Freeze During Defrag

[integra]

Lately Windows has started freezing every time I try to defrag my hard drive. It'll do a little bit and then the screen will freeze and i'm forced to reboot.

Any ideas why this is happening all of a sudden?

[Panama Red]

Run chkdsk on your hard drive. It may have damage.

[integra]

I just ran CHKDSK and it came up with this...

CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the master file table (MFI) bitmap.
Correcting Errors in the Volume Bitmap.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these

Should I run CHKDSK again to fix this? I take it I type CHKDSK /F ?

Thanks!

[Statica]

Yep you should run chkdisk with the /f flag.

[integra]

I ran CHKDSK. Then I ran it with /F. It said the drive was locked and so scheduled it to be performed when I restarted. So I restarted and it did its stuff.

Now I run CHKDSK again and it says...

Windows found problems with the file system

Less stuff than last time, but STILL errors!

[integra]

OK, here's the deal. I tried it again. It runs the test just before getting to the windows login screen. I managed to catch what it said this time before it went on to the login screen.

It said it had found NO ERRORS. Yet when I get back into Windows and run it again it finds errors! What's going on?!

[Panama Red]

Chkdsk verifies the file system. Might be a good idea to run the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic program and make sure it's not a hard drive problem. What hard drive is it?

[integra]

It's a Western Digital WD1200BB. I'll go check it out. Although I've just put it on to defrag and it has made it to 25%, so fingers crossed that CHKDSK has it sorted!

[Statica]

The real issue is that what you're seeing - recurring errors - could be symptomatic of a more serious issue. Are you running NTFS or FAT32? The first thing I'd do is not wait for the drive to defrag but to follow PR's advice and do some serious diagnostic tests.

[integra]

Carried out both a quick and extended test and passed both. What else could be the problem?

[Panama Red]

Did it finish the defrag you tried?

[integra]

Nope. It froze at around 35%

[macko72]

http://www.diskeeper.com/defrag.asp
This is the best defragment tool out there try it maybe you will like it!!!

[Statica]

What filesystem are you using? What you describe sounds suspiciously like FAT32. The issue is - are you getting these errors when you try to run a defrag and the computer freezes? Do you still get these errors say after boot time chkdsk corrects the errors - and you use your computer normally and shut down normally?

Diskeeper full is not going to help much if you are getting data errors on your drive to begin with because of a potential hardware issue. What makes Diskeeper superior to others I've seen IMO is the boot time defrag that allows you to schedule a defrag before the OS completely boots up.

[integra]

Not sure what filesystem i'm using - how do I find out?

I tried Diskeeper this morning. Put it on and went out for a few hours. When I got back the computer had switched itself off and was making a siren sound...

[integra]

The disc does seem to have defragmented tho. I just analysed it and it says there's no need to defrag. I did it anyway and it finished in under a minute...

[macko72]

Originally Posted by integra Not sure what filesystem i'm using - how do I find out? I tried Diskeeper this morning. Put it on and went out for a few hours. When I got back the computer had switched itself off and was making a siren sound...

To check what file system you are using Open my computer right click on C: (Local disk) then choose propeties there you will see what File System u are using!!!
http://bioscentral.com/beepcodes/phoenixbeep.htm

[integra]

A two-tone siren, generally caused by overheating or out of specification voltages Whit?!

I'm using NTFS file system.

[integra]

I was copying a CD into iTunes yesterday and again the computer shut itself down and I got the siren. I think it's because the CPU is overheating? It is set to shutdown at over 70 degrees.

While I was installing some software today I opened up my monitoring software and the CPU was at 68 degrees! I think it used to stat at around 58 degrees. Why is it getting so hot all of a sudden?

I take it that the freeze during defrag was due to the CPU overheating cos of the increased load?

[Panama Red]

AMD XP 3000 like in your sig, right? I have one also, 400 fsb type. It runs hotter than other XP's but not as hot as yours. My stuff runs high 40's to low 50's under load. Yours is way too hot. May be time for a cleaning of the heat sink and applying some Arctic Silver thermal compound as well as clearing the dust out of the case.

[integra]

Yeah, I'll do that. I took the side panel off the case and the CPU temp dropped 10 degrees! Thanks for the help.

[integra]

So I cleaned out all the dust. Here are my current temps...

System / CPU
Case Open - 33 / 56
Closed - 37 / 61
Closed and apps running - 39 / 64

Is this an acceptable temperature range now?

[Panama Red]

Those temps for the cpu are still higher than I'd like. Is that with a stock hsf? I doubt that cleaning the thermal compound and adding Arctic Silver 5 would even drop you into the mid 40c range. Is that a 333 fsb cpu or 400? Are you oc'ing? What's the vcore (cpu voltage) set to in the bios?

[integra]

I think it's a 333 fsb. The system BUS is 333 so I assume that's the same as fsb? System clock is 166Mhz. I'm not overclocking. Vcore is approx 1.64V.

[Panama Red]

Those are the right numbers. Vcore for that cpu is 1.65v so that's right too. Might just be time for some AS5. If you decide to go that way there's a guide to proper installation.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...ions_small.htm

[integra]

Well!! My system crashed again last night so this afternoon I checked the temps and the CPU was at 67 degrees idle with the side panel off! It shuts down at 70 so im surprised it hasn't been switching itself off more often!

So I took the heatsink off and discovered a motherload of dust caught up inside. So I cleaned all that out and put on some new thermal paste while I was at it.

An hour later and im idling at 45.5 degrees!! 21.5 DEGREES COOLER!! The system temp has also dropped by 12 degrees. Thanks for the advice!!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by integra Well!! My system crashed again last night so this afternoon I checked the temps and the CPU was at 67 degrees idle with the side panel off! It shuts down at 70 so im surprised it hasn't been switching itself off more often! So I took the heatsink off and discovered a motherload of dust caught up inside. So I cleaned all that out and put on some new thermal paste while I was at it. An hour later and im idling at 45.5 degrees!! 21.5 DEGREES COOLER!! The system temp has also dropped by 12 degrees.

Here's a good article on the subject: What You Don’t Know Can Cook You: How Dust Impacts a CPU’s Temperature

Cricket

[integra]

Good article indeed, although I don't think that guy had it as bad as me! I'm now running at 41 degrees which is an amazing 26 degrees cooler than before. Performance has noticeably perked up...dust sucks!

[Panama Red]

Congrats on the fix, integra. Gotta make ya feel relieved to know you saved the cost of a new cpu. Cuz that one was gonna go POOF! if ya kept running it that hot!

[integra]

Hehe, yup. Just wished I'd taken your advice more seriously earlier on rather than just giving everything a quick blow! Lesson learned!