file transfer like molasses, hd dying?

[lenalandmine]

So, the backstory to this is relatively interesting..

Sometime a few months ago, I upgraded from Tiger to Leopard with a clean install (after backing everything up on an external HD of course). When I was moving my itunes library over from the external HD to the internal, I realized it was going really slow. Sure, I have tons of songs, but it took something like 30hrs to finish. At that point, I started posting on this forum like crazy trying to find answers. Naturally, I've never had an issue with my iMac before. <3.

Several nice and helpful people told me my HD is most likely on its last leg. I'm still under warranty (platinum!) so I called up tech and told them the deal. They sent me a box, I sent them my iMac, etc. etc. I had explained to the guy that I'm fairly certain it's my HD. Everything's fine, everything goes just as fast as always, until I try to move data to the internal HD from any outside source (external, disk, mounted dmg, etc), then it goes painfully slow. But I stressed to him that I am by no means certain, so please have the 3rd party company run all the diagnostics they can.

So everything's going on well, I'm excited about getting a fresh HD (not to mention a new superdrive, keyboard, and mouse at my request!). I got my iMac yesterday (Aug 28), hooked it up, and immediately started setting up my prefs just how I like them. Everything was running fine. Then when I started moving files over from my external, ...wtf? Same issue!! Files under 100mbs were taking 5-10 minutes. Outrageous!

So, I frantically called up tech and told them the issue. They're only solution is to send it out - again. Honestly, if they didn't get it fixed the first time, why bother sending it to them again?! But then again, I really have no other choice. Besides, after three attempts, if I am still unsatisfied, they send me a brand spankin' new iMac, and well .. that's a pleasant thought. :]

So my issue right now is, how exactly do I tell if my internal HD is running slow? I mean, I can tell when I move some data over, but are there applications that can show me this in a more diagnostic manner? For instance, I could compare specs, speed times, etc. of my externals and the internal? I'm really unfamiliar with all of this and would appreciate all the help you can give me. :] I'd just like something more black-and-white to tell me "hey, your HD is slow" instead of me just seeing the outcome of the data transfer, because to me, there are a lot of variables to consider, so it makes it less set in stone than a diagnostic app would be. Know what I mean? lol. I hope so because I barely do.. haha.

Again, I really appreciate any and all help. Thanks *oodles*!

iMac info:
20" 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
OSX 10.5.6
250GB WD Internal HD
250GB WD External HD via USB
250GB LaCie External HD via FireWire

 

[lenalandmine]

*bump*

Please help, guys! I really need to see some sort of visual diagnostic on how my hard drive is actually doing.

Thx :]

 

[Moocher]

I'm not sure I processed your too-long post correctly, but did you say that your HD is slow only when transferring between an internal and external?

If this is correct, have you tried a different cable? Firewire vs. USB? Is the external USB 1 or 2.

Please excuse me if I got this wrong, it's early but I'm very tired.


Mooch

 

[matteusclement]

another slow issue might be FW 400 to 800 cables or too many FW hard drives in a row.

just sayin'

 

[lenalandmine]

Thanks guys. I know the post was long, but it was a precaution I took because every-other-time-ever that I've posted, I miss out tons of useful info. lol. So this time I decided to give the entire play-by-play. But I do apologize for it's length.

I did try a different cable on both the FW and the USB hard drives, but it's not that. It's not just the two hard drives, it's anything outside the internal. For instance, if I transfer from a disc, a disc image, my other mac connected via Ethernet, anything that's not within the internal itself is slow to transfer.

I tried an app called XBench. I'm not sure how good it is, but it's the only (free) thing I could find. Firstly, it only took 1 minute to run on each of the external hard drives, and 12 minutes for the internal. The scores for the externals were 33.25 and 37.84 and the internal's score was 5.55. lol The comparison doesn't look too good, but then again, I'm not at all sure the accuracy of this app.

 

[matteusclement]

your hard drive is on it's way out.
For sure.
Hopefully you are with in the warranty or else have to get a new one.
This is the same thing that happened with my MBP.

 

[lenalandmine]

Yeh, that's what I thought.. except. I just got my iMac back from the warranty people.

lol.

I had this problem months ago, and they were supposed to fix it. But now I have the same problem. Which kinda makes me think they didn't do anything at all.

So is XBench a reliable app? I just don't know how else to really tell what's going on inside my HD, aside from my noticing it's going a bit slow.

But yeh, I guess I'll have to send it back to the warranty people .. again.

Good news is, if they work on it 3 times and it's still broken, I get a brand spankin' new iMac. I guess that's the goal I should shoot for. lol.

 

[matteusclement]

my experience with a few dead/dying HDD is that they just get worse and worse rather than just going belly up over night.
This one is a lemon.
Send it back.
ANd hope for that new one!