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    brothers m11x bootup 15 min startup

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by andrewe1, Mar 13, 2010.

  1. andrewe1

    andrewe1 Notebook Consultant

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    Hello,

    My brothers m11x which only has steam installed (he has only used it to play TF2) today started acting up. When you turn it on, it gets to the desktop and but the hard drive is at full activity and you can't do anything for like 10-15 mins, after that the computer performs as normal....

    I already tried starting in safe mode with all startup processes disabled but its the same thing. AlienFX and Sense are disabled.

    Before I format is there anything you guys recommend?

    Thanks
     
    andrewe1, Mar 13, 2010
    #1
  2. Marcham93

    Marcham93 Notebook Evangelist

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    Run tests on the hard drive?
     
    Marcham93, Mar 13, 2010
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  3. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    do you have Microsoft Security Essentials installed?
     
    HTWingNut, Mar 13, 2010
    #3
  4. andrewe1

    andrewe1 Notebook Consultant

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    Nope, It's a fresh install with win 7 pro, avast, and steam... and of course all the drivers.

    My system which is identical (plus tons of more programs) is running perfectly.

    I'm suspecting the hard drive might be faulty............. hope its not, i've had too much trouble with both of the laptops.

    What sort of tests do I do? SMART status checks out...
     
    andrewe1, Mar 13, 2010
    #4
  5. Zlog

    Zlog Notebook Deity

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    SMART always checks out lol.

    Don't these systems have a diagnostic built in you can run? Like F12 or something.
     
    Zlog, Mar 13, 2010
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  6. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    You could always swap the HDD into your M11x to narrow it down to an HDD issue or setting issue.
     
    DR650SE, Mar 13, 2010
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  7. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    How many times have you rebooted? Does it grind the hard drive in safe mode? The first few times you boot, I know my hard drive grinded a lot. It didn't prevent me from doing work, but it would be a little sluggish. Also do you have the stock 160GB hard drive? Because that's 5400 RPM and may slow things a bit too with all the hard drive activity.
     
    HTWingNut, Mar 13, 2010
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  8. andrewe1

    andrewe1 Notebook Consultant

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    Just formatted......system appears back to normal. I'll see if problem does not come back in a few days...

    Thanks for your replies guys.
     
    andrewe1, Mar 13, 2010
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  9. mk1freak

    mk1freak Notebook Evangelist

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    turning off indexing always helps
     
    mk1freak, Mar 13, 2010
    #9