Question computer used to work like adream and now it's freezing

[noscop3]

I didn't know where to post this because it kinda fits all categories
So my computer used to work perfectly,no stutters no nothing,until yesterday.Yesterday it completely froze while I was playing league of legends(mentioned the game so you can tell how pathetic it is to crash on such a game).The PC became completely unresponsive,after 20 minutes i managed to regain control and finally i decided to restart the computer(which took approximately half an hour).Today I did some cleaning and driver updating,I thought it got better but it just froze again,this time on CS:GO.The problem seems to be only on games or when games are running.Any ideas?If you need more troubleshooting or details please ask
My specs:
i5-6500
rx580 8GB
8GB RAM
128GB ssd(yes i know but i have enough space free)
1TB hdd

 

[noscop3]

Here's one way to troubleshoot an SSD:

As someone else has already suggested, run chkdsk. Open a command prompt with admin privileges, type in:

CHKDSK C: /f /v /r

Assuming the drive letter is correct. It will want a restart, then with a 128GB SSD the full scan ought to take about 5-10 minutes. If it takes an hour I'd be worried.

When the computer restarts, right-click on the Start menu and select 'Event Viewer', then go into Windows Logs > Application

Look for an entry with the source 'wininit', and read the results. If you get read/write failures, bad clusters/sectors mentioned, the drive has problems that you won't be able to fix.

Alternatively, you can find out if Windows has been having issues talking to the SSD through the Event Viewer, but this time go into 'custom logs' and then 'administrative events'. Look for disk errors/warnings, look for ntfs errors/warnings, and maybe storahci or iaStor (maybe with another letter on the end of iaStor). Disk errors/warnings may pertain to another storage disk connected to the system, but if the content of the message refers to the relevant drive letter or Disk 0, it's talking about the disk the system boots Windows from.

so there are like 5000 from "disk"



and then there are those ESENT things who mention a questionable file which might be involved in the freezing

 

[mikeymikec]

Ignore the ESENT one, in that case that happens on healthy systems.

It looks to me like it's talking about your 1TB HDD, not the SSD.

Harddisk0 would be the boot drive normally, I assume you're booting off the SSD, so logically it's the hard drive.

Get SMART diagnostic data for the hard drive? I normally use CrystalDiskInfo, download the standard edition in zip format.

It wouldn't hurt to check the SMART stats for the SSD too, but I sincerely doubt the SSD *and* the HDD are both up the creek at the same time.

Have a further trawl through the event log disk errors and see whether they all point to the same drive. Chances are you have a crapload for the same time (give or take a couple of seconds), so you can reduce your work a bit that way.

Drive errors don't necessarily show up in both the event log and in SMART data. I like it when they do though, it makes my job a lot easier.

You can check drive numbers if you want a greater deal of certainty about which drive is being referred to. Go into Disk Management (right-click Start, Disk Management) and the second half of the page gives drive numbers. Also be aware that any other drives you have connected (externally for example) will also show up both in Disk Management and in the event log if errors occur.

 

[sdifox]

Boot from a clean cd and clean that machine.

 

[noscop3]

SMART data

if you are reffering to the samsung magician scanning feature,it says it's not supported on my samsung 750 evo.I will do everything else you mentioned tho and I'll get back to you.

 

[mikeymikec]

if you are reffering to the samsung magician scanning feature,it says it's not supported on my samsung 750 evo.I will do everything else you mentioned tho and I'll get back to you.

I wasn't, I suggested a piece of software to try Admittedly I don't know if that type of M2 drive will show up with normal stats with CrystalDiskInfo, but it's worth a shot.

Once you've got the SMART stats for the HDD and they confirm its not-complete-healthiness, then IMO backup that drive and replace it ASAP. If you wanted to troubleshoot the stability symptoms sooner, can the HDD be disconnected and the computer still be usable? It should be unless you've put lots of essential data (e.g. installed an AV product onto the HDD) on the HDD.

 

[Siddhartha]

I didn't know where to post this because it kinda fits all categories
So my computer used to work perfectly,no stutters no nothing,until yesterday.Yesterday it completely froze while I was playing league of legends(mentioned the game so you can tell how pathetic it is to crash on such a game).The PC became completely unresponsive,after 20 minutes i managed to regain control and finally i decided to restart the computer(which took approximately half an hour).Today I did some cleaning and driver updating,I thought it got better but it just froze again,this time on CS:GO.The problem seems to be only on games or when games are running.Any ideas?If you need more troubleshooting or details please ask
My specs:
i5-6500
rx580 8GB
8GB RAM
128GB ssd(yes i know but i have enough space free)
1TB hdd

My system tends to misbehave after some Windows 10 updates. I have found that running System Restore fixes the problem.

 

[noscop3]

My system tends to misbehave after some Windows 10 updates. I have found that running System Restore fixes the problem.

can you explain?You mean creating a restore point?

I wasn't, I suggested a piece of software to try Admittedly I don't know if that type of M2 drive will show up with normal stats with CrystalDiskInfo, but it's worth a shot.

Once you've got the SMART stats for the HDD and they confirm its not-complete-healthiness, then IMO backup that drive and replace it ASAP. If you wanted to troubleshoot the stability symptoms sooner, can the HDD be disconnected and the computer still be usable? It should be unless you've put lots of essential data (e.g. installed an AV product onto the HDD) on the HDD.

M2 drive?I'm pretty sure it's a normal ssd

 

[mikeymikec]

M2 drive?I'm pretty sure it's a normal ssd

AFAIK, all M2 drives are SSDs.

 

[noscop3]

AFAIK, all M2 drives are SSDs.

but not all SSDs are m2 drives

 

[mikeymikec]

but not all SSDs are m2 drives

This is true. However, you mentioned a model of SSD, I looked it up, and it looks to me like it's M2 rather than a SATA 2.5" drive form factor.

 

[noscop3]

This is true. However, you mentioned a model of SSD, I looked it up, and it looks to me like it's M2 rather than a SATA 2.5" drive form factor.

I mean the specs say it's just a sata 3.

 

[noscop3]

Ignore the ESENT one, in that case that happens on healthy systems.

It looks to me like it's talking about your 1TB HDD, not the SSD.

Harddisk0 would be the boot drive normally, I assume you're booting off the SSD, so logically it's the hard drive.

Get SMART diagnostic data for the hard drive? I normally use CrystalDiskInfo, download the standard edition in zip format.

It wouldn't hurt to check the SMART stats for the SSD too, but I sincerely doubt the SSD *and* the HDD are both up the creek at the same time.

Have a further trawl through the event log disk errors and see whether they all point to the same drive. Chances are you have a crapload for the same time (give or take a couple of seconds), so you can reduce your work a bit that way.

Drive errors don't necessarily show up in both the event log and in SMART data. I like it when they do though, it makes my job a lot easier.

You can check drive numbers if you want a greater deal of certainty about which drive is being referred to. Go into Disk Management (right-click Start, Disk Management) and the second half of the page gives drive numbers. Also be aware that any other drives you have connected (externally for example) will also show up both in Disk Management and in the event log if errors occur.

Alright i installed the crystal disk info.
It says my SSD is at 100% perfect health,while my HDD,well,please translate these to me:







I have screenshoted everything that wasn't alright to make it easier for you to look.

 

[noscop3]

yeah so with a quick google I can already tell that I am definitely gonna have to change it..I'm kinda happy actually because a hdd is the most insignificant thing to replace in my PC..thank god it wasn't CPU or GPU...or is it tho?
just please pray that after I change my hdd the freezing will be gone or else i'm gonnaredacted switch to my console and quit this 24/7 troubleshooting routine




No profanity allowed in tech. Including using asterisks as letters.


esquared
Anandtech Forum Director

 

[mikeymikec]

As I said before, you could try by disconnecting the HDD for a while and see if the freezing stops.

The bad sector figures are >0 and you're experiencing freezing behaviour. I think it's highly likely to be caused by the ailing HDD.

I mean the specs say it's just a sata 3.

Did you connect two cables to the drive? Then it is a SATA drive. If it's connected directly to the motherboard then it's M2. Admittedly M2 is more complicated than this but that explanation will do for the purpose of this topic.

 

[noscop3]

As I said before, you could try by disconnecting the HDD for a while and see if the freezing stops.

The bad sector figures are >0 and you're experiencing freezing behaviour. I think it's highly likely to be caused by the ailing HDD.



Did you connect two cables to the drive? Then it is a SATA drive. If it's connected directly to the motherboard then it's M2. Admittedly M2 is more complicated than this but that explanation will do for the purpose of this topic.

i could disconnect it but then i won t be able to play games at all.it only freezes on games.so you agree i m gonna have to change it,right?

 

[noscop3]

Then it is a SATA drive. If it's connected directly to the motherboard then it's M2.

and does it make any difference?

 

[UsandThem]

i could disconnect it but then i won t be able to play games at all.it only freezes on games.so you agree i m gonna have to change it,right?

I think as long as you have experienced the problems, and from the screenshot of the drive's health, it would be very wise of you to replace the drive before it fully dies. Until you do, you are going to keep experiencing the same issues (freezing, delays, crashes) as the drive throws errors.

 

[noscop3]

I think as long as you have experienced the problems, and from the screenshot of the drive's health, it would be very wise of you to replace the drive before it fully dies. Until you do, you are going to keep experiencing the same issues (freezing, delays, crashes) as the drive throws errors.

i was thinking of getting a ssd this time since lifespan is a lie anyway.HDDs are supposingly made to last at least 10 years but mine broke after 2 or 3 years

 

[mikeymikec]

i could disconnect it but then i won t be able to play games at all.it only freezes on games.so you agree i m gonna have to change it,right?

Can't you install a game onto the SSD? I'd recommend it for best performance (most notably level loading) anyway. Obviously you can't have all your games installed simultaneously without a huge SSD, so there are upsides and downsides (I make liberal use of the Steam backup/restore function).

 

[mikeymikec]

and does it make any difference?

I don't have a huge amount of experience with M2, and I don't know what to expect if I try to query SMART stats the normal way on every M2 drive. For example, the laptops I currently sell have M2 drives that don't show up their SMART stats with that program I recommended. Yours evidently does though.

i was thinking of getting a ssd this time since lifespan is a lie anyway.HDDs are supposingly made to last at least 10 years but mine broke after 2 or 3 years

Trust me, there are no rules of thumb to say how long a storage device in particular will last. In my line of work, I've seen DOA drives (rarely), drives that have died within six months of installation, and drives that have easily outlasted the computers they were originally installed in.

A hard drive is like a suped-up record player with the platter constantly spinning at 5400RPM - 7200RPM. Think about it, there's a lot that could go wrong with that.

This post has reminded me that it's time I backed up my data again

 

[noscop3]

Can't you install a game onto the SSD? I'd recommend it for best performance (most notably level loading) anyway. Obviously you can't have all your games installed simultaneously without a huge SSD, so there are upsides and downsides (I make liberal use of the Steam backup/restore function).

i have like only 20GB free.I m just gonna replace the hdd.

 

[richaron]

My money is on bad ram

 

[mikeymikec]

My money is on bad ram

Please read the entire thread.

 

[Shmee]

Backup your HDD and replace it. Go from there.

 

[richaron]

Please read the entire thread.

Yeah I read it and saw symptoms which could be caused by bad RAM.

Perhaps you should get a little more experience before shooting down ideas which go against whatever wagon the crowd are jumping on atm.