[SOLVED] NVMe SSD and SATA3 SSD Combination Causes Stuttering

[ColeComp]

Motherboard GA-AX370-Gaming 3
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Eight-Core Processor 3.20 GHz
RAM 16.0 GB
GPU ADM Radeon RX 590
PSU 500W
Current Storage SATA3 Seagate Barracuda 500GB (115GB free space)
OS Windows 10 64-bit

I tried installing a new SSD (SK hynix Gold P31 SSD, PCIe NVMe M.2, 1 TB), alongside my current SATA3 SSD storage, for the first time to see what NVMe was all about, and because I needed more storage. I installed it fine (though I dropped and caught the thermal pad, some fingerprints on that) and booted like normal from the SATA3 SSD. I immediately noticed my mouse cursor was jerking a bit, and also my games/videos were stuttering badly, with the speakers making a brief buzz whenever it happened. I uninstalled the NVMe M.2 SSD, and everything returned to normal. Popped it back in, same problem.

I cloned the SATA3 SSD to the NVMe M.2 SSD, disconnected the old SSD, and tried booting off of the NVMe M.2, but it failed to boot (though that was likely my fault, since it's my first time trying to clone a drive and swap Windows as well). Ideally I'd like to run both of these SSDs on the machine at the same time; it doesn't matter to me which one boots really. I just want to use both without the terrible system stuttering. Thank you for your time and any help you can provide.

 

[dwd999]

I tried installing a new SSD (SK hynix Gold P31 SSD, PCIe NVMe M.2, 1 TB), alongside my current SATA3 SSD storage, for the first time to see what NVMe was all about, and because I needed more storage. I installed it fine (though I dropped and caught the thermal pad, some fingerprints on that) and booted like normal from the SATA3 SSD. I immediately noticed my mouse cursor was jerking a bit, and also my games/videos were stuttering badly, with the speakers making a brief buzz whenever it happened. I uninstalled the NVMe M.2 SSD, and everything returned to normal. Popped it back in, same problem.

I cloned the SATA3 SSD to the NVMe M.2 SSD, disconnected the old SSD, and tried booting off of the NVMe M.2, but it failed to boot (though that was likely my fault, since it's my first time trying to clone a drive and swap Windows as well). Ideally I'd like to run both of these SSDs on the machine at the same time; it doesn't matter to me which one boots really. I just want to use both without the terrible system stuttering. Thank you for your time and any help you can provide.

Page 15 of your motherboard's manual states:

Installation Notices for the M2F_32G and SATA Connectors:
Due to the limited number of lanes provided by the Chipset, the availability of the SATA connectors may be affected by the type of devices installed in the M2F_32G connector. Refer to the following table for details.

So your m.2 and ssd may be sharing lanes which may cause the stuttering. If you get to the point where the m.2 is working perfectly you could try plugging the ssd into each of the different ssd sockets to see if any of them will stop the stuttering. Note that windows does not like having more than one drive with the same operating system on it so it would be best if the ssd is wiped clean but you can't do that until your 100 percent sure the m.2 was properly cloned and working perfectly on its own.

To properly clone your ssd you should use Macrium, which is free. When you select the ssd to be cloned, you need to select the option that clones all of the partitions and expands the largest data partition so that the new larger m.2 is filled.

 

[ColeComp]

Thank you for the response, dwd8; that's a shame I was hoping to use them in-tandem. But if I can just use the m.2, that's ok, I can use the other for backup. I'll try cloning the m.2 again when I have time. The m.2 didn't boot with Windows last time, but I hadn't wiped the SATA SSD. I'm new to swapping Windows from drives. There's endless content about that out there so I'll dig a little deeper.

 

[USAFRet]

Thank you for the response, dwd8; that's a shame I was hoping to use them in-tandem. But if I can just use the m.2, that's ok, I can use the other for backup. I'll try cloning the m.2 again when I have time. The m.2 didn't boot with Windows last time, but I hadn't wiped the SATA SSD. I'm new to swapping Windows from drives. There's endless content about that out there so I'll dig a little deeper.

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Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
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Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Both drives must be the same partitioning scheme, either MBR or GPT
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, you may need to install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

[Ignore this section if using the SDM. It does this automatically]
If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specifiy the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing
[/end ignore]

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD. This is not optional.
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD

(swapping cables is irrelevant with NVMe drives, but DO disconnect the old drive for this next part)
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
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