[SOLVED] Does Dying HDD kill performance?

Mar 8, 2021
13
0
10
Hi everyone, i have got a fairly old home pc, from 2016 wwitha i3 4130, and a 500 gigs toshiba hard disk. and dual channel 12 gigs of ram.
From last few weeks I am noticing very slow boots ( around 3 to 4 minutes ), very frequent software crashes, and YouTube videos taking hella long to load (crashes browser frequently and other softwares). I got a decent internet connection (100 Mbbs) so its not a issue.

I think my hard disk is dying as i used CrystalDiskMark Info to check it. I am planning to replace the old drive with a 860 evo 500gb SSD. My question is, As my observations say, Will replacing the old drive with a SSD fix the speed issues, software crashes ( including youtube and browser crashes)?

Also My CPU reach's 98 degrees on idle. I haven't replaced the thermal paste since 2016, but will replacing the thermal paste fix it too?
Thank You.

Note: Crystal Disk Mark Info Shows Caution
 
Solution
Changing from a HDD to a ssd will be a major boost to performance.
More so if your HDD is having to chase defective sector chains.
Likely you are using the stock intel cooler, and it has come loose.
Here is my canned text:
----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in...

porokha

Prominent
Mar 8, 2021
8
1
525
Hi,
both CPU and HDD can be Reason. Changing HDD probably will fix some issues, Your symptoms usually means HDD dying or died already... but CPU, man... First step must be CPU help.
 
  • Like
Reactions: isitayush
Changing from a HDD to a ssd will be a major boost to performance.
More so if your HDD is having to chase defective sector chains.
Likely you are using the stock intel cooler, and it has come loose.
Here is my canned text:
----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.

Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.

When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.

If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.
Too much paste is bad, it will act as an insulator.
It is hard to use too little.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  • Like
Reactions: isitayush
Solution

Raerayu

Honorable
Nov 26, 2015
80
2
10,545
Absolutely. HDD's alone are slow and bog down performance, ESPECIALLY an old one or even a dying one. Replace it with an SSD ASAP. Boosts performance in every area.

Also yes thermal paste is very very important to upkeep. Thermal paste alone can keep your PC 20-30 C cooler, replace the paste correctly and check temps afterwards. I do believe anything under 70 C is OK for idle. Around or under 60 is ideal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: isitayush
Disc problems could also just be a loose plug making the connection with the system sporadic until it completely disconnects which might be your problem now.
This said yes an ssd will make the system more responsive and you should get one anyway.

Thermal paste alone can not explain 98 degrees on idle, as geofelt already suggested make sure the cooler is actually properly installed and that your mobo doesn't apply any overclocking without you knowing..
 
  • Like
Reactions: isitayush
Mar 8, 2021
13
0
10
Changing from a HDD to a ssd will be a major boost to performance.
More so if your HDD is having to chase defective sector chains.
Likely you are using the stock intel cooler, and it has come loose.
Here is my canned text:
----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.

Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.

When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.

If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.
Too much paste is bad, it will act as an insulator.
It is hard to use too little.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank You For The Help, I already have a stock intel cooler mounted. with a heatsink. The only missing thing is thermal paste. It will arrive in a few days. Till then is it ok to use pc?

I noticed some burn marks on the CPU Holder...i.e. the metal part that surrounds the cpu. ( i apologize i dont know the exact name)
 
Mar 8, 2021
13
0
10
It sounds like your drive may be dead. When it starts to fail, some sectors become hard to read, resulting in numerous read retries. These retries can go on for as long as 7 seconds, so there will be a noticeable lag when this happens. Seagate drives will report this behaviour in the Command Timeout attribute in SMART.
I did a smart check, my drive is of 5/01/2016 ( dd/mm/yy) It reported OK when i ran "wmic discdrive get status"

I ran CrystalDiskMark Info, which reported caution and showed two Problems. ( one of them being Reallocated Sector Count"

So, The Drive issue will be solved...But how do i fix the cpu?
 
Mar 8, 2021
13
0
10
Disc problems could also just be a loose plug making the connection with the system sporadic until it completely disconnects which might be your problem now.
This said yes an ssd will make the system more responsive and you should get one anyway.

Thermal paste alone can not explain 98 degrees on idle, as geofelt already suggested make sure the cooler is actually properly installed and that your mobo doesn't apply any overclocking without you knowing..
Thank you for replying. The plugs are all tightened, its connected via SATA 3 cable. And i rechecked it.....

The Motherboard is H81M-S ATX....i dont know if it has overclocking capabilities.
 
Mar 8, 2021
13
0
10
Auto doesn't mean stock but rather whatever the mobo maker thought would be ok. But this being an i3 there is very little reason to believe that settings could do much of a difference, have you made sure that the cooler is properly attached yet?
Yes, I am using the stock cooler , and a heatsink, they are properly attached to the mobo.
Using two fans, one on CPU and other beside the IO Sheild.
Also whenever i start the pc, it makes a very loud noise for a minute until windows boots ( in past since i took out hdd yesterday) is it normal?
HDD wasn't the noise issue, since i took it out yesterday and it still does that.
Is it normal?
 
If psu fan is making excessive noise, this means it has worn out or lubrication is not functioning properly anymore.
Sooner or later the fan will stop, psu will overheat and then ... next depends on quality of psu and protections built into it.
It will either shutdown from overheat protection or
catch fire and burn down your house.

So yes - it's important.
 
  • Like
Reactions: isitayush
Mar 8, 2021
13
0
10
If psu fan is making excessive noise, this means it has worn out or lubrication is not functioning properly anymore.
Sooner or later the fan will stop, psu will overheat and then ... next depends on quality of psu and protections built into it.
It will either shutdown from overheat protection or
catch fire and burn down your house.

So yes - it's important.
Thank you so much for the information. Alright another part to be replaced sooner.