Lag/Freezing when Windows is on SSD

[leifus]

I have been having problems with my computer lately where it kinda freezes/lags when starting up or loading in games. kinda hard to explain, but will try my best.

So i have 3 storage devices. 512GB pci-e SDD, 256GB SSD and 4TB HDD. All my games are split on the normal SSD and the HDD depending on the game and Windows is running on my pci-e SSD. Whenever i start a game that are located on eather my HDD or SSD my computer freezes for a secound or lags out completly.

My computer also lags when i am in loading screen in games like WoW and watching a video on my secound monitor and play on my main, when the loading happens the video start lagging. My browser should be located on my windows pci-e SSD should should not be affected by wow since it is on another drive

I have checked my firmware and it should be the newest.


if someone got any clues of what i could be please leave a comment so i can test

Specs:
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU: i7 6700k @ 4.5GHz
CPU Cooler: Corsair H115
Motherboard: Z170 Asus ROG MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
RAM: 32GB 2133Mhz HyperX Fury DDR4
GPU: EVGA Geforce gtx 1080 FTW Gaming
SSD: Samsung 950 Pro 500GB and Samsung EVO 840 250GB
HDD: WD black 4TB
PSU: Corsair RM850

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @leifus!

Have you tried running any malware/anti-virus scans as well? I'd advise you to check your Resource monitor in Windows to see what processes and programs could be overloading the system. It will be a good idea to also backup all your important data somewhere off-site and then run some SSD-specific diagnostic tools and also run the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from our Data LifeGuard Diagnostics utility for Windows on your WD Black 4 TB to determine what is the health and SMART status of all your storage drives.

Does the issue occur only when you are playing WoW or is it present on all games? If it's just one software that causes these lags/freezes, then I'd recommend you consider re-installing it.
I'd also suggest you check your hardware drivers and make sure you got the latest ones manually installed from the mobo/hardware manufacturer's official website.

Hope it helps you.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[leifus]

Hey there, @leifus!

Have you tried running any malware/anti-virus scans as well? I'd advise you to check your Resource monitor in Windows to see what processes and programs could be overloading the system. It will be a good idea to also backup all your important data somewhere off-site and then run some SSD-specific diagnostic tools and also run the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from our Data LifeGuard Diagnostics utility for Windows on your WD Black 4 TB to determine what is the health and SMART status of all your storage drives.

Does the issue occur only when you are playing WoW or is it present on all games? If it's just one software that causes these lags/freezes, then I'd recommend you consider re-installing it.
I'd also suggest you check your hardware drivers and make sure you got the latest ones manually installed from the mobo/hardware manufacturer's official website.

Hope it helps you.
SuperSoph_WD

I will run the tools when i get home and see if they find any errors on the drives.

My WD black 4TB is fealy new so i wouldent think it would have any issues yet. Also i run anti-virus a couple of times in the month and have recently not found anything. It is in most games/programs that demand som load, not only WoW. My hardware driver should be up to date since i check them pretty often.

But it is wierd that the other drives make the primary drive lag.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Do that, @leifus and let me know how it goes.
The lags/freezes could be coming from a faulty connectivity to the hardware as well. If you suspect any of the drives, swap their SATA cables and also the SATA ports where they are connected to the motherboard to see if the system's behavior will improve. It's not the drive that is lagging, it's the system trying to read all the devices connected to it and when it fails to recognize one of them properly (reading/writing from/to an HDD), it would definitely affect the load/boot times. Another thing that you could try is booting the system with just the primary SSD connected and leave the other SSD and the WD Black disconnected to check how the system will boot then. Afterwards, try plugging the secondary drives one by one and see what could be causing the issues.

If the rig is still experiencing these lags with just the booting SSD, you should definitely consider troubleshooting the whole system.

I hope this works. Keep me posted.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[leifus]

Do that, @leifus and let me know how it goes.
The lags/freezes could be coming from a faulty connectivity to the hardware as well. If you suspect any of the drives, swap their SATA cables and also the SATA ports where they are connected to the motherboard to see if the system's behavior will improve. It's not the drive that is lagging, it's the system trying to read all the devices connected to it and when it fails to recognize one of them properly (reading/writing from/to an HDD), it would definitely affect the load/boot times. Another thing that you could try is booting the system with just the primary SSD connected and leave the other SSD and the WD Black disconnected to check how the system will boot then. Afterwards, try plugging the secondary drives one by one and see what could be causing the issues.

If the rig is still experiencing these lags with just the booting SSD, you should definitely consider troubleshooting the whole system.

I hope this works. Keep me posted.
SuperSoph_WD

So i have tested the Softwares you mentioned above. all S.M.A.R.T is fine, but two of the softwares like lifeguard and SSDlife pro wouldent detect my 950 pro SSD, but then i tested Crystal disk and it found it, same with Samsung magican. So all is ok, run S.M.A.R.T test on all of them and it was all fine.

I don't really have a slow startup when i start the pc, just when i start application/software it kinda lags my mouse and everything and i can't do shit. 😛

I haven't had time to test to have 1 drive active, but i doubt it is that, since when i do performance test on the drives it works fine.

Anything else in your mind?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

I see, @leifus! Another thing that comes to mind is checking your Task Manager and Resource monitor in Windows to see which software could be causing the system to lag/freeze. Make sure that all the hardware listed there is not getting too many usage spikes. The issue could also be coming from the system. Have you had any recent Windows Updates? You can make sure you got the latest Win 10 fixes here.

If it's happening only while loading or running a specific program/game, I'd advise you to consider re-installing it.

Keep me posted. Hope this helps.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[leifus]

I see, @leifus! Another thing that comes to mind is checking your Task Manager and Resource monitor in Windows to see which software could be causing the system to lag/freeze. Make sure that all the hardware listed there is not getting too many usage spikes. The issue could also be coming from the system. Have you had any recent Windows Updates? You can make sure you got the latest Win 10 fixes here.

If it's happening only while loading or running a specific program/game, I'd advise you to consider re-installing it.

Keep me posted. Hope this helps.
SuperSoph_WD

All the latest windows updates is installed, i can take a look at Task Manager and Resource monitor when it happens. I am not very keen to reinstall Windows if that is what you mean, i think i have done that 5 times since the summer already, cuz of UEFI, new SSD and such.

Ill report back a bit later when i have taken a look

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, @leifus!

Another thing that comes to mind is changing the PCIe slot on your motherboard. Where do you have the new booting SSD connected currently? According to the specs of your motherboard, it should incorporate 2 x PCIe x16 slots (x16 or dual x8, gray) and 1 more PCIe(max at x4 mode, black) , I'd suggest you try connecting the SSD there and see if the performance will improve. If you have the GPU somewhere in there as well, make sure it's also connected to a PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 expansion slot.

Let me know how it goes.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[leifus]

Hey there again, @leifus!

Another thing that comes to mind is changing the PCIe slot on your motherboard. Where do you have the new booting SSD connected currently? According to the specs of your motherboard, it should incorporate 2 x PCIe x16 slots (x16 or dual x8, gray) and 1 more PCIe(max at x4 mode, black) , I'd suggest you try connecting the SSD there and see if the performance will improve. If you have the GPU somewhere in there as well, make sure it's also connected to a PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 expansion slot.

Let me know how it goes.
SuperSoph_WD

I got my Samsung 950 Pro connected in the M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 connector and that is supporting upto 32Gb/s. so that should be fine. My GPU i connected to the first PCIe slot x16 one.

 

[leifus]

This issue still persist to this date and i have reinstall Windows 10 and rebuild my system in a new case, but that did not change anything. I am starting to think it could be a driver issue since Windows 10 likes to install them all automatically or that it could be a program i use, but i doubt it since i have used the same programs for a long time.

I have had some lag when i have re plugged my USB adapters, like for my Xbox controller and the wireless headset i have. I have also experienced that external drives can crash your system.

Right now i have no clue what to do, ill probably test without my USB adapters connect and see if it persist and if so, i will contact their support.