAM
> 2-2-2-5 343.1 ns
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> While it has been recommended by MS for WinXP to have a better machine, this
> has done sufficient for me with e-mail and web browsing.
> I say this to save time in anyone who would write "Get a new machine",
> unless in this case there is no cure for it, then I would.
>
> Thanks to all for your assistance!
>
> B.rgds,
> Kevin
>
>
> .
>

 

[Jose]

On Apr 1, 2:18 pm, "General Mailbox" <nospam...@home.net> wrote:
> Greetings.
> I have a 10yr old HP8705 800Mhz CPU, 512MB RAM that has slowed down
> noticeably in opening programs, ect.  I have been using this computer
> consistantly on the ballpark of 6hrs a day for 10 yrs. You can count on two
> hands any significant issues I've had with this and less than a dozen
> warnings of viruses in its life so far. Processes at fresh bootup run
> between 28 and 34. I have these MS newsgroups to thank for these 10yrs of
> helping me keep the machine running well.  It had to happen sometime I
> suppose.  Something is giving out causing memory access to fall below
> average benchmark levels. All 3 DIMMs were changed out in guessing it might
> be one or more of the memory chips, but did not change anything. My CPU is
> showing 797MHz (800Mhz) (6x133), so that hasn't slowed down. In my opinion,
> the temperature has always been a bit elevated for the CPU (114F avg) never
> exceeding 120F.  My readings from Everest Report is:
>       Computer:
>        Operating System    Microsoft Windows XP Professional
>        OS Service Pack    Service Pack 3
>
>       Motherboard:
>        CPU Type    Intel Pentium IIIE, 800 MHz (6 x 133)
>        Motherboard Name    Asus Pegasus
>        Motherboard Chipset    VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
>        System Memory    512 MB (SDRAM)
>
> Memory Read
>     CPU    CPU Clock    Motherboard    Chipset    Memory    Read Speed
>
>       PIII-E    866 MHz    ECS P6VAP-A+    ApolloPro133A    PC133 SDRAM
> 840 MB/s
> for what I think it should be to
>       PIII-E    800 MHz    Asus Pegasus    ApolloPro133A    PC100 SDRAM
> 281 MB/s
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Write
>       PIII-E    866 MHz    ECS P6VAP-A+    ApolloPro133A    PC133 SDRAM
> 190 MB/s
> for what I thik it should be to
>       PIII-E    800 MHz    Asus Pegasus    ApolloPro133A    PC100 SDRAM
> 93 MB/s
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> Memory Latency
>       C3    800 MHz    VIA EPIA    PLE133    PC133 SDRAM    3-3-3-6    178.5
> ns
>
> for what I think it should be to
>       PIII-E    800 MHz    Asus Pegasus    ApolloPro133A    PC100 SDRAM
> 2-2-2-5    343.1 ns
>
> which is what it is now.
>
> While it has been recommended by MS for WinXP to have a better machine, this
> has done sufficient for me with e-mail and web browsing.
> I say this to save time in anyone who would write "Get a new machine",
> unless in this case there is no cure for it, then I would.
>
> Thanks to all for your assistance!
>
> B.rgds,
> Kevin

That is all interesting. Checking the IDE channels will not hurt
(seems to be a lot fo that going around) PIO is bad.

If you want ideas that do not involve guessing and are based on what
your system is doing (or thinks it is doing), do this:

Reduce the possibility of existing malware on yor system.

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware
detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

What is your current antivirus and malware situation? McAfee, Norton,
Spybot, AVG, ZoneAlarm, etc.


Click Start, Run and in the box enter:

msinfo32

Click OK, and when the System Summary info appears, click Edit, Select
All, Copy and then paste back here.

There would be some personal information (like System Name and User
Name) or whatever appears to
be only your business that you can delete from the paste.

Provide information about the current processes on your system.

To do that:

Right click the Taskbar, choose Task Manager and select the Processes
tab.

Click View, Select Columns, check the box that says: Virtual Memory
Size. Expand the
width of the Task Manager by dragging the corners so you can see all
the columns and
processes in one windo if possible.

Double click a column heading in TM to sort by the column. For
example, sort Task Manager
by the CPU or Virtual Memory size column.

Take a screenshot of what you see in Task Manager (see below for
instructions).

Download CCleaner, install it, run it, click Tools, Startup.

CCleaner is good for this since it shows more information in a bigger
display and CCleaner
has other useful functions you can check out later. You can uninstall
CCleaner later if you
don't like it.

Notice in the example, CCleaner fills the whole screen. Sort the
columns by the
Enabled field so all the Yes items are on top and drag the columns
sizes so all columns
are readable - expecially the File column.

Get CCleaner here:

http://www.ccleaner.com/

When you are done, we will be able to see what you are seeing.

To create and email/post/print a screenshot:

Press the Print Scrn button to copy your entire screen to the Windows
clipboard.

Press Alt Print Scrn to copy just the active window to the Windows
clipboard.

Open MS Paint:

Start, Program Accessories, Paint

When Paint opens, press CTRL-V to paste the clipboard, save the new
Paint file
to your desktop or someplace you can remember. JPG files take up less
hard
disk space than BMP files and just as readable.

Make as many screenshots as you need. Practice makes perfect. Be
careful your
screenshot does not contain any personal information. Practice
viewing your images
before you upload them to be sure they are okay.

Some sites will let you attach a file directly to your post. If the
site has some kind of
attachment/upload function it is usually easiest just to use it.

If there is no such function in your message board to upload files,
then use a free
third party image hosting WWW site.

Create a free account on some free picture hosting web site. You can
always remove
your account later if you want. Here are some free image hosting
sites:

http://www.imageshack.us/
http://photobucket.com/

Using your free account, upload your screenshot(s) (the JPG or BMP
files) to the
site and it will return to you a URL web address (a Direct Link) for
your new image(s)
which you can paste the Direct Link in a message post, email, etc.

Post that Direct Link web address back here in your response and we
can click on the
link address and see your screenshot. Post as many as you need - the
sites are free.

When you are done, what you post for others to use should look
something like this:

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6530/taskmanagerv.jpg <- Task
Manager
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6969/ccleanerstartup.jpg <-
CCleaner Startu

 

[General Mailbox]

Thank you all for your responses. There are a few suggestions that I am
familiar with, and some I am not. I work on weekends, so please forgive me
if I don't get back with you until Monday. Of course this Sunday is very
special and is being spent with family.
Bless you all and happy Easter!
B.rgds,
Kevin

 

[General Mailbox]

Greetings.
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.
Thank you all for the suggestions. I have tried just about every one of
them.

Bob I: I had wondered how to set the DMA mode to always be Ultra DMA 2, but
didn't get a reply a few weeks ago. I install a DVD burner program and upon
first use after installation, it wants to set the DMA to work and has me
reboot. Since I restore my OS to near fresh OS installation about every 4
months, I have to repeat this process, along with installing the latest
versions of other softwares. This routine has been the easiest for me to
ensure no, or little, chance of malware/spyware or registry errors. I update
an archive of the OS with MS updates then save it again, making it easy to
restore to something fairly recent. Now, about the channel properties:
The Primary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" Transfer Mode
"DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode: "Not applicable".
Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA if
available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
Secondary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
Transfer Mode "DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode "PIO Mode".
Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA if
available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
Removing Secondary IDE channel and scan for hardware changes did not change
anything. Is this a problem that neither Device 0 is showing the current
mode as DMA?

db and Anteaus: Sorry, I didn't get to you ideas of safe mode, or
resetting the bios.

Paul: MemTester86+ showed Memory 512MB 309MB/s
I have tried CPUZ in recent years, and tried again. Just doesn't beat
Everest.
I could show more than what I sent originally, i.e. processes involved, but
I didn't think anything would be wrong with processes as they have been
fairly consistant for years and I kept the number low (28-34 processes).
Which brings me to Jose.

Jose: You have made a long and detailed list of procedures of how to obtain
information you wanted without cost of software for me. We are alike in how
we try to think ahead of possible replies of "I don't know how to do it."
I do know a couple of ways to provide you a list of processes without having
to sign up on a free image server. HijackThis seems to give a lot on
processes while my text report from Everest (or CPUZ) can give details on
hardware, voltages, and timings (benchmark tests). Before I give you more
information, you can tell me if we need to take this any further as
conditions have changed.

Memory Read
My expectations: 840 MB/s
Yesterday 281 MB/s
Today 767 MB/s

Memory Write
My expectations 190 MB/s
Yesterday 93 MB/s
Today 158 MB/s

Memory Latency
My expectations 178.5 ns
Yesterday 343.1 ns
Today 124.5 ns

The culprit; Spybot Search & Destroy software version 1.6 was somehow
involved as after Jose mentioned Spybot was a waste of virtual memory, I
uninstalled it then ran the Everest report again. My system properties for
physical memory vs. commit charges never got that close to 512MB that it
needed to use page file, meaning excessive drive access. I am not clear on
how a program can slow up memory, yet not use all of the available memory
first before it slows down.

Jose: Patience is a virtue.

To everyone: You can see I have a couple of outstanding questions that
related to this subject. If you think it wiser, I can start a new thread on
DMA question or just tell me it's ok or not from what I already wrote.
Paul, is 309 MB/s a decent reading for a P3 cpu at 800Mhz? If anyone is
still seeing a problem, we can go on. Else, I "think" the readings are
close to par and will try to run the computer for awhile yet while shopping
for another one. I just want to take my time researching the best value of
parts to build my own machine. Gee, now we're up to i7 chip? Gee whiz!

Take care!
B.rgds,
Kevin

P.S. You may see my name again as I usually share what I know a few times
before I move on.

 

[Bob I]

Only addressing the IDE channels, please review what is plugged in to
where. Your primary drive should be the Master on the first IDE header
and it doesn't look like it is. It appears you have it on the second
header, and in the Slave position. I suspect you have an optical drive
set up as masters. If you are using "Cable select" instead of
Master/Slave, then switch position on the Cable so the Drive is at the
end, not the center.



General Mailbox wrote:

> Greetings.
> I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.
> Thank you all for the suggestions. I have tried just about every one of
> them.
>
> Bob I: I had wondered how to set the DMA mode to always be Ultra DMA 2, but
> didn't get a reply a few weeks ago. I install a DVD burner program and upon
> first use after installation, it wants to set the DMA to work and has me
> reboot. Since I restore my OS to near fresh OS installation about every 4
> months, I have to repeat this process, along with installing the latest
> versions of other softwares. This routine has been the easiest for me to
> ensure no, or little, chance of malware/spyware or registry errors. I update
> an archive of the OS with MS updates then save it again, making it easy to
> restore to something fairly recent. Now, about the channel properties:
> The Primary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" Transfer Mode
> "DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode: "Not applicable".
> Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA if
> available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
> Secondary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
> Transfer Mode "DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode "PIO Mode".
> Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA if
> available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
> Removing Secondary IDE channel and scan for hardware changes did not change
> anything. Is this a problem that neither Device 0 is showing the current
> mode as DMA?
>

 

[General Mailbox]

Thank you for bringing this up. I vaguely remember that I played around
with the jumpers on the drives at least 2 years ago, then disconnected a 2nd
drive. Now the end of the ribbon cable is connected to the master drive,
and the middle of the cable is connected to the slave drive. BIOS shows
Primary Master WD120 drive, Primary Slave WD40 drive, Secondary Master CD-RW
drive, Secondary Slave DVD ROM drive. I changed back the jumpers and added
the 2nd HDD as I had quite awhile ago to get the new readings below. I say
this so you don't have to guess how the new readings came to be *smiles*.

The Primary IDE shows Device 0
Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
Transfer Mode "DMA if available",
Current Transfer Mode: "Ultra DMA Mode 2"

The Primary IDE shows Device 1
Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
Transfer Mode "DMA if available",
Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".

Secondary IDE shows Device 0
Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
Transfer Mode "PIO only",
Current Transfer Mode "PIO Mode".


Secondary IDE shows Device 1
Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out.
Transfer Mode "DMA if available",
Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".

Changing "PIO only" to "DMA if available" did nothing. Again removing
Secondary IDE channel and scan for hardware changes did not change
anything. I am expecting you to say that a CD-RW drive wouldn't have DMA
ability, right? But it didn't hurt.

I just got an added bonus here because of your sharp eye! Thank you!

Best in life to you,
Kevin


"Bob I" <birelan@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:uaajtMZ1KHA.5972@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Only addressing the IDE channels, please review what is plugged in to
> where. Your primary drive should be the Master on the first IDE header and
> it doesn't look like it is. It appears you have it on the second header,
> and in the Slave position. I suspect you have an optical drive set up as
> masters. If you are using "Cable select" instead of Master/Slave, then
> switch position on the Cable so the Drive is at the end, not the center.
>
>
>
> General Mailbox wrote:
>
>> Greetings.
>> I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.
>> Thank you all for the suggestions. I have tried just about every one of
>> them.
>>
>> Bob I: I had wondered how to set the DMA mode to always be Ultra DMA 2,
>> but didn't get a reply a few weeks ago. I install a DVD burner program
>> and upon first use after installation, it wants to set the DMA to work
>> and has me reboot. Since I restore my OS to near fresh OS installation
>> about every 4 months, I have to repeat this process, along with
>> installing the latest versions of other softwares. This routine has been
>> the easiest for me to ensure no, or little, chance of malware/spyware or
>> registry errors. I update an archive of the OS with MS updates then save
>> it again, making it easy to restore to something fairly recent. Now,
>> about the channel properties:
>> The Primary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" Transfer Mode
>> "DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode: "Not applicable".
>> Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA
>> if available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
>> Secondary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
>> Transfer Mode "DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode "PIO Mode".
>> Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA
>> if available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
>> Removing Secondary IDE channel and scan for hardware changes did not
>> change anything. Is this a problem that neither Device 0 is showing the
>> current mode as DMA?
>>
>

 

[Paul]

General Mailbox wrote:
> Thank you for bringing this up. I vaguely remember that I played around
> with the jumpers on the drives at least 2 years ago, then disconnected a 2nd
> drive. Now the end of the ribbon cable is connected to the master drive,
> and the middle of the cable is connected to the slave drive. BIOS shows
> Primary Master WD120 drive, Primary Slave WD40 drive, Secondary Master CD-RW
> drive, Secondary Slave DVD ROM drive. I changed back the jumpers and added
> the 2nd HDD as I had quite awhile ago to get the new readings below. I say
> this so you don't have to guess how the new readings came to be *smiles*.
>
> The Primary IDE shows Device 0
> Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
> Transfer Mode "DMA if available",
> Current Transfer Mode: "Ultra DMA Mode 2"
>
> The Primary IDE shows Device 1
> Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
> Transfer Mode "DMA if available",
> Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
>
> Secondary IDE shows Device 0
> Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
> Transfer Mode "PIO only",
> Current Transfer Mode "PIO Mode".
>
>
> Secondary IDE shows Device 1
> Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out.
> Transfer Mode "DMA if available",
> Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
>
> Changing "PIO only" to "DMA if available" did nothing. Again removing
> Secondary IDE channel and scan for hardware changes did not change
> anything. I am expecting you to say that a CD-RW drive wouldn't have DMA
> ability, right? But it didn't hurt.
>
> I just got an added bonus here because of your sharp eye! Thank you!
>
> Best in life to you,
> Kevin
>

The description of your chipset, suggests it can do 66MB/sec transfer rate
on the IDE cables.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/legacy/pro133a/

If you take a look at this article, UDMA 4 was introduced in ATA/ATAPI-5
(see table near the bottom of the page). It is enabled in part, by the usage
of 80 wire cables, rather than 40 wire cables. So the cheapest improvement
to your system, would be an 80 wire IDE cable for the hard drives.
(You can use one for the optical drives, but it might not make as much
practical difference.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA

Another improvement possible, is to install a PCI IDE card, such as one
of the now extinct Ultra133 TX2 cards.

http://www.promise.com/upload/product/Ultra133_TX2.jpg

I don't remember all the trivia about VIA chipsets, so I can't tell you
right off hand, what bugs the 82C596B might have. My last motherboard
had a VIA chipset, and even though the chipset was very modern (using
one of the last Southbridges VIA ever designed), the PCI bus still had
issues.

In any case, there are some tricks to improving the performance of
the disks a little bit more. If you're using 40 wire cables, then an 80
wire cable might be a cheap upgrade. You might squeeze the next level of
interface speed, from your chipset.

I have an Ultra133 TX2 in my computer right now, and I'm using it since
the new motherboard doesn't have enough IDE interfaces. The worst part of
it, is the drivers don't have an "uninstall" item in Add/Remove. I use nothing
but 80 wire cables for the disks.

Paul

 

[Paul]

General Mailbox wrote:
> Greetings.
> I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.
> Thank you all for the suggestions. I have tried just about every one of
> them.
>
>
> Paul: MemTester86+ showed Memory 512MB 309MB/s

I compared to my machine here. I have a 440BX board with a Celeron 1100
on it. The memory bus only runs at 100MHz. Memtest86+ 1.40 reports
a memory bandwidth of 276 MB/sec on my machine. Your memory could be
133MHz, and that is why you're able to get a bit more at 309 MB/sec.
So I'd say your memory results are OK.

It's amazing how much that has changed. My current machine is still
slow by modern standards, but it gets 3000MB/sec in memtest86+. That
is 10x faster. There are lots of machines with faster memory than mine.

Paul

 

[General Mailbox]

I wish to make public a correction in my findings as to the reason, for my
system, that memory was slow.
I've discovered, by reinstalling the original OS from scratch, that my
memory access increased slightly above what I expected in all areas. As soon
as I installed Service Pack 1a, it dropped just a little. Then I added the
driver for my USB expansion card which supports USB2.0. That brought the
readings down a good 20% below par. Still not shabby until I actually turned
on one or more of the external drives or other equipment connected to the
USB ports. So, in my case, I was getting variable readings not knowing it
was due to the amount of additional hardware the system had to support.
While some may not use Spybot S&D anymore, I take back my accusation of that
being the problem.

Rgds,
Kevin

"General Mailbox" <nospampls@home.net> wrote in message
news:nFDun.15015$vC3.10082@newsfe04.iad...
> Greetings.
> I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.
> Thank you all for the suggestions. I have tried just about every one of
> them.
>
> Bob I: I had wondered how to set the DMA mode to always be Ultra DMA 2,
> but didn't get a reply a few weeks ago. I install a DVD burner program and
> upon first use after installation, it wants to set the DMA to work and has
> me reboot. Since I restore my OS to near fresh OS installation about every
> 4 months, I have to repeat this process, along with installing the latest
> versions of other softwares. This routine has been the easiest for me to
> ensure no, or little, chance of malware/spyware or registry errors. I
> update an archive of the OS with MS updates then save it again, making it
> easy to restore to something fairly recent. Now, about the channel
> properties:
> The Primary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" Transfer Mode
> "DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode: "Not applicable".
> Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA
> if available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
> Secondary IDE shows Device 0 Device Type "Auto Detection" greyed out,
> Transfer Mode "DMA if available", Current Transfer Mode "PIO Mode".
> Device 1 Device Type "Auto Detection" but greyed out. Transfer Mode "DMA
> if available", Current Transfer Mode "Ultra DMA Mode 2".
> Removing Secondary IDE channel and scan for hardware changes did not
> change anything. Is this a problem that neither Device 0 is showing the
> current mode as DMA?
>
> db and Anteaus: Sorry, I didn't get to you ideas of safe mode, or
> resetting the bios.
>
> Paul: MemTester86+ showed Memory 512MB 309MB/s
> I have tried CPUZ in recent years, and tried again. Just doesn't beat
> Everest.
> I could show more than what I sent originally, i.e. processes involved,
> but I didn't think anything would be wrong with processes as they have
> been fairly consistant for years and I kept the number low (28-34
> processes). Which brings me to Jose.
>
> Jose: You have made a long and detailed list of procedures of how to
> obtain information you wanted without cost of software for me. We are
> alike in how we try to think ahead of possible replies of "I don't know
> how to do it." I do know a couple of ways to provide you a list of
> processes without having to sign up on a free image server. HijackThis
> seems to give a lot on processes while my text report from Everest (or
> CPUZ) can give details on hardware, voltages, and timings (benchmark
> tests). Before I give you more information, you can tell me if we need to
> take this any further as conditions have changed.
>
> Memory Read
> My expectations: 840 MB/s
> Yesterday 281 MB/s
> Today 767 MB/s
>
> Memory Write
> My expectations 190 MB/s
> Yesterday 93 MB/s
> Today 158 MB/s
>
> Memory Latency
> My expectations 178.5 ns
> Yesterday 343.1 ns
> Today 124.5 ns
>
> The culprit; Spybot Search & Destroy software version 1.6 was somehow
> involved as after Jose mentioned Spybot was a waste of virtual memory, I
> uninstalled it then ran the Everest report again. My system properties
> for physical memory vs. commit charges never got that close to 512MB that
> it needed to use page file, meaning excessive drive access. I am not
> clear on how a program can slow up memory, yet not use all of the
> available memory first before it slows down.
>
> Jose: Patience is a virtue.
>
> To everyone: You can see I have a couple of outstanding questions that
> related to this subject. If you think it wiser, I can start a new thread
> on DMA question or just tell me it's ok or not from what I already wrote.
> Paul, is 309 MB/s a decent reading for a P3 cpu at 800Mhz? If anyone is
> still seeing a problem, we can go on. Else, I "think" the readings are
> close to par and will try to run the computer for awhile yet while
> shopping for another one. I just want to take my time researching the
> best value of parts to build my own machine. Gee, now we're up to i7 chip?
> Gee whiz!
>
> Take care!
> B.rgds,
> Kevin
>
> P.S. You may see my name again as I usually share what I know a few times
> before I move on.
>