System stops unexpectedly after six months of occasional slowdowns involving PDFs and File Explorer
System stops unexpectedly after six months of occasional slowdowns involving PDFs and File Explorer
Not long ago, while testing a new hard drive a few months prior, my computer would frequently freeze during file operations or when opening large PDFs. The problems were erratic in timing and sometimes seemed linked to the size of the files involved. I also observed signs of corruption on my boot drive, an NVMe device, which puzzled me. Some desktop preview images didn’t render properly. I suspected a failing HDD was the culprit, connecting the PDF and File Explorer issues to its large file handling. Recently, my system began crashing intermittently—about once every couple of days. A friend with more technical expertise advised checking the BIOS settings for RAM configuration. After adjusting only the speed, the crashes lessened, though I still experienced some lag. I noticed my mouse responsiveness dropped even when playing games smoothly. Streaming video with multiple tabs open left my 32 GB RAM at just 22% usage. While Chrome consumes a lot of memory (~7 GB), it’s still within normal limits. I also stumbled upon a suspicious website by accident while researching Wikipedia, but no malware was detected. I ran a Display Driver Uninstallation this week to address the RAM BIOS change, though it was mainly for updating my AMD software. I’m still trying to piece together what’s going on and feel overwhelmed.
Verify every storage device using the maker’s diagnostic tools or a trusted app like "Disk Genius." It scans each bit level. If any drives show faulty areas, DG will locate them. Check all RAM modules with MemTestx86 and reset your BIOS to default settings, then disable XMP/DOCP settings.
I possess Crystal Disk Info, Crystal Disk Mark, and Disk Fresh, yet I’m unfamiliar with Disk Genius. Excellent tool. When installing it, a warning appeared about not applying it to the desired partition. I installed it on my boot drive—a NVMe purchased two years ago for this build. For testing, I ran verifications (no repair) on both 500 GB and 250 GB SSDs, which returned satisfactory results. On the NVMe, several critical sectors are flagged. Can I fix them without installing Disk Genius elsewhere? What’s the timeline for replacing it? Will swapping it out and cloning data be straightforward? I’m currently checking an 8 TB HDD, but I expect long wait times. Should I wait the full 13 hours? I completed a Memtest with 1 hour 20 minutes and no errors. Please let me know if you’d like me to run the full four tests. I noticed the BIOS reported “Memory: 32 GB 18.6 GB/s.” Isn’t that lower than the standard speed I should have? Could this relate to my RAM being set below the factory rate? I reset the BIOS before testing, by the way. See attached images of BIOS settings, Memtest outcomes, and Disk Genius NVMe results: https://imgur.com/a/FlytPmU
It's time to save the information and swap it out. Using suitable cloning tools will make this accurate. You're aiming to evaluate every RAM stick simultaneously, making sure each completes at least one full test. Definitely. I don't focus much on RAM speed during a test—just let it operate.
Sure, but...? This appears to be the OS drive, so if Windows files are corrupted, it would just shift the problems to another disk. (Provided the files are indeed the root cause of your issues...)
Absolutely, you're on the right track. A fresh install could work, though it's probably not the initial choice. We'll need to keep an eye on the other drive too—it's a bit unusual.
I'm trying to clarify everything here. My NVMe and boot drive are already set up, and there aren't any bad sectors even though I haven’t repaired them. On the other hand, I might be able to clone it, but I’m not sure. If cloning isn’t an option or I prefer simplicity, I can move the necessary files to my main hard drive as long as it’s still working, after a fresh installation. How much time do you think is realistic? I have finals next week and would like to schedule this when I have more free time. I bought the drive in October 2020, and I feel it’s unlikely it would fail so soon. I checked Samsung’s warranty policy, and it seems I’m likely covered. I installed Samsung Magician because their warranty covers reads/writes. Should I proceed with this method, especially since I don’t have the serial number (it’s in the software)? And if not, what should I get for a new 2 TB NVMe? Also, the drive-checking tools I’ve used haven’t shown any issues. What changes would you suggest? Will they offer a warranty if I go this route?
It's not failed yet, but as you know, when it does, everything goes bye bye with no recovery. I'd start the backup process now. It's possible it overheated, causing degraded sectors. If Samsung Magician says the drive is ok, I doubt they will do a warranty swap, can't hurt to ask and show them screenshots from Disk Genius.
Adjusting fan speeds is acceptable; changing voltage too much leads to over/under-clocking, which can destabilize the system and speed up hardware wear. For improved PC performance, turn off Windows Search in Services, disable file indexing per drive, disable the pagefile, and address outdated memory leaks that damage drives. To test RAM health, run memtest64 from a USB stick and perform at least 8 passes overnight using the Speccy app to monitor temperatures and identify issues.