Disk queue length spikes and microstutter

IrregularCape

Reputable
Mar 27, 2014
5
0
4,510
Hi guys,

For the past month, my computer at times will 'randomly' freeze for 1-2 seconds. Sometimes in games, sometimes in M$ Word 2013. Sometimes this will not happen at all with other games and programs, it seems only certain things are affected.

The 1-2 second freeze affects my visuals, but my sound goes on as normal, then the graphics have to play catchup, or they carry on as nothing happened. This is common in Resident Evil 4 (Steam), and Civ 5 (Steam), but not once has this happened in Dead Space 3. Programs that are affected are Firefox and Waterfox using Youtube, and Word 2013, but VLC Media player, and iTunes/1by1 media players work fine, never any problems.

The other day I have tried to run the Performance Monitor in Windows 8, and I caught something. While working on M$ Word 2013, I don't get this issue, unless I am typing, then it has to catch up. It also happens when I click on a new box and bring up some options, like 'Font', 'Paragraph', etc, but if I click on a bunch of them at once, I don't have any issues, it's when I am idle for a few moments.

I have:
-Updated my drivers to the fullest capacity
-Turned off antivirus
-Performed Full system scan on antivirus
-chkdsk
-RAM check
-Increasing/Decreasing/Turning off Page File
-Performed a fresh, clean install, and the issue persists with no updates, and with all the updates.

I have captured a screenie detailing my problem below, notably the blue spike in the Disk queue length. My primary disk is SSD, while the disk in question is my secondary 1TB platter HDD. Non-destructive tests have come out fine, and I have run out of ideas. Anything I need to add or elaborate on to explain the problem better? Thank you!

http://i59.tinypic.com/fcvbx2.jpg
 

clayofthe757

Honorable
Feb 1, 2014
290
1
10,960
You've done a fine job trying to isolate drivers and software. Here's a few more things.

1: Apply a system-controlled paging file to both drives. Sometimes we like to mess with these things, but often it's best just to let Windows do it.
2: Switch the placement of the SATA cable where it connects to the motherboard. Depending on the board you may have six or more. Plenty of options there. (This isn't likely to solve anything, but it's worth a shot.)

I was going to give you a third, but I can't think of any.

Get back to us after you've tried the options above. And good luck!
 

IrregularCape

Reputable
Mar 27, 2014
5
0
4,510
Well, I decided to try one more thing, and it was the Acronis Drive Monitor, and, I'm not happy with this. It seems my Drive C (my SSD) is going away. I'm getting degredation on Soft Read Errors. So, a quick Google revealed this is an imminent sign the SSD is going to fail. I've only had the computer a year, I don't understand what could cause it to go so quickly, especially since it's not a platter HDD.

Is there nothing I can do to solve this? Or is the only thing I can do is replace the drive?

http://i59.tinypic.com/2r5c4f5.png