Hard Drive Transfers: Snake Needs Your Guidance

[Solid Snake]

Thanks Nik.

Is there usually like a temporary issue with memory slowdown in the imminent wake of a new GPU install? I'm trying to figure out why everything from websites to programs (Steam, Origin, etc.) is taking an extra split second to load. It's not a huge deal I guess, just kind of weird in the wake of what I've presumed would be an upgrade. Windows Task Manager has CPU usage varying between 12% and 40% and Physical Memory pretty consistent at around 44%, with Total Physical Memory at 8173, Cached at ~4700, Available at about ~4400 and Free at close to zero.

EDIT:

I figured out the cause of the slowdown.

Every time I boot up my computer now it's automatically starting with two new programs associated with my GPU. "GPUMonitor" tells me all kinds of fun things about my GPU, like the fact that my GPU temperature is apparently now 43* C (that seems hot), GPU Fan Duty is at 20%, GPU fan speed at 4400, etc.

Then there's GPUTweak. GPUTweak lets me change GPU base values? GPU Clock is set at "1000", Memory Clock at "5040" (both in MHz) and Fan1 Speed % is at 20.
So if I set these to lower values, will that lessen the noise my GPU is making?
Furthermore, is there a way I can set these values to change automatically whenever I start a game? That'd be the obvious workaround.

[Krylo]

If you don't know what you're doing with them, it's probably best to just let them handle things autonomously. There should be checks for that somewhere within the programs (I'm not particularly familiar with those two programs specifically) that just lets the fans speed up or slow down depending on how much the GPU is being used, etc.

They're great tools if you're a more advanced user and excellent for troubleshooting if something goes wrong.

Also, don't worry about the temps too much unless they get around 90C or greater, or you notice that your idling temperature has increased by a noticeable amount (in which case, clean that shit--which you should do anyway). GPUs tend to be the hottest running part of the computer.

[Solid Snake]

I've realized the one thing I can change with GPUTweaks is like a switch from an automated "Gamer" setting to "PowerSaver," which does reduce noise a little bit, but it's still much noisier than what I'm used to. (And I now feel bad for my roommate, who's already commented on the noise.)

Also, daaaaamn, Can You Run It? now has me in the 100th percentile for GPUs. Awww yeah it's time to gloat
...Bizarrely, Dragon Age Inquisition doesn't auto-set every possible graphics setting to highest values, vast majority are Ultra or even "Fade-Something" but a couple which I assume might be more CPU or memory dependent are simply "High"

EDIT: Shit, GPU heat spikes up to around 85C while playing GPU-intensive games. Fortunately, average appears to be around 70 and temps drop below 50C within a few minutes of stopping play.

[Nikose Tyris]

This might be a little outside your skill level, but Here's a walkthrough on essentially putting a better heat sink on that card. There's plenty of other options out there, and this is just one of the first ones that felt clear and understandable that I google'd up. Read through the article, and make your own informed choices.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by Nikose Tyris

This might be a little outside your skill level, but Here's a walkthrough on essentially putting a better heat sink on that card. There's plenty of other options out there, and this is just one of the first ones that felt clear and understandable that I google'd up. Read through the article, and make your own informed choices.

I'd really just rather not void the warranty right away.
(Perhaps more importantly, I can't afford to spend more money on my PC for the next few months.)
But I'll definitely look into it once it becomes a viable option financially.

---------- Post added at 08:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:18 PM ----------

...This kind of bullshit is why people choose consoles over PC.

I paid for a SATA cable and installed it, why the fuck isn't my PC recognizing a second hard drive present? I paid for a professional to install this, this doesn't make any fucking sense. The damn hard drive didn't even come with an instruction manual.

---------- Post added at 09:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 PM ----------

Oh, oh. I figured it out.

Damn, on a 3TB hard drive nearly 900 MB is apparently inaccessible? Wuuuuuuut

---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 PM ----------

Hold on, hold on. A 3TB hard drive has two separate unallocated spaces? One is about 2TB and the other is about 750MB?

---------- Post added at 09:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:01 PM ----------

So here's the issue.

"Disk 0" is my new Hard Drive. It has not yet been initialized or partitioned or whatever you gotta do to get it running.
It reads at 2794.52 GB of free space -- I imagine the other 200 or so isn't usable for whatever the hell reason that's true of hard drives.

But it's divided into two unallocated sections. I can create a 2048.00 GB D: drive with one segment of unallocated space. The other 746 GB is listed as unallocated and available but I can't do anything with it?
Why can't I combine them?

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 PM ----------

Ohhh I had to convert it to a GPT Disc for some reason, OK.

---------- Post added at 09:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------

Browse to the Steam installation folder for the Steam installation you would like to move (C:\Program Files\Steam by default).
Delete all of the files and folders except the SteamApps folder and Steam.exe

...Why exactly do I have to delete all files except SteamApps and Steam.exe before transferring it over? Why not just transfer over everything that's in there?

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:21 PM ----------

"22 Hours remaining," to transfer via Steam, Christ on a stick.

---------- Post added at 09:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:32 PM ----------

So, after I finish the Steam downloading process. Then I can Uninstall Steam on my C: drive, right? And that won't influence anything on D:. And once I delete Steam on my C: drive, all the games will automatically be deleted off just that drive too, right?

...And then I gotta change my desktop icon so it drives me to the correct D: drive.

Can I also do the same transfer process with Origin, I wonder...

[synkr0nized]

You paid for a professional to attach a cable inside your case? It's a shame none of us is nearby to have been of help in person. It's a really simple job. Maybe in the future, if you have the patience for it, give it a try yourself? You might find some computer upgrades are easier than others, and sometimes people get a sense of satisfaction having done it themselves that makes it more fun!

But it may also just not be your thing, which is totally fine. Just don't spend too much money hiring others to do that kind of thing if you can avoid it.

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

It reads at 2794.52 GB of free space -- I imagine the other 200 or so isn't usable for whatever the hell reason that's true of hard drives.

But it's divided into two unallocated sections. I can create a 2048.00 GB D: drive with one segment of unallocated space. The other 746 GB is listed as unallocated and available but I can't do anything with it?
Why can't I combine them?

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 PM ----------

Ohhh I had to convert it to a GPT Disc for some reason, OK.

Your drive is reading within the OS as 2794.52 GB because that is its actual size in bytes. Counting on computers is done in binary (base 2), so 1 MB = 2^10 bytes kilobytes, or 1024 bytes kilobytes, and so on up through sizes.

However drives are typically marketed using the common decimal system (base 10) that we all know. Here 1 MB = 1000 kilobytes.

To be more detailed, even, the latter is technically correct for "Megabytes", "Terabytes", etc. The binary MB is technically "mebibyte", with the suggested abbreviation MiB (and tebibyte with TiB, for example). But no one really uses these abbreviations in practice, so, like, there's the potential confusion when you buy a 3TB drive and see 2.7-something TB when using your computer.

But rest assured the "~200 or so" has not disappeared. 3000 GB (3TB) in base10 = 2793.9677238464355 GiB (base2)


As to the GPT -- Until recently, most hard drives were partitioned using a Master Boot Record in Windows. I think MBR has a limit of 2 TB for partitions. So your 3TB drive had to be split into a 2 TB plus whatever else. With Windows 8, GPT was provided as an alternative/growing replacement for MBR, and it can handle larger drive sizes. So that's why you were confronted with two separate partitions/unallocated spaces that you were not able to combine until you swapped to GPT.

---------- Post added at 11:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 PM ----------

Oh, the part where Valve says to delete everything but Steam and the Steamapps folder -- briefly, I think what they are going for there is removal of all of the various config and helper files internal to Steam. That way when you run it in the new location it is forced to rebuild itself (and any links/registry settings it needs within Windows), but it will notice the new location and update appropriately.

By leaving the Steamapps folder unscathed, all of your games have come along for the ride already and don't need to be re-downloaded.


If you just copied everything and ran it, perhaps it would not update everything appropriately and still attempt to load games and files from the old location. I haven't done this, so I cannot sit here and claim that is what happens.


I see you on Steam now, though, so I am guessing this is all academic at this point.

---------- Post added at 11:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:17 PM ----------

Also I am still not getting how a new GPU is making your Internet browsing and/or application opening functionally slower. That strikes me as abnormal, even if another background process is in the picture.

[Solid Snake]

Thanks Synk. I'm in the process of attempting to confirm that I'm now running Steam and all my Steam games off my new drive.
...Then I'm probably just going to uninstall and reinstall Origin the 'traditional' (slower) way, since it's only two games, and I don't think my saved content will be affected.

---------- Post added at 01:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 AM ----------

Damn. I actually have somehow lost a few saves in the transfer process. A few games seem to have worked out just fine (Skyrim, Civ 5) and a few others retained some information but not others (Analogue: A Hate Story has a few auto-saves and has retained my cleared games bonus content, but none of my manual saves survived), while I lost practically all my progress in Bastion, which somehow had over 600 files either corrupted or missing during the transfer process.

[synkr0nized]

Oh, wow, I am very sorry to hear that. :(

[Solid Snake]

Fortunately, I have some backup data from about six or seven months ago, so in terms of lost content it's really just Transistor (strange that two games by the same company were affected; at least I had my Bastion save backed up), Analogue and some Tropico 5 data.

And, here's a bizarre addendum: I've lost all my manual Analogue save data but still have all available start conditions saved for Hate Plus? Which is...weird?

Anyway, almost done transferring and Installing stuff, I gotta do Origin later today and install a couple lingering Steam games and I'm pretty much set. (Not going to bother transferring my GOG.com games content; they're small enough not to bother with, and old enough that they probably won't benefit by being on my new, faster-loading hard drive.)

EDIT: Meant to ask. Can I link up GOG.com and/or Origin games to load from my Steam account?

[Nikose Tyris]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

Fortunately, I have some backup data from about six or seven months ago, so in terms of lost content it's really just Transistor (strange that two games by the same company were affected; at least I had my Bastion save backed up), Analogue and some Tropico 5 data.

And, here's a bizarre addendum: I've lost all my manual Analogue save data but still have all available start conditions saved for Hate Plus? Which is...weird?

Anyway, almost done transferring and Installing stuff, I gotta do Origin later today and install a couple lingering Steam games and I'm pretty much set. (Not going to bother transferring my GOG.com games content; they're small enough not to bother with, and old enough that they probably won't benefit by being on my new, faster-loading hard drive.)

EDIT: Meant to ask. Can I link up GOG.com and/or Origin games to load from my Steam account?

I think yes on GOG; I know that GOG gives you steam codes at least which implies some cross-compatible friendship.