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    Very Slow HDD on my GT70

    Discussion in 'MSI' started by Adamah, Dec 2, 2013.

  1. Adamah

    Adamah Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi all,

    I have a GT70 that has a main SSD (which I love) and a secondary 1 TB 5400 RPM HDD (which I hate). My work involves very large files, several GB's in size, so I use the HDD pretty frequently. Whenever I am in windows explorer and select the HDD, or whenever I am in a program and open a file from there, my machine stutters, I hear a loud whirring noise as if it's just waking up, and finally after a few seconds it proceeds as if everything is okay.

    I find this extremely annoying. Does anyone know why this happens, and is there some way to fix this? If not, I plan to buy a new HDD to replace this one. Would a 7200 RPM HDD fix this issue?
     
  2. Support.3@XOTIC PC

    Support.3@XOTIC PC Company Representative

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    You can check your Windows Power settings, under advanced settings you will see an option under Hard disk and it lets you pick when it turns off, set that to 0 if you never want it to.
     
  3. Hellblade

    Hellblade Notebook Enthusiast

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    The problem is the Advanced Power Management built into the drive, it spins down after 60 seconds or so of no use.
    To stop it, get CrystalDiskInfo, go Function -> Advanced Feature -> AAM/APM Control -> Select the HDD -> Disable APM.
    It'll be back on after a shutdown (possibly sleeping too), so if you want to automatically be disabled you can also go Function -> Advanced Feature -> Auto AAM/APM Adaption and Function -> Startup.
     
  4. Adamah

    Adamah Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks. I tried the Windows Power settings thing, and it did seem to help some, but it still sometimes pauses for a few seconds when I click on a folder in the HDD drive. Will the CrystalDiskInfo method accomplish the same thing as the Windows Power settings method, or is that something different?
     
  5. Hellblade

    Hellblade Notebook Enthusiast

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    CrystalDiskInfo is different, the APM is built onto the drive itself which the Windows Power settings has no effect on.