OCZ Agility 3 Problem

[luminouslime]

Hey there,

I built this computer in August 2011 and up until now this OCZ agility 3 has been perfect, no issues whatsoever. However, today, the SSD has become very slow and there are long delays between starting an application and it showing up. I'm running the OCZ as a boot drive, with a Samsung Spinpoint 1TB F3 drive as the storage drive. I've never done a firmware update (running 2.06), but neither do I know if that's the issue here.

When I say it's running slowly - I don't mean slow for an SSD, it's worryingly slow.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

i7 2600k
GTX 570
Coolermaster Silent pro 700W
OCZ agility 3
Samsung Spinpoint
Fractal Design R3

 

[CaedenV]

how full is the drive? is TRIM active? are you running in AHCI or IDE mode?

Back up all your important information, and leave the computer on for a while to see if the garbage collection kicks in. If not then try a reformat and see if that fixes things. If not then it may be time for an RMA while it is still under the 1 year warranty.

 

[kelthic]

Also, make sure the drive firmware is up to date http://www.ocztechnology.com/ssd_tools/SandForce_Based/

 

[CaedenV]

warning: firmware update will wipe out the info on the drive, so be sure to backup your files first no matter what you do.

That being said, the firmwares before Aug 2011 were a bit wonkey, so if your drive had the previous firmware to when you purchased it then it could explain what is going on.

 

[luminouslime]

I'm not really sure how to go about doing the firmware update. The guide given on the OCZ forum isn't very helpful. If you have time could you give me a quick step by step guide (I'm running Windows from the SSD) - really don't want to mess this up. Let me know which specific files I need to download and how to do it. Sorry, I'm a noob with SSDs ;(

Thanks in advance.

 

[luminouslime]

Also - the drive is practically full
less than 1 GB remaining. Is that a problem.
Running ACHI as far as I know - not sure how to reformat either -_-

Sorry!

 

[photonboy]

Firmware update did NOT wipe out my Agility 3, but I agree to make a backup to be safe. Use Acronis True Image (free version if you have a WD or Seagate drive at their sites) and create an image on a different drive.

Do this:
1) backup Windows
2) run ATTO and note or save the results
3) flash the firmware
4) run ATTO again and compare results

Let us know if this works or not.

I'd be surprised if it was actually the SSD. It could be a virus or Antivirus software is scanning your computer slowing things down (CPU would be really high in Task Manager. CTRL-ALT-DEL)

 

[kelthic]

Firmware update did NOT wipe out my Agility 3, but I agree to make a backup to be safe. Use Acronis True Image (free version if you have a WD or Seagate drive at their sites) and create an image on a different drive.

Do this:
1) backup Windows
2) run ATTO and note or save the results
3) flash the firmware
4) run ATTO again and compare results

Let us know if this works or not.

I'd be surprised if it was actually the SSD. It could be a virus or Antivirus software is scanning your computer slowing things down (CPU would be really high in Task Manager. CTRL-ALT-DEL)

+1

 

[luminouslime]

Not quite sure how to 'flash the firmware' tried before - didn't want to go further as I was unsure of how to do it. It's not antivirus - I've restarted my computer many times & it's not scanning anyway.

 

[luminouslime]

Click the image for the ATTO results -

 

[luminouslime]

No change this morning, looks like I'll have to update the firmware - if anyone could help me it would be greatly appreciated.

Running the OCZ Agility 3 as a boot drive (with windows)

Thank you!

 

[neon neophyte]

you cant flash the firmware while the ssd is your main boot drive

definately flash the firmware

 

[thomao1]

If the drive you want to flash is the boot drive then you have to flash it using the bootable Linux environment that OCZ have developed for that very reason. I did my Agility 3 last night with no problems:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?105168-NEW!!-OCZ-Bootable-Toolbox-PC-Edition-%28REBUILD%29

Full instructions are there. Just make sure you read EVERYTHING before you restart and boot onto the image.

 

[thomao1]

If the drive you want to flash is the boot drive then you have to flash it using the bootable Linux environment that OCZ have developed for that very reason. I did my Agility 3 last night with no problems:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?105168-NEW!!-OCZ-Bootable-Toolbox-PC-Edition-%28REBUILD%29

Full instructions are there. Just make sure you read EVERYTHING before you restart and boot onto the image.