Well, I ran Es Tool again and it did work for a bit and then gave that Out of interrupts! message and the damn thing froze--again! hmm. how did you make your boot disk? Right-clicking on the "A" drive in Vista (Create MS-DOS Start Up disk)--why??? Why would that be of any concern to you when the pr...

Well, I ran Es Tool again and it did work for a bit and then gave that Out of interrupts! message and the damn thing froze--again!

OK we're making progress. All the issues so far have been user error. HUTIL is the older version of ESTOOL so it shouldn't work with newer drives. If you want we can continue to try and solve your issues for WD or Samsung's programs. Listen, I solved this issue by myself--the problem was Samsung's ...

I assume installing an SSD drive with Antec elastic bands (Solo) would work, or am I mistaken? I'd say yes. I haven't really tested. Being the lazy bastard that I am, I just plugged the drive in and left it on the bottom of the case. Since it has no vibrations it doesn't really matter how you mount...

1. The hutil utility does not support the F3 model. 2. I know because I got into DOS, ran the hutil utility, and could not perform any function inside the utility because it said: Error Hutil doesn't support this model. So now we can dispense with Hutil utility. Next up we have the ES Tool utility. ...

Now we're getting somewhere. You didn't make a bootable floppy. That's why you aren't getting anywhere. You can: 1. make an older MS type boot disk (not the best but it will work - download one such as Windows 98 SE), put the utility on it, boot and run it from the prompt. http://www.bootdisk.com/b...

I better add this: I was not in RAID or AHCI mode.

I already told you I set Boot from Floppy and it did not work. Let us take this step by step: 1. Downloaded ES Tool.exe for floppy 2. Extracted ES Tool.exe to formatted floppy and left floppy in computer--also verified the ES Tool.exe is on floppy. 3. Restarted computer and set BIOS to Boot from Flo...

Have you looked at the websites? Do you see where WD specifically states Vista 32-bit? Do you wonder why it says Vista 32-bit and not both 32 and 64-bit? As I said, I followed the instructions for installing via a floppy and it did not work. You are making assumptions and I tried to install as instr...

Have you tried to run it Vista Ultimate 64-bit? So you are saying even WD technical support that had me hold on while he checked and said it would not work is wrong. Now that is very interesting. Well, all I can say is I followed the instructions provided to install via a floppy and it did not work ...

I'm confused. If you have to reboot from a floppy into DOS for the Hitachi utility, how is that different from the one from Samsung? Samsung's version does come with it's own basic OS, doesn't it? DOS or a stripped down Linux? I don't know. All I know is the Hitachi Feature Tool loaded onto a flopp...

I think it is shameful that both Samsung and WD are so behind the times with their utilities. As of this writing, neither will support Windows 7 64-bit. Can't you figure out how to boot into DOS? Your complaint makes no sense to me. I will post this again: "Apparently the utility is not compatible ...

Why would AHCI slow boot time? ? During boot, the system will look for devices to manage under AHCI. My systems here add about 10 seconds enumerating those devices (at one point, I had a computer that added 45 seconds doing that). Have you noticed any difference running AHCI in terms of performance?

No, but Windows is the most popular OS being used. You miss the point, Hitachi can and does make a utility that works in Vista 64-bit using a floppy in what looks like DOS mode. Samsung and WD make utilities that do not work in my system. Point is, if Hitachi can do it, why can't Samsung or WD? I th...

Erssa wrote:I think slow HDs or AHCI are more likely reasons for Skiddy's slow low boot time than the number of running processes.

Why would AHCI slow boot time?

I assume installing an SSD drive with Antec elastic bands (Solo) would work, or am I mistaken?

Well, there is one thing more important than specs, the preservation of data. Even if Disk "A" outperforms disk "B", it does not mean a thing if disk "A" is not a reliable disk to hold data. WD has a reputation that goes back quite a long time for reliability, but what about Samsung? Well, this is g...

Where do you see that 15.2 access time? Both HD Tune graphs above show access times of 12.5 and 11.9--both better access times than the Samsung F3.

Oh, I found the one you were talking about in a link above.

Yes, I checked the Smart data and all was fine. The spike-downs are not always in the same place, and I get them on all of my drives tested, three in total. I was curious because the WD drives I have seen had nice-looking linear graphs without those down-spikes. By the way, the WD Caviar Black does ...

And I have used Hitachi's Feature Tool iin Vista 64-bit, Feature Tool is a DOS program. However, neither utilities from Samsung or WD will run in 64-bit OS. Now how can these manufacturers provide utilities, WD and Samsung, that do not support their drives when Hitachi's utility can and does support...

Tzeb wrote:Probably the test was done with that drive as the OS drive. Some background program "asked" something from the drive ---> spike.

I ran the test with a brand new formatted F3, nothing on it, and also got a few down-spikes. If it is a background program, then it happens even with an empty disk.

Observing HD Tune graphs of both Samsung and WD, plus what I've seen on another site, the Read test usually shows a rather linear line as opposed to the first graph below that has numerous down-spikes in the picture. I wonder if that is an indication of something to be concerned about relative to th...

Now that is amazing, the Hitachi utility works for Samsung but the Samsung utilities don't work for Samsung F3. :roll: That is interesting. Does it give you an error message? Apparently the utility is not compatible with Vista. I could not boot from the disk as instructed with the command A:\> ES T...

FYI, I tried both Hutil and ES Tool utilities from Samsung and neither works with the F3 500GB drive. What does work for some features is the Hitachi Feature Tool version 2.09. Now that is amazing, the Hitachi utility works for Samsung but the Samsung utilities don't work for Samsung F3.

Hi, The two 500GB F3 drives that I have may have been louder right at first -- some sort of initialization, maybe? But, now the seek noise is only noticeable in the quietest times of day. They are quiet drives. I live in the country, very quiet here. I can tell when the mail comes by hearing a car ...

Uh-oh, I just read this on newegg.com from the last review of 500GB platter version:

Cons: When the hdd head is in action, you can notice the click it makes racing across the platter.

Now that does trouble me.

The Slipstream used for rear is connected to a fanmate and running around 800 rpm. I use another Slipstream, same model, in the summer for my Ninja around 770 rpm. My two front Nexus Real Silent 92mm fans run through Fanmates at around 720 rpm. The hard drives listed in my signature are being used p...

Quite a statement about all newegg.com reviewers. There are some useful comments on newegg.com from people who are advanced beyond the beginner stage. Are you asking me what fans I use? Look in my signature. I don't think the reason WD is more popular than Samsung is because Samsung is newer to maki...

Hi, A comment on the RAID: the controller is everything. Most GOOD controllers cost big bucks, and most of the ones that are included on motherboards are pretty mundane. My F3 500GB is entering it's second week of flawless service! :wink: Seeks are really only audible very late at night/very early ...

I have one F3 500GB sitting idle waiting for Windows 7. All I can say at this time is the F3 is extremely quiet and runs cool. You can read comments on newegg.com about both the F3 500GB and 1TB versions. The one comment you will not get is reliability, because the drives have not been out that long...

Access time is faster with RAID 0 versus a single disk.