[SOLVED] Disk usage jumping to 100% causing lag

[benvolio]

Recently (over the past week or so) Ive been experiencing some pretty significant lag spikes while gaming. I havent had any issue playing these same games for over a year and not I've started getting the spikes. At first I thought it was my new monitor but I unplugged it and went back to just using my laptop screen and the lag persists.

I've made sure that my drivers are all set, updated windows, lowering settings (despite the fact that I normally play on high settings) and even then I still experience the lag after a short time. Generally after 10 or so minutes itll start. Sometimes more sometimes less time. I decided to monitor my cpu performance during this and I noticed my GPU (Nvidia geforce GTX 1060) was hitting 90-100% usage, as was my C: disk, which is my SSD (Samsung MZVLW256HEHP-00000) The game is running off my HDD which never registers anything high at all. The C: disk will hit 100% and then stick there until I close pretty much everything and let my computer do nothing, or restart. computer temp isnt any different than it has been over the last year.

Not an expert so I dont know what is or is not an issue, but the lag spikes coincide with the disk usage spikes so I figure that must be the cause. If anybody has any advice on how to get rid of the lag I'd be very appreciative.

 

[rcald2000]

What is your CPU and how much total RAM does task manager show? What the mfg & model of your old monitor and the new one? I ask because I'm wondering if you increased your FPS from 60 to 144. Which specific game are you playing? Are you only playing the game, or playing & twitch streaming at the same time? While you're in the midst of gaming, what cpu temperature do you notice? Besides the new monitor, did you recently go inside your system recently to make any changes at all?

specs: GTX 1060 / Samsung PM961 256GB SSD / HDD (unknown capacity, mfg, model)

 

[benvolio]

I'm using an MSI Stealth Notebook, Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @2.2GHz 2.20 GHz. 32.0 GB Ram, 64-bit OS. The new monitor is the same refresh as the old one, 60. I've noticed it the most with Destiny 2, but it has happened in stardew valley, deeprock galactic and others. Has happened while watching a video on my other screen (120 hz) and while just playing the game with nothing on the other screen. Cpu during gaming depends on the game, gets hotter during destiny as its more demanding, but not any hotter than it has in the past. (not sure of exact temps). I believe I've updated the system once, and graphic drivers as well, but that was after noticing the issue.

 

[rcald2000]

Ah, this is a laptop, and a relatively new one. Honestly, I recommend reaching out to MSI support, since this laptop is clearly under warranty. Which stealth model is this? There may be a design defect. If you call MSI, they may recommend a vBIOS (video card bios) update or some other remedy. Please keep this thread updated. Thanks.

MSI support:
(626) 913-0828 (technical support)
(626) 271-1004 (customer service & RMA)
https://us.msi.com/about/contact-us

google queries:
msi gs65 stealth thin lagging
msi gs65
msi laptop lagging

 

[Fiorezy]

100% disk usage usually means there is something running in the background, could be a program that you recently installed or a virus, also Windows superfetch does that occasionally so you may try to disable it from the services list and test the outcome.
Also the issue could be caused by the MSI Windows build, so reinstalling a clean OS without the manufacturer built in drivers is worth a try, even better if you get an NVMe

 

[benvolio]

Ok, I'll try reaching out to MSI to see what they have to say. It's a GS73 Stealth. I'll try disabling superfetch in the short term and doing a scan for viruses. If that doesnt work and MSI doesnt have a solution I'll see if a clean install works.

 

[rcald2000]

I recommend ADWCleaner to scan for infection:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

Please save all work before running it, as the application will likely reboot your computer.