Compaq Desktop Help

[crabig]

Hey guys,

I've been working on this machine for about 3 days now, trying to track down the issue.

It's a Compaq sr2150nx desktop, running Vista Basic, and it's running like a dog.
First thought when it came in was RAM, as the owner was only running 512MB.
Well, I put 2GB of Patriot RAM into it, and it runs a little bit better, but not a lot.
Scanned it with Malware Bytes, Avira BootCD, and ComboFix, found no malware issues.

As much as I was trying to avoid doing a N&P, the customer gave the go ahead if necessary. I tried to burn Recovery DVDs from the recovery partition, and found a problem.
The DVD burned with no problem, but when it tried to verify, it failed. I put a known good DVD into the drive, and it wouldn't read. I swapped the DVD drive with a known good drive, and the same thing.
I removed the upper and lower filters, no change.
I ran the Windows Repair, no change
I reloaded the DVD drivers, no change.

Not sure what to do next. Any suggestions?

I've cloned the hard drive, and am thinking about reloading with WinXP, just to try and re-burn the Recovery discs, but that will be a huge chore, as the built in burning program for recovery will dissappear with the reload.

 

[chrisaroz]

Have you run any diagnostics on the hardware (like the built-on ones at boot if it's an OEM). How does it run in SAFE mode?

 

[Alan22]

Try creating a new user and log on with that account. Does the system seem to respond faster? It could be something with the user profile.

 

[B Trevathan]

Is the DVD drive able to burn DVD's other than recovery discs? The drive should be good if you ran Avira Boot CD, sounds like software.

Have you tried scanning with SuperAntiSpyware? I know you said you scanned with MBAM, Avira Boot CD and ComboFix.

What antivirus program is running? If it is an older version of norton i would remove it and install something else.

Have you checked in the Task Manager to see if something is using the resources?

Have you run Process Explorer or Process Monitor to see if there are any missing or bad files?

Have you run Auto Run to make sure everything is loading?

Have you run System File Checker?

Have you turned off all unnecessary services and programs?

What service pack is installed SP1 or SP2?

I think Vista will always run slow on a Celeron. You may want to slave the HD in a faster PC and backup the user data.

 

[crabig]

@chrisaroz - I ran PC Doctor on it, and showed no errors. Behaviour on the DVD is the same in Safe Mode.

@Alan22 - Tried that, no luck.

@B Trevathon - I agree. It's a software issue... boots and runs fine off of an
XP Live CD, as well.

Haven't tried SAS yet. It's in the arsenal, though. I'll give that a shot next.

AV was an expired version of AVG Free. Computer has been on a shelf for 8 months, and it was active last time the box was running.

Task Manager shows nothing unusual.

Have not tried Process Explorer. Haven't used it much, but I'll give it a shot.

AutoRun shows everything loading properly.

I'm going to try booting with all non-essential services tomorrow. Don't think it will make a difference, though... just a hunch.

SP1 is installed. Wanted to make sure everything else was up to par before loading another SP.


@all who are reading this - I also googled that there were several problems with the crcdisk.sys file on Vista. I replaced the file with one from my computer that was newer, and it made no difference.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will implement these ideas tomorrow morning, and please, keep 'em coming! I will update ASAP.

 

[ell]

my 2 cents: disable windows defender, run process explorer, run sfc and check its logs, if its screwy perform a in place vista upgrade repair. Make sure you run through services and disable unnecessary things from auto too.

 

[B Trevathan]

Firmware update for DVD drive.

You might want to try a firmware update on the first DVD drive, you didn't say if it was the original DVD drive and model number, I was reading about this firmware update for Vista 32bit from the driver download site:

Model:
DVD-RW 16X PBDS DH16AYH Drive Firmware Update

Enhancements:
Resolves intermittent issue with the drive not recognizing the system recovery discs provided by HP Support.
Resolves error message when creating system recovery discs.


I would uninstall AVG and install AVast. Most of the time I go with AVG because it is more end user friendly, but AVast should use much less resources. You can even install AVast on windows 98.


I would use Process Monitor before Process Explorer. Process Explorer is more geared towards finding which program has a particular file or directory open, where as Process Monitor is a monitoring tool that shows real-time file system, registry and process/thread activity. Process Monitor gives a lot of information, I had a PC where IE8 was not working right and Windows search was not working at all, I did not have any errors or BSODs, I ran it and it found two little .dll's missing I replaced them and everything worked.

Process Monitor v2.8
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx


On the crcdisk.sys file what I read was mostly about not booting issues, hangs or freezes. Your not having any of these problem are you? just running slow and DVD errors. Check your ntbtlog.txt file to see what is and isn't loading during startup, if you need a fresh list just enable boot logging at startup and then scroll down to the newest date in the ntbtlog.txt


If the DVD drive is working try running System File Checker. "sfc /scannow" make sure and have a OS disc in the drive.

 

[mmanna]

I was having the same problem with the "verify" stage of burning recovery discs on several brand new HP laptops. I contacted HP Tech support and after confirming that I had tried all the obvious steps, they told me to try different DVD's. I was very skeptical and annoyed, but did it anyways and sure enough it fixed my problem. I was having problems with TDK DVD-R's, but had no problems after switching to Memorex DVD+R's. (HP Tech said they recommend +R rather than -R). I hope this helps!

 

[Tweak]

I was having the same problem with the "verify" stage of burning recovery discs on several brand new HP laptops. I contacted HP Tech support and after confirming that I had tried all the obvious steps, they told me to try different DVD's. I was very skeptical and annoyed, but did it anyways and sure enough it fixed my problem. I was having problems with TDK DVD-R's, but had no problems after switching to Memorex DVD+R's. (HP Tech said they recommend +R rather than -R). I hope this helps!

http://netforbeginners.about.com/cs/multimedia/a/DVD_explained_2.htm
I've read that the +R maintains better data integrity as well, sadly I cannot recall where (it was some time ago).

 

[crabig]

OK... update.

Customer called me, and asked me to go ahead and re-install. She talked to her old tech (he moved out of state, otherwise I'd strangle him), and he told her that he had made all kinds of modifications to Vista for performance improvements instead of just upgrading the RAM.

I did the re-install from the recovery partition, and the same damn problem is back!! You put in a data CD, and it takes forever to read it. There's a green bar that goes across the header in the My Computer header, slowly moving to the right.

Eventually, Explorer will show the files in the main directory of the CD, but it takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

Found a couple of things online that said the drive may be in PIO mode instead of DMA, but I checked in Device Manager, and in BIOS. DevMgr has it at UDMA5, and BIOS has PIO and DMA both set to Auto. There is no option in BIOS to disable PIO mode for the controller.

So, I find myself right back where I started, the DVD takes forever to read a data disc, and I don't have a bloody clue as to why.

 

[B Trevathan]

Well you know the drive itself is good and windows is a fresh install, looks like one of two things.

1. Driver/Firmware: Vista is not communicating with the drive right

This is the info on the firmware updates for the three DVD drive models that came with the Compaq sr2150nx. If it is a newer drive then go to the drive manufactures site and get any firmware updates.

HL-DT-ST GSA-H20L DVD-R/RW Drive Firmware Update

Resolves intermittent issue with error message when performing system recovery from double-layer DVD+R discs.
Resolves intermittent issue with the system not detecting LightScribe media.
Improves compatibility between Sonic DigitalMedia and double-layer DVD-R media.
Improves compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista operating system


LITE-ON SHM-165H6S DVD-R/RW Drive Firmware Update

Resolves issue with LightScribe printing is alignment after resuming from hibernation.
Resolves issue with the drive not recognizing certain DVD titles.
Improve compatibility with certain double-layer DVD+R media.
Improve compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.
Improve disc-writing strategies.


DVD-RW 16X PBDS DH16AYH Drive Firmware Update

Resolves intermittent issue with the drive not recognizing the system recovery discs provided by HP Support.
Resolves issue with reading commercially pressed DVD-ROM media.
Resolves error message when creating system recovery discs.


2. Media: Try using a different brand of DVD, use DVD+R if that doesn't work try DVD-R, Burn at a lower speed like 4x, Try burning CDs do they have the same problems


Other helpful sites:

Drive Cannot Write to Writable Discs (Windows Vista)


Drive Cannot Read Discs in Windows Vista


Compaq sr2150nx specifications

 

[crabig]

Update - Fixed!

And I feel like an idiot. I pulled the IDE cable and discovered it was an old 40-wire that the previous technician put it. I replaced it with a new 80-wire, and voila!! The first recovery disc burned with no errors. I started the second disc and closed up shop for the night.

Just goes as a reminder, DON'T FORGET THE BASICS!!! I've not had an IDE cable problem in 10 years, but that's what this one was.