Windows 7 Windows 7 multitasking super slow...64 bit

[wildmilne]

I have an Intel quad core desktop and i installed the RTM from MSDN on here and the multitasking is insanely slow. My pc basically locks up while doing a lot of activities but my memory usage never breaks about half of what i have (4gb) and the CPU is never stressed more than 35%, what could be going on?

I'm new to 64 bit OS, so don't really know what to look for. I have an EVGA 680 motherboard, updated the BIOS and the nForce software to the latest (64 bit).

I was using the RC on a macbook pro boot camp and it ran GREAT (32 bit).

 

[BishopLord]

What type of multitasking are you doing?

For example, I have the new dual-core Pentium E6300 and last night I was watching an .avi movie and ran Novabench benchmark test and my computer scored higher when I benchmarked/multitasked with the movie playing than when I ran the test a few minutes later after closing out the .avi movie. (See sig pic below. I scored a 662 when running the test with a movie, and then scored a 640-something after running the test with nothing else running on the computer except the normal task bar stuff like virus protection).

 

[wildmilne]

Mostly moving/copying files (i'm trying to build a media center PC). Also using applications like Winrar. I notice if i do one thing it a time its probably not slower than my macbook (which is dual core not quad core) but if im trying to copy a lot of large files (like a video collection) its slow as well as freezing most other things that use windows explorer for long periods of time.

What software should i use to diagnose my problem? Like i said its not like my cpu or memory usage is even half used...so i don't understand.

 

[BishopLord]

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you, but maybe this link may provide an answer:
Multitasking - Why Is My Computer Slow?

 

[Highwayman]

Theres some dedicated apps that speed up file copy & moves that greatly surpass the built in explorer

Have a look on maybe favourite freeware site Filehippo.com

Download TeraCopy 2.01 - FileHippo.com
TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, providing the user a lot of features:

• Copy files faster. TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives.
• Pause and resume file transfers. Pause copy process at any time to free up system resources and continue with a single click.
• Error recovery. In case of copy error, TeraCopy will try several times and in the worse case just skips the file, not terminating the entire transfer.
• Interactive file list. TeraCopy shows failed file transfers and lets you fix the problem and recopy only problem files.
• Shell integration. TeraCopy can completely replace Explorer copy and move functions, allowing you work with files as usual.
• Full Unicode support.

 

[wildmilne]

Thanks. That program kept crashing.

It's not so much 64 bit i think as it is just windows 7 behavior. I installed the 32 bit version and its not much better. If there is something doing heavy disk access it freezes all other things that need any disk access. I think it was worse in 64 bit Win 7 where non related stuff might hang too, like the browser or other apps.

Pity...i swear the RC ran way better than the RTM...or i'm just going crazy.

 

[BishopLord]

The only processor intensive task that I do occassionally would be converting an .avi file from whatever it's current format to an HD (720p or 1080p) format. When converting to 1080p, not only does my processor temp jump up to about 100 degrees celcius but the CPU usage is at 100%, too. However, memory (I have 8gb installed) shows that I have plently available, with upwards of 6gb's or more. Trying to do other tasks while the coversion is running is damn near impossible.

I haven't completed a full 1080p conversion as my system either ends up BSOD or I end up aborting the process, as I don't really want to wait 5 hours for the conversion to complete. Other similar tasks, like burning a DVD while web-surfing and playing a youtube video at the same time is ok.

So far W7 has been pretty good, but I have never had one BSOD with my old PC (Dell Dimension with XP). With this new PC I built, I get them pretty frequently, however, it's probably due to my chip being overclocked and overheating. One day I'll dial it back down.

 

[epk1950]

I have an Intel quad core desktop and i installed the RTM from MSDN on here and the multitasking is insanely slow. My pc basically locks up while doing a lot of activities ,EVGA 680i motherboard, .

I Have 680i as well, maybe raise the north bridge voltage just a little if keeps on locking try little bit more.

 

[jcgriff2]

What was the bugcheck on the BSOD?

 

[Davst]

Having the same issues as above

I'm having this same problem. Windows 7 Disk performance is Horrible.

My system:
Windows: Windows 7 Professional x64 (6.1 Build 7600) (Obtained from Microsoft MSDN Academic Alliance)
Processor: Core 2 Duo e7400
Ram: 4GB DDR2
Mobo: Gigabyte P31-DS3L
Graphics: Asus 9800GT 512 MB

Prior to installing i moved all my files around on my Sata disk (averaging about 40-50 mb/sec in XP according to windows copy) After the install of Windows 7 I copied files back to their locations on my system drive (Average was 15 mb/sec according to windows, what the hell?)

Also I'm having issues that while copying i wasn't able to stream video via my smb share without it being choppy, and also if uysing any web browser while doing disc intensive actions the browser would go into "Not responding" mode.

This is further illustrated by that when I work in Adobe After Effects, if i move the timeline slider to fast (disc access intensive) the program will instantly go into Not responding mode and I'll have to restart it.

I've tried to fix this with several methods, among them turning off write cache buffer flushing on the drives (did bring the resource drain down a bit, but didn't help for speed or non responsiveness)

This is really a shame since I've been looking forward to using Windows 7 since the RC ran very well. unfortunately since Windows 7 is unable to run disk intensive applications such as video editing it looks like I'm going to be forced to move back to Windows XP =(

Anyone know a sollution?

 

[CiroConsentino]

have you disabled "Remote Differential Compression" in the "

Start -> Conrtol Panel -> Programs and Features -> Turn Windows features on or off
Uncheck “Remote Differential Compressionâ€Â￾, press OK button.
You’ve done.
ReBoot and Enjoy the same speed as XP file copy/move operations!

I always do this and copy speed is the same as in WinXP Pro SP3

 

[Davst]

Thanks for the tip, I tried this but my main problem that copy speeds between partitions on the same drive or to other drives are terrible (16-18 mb/s instead of around 35-40 mb/s) is still there,

also the problem that using another program, like browsing the web is allmost impossible while copying files since even though processor usage and ram usage don't peak, the computer is slow and sluggish

 

[CiroConsentino]

well then there must be something else, because I do have this slowdown with my computer.
I can copy files on different partitions of the same drive, to/from an external hd.
average speed is 32 MB/sec (sometimes it goes to 27 MB/sec)

 

[Davst]

Thanks for the attempt.. to update this i recently tried installing the Chipset driver pack from Intels site, but still the same performance.

 

[CiroConsentino]

what about anti-virus. file copy/move operations are very slow with AV enabled.

 

[Ascor]

same problem

i bought a new system with win 7 - and have the same problem.
thought vista was sluggish - but win7 is insanely slow when doing 2 or more tasks, especially while copying large files or a large number of files. i do not use the windows copying function like you, i use "total commander" instead - great tool btw., but it doesn't solve this obviously win7 made problem.

while copying, starting other programs is nearly impossible (instead of a few secs they take a few minutes) and even tabbed browsing without starting anything new is slow as hell.
no solution found yet.

system (new drivers, runs stable, no overclocking):

win7, 32bit, german version
phenom II x4 965
4 GB DDR2-1066 ocz
asus crosshair II (780sli chipset)
geforce 9800gt 512mb
seagate barracuda 7200, 1gb
+ extern usb hdd 500gb, western digital

background software:
- avira antivir personal free
- rollback rx
- anvir task manager
- returnil

(i used exactly the same software with vista and had zero problems - nothing exept the usual sluggishly vista behavior. but win7 doesn't behave that way - its much, much worse)

so far i see only 3 possibilities;
1. memory holes, leaks and/or other ram usage problems in the win7 code
2. process priority is buggy, expecially when copying files
3. anything else i doesn't know

at this point i am very disappointed with win7...

 

[Sliver]

Is it possible the Caching is not enabled for your Hard Drives under Device Manager.

There are two options under your Policy tab on the hard drvies, and if you don't have Enable write caching on the device checked, it will impact your disk performance a lot. For the other option, Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on the device, make sure you are on a UPS, or risk losing data.

Just throwing it out there...

 

[Ascor]

Good idea, but caching is active. :/

 

[Kylethedarkn]

I always thought your computer slowed down when copying between partitions because you are both reading and writing on the same drive while running the OS. Although with 7 so far I have never experienced slowing when multitasking. It's actually pretty awesome.

 

[Kylethedarkn]

It's like I mentioned in my latest Blog entry... it gets really challenging to speak to ppls' glitches when your own instalation is problem-free. I am in the same boat as what I quoted from you... everything just works, well & quickly.

Drew

Yes, but It's even more frustrating when you have a problem nobody else has. I was actually have a discussion with someone about this today, but it mostly all comes down to hardware. I mean Apple boasts about their "just works" policy, but I bet if they had to design OSX for many different Companies and hardwares they would be just as incompatible.