System Performance Mystery Solved

Ouch! Talk about a dummy…

A few days ago we posted about installing our shiny new SSD and how great it was. Along the way we removed the drive from the Sonic and connected it back to our primary P/C to copy some files to it. Based on the amount of data involved, that was going to be faster than going across our network. After that we moved the SSD back to the Sonic and along the way started to notice things were a little slower than we expected. A couple of good ideas from Mark and Bill along the way to help figure out what was happening.

Today was the day to figure out what happened so we can move onto some other VST related tasks. We tried a couple of tests using the same 2 GB file and copied that file back-n-forth between the SSD that is in the Sonic (the C: Drive) and the external SSD we added (in our case the F: Drive). Stuck in the 40 MB range – YUCK! Next, use the same test file on the C: drive only. Instantly we are seeing reads running in the 350+ MB again. OK, now we know the C: Drive isn’t our problem. Next, do that same test but this time only using the F: Drive. Sure enough we are right back in the 40 MB range again for our reads from that drive. YUCK! – Oh wait, we already said that!

OK, Now look closely at this picture. See anything that might be a problem?

And now we are back to what we expected… A copy of that same 2 GB test file from the F: Drive to the C: Drive and we are back in the 350+ MB range for our reads! Who wants to take a stab at what the issue was? HINT – In the picture above it’s blue.

Now stop laughing… DAMN, it’s hell getting old! Note to self – ALWAYS have glasses on when messing with cables inside the Sonic! And as Bill has reminded us a few times recently… Have one (maybe two) of your favorite cold beverages close by!