Dedicated Photo Hdd Problem

Windows7 Pro SP1 64 bit build 7601

Power ATX 12v MODEL:750 UB
BIOS Award F3 V600PG

Gigabyte Motherboard H55M-D2H rev 1.4

Intel Core 3.2Gb i3 550 3.2Gb

Monitor resolution 1680 X 1050

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 socket 775, 1156, 1366, A2 AM3 Heat-pipe

Ram Memory 8Gb slot 2x4Gb ddr in slots A0 & A2

Nvidia GeForce GTS 450

Controller Intel 3400 2port ATA- 3B26

Wireless network TP-Link 150Mps PCI Adapter

Sound Realtek HD Audio

256 Gb SSD drive with Operating System

500Gb General storage drive

250Gb photo storage drive

Comodo firewall

Avast anti virus
Hi all, I have a long standing problem, which I think might be connected to the photo processing program which I have uninstalled and reinstalled more than once.
Quite often when I click on the Fastone image viewer the PC gives a groan and later the program might freeze and I get the message "Faststone image viewer is not responding"
I did pause this problem on a forum about a year ago and I did all the requested Disk and Memory checks which were all ok, and I have done them since and everything is still ok. the advice then was to renew my C: drive which I did with a 256Gb SSD and reloaded Win7 but the problem is still there.
Now quite often Windows Explorer cannot find the dedicated 250Gb photo storage drive as it disappears from the Libraries list and the wallpaper and screen saver also disappear because the folder is on that drive, but the other two drives always show.
To get round the problem I shut down, then power down and unplug the drive and then reboot the PC , after this I turn off the PC again and reconnect the HDD reboot and let Winows find the drive.
Any theories will be most welcome, regards Robert.

 

Just a quick question when you uninstall the program you suspect is giving you the problem do you use a Uninstall Program like Revo Uninstaller to remove the program? Then reinstalling it? If not you might give that a try.

 

Hi KitKat, thanks for your reply, I don't use Revo as after I once used it I had MBR file missing so now I use CCleaner and run a reg clean afterwards before reinstallg the program.
I am now wondering if its a Memory prob as I only have 4Gb for the three HDD's

 

CCleaner is a good program for clean up of temporary files and will uninstall many programs but I think Revo will gets things CCleaner may leave behind. But we all have our own favorite programs and ones we are comfortable with. You just have to be careful when using Revo and only check things in Bold to uninstall.
If your problem is Memory maybe one of the Geeks here can assist you with that. Good luck!

 

Do you mean you only have a total of 4 GB of free space left on your 3 drives?

 

Hi, Sorry I got that wrong I have 2 sticks of 4Gb so I have 8Gb to run the 3 hard drives.
The 1 yr old SSD C: drive has 157Gb free space of 238, the >E: 500 storage has 182 of 465 and the dedicated photo drive >F: has 182 of 232.
Another drive appeared a few months ago as I was trying to rename the F: drive and it is named J:System reserved, it has 65.8 of 99.9 used, but I think this must be a partition, why it came I don't know, and I am not sure if I should delete it?

 

That System Reserved partition is something Windows Setup created during Operating System installation. you can't delete it. if you do, your computer won't boot to Windows.

The one drive IS getting close to running out of necessary space (only 34% free) but should not be causing problems yet.

 

In all probabilty the problem is with the 250Gb photo storage drive.

It could be the drive itself or the cable/connector(s).
First check the connectors and replace the cable.
Then check the drive (hopefully it won't disappear from Windows Explorer) with Hard Disk Sentinel.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/hard_disk_sentinel.html

 

Hi again, I tried unconnecting the hdd again and then reconnecting /rebooting and the drive showed in the W/Ex menu but it showed the drive as empty, I then got a message (the first of this type) that the hdd was corrupt, so I changed it for an old 80Gb one, again with photo folders on it, and windows found it and its usable with both Fastsone and Win photo viewer, which points to the other hdd being duff, so I inserted a 64Gb USB memory stick containing my backup photos and windows Explorer showed it in the menu as USB DISK (F) but said that it was empty, I now wonder if the prob is with Windows Explorer?

 

The problem is not with FastStone Image Viewer.
I suggest you run sfc /scannow following these instructions.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

 

Just completed the scan, and the result was "Windows Recource protection did not find any integrity violation"
I now have two 250Gb storage drives showing in the explorer menu, the (F) drive which was the original drive letter is showing as empty, and the other which has been given the the letter (D) which my PC usually classes as the DVD drive is showing all the folders containing my photo albums, which at the moment will open with both processing programs.

 

Open Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.
Take a screenshot and upload it.

 

Hi Eldon, sorry I deleted the second disk which was "empty" with the original drive allocation of letter (F) shown in the win ex menu. I realize now that I should not have deleted it, sorry again.
I have appended a screen shot which shows the photo drive with the latest drive letter,.
For your information the Fastone is opening photos at the moment but the PC could start groaning and freezing at any time especially if I use the tools for a long time, recently it went weeks before crashing, and then it groaned avery time I clicked onto a photo, as I said earlier if I unplug the hdd and re plug I get a period of stability, regards Robert.

 

Let's make 100% sure of this.
Install XnView (it's free) and check whether you have any problems like with FastStone Image Viewer.

XnView Standard.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/xnview_standard.html

XnView Full.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/xnview_full.html

 

Hi Eldon, here is an update. over the last few days I have used XnView and also Irefranview with no problems, although to be fair I have had no probs when using Fastone either.
Once I have unpluged and repluged the drive it can run ok for hours or weeks, even a month or three, I guess that's why its a long standing problem, so I will continue to use Fastone which is a great user friendly program which works so well, and as soon as I get the problem I will swap over to Xn View to see if I get the same problem symptoms, although as I have stated it could be some time, and if it is will I have to start the thread again? best regards Robert.

 

Good to know everything is 'working'.
Keep us updated.