Question Western Digital Blue 1TB M.2 SSD not working correctly

[Calebshov]

(This is a repost due to the problem disappearing and coming back despite a bios update to the mobo.)
I recently bought a new WD 1TB M.2 SSD for game storage in my PC. The drive has been working off and on since I got it. Currently, whenever I turn on the PC or restart it, I am unable to access files or launch games from the drive for about the first 5-10 minutes. Trying to browse files in this drive causes file explorer to freeze. Games that I try to launch such as Apex Legends are simply unresponsive until the drive starts working and will then perform the action that I requested a while ago. When this is happening, the drive is at 0% usage. Also, in the performance tab of Task Manager, the drive is not there until it becomes responsive. I also have 2 other storage drives, a SanDisk SATA SSD for windows and a 1TB WD HDD. These drives work completely fine. As a side note, games that I play on that drive (namely Apex Legends) will sometimes crash even after I am able to start playing the game. The crashes were not happening while the drive was working properly. I'm pretty sure these issues are connected in some way.

Thanks to anyone that has any advice for my issue!

 

[drtweak]

needs PC specs. Also download and run Crystal Disk Info and check the SMART status of the drive and make sure it isn't failing.

 

[Calebshov]

needs PC specs. Also download and run Crystal Disk Info and check the SMART status of the drive and make sure it isn't failing.

PC Specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
Mobo: Gigabyte X570 AORUS PRO WIFI
RAM: Corsair Vengence RGB DDR4 3200mhz 32GB (XMP)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700XT
Storage: SanDisk 240GB SSD (Boot Drive)
WD 1TB HDD (Mass Storage)
WD 1TB M.2 SSD (Game Storage)
PSU: Seasonic 700W 80+ Gold

Crystal Disk Info says "Good"


https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X570-I-AORUS-PRO-WIFI-rev-10

 

[drtweak]

Says the motherboard has two M.2 slots for SSD's. I'm assuming it is the one under the heatsink on the front that you have it plugged into correct?

 

[Calebshov]

Says the motherboard has two M.2 slots for SSD's. I'm assuming it is the one under the heatsink on the front that you have it plugged into correct?

Yes, that is correct. The problem has since fixed itself again, but I want to figure out what is causing it. It may be linked to Riot Vanguard as the problem stopped after I uninstalled and reinstalled it, but it is not installed on the M.2 drive. Also, I tried a lot of different things at once so it could just have been a coincidence. While troubleshooting, everything would work fine in a safe boot but not in a clean boot. Thanks!