100% CPU usage during file transfers

i searched but couldnt find anything similar to my problem...
heres my server setup
antecp180b
antec truepower 550
pcchips matx mobo w/amd 2600+
1gb ram
gigabit nic
ati radeon 7000 64mb
4 harddrives:
WD 120gb-main OS drive
WD 200gb-FTP drive
WD 250gb-movies n music
Seagate 300gb-movies n TV
it seems that whenever i try to transfer any files to the seagate drive, the CPU goes to 100% and it takes FOREVER to transfer the files

does this sound like a failing harddrive or some other bad hardware?
i have a couple extra socket478 boards lyin around, i could just rebuild my server with one of those...but i feel i would need a better cpu than the 1.5 and 1.8ghz celery thats in the boards now

i really hate rebuilding my server...i try to only do it once every couple of years, but if it looks like that will speed up the performance, then im game

You did not list your OS, but sounds like the Seagate is running in PIO mode, not DMA.

"Start" menu -> "Run" -> devmgmt.msc [Enter] -> Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers":

Alt-Click "Primary IDE Channel" -> "Properties" -> "Advanced Settings" tab -> Make sure both transfer modes are set to "DMA if available", and the devices are in fact running in DMA mode.

Same for the Secondary IDE Channel.

ultra dma mode 5
i think i have decided to go ahead and rebuild my server....i have another 120gb drive i can get a new box up n running and set up my server, then add in my other harddrives keeping downtime to a minimal(server also hosts all my media for my HTPC) as well as my webserver, fileserver, and newsgroup box

ok, weird things are definitely going on...after rebooting and checking the dma mode several times, it seems to always be going into PIO mode...does this sound like a bad harddrive or bad controller? i have a promise card here that i was running in the machine, but took it out because the pc was hanging on boot

That is usually a WinXP bug, which comes up when you change drives connected to the controller.

You can sometimes fix it by uninstalling the controller and letting windows re-install it when you reboot - but you might run into problems if you uninstall the controller that your boot drive is connected to.

thanks, i tried to uninstall it and its still stuck on PIO....i gathered up some parts out of my boneyard, and im building a new server right now

**edit**rebuilding this server, i want to incorporate the promise controller and put each harddrive on its own ide channel. are there any issues in doing so and what should i look out for?

smokie i had the same problem with my server setup..

AMD XP 1400+, MSI Mobo, 1GB Ram.. it always went to 100% usage when i transfered files. MY hdds are all sata and sataII on 4 port sata cards except for the main Windows hard drive which only is for programs and windows of course..

ive never found the reason for this. So ive decided to rebuild myself. Cheap dual core Am2, 2gb ram and a decent video card.. Hopefully this helps a little bit.

the strangest part is, its only happening with the one drive...my seagate 300

smokie mcpott said:

the strangest part is, its only happening with the one drive...my seagate 300

Click to expand...

its happening to all my drives... and i dont know why.

Could also try a different cable, or routing the existing cable differently in your case. If windows detects CRC errors it tends to drop out of DMA mode.

i've tried 3 diff cables to no avail...i think i will just rip it all down tonight and try again...
what kind of performance loss am i looking at by switching to an intel 1.8ghz celery from an athlon xp 2600+?

My file server / media player currently has a Celeron 400 in it (6x 66FSB), so I'm sure the 1.8 will do fine.

woot, im rma'ing the drive back to seagate...found out that its a bent pin that controls the dma mode...i think while i had my server broke down changing out the PSU, my son was trying to plug in an ide cable and bent the pin

just to let you know..

after the upgrade my file transfer problems have ceased to exist..

now when im transfering huge files... (6 or 8 715mb files or multiple 4gb files)

it doenst get past 72^ cpu usage.