SSD Specifically Causing Game To Crash Computer

[Tigerhawk30]

Good evening all,

So I have a rather interesting problem. A couple of months ago I bought and installed a SanDisk Plus 220GB SSD. I only really have one problem on it, and that is, specifically, World of Warships crashes when running from that drive specifically.

I have a total of three drives internally...2 HDDs and the aforementioned SSD. I've played WoWs from the secondary (game) HDD with no problems at all. However, when doing a fresh install to the newer SSD and running the game after all client upgrades are downloaded, it'll run for a while...then at some point it'll crash the computer to a "rainbow of death", as I've come to call it...computer will freeze, crash and show nothing but randomly colored bricks on all three screens.

The first thing I did when I installed and got the SSD running was to upgrade to the latest version of SSD software via the SanDisk Dashboard. It is installed as an NTFS file system (as was recommended to me to do) and shows up/holds files to storage with no problems. It has 62% free space at this time. I also have Star Wars Battlefront on that same SSD, which runs from it with almost no problems...at times Battlefront itself will crash after completing a tutorial mission but won't crash the computer itself (I figure that's a CPU bottleneck problem, to which I have mobo/CPU/cooler upgrades on the way).

I've also run chkdsk on the multiple drives and completed defragmenting the SSD as of about 10 minutes ago.

The Dashboard says everything is healthy, with "Life Remaining" at 100%. Temp is at 36C and doesn't rise a lot. I've tested multiple runs with WoWs on the HDD and the SSD...the SSD is the only drive that crashes the computer under this game where the HDD has never had a problem with it, playing for hours without a hiccup. I've had multiple folks tell me this is strange and that it shouldn't matter what drive the game is coming from. I love the cut in load times the SSD gives me but...

So anyway, I guess my questions are: Has this happened to anyone else? Is the drive bad even as the Health says 100%? Do I need to somehow change the File System? Some other thing I'm not aware of?

Thanks in advance!


Basic Specs:
Win7 64 bit HE w/SP1
ASUS CG-1330 mobo running Phenom X6 1035T
AMD MSI R9 380 Gaming 4GB
16GB DDR3 1333 RAM
Corsair GS700 PSU

 

[hang-the-9]

Seems the game was working fine in the other drives, you moved to using the SSD and it not crashes, but did you test the other drive now after the crash? Is that the only game with the issue? You may just be reading the issue as coming from the wrong thing. Yes it crashes on the SSD, but unless you tried it again on the other drive and it works fine, it may be that the card, power supply or RAM just happened to have an issue at the same time you switched. Especially since you also said that another game also crashes. That is not a sign that the game with the SSD is an issue.

In short, if you did not test things running off the other hard drives, do that and then you can say it's the SSD.

 

[Tigerhawk30]

Seems the game was working fine in the other drives, you moved to using the SSD and it not crashes, but did you test the other drive now after the crash? Is that the only game with the issue? You may just be reading the issue as coming from the wrong thing. Yes it crashes on the SSD, but unless you tried it again on the other drive and it works fine, it may be that the card, power supply or RAM just happened to have an issue at the same time you switched. Especially since you also said that another game also crashes. That is not a sign that the game with the SSD is an issue.

In short, if you did not test things running off the other hard drives, do that and then you can say it's the SSD.

Howdy Hang,

I actually have done that. I'd initially installed it on the HDD and was playing it for a few months. Bought the SSD, wiped it from the HDD and did the install/download onto the SSD. Crashes multiple times. I then later wiped it off the SSD, went through the fresh download again and put it back onto the HDD. Worked fine, no crashes. Recently got the curiosity piqued (frustrating load times added to the variable) and reversed the drive order again back to the SSD. As of last night, it crashed on me three times inside a cumulative total of 35 minutes. Haven't reversed course the other way around just yet but planning to put it back onto the HDD once again tonight and I'm more than willing to bet that I'll see no crash when playing from the HDD again. So unless there's something I'm missing, I'm pretty certain I can say it's the SSD.

Thanks!

 

[Tigerhawk30]

Seems the game was working fine in the other drives, you moved to using the SSD and it not crashes, but did you test the other drive now after the crash? Is that the only game with the issue? You may just be reading the issue as coming from the wrong thing. Yes it crashes on the SSD, but unless you tried it again on the other drive and it works fine, it may be that the card, power supply or RAM just happened to have an issue at the same time you switched. Especially since you also said that another game also crashes. That is not a sign that the game with the SSD is an issue.

In short, if you did not test things running off the other hard drives, do that and then you can say it's the SSD.

And, sorry, I missed the other point...Battlefront itself (the game only) crashes back to desktop sometimes and doesn't crash the entire system as a whole. That's why I'm so confused by this. I can understand Battlefront crashing as I don't quite have the specs to run it more efficiently. WoWs crashes the entire system from the SSD but not from the HDD.

Thanks!

 

[hang-the-9]

OK, so only in that one game? What about the issues with StarWars? Also only off the SSD? How about other games?

Try with one RAM stick at a time, and test the video card in another system. Very odd that a new setup of Windows on a new fast hard drive will give you image issues, the two are not really related directly by any means.

 

[mjslakeridge]

In your first post you said you defragmented the SSD. You really shouldn't have to do this. The SSD controller stores the data in various cells around the drive and has an algorithm to remember where all of the data is that only it (the controller) understands. Unlike in a conventional HDD, the controller attempts to write all of the data in one place sequentially, but if it needs to write the data somewhere else because some of the space is already used, that is where the fragmentation comes in.

You won't hurt the SSD by defragmenting, just shorten it's life due to the limited number of write cycles, but in a real world situation there won't be any noticeable performance increase.

There are proponents of defragging and not defragging a SSD.

Sorry this doesn't address the problem at hand but I wanted to pass this along after reading your post.

 

[Tigerhawk30]

OK, so only in that one game? What about the issues with StarWars? Also only off the SSD? How about other games?

Try with one RAM stick at a time, and test the video card in another system. Very odd that a new setup of Windows on a new fast hard drive will give you image issues, the two are not really related directly by any means.

Only with that one game, yes...World of Warships is the only application that crashes the entire system. Battlefront is also installed on the SSD; it sometimes crashes back to desktop only (not all the time, to be sure), but I'm pretty sure that's because my CPU isn't completely up to the specs of the game. The system crash occurs only with WoWs and only when running from the SSD.

And, apologies...when I say fresh download, I mean to say fresh downloads of World of Warships from the Wargaming site. Win7 is still on its original HDD, that's never changed. The RAM and video card are new within the last five and two months respectively, but the issue is limited only to World of Warships while running on the SSD, which, when playing it from said SSD, is the only time I have ever seen the Rainbow of Death.

So yeah...confused.

Thanks!

 

[Tigerhawk30]

In your first post you said you defragmented the SSD. You really shouldn't have to do this. The SSD controller stores the data in various cells around the drive and has an algorithm to remember where all of the data is that only it (the controller) understands. Unlike in a conventional HDD, the controller attempts to write all of the data in one place sequentially, but if it needs to write the data somewhere else because some of the space is already used, that is where the fragmentation comes in.

You won't hurt the SSD by defragmenting, just shorten it's life due to the limited number of write cycles, but in a real world situation there won't be any noticeable performance increase.

There are proponents of defragging and not defragging a SSD.

Sorry this doesn't address the problem at hand but I wanted to pass this along after reading your post.

Yeah, I usually don't bother defragmenting...haven't done it to any of my drives for years...but it was a grasping at straws kind of thing from a potential maintenance perspective.

I appreciate the advice...didn't know that would shorten SSD life, much less that it's limited to usage life. Learn something new every day.

Thanks much!

 

[mjslakeridge]

You should defragment your HDDs from time to time. I think beginning with Windows 8, it automatically defrags in the background. This may be able to be turned off, but I like the automatic feature. Not sure about Windows 7.

Yeah, each individual cell in an SSD can only be written to a limited number of times (in the thousands), so unless you have a tiny SSD or are using it in a server where data is being written constantly, the average SSD will probably outlast everything else in the computer (and maybe you and me also). I think it was more of an issue with early SSDs.

 

[Tigerhawk30]

You should defragment your HDDs from time to time. I think beginning with Windows 8, it automatically defrags in the background. This may be able to be turned off, but I like the automatic feature. Not sure about Windows 7.

Yeah, each individual cell in an SSD can only be written to a limited number of times (in the thousands), so unless you have a tiny SSD or are using it in a server where data is being written constantly, the average SSD will probably outlast everything else in the computer (and maybe you and me also). I think it was more of an issue with early SSDs.

Win7 does have an automatic option to do it...I only remember that because I'd eyeballed it last night. The funny thing is that the default seems to be to do it at 1:00AM on Saturdays...I've never changed it. I would have probably just gone ahead and manually done the other two HDDs after I did the SSD last night but it was late, I work and I'm in my mid-40s so...the pillows beckoned. I did, however, push the Analyze button and both of the HDDs (system/programs and game drives are what I use them for) said they were at only 3% fragmentation. Not too bad for having had this computer for a touch over five years and where the second/game HDD is maybe half that age.

No constant writing to the SSD so that's not a concern...so I'm not sure if it's a comfort that it'll outlive me or not.

Thanks!

 

[mjslakeridge]

If your rig is set to defrag at 1:00 AM on Saturday, on Friday night, rather than shutting down the computer, just put it into Sleep mode. I "think" it will wake up and do the defrag, although there may be some other settings that have to be made to accomplish that. I almost never shut down my main computer, I have it set to sleep after 30 minutes of activity. Every once in a while it will be on in the morning, rather than in sleep mode, so who knows what Microsoft is doing/looking at in the middle of the night.

 

[hang-the-9]

OK, so only in that one game? What about the issues with StarWars? Also only off the SSD? How about other games?

Try with one RAM stick at a time, and test the video card in another system. Very odd that a new setup of Windows on a new fast hard drive will give you image issues, the two are not really related directly by any means.

Only with that one game, yes...World of Warships is the only application that crashes the entire system. Battlefront is also installed on the SSD; it sometimes crashes back to desktop only (not all the time, to be sure), but I'm pretty sure that's because my CPU isn't completely up to the specs of the game. The system crash occurs only with WoWs and only when running from the SSD.

And, apologies...when I say fresh download, I mean to say fresh downloads of World of Warships from the Wargaming site. Win7 is still on its original HDD, that's never changed. The RAM and video card are new within the last five and two months respectively, but the issue is limited only to World of Warships while running on the SSD, which, when playing it from said SSD, is the only time I have ever seen the Rainbow of Death.

So yeah...confused.

Thanks!

Your computer is just fine for running Battlefront, there is no reason it would crash just because of a slower system, especially not with your specs.

Install 3DMark and run that, does that run through OK? Try a couple of runs of it in a row.
Since you have an SSD in there, you don't have Windows installed on it? I would do that. Try removing the other hard drives, install Windows on the SSD, and test the game with only the SSD in. You are missing out on having the benefits of an SSD by having Windows and programs load from a different drive. Plus the big thing is that we are isolating the hard drive and removing any sort of Windows issues with a clean setup and getting the other drives out of the picture.

 

[Tigerhawk30]

OK, so only in that one game? What about the issues with StarWars? Also only off the SSD? How about other games?

Try with one RAM stick at a time, and test the video card in another system. Very odd that a new setup of Windows on a new fast hard drive will give you image issues, the two are not really related directly by any means.

Only with that one game, yes...World of Warships is the only application that crashes the entire system. Battlefront is also installed on the SSD; it sometimes crashes back to desktop only (not all the time, to be sure), but I'm pretty sure that's because my CPU isn't completely up to the specs of the game. The system crash occurs only with WoWs and only when running from the SSD.

And, apologies...when I say fresh download, I mean to say fresh downloads of World of Warships from the Wargaming site. Win7 is still on its original HDD, that's never changed. The RAM and video card are new within the last five and two months respectively, but the issue is limited only to World of Warships while running on the SSD, which, when playing it from said SSD, is the only time I have ever seen the Rainbow of Death.

So yeah...confused.

Thanks!

Your computer is just fine for running Battlefront, there is no reason it would crash just because of a slower system, especially not with your specs.

Install 3DMark and run that, does that run through OK? Try a couple of runs of it in a row.
Since you have an SSD in there, you don't have Windows installed on it? I would do that. Try removing the other hard drives, install Windows on the SSD, and test the game with only the SSD in. You are missing out on having the benefits of an SSD by having Windows and programs load from a different drive. Plus the big thing is that we are isolating the hard drive and removing any sort of Windows issues with a clean setup and getting the other drives out of the picture.

I've actually rather lusted after the thought of putting Win on the SSD...only problem with that is I'd have to buy a fresh copy. When I bought the computer, it came preloaded but didn't come with the disk itself. I've read that a clean install can solve problems sometimes brought on by old Win stuff so...yeah, that thought has crossed my mind. That said, I actually have thought about buying a new copy anyway just to have for the specific purpose you mention in the clean install route, and especially putting it on the SSD.

The CPU meets only the bare minimum requirement for Battlefront from what the system scanners have told me...it likes to freeze up at the beginning of a round for probably 10 seconds, stutter for a while then run the game normally without problem from there. If it does crash to desktop, it only does so at the end of a round anymore.

I'm not at home so I'll try 3DMark later on...I'll have to search for that but I will definitely give that a try and report back.

Thanks!

 

[hang-the-9]

I've actually rather lusted after the thought of putting Win on the SSD...only problem with that is I'd have to buy a fresh copy. When I bought the computer, it came preloaded but didn't come with the disk itself. I've read that a clean install can solve problems sometimes brought on by old Win stuff so...yeah, that thought has crossed my mind. That said, I actually have thought about buying a new copy anyway just to have for the specific purpose you mention in the clean install route, and especially putting it on the SSD.

The CPU meets only the bare minimum requirement for Battlefront from what the system scanners have told me...it likes to freeze up at the beginning of a round for probably 10 seconds, stutter for a while then run the game normally without problem from there. If it does crash to desktop, it only does so at the end of a round anymore.

I'm not at home so I'll try 3DMark later on...I'll have to search for that but I will definitely give that a try and report back.

Thanks!

Install this program https://www.magicaljellybean.com/ it will show you the license code used to install Windows. Then your job is to find a copy of that version of Windows on a DVD and install it (be very careful looking for it online, many sites with Windows downloads are just there to infect systems with virus). I would suggest a local tech shop or a PC geek you may know, it's likely they have a copy handy. Used to be easy to get but MS removed the Windows 7 ISO files that were VERY handy to have in cases like yours.

 

[Tigerhawk30]

I've actually rather lusted after the thought of putting Win on the SSD...only problem with that is I'd have to buy a fresh copy. When I bought the computer, it came preloaded but didn't come with the disk itself. I've read that a clean install can solve problems sometimes brought on by old Win stuff so...yeah, that thought has crossed my mind. That said, I actually have thought about buying a new copy anyway just to have for the specific purpose you mention in the clean install route, and especially putting it on the SSD.

The CPU meets only the bare minimum requirement for Battlefront from what the system scanners have told me...it likes to freeze up at the beginning of a round for probably 10 seconds, stutter for a while then run the game normally without problem from there. If it does crash to desktop, it only does so at the end of a round anymore.

I'm not at home so I'll try 3DMark later on...I'll have to search for that but I will definitely give that a try and report back.

Thanks!

Install this program https://www.magicaljellybean.com/ it will show you the license code used to install Windows. Then your job is to find a copy of that version of Windows on a DVD and install it (be very careful looking for it online, many sites with Windows downloads are just there to infect systems with virus). I would suggest a local tech shop or a PC geek you may know, it's likely they have a copy handy. Used to be easy to get but MS removed the Windows 7 ISO files that were VERY handy to have in cases like yours.

So, here's the 3DMark score after two runs:
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/10174543

Midrange, which is about what I expected.

I'll take a look for what you're talking about on Windows...interesting that's out there in the first place. Thanks!

 

[hang-the-9]

The 3DMark was really to make sure the system ran it properly and did not do some funny things. See how you do with everything on the SSD. That software is not an issue to use since all it does is tell you what you already should know, or are OK with knowing, which is the setup key used on your system. Many times people lose the disk/case/tag/sticker with the code on it. That keyfinder is not like some keys or key generators you see out there, it's not a hack or a illegal volume key or anything. It's like you taking out your social security card to look up your SS number if you forgot it.

 

[Tigerhawk30]

The 3DMark was really to make sure the system ran it properly and did not do some funny things. See how you do with everything on the SSD. That software is not an issue to use since all it does is tell you what you already should know, or are OK with knowing, which is the setup key used on your system. Many times people lose the disk/case/tag/sticker with the code on it. That keyfinder is not like some keys or key generators you see out there, it's not a hack or a illegal volume key or anything. It's like you taking out your social security card to look up your SS number if you forgot it.

Wow, haven't been around for a bit...sorry.

I do believe, however, that I've found the problem and successfully corrected it. When I first set up the drive, Win7 popped up with an option to use the SSD for ReadyBoost. I enabled that early on. About a week ago I disabled it and now Win7 no longer uses my SSD for a ReadyBoost option. The computer hasn't hung on me since.

So, lesson learned: If using ReadyBoost, use only USB flash drives and not SSDs.

Thanks to everyone for their help and inputs!