HDtach random acces time slow. Something wrong?

[mtrsprt]

Random accestime is ranging from 14-15.5ms on my WD 20g 7200rpm drive.

About 8 months ago it was usually registering anywhere from 9.8ms-11.5 ms

Also, my CPU utilization seems high at about 11%, it used to be around 3-6%

My read burst speed is about 68 mbps

My ATA 100 cable is in good shape.

Running 800mhz t-bird socket A
Epox 8KTA-3
640MB pc133 RAM
Windows XP
300W PS

[amdkt7]

Try defraging, I think that HDtach is sensitive to fragmentation.

[NDC]

Did you happen to make a change from FAT32 to NTFS? If you're running FAT32, and the 7200rpm drive's random access time is 9.8ms-11.5ms, it sounds right. I was getting in the 8's. But personally, I've never seen a 7200rpm drive get below 12ms running NTFS on any 7200rpm drive.

And as amdkt7 mentioned, I also noticed better scores on HDTach after defragging...

[mtrsprt]

Actually, I am running FAT32

I also degfragmened. Still no better than 14ms.


Could my drive be getting tired? Its only about a year old.

WHat about CPU utilization? Its around the 11.5% mark. It used to be around 4%.

[amdkt7]

I'm not familiar with WinXP, but I think you need to find a way to shut down all the other processes and programs that are running.

With 98se I run msconfig and do a selective startup, gets rid of alot of stuff, runs real clean, much faster defrag, should get better disk access.

Another question: Is your hd fuller now than when you tested before? That might make a diff. Try moving a few gigs to somewhere else and see what happens if possible.

[MaxVal]

Check W.D’s site to see if acoustic management is employed by the drive.
Makes no sense that it should turn itself on, but it’s worth a check.
I recently received two IBM GPX 60’s that tested poorly as to seek times. I downloaded the management software and brought the seeks from 10.2ms to 8.5ms.
Same situation with a pair of CompUSA 80GB Maxtors, seeks went from 12ms. To 10ms.
MAX