Win XP sluggish with Pentium D, idling hot too

jpucks77

Distinguished
Aug 7, 2006
28
0
18,530
I've been perusing these forums the last few weeks as I've been building a new machine and it's been a ton of help. Now my problem...

Here are my machine's specs:

Pentium D 940 Presler 800MHz FSB LGA 775 processor
ASUS P5WD2-E Premium Socket T (LGA 775) motherboard
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB DDR2 DDR2 800 SDRAM
Seagate Barracuda 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Radeon X1800XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
Windows XP SP2

I should be flying, right?

I don't know what the problem is, but I just built this new machine, upgrading from a Pentium 4 to the Pentium D and things are VERY slow going in Windows XP -- slower than my Pentium 4 ever was and I've barely installed anything yet. The only two programs I have running so far at startup is my McAfee VirusScan and my battery backup program and it easily is taking double the amount of time to finish it's loading (easily a minute and a half) that the Pentium 4 did.

It's not just at startup up of Windows either. I just installed iTunes and that easily takes 2 minutes to open up. Something's very wrong.

Also, I should mention that my CPU appears to be running hot. I originally had an Antec 500W SmartPower PSU and found that I was idling at around 60-65 C degrees!! Ouch! I swapped out the PSU for an Antec 550W NeoPower and now find that although my idle CPU temperature has dropped to about 50-53 C degree at idle, that's still on the hot side for idling. My motherboard temp idles at 40-43 C degrees.

I plan on changing the CPU fan and heatsink from the stock one that Intel provided to an Arctic Cool Pro 7, but I'm feeling like this may just be a band aid for a bigger problem and I'm not even sure if the fact that everything in Windows XP is sluggish has anything to do with the fact that my CPU is idling on the hot side.

I've got four case fans (two 80mm blowing inward at the front and one 80 mm blowing inward on the side of the case and a 120 mm blowing outward at the rear of the case).

Again I'm not even sure if this heating issue has anything to do with my XP running so sluggishly, but I wanted to give the history.

Any suggestions on what the problem can be with Windows XP being so sluggish? Thanks for any feedback, and please let me know if I should provide more info if you think it will help diagnose the issue.

I sincerely appreciate all the help that people in these forums have been so far. Hopefully someone will be able to help me diagnose this issue too.
 

clairvoyant129

Distinguished
May 27, 2006
164
0
18,680
Something is wrong. My PD 940 runs at ~30C(on stock) and ~23C on a TT Big Typhoon while idling.

Did you install all your drivers? Could be faulty parts too.
 

jpucks77

Distinguished
Aug 7, 2006
28
0
18,530
Yes all drivers are installled and I downloaded and am running the latest version of my BIOS for my mobo too (0604).

The Windows install was done on a brand new/formatted SATA drive too.

What is the most likely culprit here that Windows XP would be so sluggish? Does the high idle temp of my processor and motherboard have anything to do with it or is that a totally different issue?

I appreciate the response. THanks.
 

grizzman

Distinguished
May 18, 2006
45
0
18,530
I have the 940D on an Intel 975XbX motherboard and I'm cooling the CPU with a Zalman 9500. MY idle is 42C and under full load stress test it reaches 53C. My case has 120mm in the front blowing in and two 120mm fans blowing out. The 940D doesn't start throttling back until the temp gets to 72C-75C. Your problem must be somewhere else. Most likely its the SATA drive or the RAM. My XP loads very quickly and I installed it fresh on to a SATA drive. I would uninstall iTunes and check the load times against not having it installed.
 

jpucks77

Distinguished
Aug 7, 2006
28
0
18,530
Thanks for the response Grizzman. The iTunes install isn't the issue because the slowness on Windows XP has been there since I installed it on the new hard drive just days ago. The fact that iTunes takes about 2 minutes to open up simply just reaffirmed how shi**y this issue is for me and that my Pentium D isn't working like a Pentium D should.

The length for the Windows XP startup was taking nearly two minutes before I even installed any programs (I've installed only Windows Office, iTunes, McAfee, and my UPS battery backup software). Even the taskbar loads very slowly and flashes as if there's not enough memory in my system.

The system BIOS sees my hard drive and the two gigs of RAM too, so it doesn't appear to be a RAM issue when I consider that. However, the loading time to start up windows and the "chhhhh chhhhhhhhhhh chhhhh chhhhhhhh chhhhhhhhhhhh" sound tells me it could very well be a memory issue. Maybe I should pull out one of the sticks, reboot, and reslot it?

Will give that a try when I get home. Any and all other suggestions welcome. I appreciate the help so far.
 

dobby

Distinguished
May 24, 2006
1,026
0
19,280
because P4 and Pentium d are both very simular chips your problem could lie in bios, your computer could think that it is still using the P4 as you may have inadvertently under or over clocked your CPU. underclocking would explain why its to slow but not the heat unless it is still giving it a hight voltage and overclocking would explain the heat and when push a chip to far it instantly lags behind what it was before.

however much i doubt this is the problem it worth a try if it is and you still can't cahnge it try flashing the bios

i would reccomend flashing the bios even if this wasn't the case because if the board is older then the CPU theyit maynot bereading it properly.
 

grizzman

Distinguished
May 18, 2006
45
0
18,530
and the "chhhhh chhhhhhhhhhh chhhhh chhhhhhhh chhhhhhhhhhhh" sound tells me it could very well be a memory issue.

The sound your imitating sounds like the hard drive chatter a drive makes when loading. Is this correct?
 

vic20

Distinguished
Jul 11, 2006
443
0
18,790
I did have this exact same issue on a machine I built with one of those SATAII seagate drives. I had to disable command queing on the hard drive controller driver in device manager to fix the long boot problem.

You could also try putting a jumper on that hard drive to force it to SATA 1, just for testing. EDIT - You will need one of those tiny jumpers they used to put on hard drives years ago

Failing that, could be a bad hard drive.

If you suspect RAM, try memtest86+
 

jpucks77

Distinguished
Aug 7, 2006
28
0
18,530
Before I had seen a couple of the newer replies to this, I attempted to reseat the heatsink last night since one of the problems I was having is the idle temp at 50ish C degrees. Oh boy, I think I really f*ed up something.

Reseated the heatsink on my Pentium D, took out the chip, reseated that as well. Put the heatsink back in, went to boot up and within 15 seconds, as it was booting it shut down just as it gets to the ASUS logo screen. Tried again. It tried to boot up for about 10 seconds and it shut down. Again, tried to boot up for about 8 seconds and it just shuts down each time. I took off the heatsink again, feel the chip and OUCH, it's like a seatbelt metal that's been sitting in the sun all day in Miami. Tried to reseat the heatsink AGAIN, same problem when I go to boot up. Pulled out the main power supply plug from my motherboard and reseated that just to make sure it's not a PSU issue. Same problem when I go to reboot.

I should point out that I didn't wipe down the back of the chip where the thermal pad/glue has come off the heatsink before I reslotted the chip and heatsink. Is this my problem right there? Is it as simple as cleaning off the thermal pad scum and reapplying some thermal compound? The chip was wicked hot to the touch, even after one boot attempt which lasted all of 15 seconds before it shut down. Maybe I need to RMA my mobo? I'm not sure if it should be running this hot and now I can't even to get it to boot up.

I'm a newbie at this, I'm the first to admit but that's why I'm here. This is my second ever build and I had no problems like this under my first build. I appreciate any help or input with this now, more-concerning issue of not even being able to boot up.

Vic20, wish I would have waited because I plan on trying your suggestion once I get this thing to boot up again.

Grizzman, The chhhh chhhhhhhh chhhhh chhh chhhhhhhhhhhh chhhhhhhhh sound I was imitating is that sound you hear when you go to open a memory-hog of a program, like iTunes, Photoshop, etc.
 

jpucks77

Distinguished
Aug 7, 2006
28
0
18,530
When removing a heatsink, you need to remove the old thermal grease/pad and apply new thermal grease.

Memory makes no noise as it has no moving parts. It's most likely the hard drive you are hearing.

Is it safe to say that this is likely why my computer isn't able to boot up without shutting down before it even can get passed the ASUS logo screen -- because I didn't do this and it's getting insanely hot to the touch within 10-15 seconds time?
 

waylander

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2004
1,649
0
19,790
Think about what you are saying.

You took the thermal grease off when you reseated the heat sink, of course it won't run the same. Don't even try starting up again without getting some new grease on there (AC5). As to your XP problems, sounds like hdd or ram to me.... try running memtest86 to rule the ram out.
 

theaxemaster

Distinguished
Feb 23, 2006
375
0
18,780
When removing a heatsink, you need to remove the old thermal grease/pad and apply new thermal grease.

Memory makes no noise as it has no moving parts. It's most likely the hard drive you are hearing.

Is it safe to say that this is likely why my computer isn't able to boot up without shutting down before it even can get passed the ASUS logo screen -- because I didn't do this and it's getting insanely hot to the touch within 10-15 seconds time?

Yes it is. Your BIOS has an automatic poweroff setting if the CPU gets too hot and what you're seeing is it doing its thing. Pull the cooler off, wipe it down (Qtips and rubbing alcohol work well) and reapply. Try not to move the cooler around too much when you put it back on and give it another shot.

As for your load time problems, it sounds like it is your HD that is causing the delay. As to what to do, I have no idea, I've never had that problem.
 

vic20

Distinguished
Jul 11, 2006
443
0
18,790
Without the grease it would still run, just hotter. Not a good idea for an extended period of time.

Supreme is right. P4 and PDs will immedietly shut down if the HSF isn't mounted properly and putting enough force on the CPU.

Don't worry, chip should be fine. I've had customers bring in machine where the S775 heatsink was just hanging on 1 push-pin. Machine would post and shut down in seconds. Processor would burn skin after that lol.

After I remounted the HSF properly, booted just fine and ran 2 instances of CPU burn-in for hours with no problems.

If you are using the stock retail intel cooler, turn all the black knobs with the arrows clockwise as far as they will turn (arrows should NOT be pointing at the cooler). This is the lock position.

Then push like hell on each knob until you hear a click. Some boards will actually bend with these things mounted. This is scary, but normal.

If you are EXTREMELY careful, you can use a large screwdriver to push with. Of course if you slip you could wreck the board 8O I use this method often, but its at your own risk
 

jpucks77

Distinguished
Aug 7, 2006
28
0
18,530
thanks so much for all the advice everyone.

well i already had placed an order for an arctic cooling freezer 7 pro fan/heatsink that will be arriving tomorrow. this will replace intel's stock fan/heatsink. in the meantime though, i went out today on my work break to buy some of the thermal compound (arctic silver) because i want to get the intel heatsink back on there in the meantime so I can work on the other issues tonight when I get home.

i'm petrified of breaking this brand new motherboard though when i press down (two-at-a-time diagonally). i could feel it warping last night when i kept replacing the heatsink each time, although i'm the first to admit that it probably wasn't latched in properly <i>because</i> i'm afraid of breaking the mobo, hence the quick shut downs (I hope).

i'm hoping most of you are right -- that i haven't damaged the chip and the simple reason that the heatsink wasn't sitting properly on it (and without thermal compound) is the reason my system can't even make it 10 seconds into boot before shutting itself down. will keep you posted, hopefully tonight if i'm back and running. i'm not optimistic though :(

looking forward to giving vic20's idea a shot with my SATA harddrive to get windows xp to load quicker and stop being so sluggish, but right now that is a completely different issue.
 

jpucks77

Distinguished
Aug 7, 2006
28
0
18,530
Well I'm up and running, now idling at 38-41 with an Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 fan and heatsink. Mobo temp is around 35 at idle so I think I'm okay there.

Now there's still the issue of my hard drive and Windows XP being sluggish.

I should point out that that I have a backup harddrive, which is a Maxtor Ultra ATA and shows up as the Primary IDE Master in the BIOS. It's not my boot drive though -- the SATA hard drive is my boot drive, which shows up as the secondary IDE Master. I also have two optical drives in my machine.

I've updated my chipset and am on the 975x chipset, I've reinstalled windows, I've run Seagates utility to find any errors. All looks good there.

I've tried the suggestions of the jumpers on my Seagate SATA drive, but still the same issue -- slow at windows startup and opening programs no matter where I put the jumper or if I take it off.

There's no way I'm getting dual core speeds with this processor, not even close. My system is seeing all my memory, so I think we've narrowed this down to a hard drive or Windows XP setting issue.

Any other suggestions??????
 

linex

Distinguished
Nov 1, 2006
3
0
18,510
I just experienced the same problem as you did on a 940D Pentium with a cheap MB/fan combo. The fan died and I replaced it, but the new fan on the unit only lasted about 15 days when I experienced extreme heat, slowdowns etc., coupled with problems that I traced to both SATA drives included in the case. When I removed the SATA drives, which I know run hot anyway, the XP boot speed improved greatly.

I then researched the heat issues and purchase a ThermalRight 90C heatsink and fan. Cleaned the old thermal grease off with alcohol and seated everything again, keeping the SATA drives external. All the articles I read said that they were running at 50 deg C down to 30 deg C.

My rig runs 74 Deg. C on CPU and MB runs at 35 Deg C.

So now, I am going to replace the MB (an ECS ) with an ABIT and hope that the CPU temp will decrease. I am also using an Antec Neo 500 Power Supply.

Does anyone know if this CPU can survive at heat of 74 deg C.?

Seems too high.

Thanks.
 
It's about as hot as they can get, but all Pentium 4s and Pentium Ds will shut down if they get too hot. It's not possible in theory to roast one, even if the heatsink falls off. They throttle down and then shut off. AMD chips generally also shut off when they get too hot, but unlike the Intel chips I've seen, the thermal shutoff is handled via an ACPI call rather than being handled on-chip. If your OS has an ACPI problem, it won't see the CPU temp and thus will let the CPU keep running.
 

linex

Distinguished
Nov 1, 2006
3
0
18,510
I removed the heatsink and the brackets that attach it to the motherboard and reseated the brackets. That was the main problem. The CPU was not sitting tightly enough against the heatsink. I also used Arctic Silver 5 after removing the old thermal paste.

The CPU now runs between 30-38 Deg C. depending on load and idle times. I have also replaced the case with a more air efficient one.

Thanks for all replies.

By the way, the Thermalight XP-90C is an excellent heatsink/fan combo.