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WD Scorpio Blue in 2010 MBP 13" - sluggish performance

trondah said:
There isn't any lags of that kind at all, scrolling and typing is smooth as a baby's butt. I don't remember problems like that with my WD Scorpio either.

Try creating a different user and see if the problem exist there. You could also try installing OSX on an external drive and boot from that.
Click to expand...

Already tried creating a different user, but can try booting from an external drive!

I can see that i had a misspell in my last post. What i meant to say is that my drive is an WD Scorpio Blue. I have the same problems as the OP had / have.
  • Can it be the 4K alignment thing, that's slowing my drive down?

  • And, if that's the case, how come you didn't have problems with your Scorpio Black. Because it's higher RPM? Or the alignment thing?


Thanks again
 
No, the 4k thing is just for the EARS series (Advanced Format). WD currently don't have any 2.5" drives with 4k sectors to my knowledge. I didn't have a Blue drive but a Black btw. Did you try the HDAPM solution suggest in this thread?
 
trondah said:
No, the 4k thing is just for the EARS series (Advanced Format). WD currently don't have any 2.5" drives with 4k sectors to my knowledge. I didn't have a Blue drive but a Black btw. Did you try the HDAPM solution suggest in this thread?
Click to expand...

Yeah i tried the HDAPM. It stopped the "clicking" of the drive, but it didn't help with those problems.

I still get those text typing and scrolling lags + a relatively large amount of beachballs.
As said, for some time i though i was just being to sensitive, but it doesn't sound like those things are normal - even for a 5400 RPM.
Am i right?
 
rasmusDoh said:
Yeah i tried the HDAPM. It stopped the "clicking" of the drive, but it didn't help with those problems.

I still get those text typing and scrolling lags + a relatively large amount of beachballs.
As said, for some time i though i was just being to sensitive, but it doesn't sound like those things are normal - even for a 5400 RPM.
Am i right?
Click to expand...

Sure, but how do you know the drive is the cause of your problems?
 
trondah said:
Sure, but how do you know the drive is the cause of your problems?
Click to expand...

I've had these problems since i got my computer. I had them with my original HDD too (5400 RPM Fujitsu). I then bought the Scorpio Blue, since i really believed the HDD was my problem. It didn't really help however.

I then sent in my computer for repair. They couldn't really find anything wrong, but they replaced the Logic Board anyway.

Still have these problems though.

AFAIK bad RAM doesn't cause these kind of problems, and with this thread being about other people having problems with their Scorpio Blue, i figured that that was pretty much the only remaining possible source of problems.

The reason i ask if those "problems" are normal or not, is that my computer runs just fine most of the time. It just annoys the hell out of me, when i sometimes have to wait 4-5 sec for text to appear, for my browser (happens in both Safari, Firefox and Chrome) to scroll down a webpage or for a light app as System Preferences to load (and often get a beachball too).

I know i've asked the same question multiple times now, but do you never have to "wait" in situations described above?

Or is it perfectly normal for it to happen sometimes (lots of times throughout a day of use though) and it's just me being too sensitive?


Again, thanks
 
I had these problems with a WD Scorpio Blue too, they disappeared when I installed a Seagate Momentus 7,200 rpm drive, and I do not aave them with the current drive I am using either, a Hitachi 7,200 rpm 500GB. These "problems" with text entry, browsers, etc., taking several seconds are definitely not normal. Try a different HD. I used the WD in a USB enclosure and it does not have the issues there, even when booting from the USB drive! So I suspect the root of the problem stems from the compatibility of the onboard SATA and the drive firmware, or some other arcane reason, SATA cable? In any case I know the Seagate and the Hitachi work fine in my MBP model, and both of these drives are speedy and quiet with virtually no vibration. I personally like the Hitachi better, but the Seagate is very good too.
 
davidlv said:
I had these problems with a WD Scorpio Blue too, they disappeared when I installed a Seagate Momentus 7,200 rpm drive, and I do not aave them with the current drive I am using either, a Hitachi 7,200 rpm 500GB. These "problems" with text entry, browsers, etc., taking several seconds are definitely not normal. Try a different HD. I used the WD in a USB enclosure and it does not have the issues there, even when booting from the USB drive! So I suspect the root of the problem stems from the compatibility of the onboard SATA and the drive firmware, or some other arcane reason, SATA cable? In any case I know the Seagate and the Hitachi work fine in my MBP model, and both of these drives are speedy and quiet with virtually no vibration. I personally like the Hitachi better, but the Seagate is very good too.
Click to expand...

I can see that we have the exact same computer. It's very "nice" to know that i'm not the only one with these issues, that it's with the same HD (and MBP model) and that it's not normal.

It's very wierd indeed though. Since i got a new Logic Board i don't think it's the SATA cable. Compatibility between the onboard SATA and drive firmware sounds like the most likely IMO.

Questions:

  • Both of your new harddrives are 7200 RPM. You say they are quiet and with virtually no vibration. Are they also acceptably quit under somewhat heavy multitasking?

  • Why did you replace the Seagate with the Hitachi?


  • Is the Hitachi one the TravelStar 7K500?
 
I switched to the WD Scorpio Blue 500GB drive and also had clicking sound and performance problems. Here's what to do:
The solution for the clicking sound is that HDAPM-thing that has been posted before several times now.
The solution for poor performance, lags and beachballs is a PRAM-reset. To perform a PRAM reset reboot your Macbook and hold alt + cmd + p + r on startup until you hear the startup sound once again.
 
grain said:
I switched to the WD Scorpio Blue 500GB drive and also had clicking sound and performance problems. Here's what to do:
The solution for the clicking sound is that HDAPM-thing that has been posted before several times now.
The solution for poor performance, lags and beachballs is a PRAM-reset. To perform a PRAM reset reboot your Macbook and hold alt + cmd + p + r on startup until you hear the startup sound once again.
Click to expand...

You're right about the clicking part, but i just tried resetting my PRAM, and it didn't help! :(

I tried booting off my old original Fujitsu drive via USB.
Start up time was actually a lot faster (and we're talking f***ing USB here) than booting normally from my WD Scorpio Blue. 49 sec vs 115 sec.

Tried doing a little test for the typing lag too. Off a fresh restart:

  • I timed opening Pages, waiting for it to load and then typing "Rasmus" (my name) as soon as i could. It took 8 sec on the USB drive and 15 sec on the Scorpio.

  • The same test with Numbers took 3.5 sec on the USB drive and 5 sec on the Scorpio.

  • With Keynote it took 9 sec on the USB drive and 12 sec on the Scorpio.

Also the Scorpio drive seems to Beachball a lot more than the USB connected one.

All in all, this internal drive being beaten by a USB booted drive seems very, very bad. Time for a replacement i guess, do you agree?
 
Resetting PRAM worked for me, I'm sorry that it didn't help with your drive. As I don't have any other idea what's wrong I have to agree: Ditch the WD.
 
rasmusDoh said:
Questions:
  • Both of your new harddrives are 7200 RPM. You say they are quiet and with virtually no vibration. Are they also acceptably quit under somewhat heavy multitasking?
  • Why did you replace the Seagate with the Hitachi?

  • Is the Hitachi one the TravelStar 7K500?
Click to expand...
1. Quiet under heavy loading too, of course you can hear the drive in an absolutely quiet room, but it is very faint and with any ambient nosie at all, both the Seagate and the Hitachi are very quiet drives.
2. I originally wanted a Hitachi, had to settle for the Seagate due to supply issues, later found & bought the Hitachi and in actual, normal, use I found it to be running a little cooler, 2-3 degrees centigrade, so I stayed with it. The Seagate is still a very good HD. No significant difference in speed, vibration or noise compared with the Hitachi.
3. Yes
 
Cool. I highly considered the TravelStar 7k500 before finally choosing the WD Scorpio Blue back then. Bad choice it seems! :p

Think i'm gonna get myself an Momentus XT though, sounds pretty nice!

davidlv: Before i pull the trigger, i'd like to know if you tried downgrading your firmware from EFI 1.7 to 1.6?

It's mentioned in this thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2250690&start=60&tstart=0

If you've been at 1.7 all the time (which would be the normal) i can rule that out and thus be pretty sure that it's really the Scorpio Blue that's causing the trouble.

Thank you
 
rasmusDoh said:
Cool. I highly considered the TravelStar 7k500 before finally choosing the WD Scorpio Blue back then. Bad choice it seems! :p

Think i'm gonna get myself an Momentus XT though, sounds pretty nice!

davidlv: Before i pull the trigger, i'd like to know if you tried downgrading your firmware from EFI 1.7 to 1.6?

It's mentioned in this thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2250690&start=60&tstart=0

If you've been at 1.7 all the time (which would be the normal) i can rule that out and thus be pretty sure that it's really the Scorpio Blue that's causing the trouble.

Thank you
Click to expand...

!! I have not downgraded my firmware from EFI 1.7 to 1.6!!
 
You should wipe the external disk and reinstall OSX on it to see if the problem exist with a clean installation.

Anyways, 49 sec boot? Get an XT, I boot in 20 seconds :)
 
trondah said:
You should wipe the external disk and reinstall OSX on it to see if the problem exist with a clean installation.

Anyways, 49 sec boot? Get an XT, I boot in 20 seconds :)
Click to expand...

I've wiped it like 3 or 4 times, and the problem did persist! :)

Yeah, i was so impressed with the experiences you and others with an XT have had, that i actually bought one today. Wasn't in stock, but said 1-2 days delivery anyway.

Looking forward to half or less boot time and especially faster applications startup times!!! :D
 
I´ve posted elsewhere here about my sleep problem. I do have the 640 Scorpio Blue, i did the HDPAM thing. That helped for the spinning up and down, but now it seems to be constantly on and it never goes to sleep (and I´ve tried everything)
Anyone else experience this?

PS I also seem to be getting beachballs, but never the writing issue
 
yoak said:
I´ve posted elsewhere here about my sleep problem. I do have the 640 Scorpio Blue, i did the HDPAM thing. That helped for the spinning up and down, but now it seems to be constantly on and it never goes to sleep (and I´ve tried everything)
Anyone else experience this?

PS I also seem to be getting beachballs, but never the writing issue
Click to expand...

When you say it never goes to sleep, do you mean the HD platters slowing down, when you aren't using your computer for much, or do you mean that it can't enter "Sleep mode" (when closing the lid)?

The first thing should AFAIK be normal, since HDAPM makes it spin non-stop.
If it's the second thing something's wrong.*

Also, yet another person getting beachballs with the Scorpio Blue.

Have everyone else, who had these Scorpio Blue drives and replaced them with a new one, had their sluggishness problems solved?
 
Thanks. It's the first scenario. Closing the lid puts it to sleep. Is there no way to make it go to sleep on it's own?
 
I had the same problems with the 500gb scorpio blue. The computer was slow, beach balls like no other, clicking sound, and freezing every 15 seconds when I played video.

I just went about it the simple way: returned scorpio blue and bought the Hitachi 5400rpm 500gb hd. All my problems are now gone. I highly recommend this hd, its quiet does not lag like the WD scorpio blue.
 
Retzius said:
I had the same problems with the 500gb scorpio blue. The computer was slow, beach balls like no other, clicking sound, and freezing every 15 seconds when I played video.

I just went about it the simple way: returned scorpio blue and bought the Hitachi 5400rpm 500gb hd. All my problems are now gone. I highly recommend this hd, its quiet does not lag like the WD scorpio blue.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I was about to buy the SB...
 
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