silverfast running extremely slow recently

[gharhoff]

I didn't use my scanner for about 2 weeks, and now I have a big problem: Silverfast needs amost 7 minutes to recognize the Scanner (Nikon Coolscan 9000), and then it needs several minutes for every task (e.g. a prescan). When I tried to start the scanner yesterday the event log reported the file sbp2port.sys was broken. At first I thought the source of the problem was the fact that I installed SP 3 last week ( I am on an XP Prof machine), but going back to SP2 didn't help). Now sbport2.sys seems to be okay, but still the scanner is unusable. I tried several system restores, a complete re-install from my back-up software (Acronis True Image), several re-installs of Nikon Software, but nothing helps. Nikon Scan doesn't work either. I suspect this is not a Silverfast problem, but is related to how the system recognizes the scanner. At this point the event log does not report any errors. I fiddled with this all day now, does anybody have an idea?
Silverfast Ai V6.5.5r5, Win XP Prof SP3, Intel Core duo, 4 GB RAM. Virus- and Spyware-Scanners (Antivir, Spybot, AdAware) do not report an infection.

[degrub]

Try changing the cable and using a different port if possible. See if the problem follows.

Does device manager show any issues ? It could be another piece of hardware in the system and not the scanner/interfaces at all. i have had network cards do this to my systems in the past.

[gharhoff]

Degrub, I've tried a different port before, and tried again today. It does not make a difference. Finally I took out the firewire card and installed it again, then uninstalled the scanner and Nikon Scan, then reinstalled. Now everything works fine! I haven't a clue what was going on, I didn't change the hardware configuration recently, but anyway, all is well now. I only hope this lasts! Thanks for your suggestions!

[degrub]

If it happens again, try a different slot if possible. Also, get a pink pencil eraser ("pink pearl" works well) and gently "erase" the contact points on the bus edge of the firewire card. Sometimes corrosion/oxidation can create too much resistance and drive the bus nuts. Sometimes removing and inserting the board several times is all you need to do. Also, if there are any chips that are not soldered into to board, gently press down on them while supporting the board to reseat the pins and break any oxidation..

We used to pull our computer boards out of our old PDP 11 computers and wash them in a washing tub with mild soap and water, set them up to dry, and then reinstall them about once every 6 months to keep problems to a minimum. We had special brushes to clean the Q bus connectors the boards fit into.. LOL

The other thing that could be going on is the disk is developing a weak spot or thermal issues and the driver for the FW card was corrupted. Run chkdisk or equivalent and look for bad sectors and repair them. Removing and re-installing the drivers might have overwritten the corruption.

Glad it fixed it.

[gharhoff]

Thanks for the explanation! I wouldn't have believed such things could happen on a computer that is only 10 months old, but I can see your point. I had a completely new cooling system installed two months ago because one of the HDs was getting too warm, so I don't think I still have a heat problem. I ran chkdsk only a week ago, but I will run it again. I bought new defragmentation software two weeks ago (O&O Defrag) and had the pc running for extended periods (sometimes overnight) to lower defragmentation. Do you think defragmentation can lead to corrupted drivers?
(PS: I am going away for 3 days, so I won't be able to answer before Monday)

[degrub]

If you have a utility to watch the SMART data from the drive, watch the drive temperatures under load ( defrag is a good time).

[gharhoff]

Degrub, I ran chkdsk again and there were no errors found. My HD-monitoring utility reports 86° F for my system disk which I think is fine. I configured it to alert me when the temperature exceeds 115°F. So for the time being I think I'm ok and hope it lasts. Thanks again for your help!