Question 100% HDD usage causes game/software to freeze completely ?

[not.Puffer]

Hello, recently for the past couple of days I've been experiencing this issue: Game would randomly freeze completely while I was playing, I can still alt tab out and use chrome, etc, but if I try to launch new app it wouldn't open the app, and the game would stay that way for a while until it return to normal again or if I was playing a multiplayer, in most case I would get disconnected from the match.

So I did what I could trying to monitor the problem, it was easy finding out what is causing it. While the game froze, I noticed that my HDD usage would spike all the way up to 100% usage and stayed at 100% until everything return to normal. I checked for task trying to find which one was eating up all of the disk usage and was unable to find anything. After that I checked the Event Viewer and found that this Warning message in the log that line up with each time this problem occurs:

Event ID is: 129, here is the log info:

Reset to device, \Device\RaidPort0, was issued.

The source of the message was iaStorAC, a quick google search came up as Intel Rapid Storage Technology.
I checked Device Manager/Storage Controllers but I didn't have IRST in the list, only Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller.
Here is the spec of my computer

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro(10.0.19042 Build 19042)
• Physical Memory (Installed): 8 GB
• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-8100 CPU @ 3.60GHz
• System Type: x64-based PC
• Total Installed Updates: 29 Updates
• Display Adapter(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 27.21.14.6663
• System Manufacturer: ASRock
• System Model: H310M-HDV
• Disk(s):
  • SSD: P3-128 14,53 GB (available) 10.0.19041.789
  • HDD: WDC WD20EZAZ-00GGJB0 897,86 GB (available) 10.0.19041.789

Speccy: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/La5fiZWZkIBNwQgT56QJFqA

I'm not sure how to fix the problem, as this is getting more and more frustrating for me, so I would gladly take all the help I can take. If you need more infos, please tell me, I will try my best to provide them as much as I could.

 

[Lutfij]

You're currently on version P1.20 on your motherboard BIOS. Looking through your motherboard's support site, you're on the first release of BIOS, here. You have 7 more BIOS updates to go through before you're on the latest version. You should ideally be on 21H1 for your OS. As for your HDD usage, what sort of usages do you see when you boot to OS GUI after a cold start?

As for your query about the RST drivers, you will need to manually install your storage drivers, found here, in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator. I'm also wondering if you didn't install all drivers for your motherboard...? If so please do so before you get to installing Intel's RST.

 

[not.Puffer]

Thanks for the help, I didn't update my BIOS at all because it has been working just fine ever since I got this computer 2-3 years ago. I read that if my BIOS is still running fine I shouldn't update it and this problems has only occurred a few days ago
As for my OS, I think you meant 20H2 right(since Sun Valley update is not out yet). I'm on the latest Windows update atm.
For my HDD usage, here is what it looks like after a cold boot

Spoiler

As for driver, I haven't driver recently except for nvidia driver and a driver for my drawing tablet, and both have been running just fine, before the problem occurs. I don't know what even is RST or do I need it, I just know it came out of the error log I just suspect it has something to do with my problem. I also don't know if I has installed all of my drivers for my motherboard, the computer was prebuilt so I just roll with it until this starting to happen..

 

[Bob.B]

Hello, recently for the past couple of days I've been experiencing this issue: Game would randomly freeze completely while I was playing, I can still alt tab out and use chrome, etc, but if I try to launch new app it wouldn't open the app, and the game would stay that way for a while until it return to normal again or if I was playing a multiplayer, in most case I would get disconnected from the match.
So I did what I could trying to monitor the problem, it was easy finding out what is causing it. While the game froze, I noticed that my HDD usage would spike all the way up to 100% usage and stay at 100% until everything return to normal. I checked for task trying to find which one was eating up all of the disk usage and was unable to find anything. After that I checked the Event Viewer and found that this Warning message in the log that line up with each time this problem occurs:
Event ID is: 129, here is the log info:

The source of the message was iaStorAC, a quick google search came up as Intel Rapid Storage Technology.
I checked Device Manager/Storage Controllers but I didn't IRST in the list, only Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller.
Here is the spec of my computer

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro(10.0.19042 Build 19042)
• Physical Memory (Installed): 8 GB
• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-8100 CPU @ 3.60GHz
• System Type: x64-based PC
• Total Installed Updates: 29 Updates
• Display Adapter(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 27.21.14.6663
• System Manufacturer: ASRock
• System Model: H310M-HDV
• Disk(s):
  • SSD: P3-128 14,53 GB (available) 10.0.19041.789
  • HDD: WDC WD20EZAZ-00GGJB0 897,86 GB (available) 10.0.19041.789

Speccy: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/La5fiZWZkIBNwQgT56QJFqA

I'm not sure how to fix the problem, as this is getting more and more frustrating for me, so I would gladly take all the help I can take. If you need more infos, please tell me, I will try my best to provide them as much as I could.

Reseat the sata cable both ends for the C drive........ecc errors?
Run a pass of disk cleanup on the C drive don't forget the system files.
Run a pass of chkdsk on the C drive.

 

[not.Puffer]

Reseat the sata cable both ends for the C drive........ecc errors?
Run a pass of disk cleanup on the C drive don't forget the system files.
Run a pass of chkdsk on the C drive.

I had reseated both hdd and ssd
I had also ran chkdsk /r on both ssd and hdd 2 times, no error shows up
disk cleanup also didn't do anything
I had also updated my bios to the latest the version, still nothing

 

[Bob.B]

I had reseated both hdd and ssd
I had also ran chkdsk /r on both ssd and hdd 2 times, no error shows up
disk cleanup also didn't do anything
I had also updated my bios to the latest the version, still nothing

On the mobo page I see an inf driver and a ME driver.
You might want to get those.

Do you have the sata mode in the bios set to raid or ahci?

Run this and post a link to the results page.
PC Benchmark

 

[not.Puffer]

On the mobo page I see an inf driver and a ME driver.
You might want to get those.

Do you have the sata mode in the bios set to raid or ahci?

Run this and post a link to the results page.
PC Benchmark

I have installed both of those driver, and none of them fix the problem
I couldn't find a setting in my bios that allow me to switch between 2 option, I assume it would be AHCI
Here is what it looks like

https://imgur.com/d4tqg8W

View: https://imgur.com/d4tqg8W

Also here is my userbenchmark https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/43676922

 

[Bob.B]

I have installed both of those driver, and none of them fix the problem
I couldn't find a setting in my bios that allow me to switch between 2 option, I assume it would be AHCI
Here is what it looks like

https://imgur.com/d4tqg8W

View: https://imgur.com/d4tqg8W

Also here is my userbenchmark https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/43676922

Every bios is different you may not have such an option or it may take some searching to find it.

Your UBM link seems a little wonky.

 

[not.Puffer]

I tried to look around for it but I couldn't find it at all. I dont think there is an option in my bios uefi
Sorry about the link. I have fixed it

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

As for my OS, I think you meant 20H2 right(since Sun Valley update is not out yet). I'm on the latest Windows update atm.

No, Lutfij didn't mean 20H2, that was last year. The latest is 21H1 as he said.
Sun Valley will be 21H2 later this year.

 

[not.Puffer]

No, Lutfij didn't mean 20H2, that was last year. The latest is 21H1 as he said.
Sun Valley will be 21H2 later this year.

sorry my mistake, still im on latest version, 21h1

 

[Bob.B]

I tried to look around for it but I couldn't find it at all. I dont think there is an option in my bios uefi
Sorry about the link. I have fixed it

UBM is showing you have a lot of background stuff running.
This can make the numbers a little wonky.
Try this...boot the machine and let it sit for 5 mins.
Rerun the benchmark and post a link.

 

[Zerk2012]

First thing I would look at is how much of your memory the PC is using when gaming

 

[not.Puffer]

UBM is showing you have a lot of background stuff running.
This can make the numbers a little wonky.
Try this...boot the machine and let it sit for 5 mins.
Rerun the benchmark and post a link.

Here is the new one after I followed your instruction https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/43678663

First thing I would look at is how much of your memory the PC is using when gaming

You mean ram or hdd? If ram then it varies a lot depend on the game I play, usually it would be like 70-80%, as for my hdd, I haven't pay attention to it before this happened, right now if I play game it would spike to 100% a lots and reach near 100% for a while when loading

 

[Bob.B]

Here is the new one after I followed your instruction https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/43678663


You mean ram or hdd? If ram then it varies a lot depend on the game I play, usually it would be like 70-80%, as for my hdd, I haven't pay attention to it before this happened, right now if I play game it would spike to 100% a lots and reach near 100% for a while when loading

That's better it cleaned out the background stuff.
UBM is showing something going on with the C drive.
When you ran disk cleanup on the C drive did you click on system files?

 

[not.Puffer]

That's better it cleaned out the background stuff.
UBM is showing something going on with the C drive.
When you ran disk cleanup on the C drive did you click on system files?

I did but there isn't much to clean except for few hundred mbs of window update leftover

 

[Bob.B]

I did but there isn't much to clean except for few hundred mbs of window update leftover

Clean that out.
Your C drive is low on free space which will affect perf.

 

[not.Puffer]

Clean that out.
Your C drive is low on free space which will affect perf.

I already clean that.
I also tried to clean as much as I could( there is 30gb of free space now) but the problem still persist

 

[Bob.B]

I already clean that.
I also tried to clean as much as I could( there is 30gb of free space now) but the problem still persist

The problem that UBM is showing with the C drive may have nothing to do with the freezing.

Now that you have freed up some space on C reboot....wait....run the benchmark.
Post a link.

 

[not.Puffer]

The problem that UBM is showing with the C drive may have nothing to do with the freezing.

Now that you have freed up some space on C reboot....wait....run the benchmark.
Post a link.

Well my C drive is on my SSD, the 100% disk usage is from my HDD which is a different drive

 

[Bob.B]

Well my C drive is on my SSD, the 100% disk usage is from my HDD which is a different drive

That's ok.....one problem at a time.

 

[not.Puffer]

That's ok.....one problem at a time.

well incase if you need another ub. it perform as well as I expected, which is basically the same thing as before. https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/43681709
Here is what it look like when it happen, it would freeze for like a solid minute, I've read that this is a timeout thing ?

 

[Bob.B]

well incase if you need another ub. it perform as well as I expected, which is basically the same thing as before. https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/43681709
Here is what it look like when it happen, it would freeze for like a solid minute, I've read that this is a timeout thing ?

Look into a clean boot.
I have no stick time with it so use google.
See if it has any impact on the freezes.

 

[not.Puffer]

Look into a clean boot.
I have no stick time with it so use google.
See if it has any impact on the freezes.

Already tried a clean boot yesterday( no startup, no non ms services) still encounter the problem.
Already googled and try every method I could didnt fix the problem at all. I became desprate and have to post here

 

[Bob.B]

Already tried a clean boot yesterday( no startup, no non ms services) still encounter the problem.
Already googled and try every method I could didnt fix the problem at all. I became desprate and have to post here

Things to try.
Swap the sata port on the mobo between the ssd and the hdd.
Swap the sata cable between the ssd and the hdd.
Swap the power plug between the ssd and the hdd.
Clean off the hdd....partition/format....load one of the problem games to the hdd.