Half a minute lagging and occasional freezes

[joni.valli]

Hello,

So I've been having a lot of freezes for a while now. I've tried to fix this myself with different methods but I can't seem to properly get rid of the problem.

There doesn't seem to be anything specific when the freezes happen but there is usually some error codes in the event viewer. The latest has been ESENT 508. I believe my problem is my SSD and I ran AS SSD Benchmark and got a result which I understood is not good.

SSD Benchmarking is completely new to me and I really don't know what to do now. Can I fix this with some tweaking or do I have to get a new SSD?

 

[jr9]

I would not focus heavily on the SSD unless the freezing started right after installing it. SSD failures are uncommon. There are many things that can cause freezing.

If you could, please post your system specs.

If you are freezing, the Event Viewer may be useless to you as it doesn't record anything on OS lockups. The only thing you may see is the kernel power warning which occurs when you held down the power button to get the PC to shut down to reboot.

If you have a graphics card and integrated graphics, I would start by uninstalling the graphics card and using the integrated graphics. If it still freezes on integrated graphics, I would run Memtest86 to make sure the RAM is good before moving on to other things.

Lockups can also be caused by overheating. If you give us your GPU (if applicable) and CPU temps, we can tell you if they are acceptable.

 

[TerryLaze]

Yes, your read speeds are way too low and could very well be the cause of your problem.
If it's an option I would get the ssd tool from the kingston site and check the disk with that if it still shows up slow I would update the firmware and at a last resort completely wipe the drive,which would completely get rid of your windows and any files,hence last resort.
https://www.kingston.com/en/support/technical/kingston-ssd-toolbox

 

[joni.valli]

I would not focus heavily on the SSD unless the freezing started right after installing it. SSD failures are uncommon. There are many things that can cause freezing.

If you could, please post your system specs.

If you are freezing, the Event Viewer may be useless to you as it doesn't record anything on OS lockups. The only thing you may see is the kernel power warning which occurs when you held down the power button to get the PC to shut down to reboot.

If you have a graphics card and integrated graphics, I would start by uninstalling the graphics card and using the integrated graphics. If it still freezes on integrated graphics, I would run Memtest86 to make sure the RAM is good before moving on to other things.

Lockups can also be caused by overheating. If you give us your GPU (if applicable) and CPU temps, we can tell you if they are acceptable.

I don't have integrated graphics and my grandpa-of-a-GPU is also one I suspected to be the reason for problems. Still, I am amazed how well it has lasted.

System Specs
CPU: AMD FX-4300 3,8 Ghz Quad-Core
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0
Memory: 8,0 Gt DDR3 (2 x 4 Gt)
Storage: Kingston Digital 120GB SSDNow V300 SATA 3 2.5" (SV300S37A/120G)
Storage: Seagate Desktop HDD ST1000DM003 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470
Power Supply: Corsair CX750M
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Temps

I ran Kombustor to see high points of the temperatures for both GPU and CPU.

 

[jr9]

- Can you run a quick benchmark from http://www.userbenchmark.com/ and link us to your results page? That will tell us a lot and if a part is under-performing.

- The CPU temps on AMD processors on AM3 using HWInfo are generally wrong. I would try AMD Overdrive to get your CPU temps and post them here. Max temps are the important ones.

 

[johnbl]

looks like you have your sata controller in IDE mode. you might want to change in to AHCI mode so you get proper performance.

also, you should not test on SSD for very long because of the low write endurance.
google "how change windows sata mode from IDE mode to AHCI mode"

 

[joni.valli]

- Can you run a quick benchmark from http://www.userbenchmark.com/ and link us to your results page? That will tell us a lot and if a part is under-performing.

- The CPU temps on AMD processors on AM3 using HWInfo are generally wrong. I would try AMD Overdrive to get your CPU temps and post them here. Max temps are the important ones.

UserBenchmark

UserBenchmarks: Game 24%, Desk 43%, Work 26%
CPU: AMD FX-4300 - 48.1%
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 - 21.4%
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB - 35.8%
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB - 80.5%
RAM: HyperX Savage DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GB - 27.7%
MBD: Asrock 970 Pro3 R2.0

I installed AMD OverDrive but can't seem to get around my head how to get the max temps. Is there a way to do it only with OverDrive or do I have to run e.g. Kombustor's CPU memory burner?

 

[jr9]

The drives seem to be running at roughly the right speed if not a bit slow. I would use CrystalDiskInfo and see if you have any red points for either the SSD or HDD for their SMART data and make sure you aren't in IDE mode as suggested above. You should see all blue dots. It will tell you if you have an HDD health issue.

CPU and GPU appear to be fine. RAM is under-performing but it's likely because of the CPU being slow. If RAM was the issue you'd probably be blue screening. If possible, use CPU-z to confirm your RAM is running in dual channel mode as it should.

 

[joni.valli]

looks like you have your sata controller in IDE mode. you might want to change in to AHCI mode so you get proper performance.

also, you should not test on SSD for very long because of the low write endurance.
google "how change windows sata mode from IDE mode to AHCI mode"

The drives seem to be running at roughly the right speed if not a bit slow. I would use CrystalDiskInfo and see if you have any red points for either the SSD or HDD for their SMART data and make sure you aren't in IDE mode as suggested above. You should see all blue dots. It will tell you if you have an HDD health issue.

CPU and GPU appear to be fine. RAM is under-performing but it's likely because of the CPU being slow. If RAM was the issue you'd probably be blue screening. If possible, use CPU-z to confirm your RAM is running in dual channel mode as it should.

I didn't change anything yet in UEFI and if I'm reading this right I'd say that I'm already in AHCI. Also CrystalDiskInfo didn't have any red dots. All blue and saying that both drives are good.

This however might not be as it should.

EDIT: Just moved one of my RAM to a different spot and now running on dual channel.

 

[jr9]

So your RAM is running in single channel so it appears to not be installed properly. That's one issue. It should be installed in slots 1-3 or 2-4. If installed, you should see Channel # Dual. If they RAM came it a kit it should work in dual channel.

EDIT: Rerun the benchmark and post the results. They should improve overall for CPU and RAM especially.

 

[joni.valli]

So your RAM is running in single channel so it appears to not be installed properly. That's one issue. It should be installed in slots 1-3 or 2-4. If installed, you should see Channel # Dual. If they RAM came it a kit it should work in dual channel.

EDIT: Rerun the benchmark and post the results. They should improve overall for CPU and RAM especially.

UserBenchmarks: Game 24%, Desk 44%, Work 26%
CPU: AMD FX-4300 - 47.9%
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 - 21.4%
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB - 41.4%
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB - 79.8%
USB: SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 32GB - 39.8%
RAM: HyperX Savage DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GB - 42%
MBD: Asrock 970 Pro3 R2.0

There's definitely some change but I don't think that it's all fixed. We'll see.

 

[johnbl]

I would move your ssd off of port 5. you have sata ide combined mode enabled which I think makes sata port 5 and 6 emulate the older sata mode.

try port 2 or 4 and see if it works better.
(or turn of the option in bios maybe)

 

[joni.valli]

I would move your ssd off of port 5. you have sata ide combined mode enabled which I think makes sata port 5 and 6 emulate the older sata mode.

try port 2 or 4 and see if it works better.
(or turn of the option in bios maybe)

UserBenchmarks: Game 24%, Desk 47%, Work 28%
CPU: AMD FX-4300 - 51%
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 - 21.3%
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB - 50.9%
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB - 83.2%
RAM: HyperX Savage DDR3 1600 C9 2x4GB - 38.8%
MBD: Asrock 970 Pro3 R2.0

Moved to port 2 and disabled combined mode. The numbers are starting to look so much better.

 

[jr9]

Does it still lag/freeze?

Good to see the improvements.

Ram still is quite low though. The slower CPU may be to blame for that.

 

[joni.valli]

Does it still lag/freeze?

Good to see the improvements.

Ram still is quite low though. The slower CPU may be to blame for that.

I had my first freeze requiring reboot after the changes just a few minutes ago. Otherwise everything has been working just about perfectly. No more 30 second lags so far.

 

[jr9]

If you are still getting system lockups I would consider a Windows reinstallation (or reset/refresh) to clear out possible software issues. It's a faster than trying to figure out the cause.

If it still freezes after a new Windows install, it would likely be a hardware issue. If I had to figure out what was wrong with this machine in the shop, I would:

- Windows updates, graphics card driver update, chipset update, BIOS update
- Ensure the CPU and GPU temps are good using AMD Overdrive/BIOS and HWInfo for GPU.
- Reseat RAM and video card
- Swap the RAM for another kit
- Try a different graphics card + drivers
- Try a different PSU
- Clone the SSD to another and see if the other one has freezes
- Try a different processor
- Try a different motherboard