Very slow writing to SATA disk

[Jin Guojun]

Mikhail Teterin wrote:

>>>idle temperature seems to be 54C.
>>>      
>>>
> According to smartctl, the drive runs at 56C during the copying. Its
>
>
>  
>
>>I'd double-check that (eg with a finger).  If the drive really is
>>running at 56°C, it won't last very long.
>>    
>>
>
>It sure feels hot to the touch, but nothing is burning, of course (freshly 
>poured tee is near 100C and never ignites the paper cup).
>
>Do you think, the high temperature explains the poor write performance? The 
>drive still reads at tens of Mb per second... According to
>
>http://www.spacecentersystems.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/293088
>
>this model's 'Ambient Temperature' spec is 5 to 55C...
>  
>
Generally, the temperature is not directly affecting the performance 
till the mechanical problem
occurred due to the temperature. A few types of hard drives are 
manufactured with higher
temperature spec., however, those drives are usually broken in 3-6 
months (continuously run).
Otherwise, the higher temperature is due to some mechanical problem 
which may slow down
the performance.
In your case, it seems to me that your drive temperature is at or above 
the upper bound that
could indicate a mechanical problem. Check to see if the reading speed 
of this drive is normal,
then, this won't be the case for now. But keep in mind, if this drive 
always operates at this temperature,
it will not last long. The better temperature for electronic components 
is below 39C, and not more
than 45C~50C. So, 56C can gradually damage the mechanical as well as the 
electronic components.

    -Jin