Processing data at a reduced speed on a divided storage device
Processing data at a reduced speed on a divided storage device
I possess my primary 1TB M.2 partition labeled C: drive, around 200 GB used with 30 GB available. The F: drive holds 800 GB plus 500 GB free. My current Fdrive contains only documents and download folders, becoming increasingly difficult to access. I first observed that opening files in Chrome from the Downloads folder would display the folder but not its contents, often waiting several minutes. On the F drive, a few self-contained indie games have stopped functioning; if they’re web-based, the browser loads but fails to retrieve images. Deleting even tiny files takes an eternity. I’m attempting to free up space by reformatting, but it drags on indefinitely. Restarting it moves data quickly for about half a minute before freezing. This suggests a RAM issue, though my C drive shows the same problem. I’ve tried Teracopy, but it hasn’t helped. I notice file transfers become slower—from 10-20 Mbps to 2 kbps when performance drops—and the drive resets after use. I’ve reset the drive, swapped the cooler two months ago, run a RAM tester (no errors), performed disk cleanup and defrag, but nothing resolves the issue. I suspect the next step is reseating the CPU or cooler (I did that swap), testing the drive on another machine or port. My Windows 11 Pro 24h2 x470 Aorus Pro processor with AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and Radeon 3.80 GHz, 16 GB RAM (15.4 GB usable) is running smoothly. Disk cleanup and defragmentation are complete. I’m currently using Corsair VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM at 3600 MHz (no XMP enabled). The BIOS update resolved the CMOS reset warning, and XMP is now active. Still, the core problem remains unresolved.
The SSD model and make are not specified. It seems you're suggesting it might be a hardware issue or improper partitioning, possibly affecting Windows compatibility. You mentioned checking with CrystalDiskInfo and CrystalDiskMark, and sharing any screenshots of those results.
Uncertain which device is on your C/F storage but it seems to be either a WD Black SN770 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, an M.2 2280 NVM or a 1TB Samsung 980 PRO MZ-V8P1T0BW M.2 PCIe 4.0 Gen4 NVMe SSD with PS5/PC heatsink. Both are 2.5 years old. You were trying to recall the reason for partitioning it. The drive is now at 60% usage, Windows is having trouble deleting files from the recycle bin for the F drive, so you had to use PowerShell to clear them.
It is the Samsung 980 PRO. You can clearly see it in the Crystal disk info screenshot. First thing to do is backup any important files you have stored on your C: and F: drive. It may or may not be a hardware issue but a back up is the most important thing thing to do before it goes south. While at it, you can also back up important files of your two other drive too. One note I will add is that even if the Samsung 980pro is a Gen 4 drive, it is probably running at Gen 3 speeds. If you purchase another drive, the Gen 3 drives are probably cheaper. What to do next depends on your decision. For now, I would remove the Samsung 980pro from your computer and set it aside. You have reasons to believe that it is malfunctioning. You can use the WD black as a boot drive, or purchase a new SSD to install a fresh Windows on it. That way you'll be able to see if the issue went away, or not. As an alternative you can try to wipe the Samsung 980pro and install a fresh Windows on it. I don't think it is a good idea but if you don't want to spend money on a new drive or don't want to reduce the storage capacity of your computer, I can understand that Good luck !
No, it shows it's running at PCIe 4.0x4. CrystalDisk-Transfer Mode, first reference is the drive capabilities, the second reference is the actual mode it is operating at. @Randy_Baton there is no evidence that the drive is bad, other than transfer speeds on 2nd partition. How often do you run the TRIM command on the drives? Helps clean up the drive. Have you tested it with Samsung Magician software? The read/write speeds are essentially the same for both partitions, so why the end result is so bad is odd. Run the Samsung software, run TRIM to clean it up and see if that helps. Otherwise my suggestion is to try and back-up what you can and then reformat it into just one partition.
I attempted a big file transfer on my C drive and it stopped working and became unresponsive, which suggests the entire drive is affected. I thought my C drive was fine since I hadn’t had any problems with Windows before. I used a M.2 enclosure and moved most of my files to another computer, which seems to be working well there. The drive looks normal on the second PC. It might be a temporary issue inside the enclosure, a problem with my motherboard, or something unusual between the drive and that specific Windows install. I plan to back up the whole drive to another HDD, delete the second partition, restore it fully, and then move the F drive data from the backup to the C drive. If that doesn’t fix it, I’ll have to perform a full format and reinstall Windows. I upgraded to Windows 10/11 instead of doing a complete clean install, so I’ve been thinking about a full wipe and reinstall later.
The process mainly involves the drive rather than just the second partition. It seems there might be some unusual compatibility issues with the SSD, possibly due to how components were arranged during installation. It’s possible that relocating parts helped resolve problems with the SSD. The Samsung SSD appears to be deteriorating quickly, which is unexpected. Overall, it looks like your approach is well thought out moving ahead.