HDD unreasonably slow

[lars330]

Hello once again

Last month I had a problem where my new HDD (whole new PC) started being very slow, to the point where it would max out at 10 KB/s. I figured it was the drive being d.o.a. so I sent it back.

Now I have a new drive, 3TB WD Red, which after I installed it was showing the same problems my other drive had, only this one would max out at 1 MB/s. Then a friend told me something about a problem with Windows 10 anniversary update, where if you disabled write-cache buffer flushing, the problem I had would be fixed. So I disabled it, and then it ran perfectly fine! I was so happy that a problem that's been going on for over a month had finally been solved. Or so I thought.

It's been a week since I disabled write-cache buffer flushing, and today the drive started maxing out at 1 MB/s again. I checked by downloading games with Steam, and disk usage never went past 1.6 MB/s (I have 500/500 Mb/s fiber internet so it should be downloading at 55-60 MB/s).
Even starting programs installed on the drive would take sometimes up to a minute.
I also tried changing the SATA port on the mobo but this didn't help either. I'm so lost and I just want my HDD to work at a decent speed.

Is there anyone who can help me?

Full spec list can be found in my signature, OS: Windows 10 N with anniversary update

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there, lars330.

The good news is that in terms of hardware it sounds like your system might be OK, since you were able to temporarily fix the issue via OS tweaks. However, it always better to be safe than sorry, so I'd recommend that you backup any important data which you might have on that drive. After that go ahead and download DLG (Data Lifeguard), and run both tests (Quick and Extended), just to make sure that the drive is in a good condition How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows. Try it with a different SATA port and different cables as well.
Since this was mentioned to be a problem with Windows anniversary update, I'd recommend that you check for available new updates which could fix things up. You might also try contacting Microsoft to see if the guys there have a ready fix.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

 

[lars330]

Hey there, lars330.

The good news is that in terms of hardware it sounds like your system might be OK, since you were able to temporarily fix the issue via OS tweaks. However, it always better to be safe than sorry, so I'd recommend that you backup any important data which you might have on that drive. After that go ahead and download DLG (Data Lifeguard), and run both tests (Quick and Extended), just to make sure that the drive is in a good condition. Try it with a different SATA port and different cables as well.
Since this was mentioned to be a problem with Windows anniversary update, I'd recommend that you check for available new updates which could fix things up. You might also try contacting Microsoft to see if the guys there have a ready fix.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

Thanks for the answer. I tried turning on write-cache buffer flushing again, and then after reboot turning it of again and rebooting. This fixed it. Never had this big of a problem with a Windows update -.-

 

[Boogieman_WD]

I see. In any case it's a good thing that you were able to solve the problem, so good job there!
I'd strongly suggest that you do the tests, just to be on the safe side. And never ever leave your important information without a backup. Trust me, it's a lot easier, budget friendlier, not to mention less stressful to save your valuable data. You have plenty of options - external drive, NAS, cloud service, internal drive of a different system, etc.

Please let me know if anything else comes up.
Cheers!