Dying/Failing Old HDD?

Arno wrote
wrote

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD is getting slower and
slower these days. I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

Looks healthy.

Yes.

Likely just fragmented like crazy

Wont be that.

or low on free space.

Or that either.

Neither will produce those symptoms.

smartctl -a sda
smartctl version 5.38 [i686-mingw32-xp-sp2] Copyright (C) 2002-8
Bruce Allen
Home page is http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net/

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 family
Device Model: Maxtor 6Y080M0
Serial Number: Y22BP5AC
Firmware Version: YAR51HW0
User Capacity: 80,000,000,000 bytes
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is: 7
ATA Standard is: ATA/ATAPI-7 T13 1532D revision 0
Local Time is: Tue Dec 29 15:33:24 2009 PST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
Enabled status cached by OS, trying SMART RETURN
STATUS cmd.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status: (0x82) Offline data collection
activity was completed
without error. Auto Offline
Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status: ( 0) The previous self-test
routine completed without
error or no self-test has
ever been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection: ( 241) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x5b) SMART execute Offline
immediate. Auto Offline data
collection on/off support.
Suspend Offline collection
upon new command. Offline
surface scan supported.
Self-test supported. No
Conveyance Self-test
supported. Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before
entering power-saving mode.
Supports SMART auto save
timer.
Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.
No General Purpose Logging
support.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 36) minutes.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE
UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE 3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0027
224 224 063 Pre-fail Always - 7747 4
Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age
Always - 65 5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 253
253 063 Pre-fail Always - 0 6 Read_Channel_Margin
0x0001 253 253 100 Pre-fail Offline - 0 7
Seek_Error_Rate 0x000a 253 252 000 Old_age
Always - 0 8 Seek_Time_Performance 0x0027 248 237
187 Pre-fail Always - 38101 9 Power_On_Minutes
0x0032 141 141 000 Old_age Always - 614h+43m
10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x002b 253 252 157 Pre-fail
Always - 0 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x002b 253 252
223 Pre-fail Always - 0 12 Power_Cycle_Count
0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always - 72 192
Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always
- 0 193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 253 253 000
Old_age Always - 0 194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0032
253 253 000 Old_age Always - 50 195
Hardware_ECC_Recovered 0x000a 253 252 000 Old_age Always
- 924 196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0008 253 253 000
Old_age Offline - 0 197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0008
253 253 000 Old_age Offline - 0 198
Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0008 253 253 000 Old_age
Offline - 0 199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0008 199
199 000 Old_age Offline - 0 200
Multi_Zone_Error_Rate 0x000a 253 252 000 Old_age Always
- 0 201 Soft_Read_Error_Rate 0x000a 253 243 000
Old_age Always - 15 202 TA_Increase_Count 0x000a
253 252 000 Old_age Always - 0 203
Run_Out_Cancel 0x000b 253 252 180 Pre-fail Always
- 2 204 Shock_Count_Write_Opern 0x000a 253 252 000
Old_age Always - 0 205 Shock_Rate_Write_Opern 0x000a
253 252 000 Old_age Always - 0 207
Spin_High_Current 0x002a 253 252 000 Old_age Always
- 0 208 Spin_Buzz 0x002a 253 252 000
Old_age Always - 0 209 Offline_Seek_Performnce 0x0024
191 191 000 Old_age Offline - 0 99
Unknown_Attribute 0x0004 253 253 000 Old_age
Offline - 0 100 Unknown_Attribute 0x0004 253
253 000 Old_age Offline - 0 101 Unknown_Attribute
0x0004 253 253 000 Old_age Offline - 0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num Test_Description Status Remaining
LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error # 1 Extended offline
Completed without error 00% 35352 - # 2 Extended
offline Completed without error 00% 29236 - # 3
Short offline Completed without error 00% 0
-

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
1 0 0 Not_testing
2 0 0 Not_testing
3 0 0 Not_testing
4 0 0 Not_testing
5 0 0 Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute
delay.


What do you guys think? Thank you in advance.
--
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wrote:

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD is getting slower and
slower these days. I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

Check if the DMA has got turned off somehow.

On 12/29/2009 6:42 PM PT, Rod Speed typed:

Its still fine, nothing that matters has changed in the SMART report.

Thanks again.
--
"The tiny ant dares to enter the lion's ear." --Armenian
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On 12/29/2009 6:59 PM PT, Arno typed:

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD is getting slower and
slower these days. I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

Looks healthy. Likely just fragmented like crazy or low on free
space.

I actually did defrag, but that didn't seem to help. Hmm! Nothing odd in
task manager. I did notice lots of disk activities.
--
"The tiny ant dares to enter the lion's ear." --Armenian
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| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
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On 12/29/2009 9:00 PM PT, Franc Zabkar typed:

On Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:42:18 -0600, put finger to
keyboard and composed:

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD ...

Model Family: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 family

4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always
- 65

9 Power_On_Minutes 0x0032 141 141 000 Old_age Always
- 614h+43m

Hmmm, you have an old generation HDD that has run for only 614 hours
and has been power cycled only 65 times ???

The PC is mostly on 24/7. Very rare that it is off. It does get rebooted
like every two weeks or so due to Windows Updates or whatever.



... is getting slower and slower these days.

Check whether it has been downgraded from DMA mode to PIO.

Would that be in XP Pro. SP2's Device Manager?


I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always - 50

The temperature is about 10C too high for my liking.

It's a Dell Optiplex GX270 or 280 (always get them mixxed up) case.
--
"One day he sprained an ankle rather than crush an ant." --Les Miserables
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On 12/29/2009 9:02 PM PT, Rod Speed typed:

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD is getting slower and
slower these days. I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

Check if the DMA has got turned off somehow.

Where would I check that in XP Pro. SP3? Good call. I remember in
Windows 9x, that could be done somewhere, but I can't remember where
exactly.
--
"In a battle between elephants, the ants get squashed." --Thailand
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Ant wrote
Arno wrote

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD is getting slower and
slower these days. I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

Looks healthy. Likely just fragmented like crazy or low on free space.

I actually did defrag, but that didn't seem to help.

It wont be that.

Hmm! Nothing odd in task manager.

I did notice lots of disk activities.

Which OS is it ?

Ant wrote
Rod Speed wrote

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD is getting slower and
slower these days. I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

Check if the DMA has got turned off somehow.

Where would I check that in XP Pro. SP3?

In the Device Manager, propertys of the controller.

Good call. I remember in Windows 9x, that could be done somewhere, but I can't remember where exactly.

Yeah, tho you would normally expect to see lots of errors
on the cable in the SMART stats, the UDMA_CRC_Error_Count
and you dont if that got it disabled. Might have happened quite
a while ago tho and you have since replaced the cable etc.

On 12/29/2009 10:49 PM PT, Rod Speed typed:

Which OS is it ?

Windows XP Pro. SP2.
--
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Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

On 12/29/2009 10:54 PM PT, Rod Speed typed:

I noticed my five(?) years old office PC's HDD is getting slower and
slower these days. I wonder if it is dying. I don't see anything in
SMART colors to show any issues. The technical values confuse me:

Check if the DMA has got turned off somehow.

Where would I check that in XP Pro. SP3?

In the Device Manager, propertys of the controller.

I will check later today since I am not at the computer. Checking my
home PC's XP Pro. SP3, I assume it is in "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
section in one of those listed controllers. None of mine say anything
about DMAs, but then I have no IDE/ATA drives connected (got rid of the
old DVD-ROM drive a few weeks ago).


Good call. I remember in Windows 9x, that could be done somewhere, but I can't remember where exactly.

Yeah, tho you would normally expect to see lots of errors
on the cable in the SMART stats, the UDMA_CRC_Error_Count
and you dont if that got it disabled. Might have happened quite
a while ago tho and you have since replaced the cable etc.

The only replaced inside the case was the PSU that was over three years
ago. Dell techie replaced it for free (under warranty).
--
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