Extremely low write speeds/high access times- but only in Windows

superhaloid3

Reputable
Jan 1, 2015
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4,510
Specs:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($89.44 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master DK9-7G52A-0L-GP 27.1 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($18.58 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1066 Memory ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.66 @ OutletPC)
Storage: OCZ 120GB SSD
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card
Case: DIYPC D780-BK ATX Full Tower Case ($79.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $375.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-18 13:19 EST-0500

Hello all, I am having an issue where write speeds have been becoming abnormally low for my secondary Western Digital Blue 1TB HDD that I use for games and music, etc. It has gotten so bad to the point that when I try to access it it in Windows for anything bigger then a picture, it of course makes the Window freeze, not respond, and my entire OS becomes rather unresponsive. I'm not entirely sure why it slows me entire system down, as my OS is on an separate SSD. Games are more or less unplayable, or missing a lot of textures when they are installed on it. For example, I had load times on Warframe for patching alone that lasted hours - the same task that when installed on an SSD took no more then 5 minutes and I was in game. God only knows how bad GTAV would be..

To summarize what I've done so far for troubleshooting:


  • p7tnuH4.png
    Benchmarking drive speed with Crystal Disk mark (I had to set it to a 50MB piece to even get any results at all due to the abnormal amount of time that it takes.)

    Checked Disk health with Crystal Disk Info and Western Digital Data Lifeguard -
    9mrY4pV.png
    . I've also ran the extended test, not pictured here, overnight and it ran just fine, no errors.

    Tried a different operating system- I opened FileZilla from Lubuntu off a live USB, transferred some stuff over lan to the drive, and it capped out at 104MB/s! Blazing fast and definitely not matching up with what I found in Windows..

    Completely formatted the drive while in Lubuntu, and unfortunately still getting the same issue in Windows

    Reset BIOS settings to default- all drives are set to AHCI mode

    Checked disk usage in task manager and resource monitor- It's typically only 100% whenever its being used, otherwise it's 0%. The only thing being listed at 100% when it is, is typically the file I was writing to it, or some system files.



I haven't ran Checkdisk in Windows yet, but I don't feel it's an issue with the drive due to what I've seen in Lubuntu. Linux is still a little foreign to me but I know how to install packages and navigate the CLI, so if I could figure out how to benchmark there as well, that'd help. Before I did most of the troubleshooting I opened an RMA with WD as the drive has about two months left in warranty as well as submitted a support request to them that I am still waiting on.

Any help and suggestions on what I can do to further troubleshoot the issue would be appreciated. I'd try putting the drive in another PC entirely, but that's a real hassle and is only a real last resort thing if I have to. I'll edit later with Chkdisk results. As for backups, that's all done, so no worries about data loss here!
 
Solution
OK, so it is not the controller at fault. Perhaps the controller detected an issue with the SATA cable and acted accordingly. Try swapping the SATA cable and see if that changes anything.

dgingeri

Distinguished
Some people use addon cards for their drives instead of or in addition to the ports on the motherboard. You don't mention anything about the motherboard of your system, so I'm having to guess a lot. If it is a pre-built system, I need to know what kind of system. If it is a DIY build, I need to know what motherboard or addin card it is plugged into. (There are some addin cards that turn off the drive caching in hardware, causing this kind of problem.)
 

superhaloid3

Reputable
Jan 1, 2015
15
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4,510


Ah, sorry about that, I thought I put my specs in there. It's DIY; plugged directly into a randomly selected SATA port on the mobo.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($89.44 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master DK9-7G52A-0L-GP 27.1 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($18.58 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1066 Memory ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.66 @ OutletPC)
Storage: OCZ 120GB SSD
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card
Case: DIYPC D780-BK ATX Full Tower Case ($79.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $375.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-18 13:16 EST-0500
 

superhaloid3

Reputable
Jan 1, 2015
15
0
4,510


I swapped the sata cable before posting, but either it was that specific cable, or it was the different sata port I just tried. Looks OK now. Weird, but thanks!

Lz4Oaud.png
 

dgingeri

Distinguished


Cool. Glad to hear it is working properly again.