The SSD is malfunctioning.
The SSD is malfunctioning.
My Samsung 980 is experiencing issues on my Dell G15 5515 laptop with Windows 10. The drive frequently stops responding, Explorer freezes when I try to use it, and other programs can't access it properly. It also blocks the shutdown menu, either getting stuck during the shutdown process or not showing up at all. This problem seems to occur consistently in a few ways. Sometimes game updates that require disk access trigger it. Another occurrence happens after extended Leela training sessions, especially when reading data randomly. Even with minimal background disk activity, it can happen if Steam is downloading in the background. Recently, hwinfo reported a second thermal sensor reading extremely high—possibly indicating overheating—and I thought it was just a thermal shutdown. I replaced the heatsink, but now it only reaches 90°C, suggesting the issue isn’t thermal. Are there any software solutions I should try, or is this a hardware fault? I've done things like unplugging and replugging the drive, running chipset diagnostics from AMD and Dell All 4, updating firmware and BIOS, and even downloading a game update while scanning. The percentage stays stuck and the time to shutdown decreases until it finally freezes at zero.
What amount of storage are you utilizing? From a total of 1 terabyte, how much remains available?
Observed this behavior. Even without the problem, it's strange the drive has about 29,700 more cycles than expected for its age. I'd verify the drive is firmly installed in the laptop. It shouldn't move at all. Samsung Magician can apply a firmware update if available. Downloading their tool would help eliminate other factors besides proper securing. This process will display roughly 10 temperature sensor readings from the drive. At 90°C it would throttle it, but that seems extreme—maybe another sensor is falsely reporting a higher temperature. Laptops often overheat, so this isn't unusual.
Samsung advises using only 70% capacity for optimal drive health and performance. This isn’t a major concern. However, you mentioned even with a full 100GB free space, which equates to 90% usage—not 70%. Combined with higher temperatures, this might cause more throttling than usual. What third-party device did you receive? A screenshot of the listing would be helpful.
I didn’t detect any pins, but I tried again by moving or reinserting it.
Yes, the drive remains stationary in all directions—up, down, and sideways.