Windows 10 [1803] PATA performance


  1. Posts : 2,935
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #1

    Windows 10 [1803] PATA performance


    Hello.

    I have just formatted and clean installed latest w10 17134.112 on a 2006 laptop (core 2 duo T2050 cpu, 1GB DDR2).
    The issue I have for this pc is that performance is abysmal (specially the PATA harddrive attached to Intel 8280GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) controller), even if it seems is operating properly (UDMA5).

    I have tried several things to improve responsiveness but to no avail (high performance power plan, disabling indexing (windows search service), disabling Superfetch). I haven't noticed anything useful.

    Do you have any ideas on how to improve performance?. Hard disk driver was installed by windows update and it seems okay.

    PS - I haven't seen this abysmal performance on other 1GB laptops/netbooks I formatted (Those older Atom cpus come to mind). This is even slower.

    PS2 - Under task manager Disk Usage is permanently 100%. I have tried both WD and AVAST but it made little difference (AVAST seems a little light on disk usage than WD though). Installing Windows Definitions updates is an utter nightmare.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 7,254
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #2

    I would say that Avast is much heavier than Defender. I would stick with Defender and install a second opinion scanner such as Malwarebytes free.

    I would still use balanced power plan on a laptop because that will help conserve battery.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 2,935
    Windows 10 Home x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    The battery is worn-out and needs replacing. It is being used with power cable only. I think I am going to install some Linux distro on it (or trying w7 again). I don't know why w10 it is performing so badly. Everything seems okay, drivers too.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1,020
    Windows 10 Pro 20H2 19042.572
       #4

    How was the performance on earlier W10 releases ? If its only 1809, I would presume some additional tuning for disk access has been applied.

    When your observing the tasks under task manager, is it consistently only a specific task, or are all of the active tasks seeing high disk utilization ?

    One last thing, what is the speed of you Harddrive ?
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 2,935
    Windows 10 Home x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I think there are several processes eating up disk usage (AV is one of them, specially when updating). Hard disk is a classic 5400rpm very slow PATA one (Toshiba). After formatting and updating several ancient laptops/netbooks to w10 [1803] I am pretty sure having 1GB RAM is the culprit here, specially when you turn the Internet on. With 2GB RAM is a whole world of difference. SATA will make a great difference too (1GB might even suffice there). I am thinking about inserting an SD card and use it as ReadyBoost cache. I will post back as soon as I have time.

    I refuse to believe w7 is running faster than w10, but who knows. I have Macrium Reflect backups for every system installed, so going back and forth is pretty easy.

    PS - I am ditching AVAST now for WD. AVAST may be faster doing some operations than WD but it's more bloated across the board (opening its main dashboard is hell for instance).
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2,935
    Windows 10 Home x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Hey all.

    This is my third or fourth reformat/clean install. I have found that when the system is just clean installed, even if there are missing drivers, it is performing okay. That is: cpu and disk usage is 1%-0%. Memory used is 64% (1GB).

    So. I am making a full backup with MRF and I will investigate missing drivers for faults.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 7,254
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #7

    You could consider investing in an SSD, you'l see significant speed improvements.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 2,935
    Windows 10 Home x64
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I do not think it's easy to find a PATA SSD (do they even exist?).

    In the interim I am happy to say that I installed an SD card and used it with a 2GB readyboost cache and the difference is like night and day. The system is quite responsive and usable now. It's like +300% more responsive now.
    In the end I sticked to Windows Defender and most drivers were the ones found on Windows Update.
    Edge browser as main browser and w10 default apps for everything else.
    I am glad I have been able to tame it, after four or five reformats.

    Best regards.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1,020
    Windows 10 Pro 20H2 19042.572
       #9

    Last comment - Yes Windows 7 was much faster than W10 in all ways. Windows 10 was designed to use less real memory, in an attempt to get older systems on its platform with but it has a loss of real performance to accomplish this.

    For example running basic applications (ie: Accounting, Backups, general browsing) my old W7 system I5 3.2 ghz (overclocked from 2.8ghz) w/Sata6 drives, USB 3.0 capability was about 1 times faster then my W10 I7 4.0 ghz system w/Sata6 and equivilant external disks for the same applications.

    This is MY HO (Honest Opinion)
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #10

    storageman said:
    Last comment - Yes Windows 7 was much faster than W10 in all ways.

    This is MY HO (Honest Opinion)
    I could not disagree more. On 12 computers I have installed Windows 10 on - everything from 2GB ram Atom processor stick to the latest I7 processor with 16GB ram - every computer has run faster on Windows 10 than Windows 7 or 8.
      My Computer


 

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