# PNY SSD makes my OS unresponsive



## TahaCRS (Dec 22, 2014)

Hi,

I bought a PNY SSD (128gb) a couple of months ago and started having lots of problems with it. It will completely freeze my computer when browsing the internet and makes my OS unresponsive. I can't use my mouse or keyboard and after that short moment of freeze, there's a very, very small amount of time left to see in the task manager that my CPU usage is going from 100% back to a stable 10% or 11%. So my natural thought is that my SSD is broken. Brought it back, got a new one, installed Windows onto it and it just happened _again_.

I updated the firmware for it (if that's even going to help) but I've searched a few other forums where someone solved it by changing some voltage here or there? My BIOS settings are all back to default and it only happens on my SSD. I've had Windows installed on my HDD during the time that my SSD was being replaced and everything ran perfectly.


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## Blue-Knight (Dec 22, 2014)

TahaCRS said:


> PNY SSD makes my OS unresponsive


Interesting... But this can be caused by many reasons.

A similar thing happened when I had a bad HDD on my system. Do you have a HDD on your system or just the SSD?

Check your SATA cables as well, try with another one... Or if possible, try to plug it on other controller.

Good luck!


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## TahaCRS (Dec 22, 2014)

Blue-Knight said:


> Interesting... But this can be caused by many reasons.
> 
> A similar thing happened when I had a bad HDD on my system. Do you have a HDD on your system or just the SSD?
> 
> Check your SATA cables as well, try with another one... Or if possible, try to plug it on other controller.


Yeah, I got a Western Digital 1TB HDD. But like I said, I had Windows installed on my HDD which ran perfectly. Not sure if it can be a bad HDD.


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## AsRock (Dec 22, 2014)

You always run HDDtech on the HDD\SSD, maybe plugging the SSD in another sata port but make sure it stays on the same controller.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 22, 2014)

AsRock said:


> You always run HDDtech on the HDD, maybe plugging the SSD in another sata port but make sure it stays on the same controller.


I just unplugged my SSD from my computer and plugged it back in with the SATA cable that came with it. Seems like that fixed the problem. Needed a special SATA cable. Will report back if it happens again. Then it might be a bad sector/HDD.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 22, 2014)

Still no luck. The freezing issue still happens. What else can I do/try?


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## AsRock (Dec 22, 2014)

You try using HDD tune to check for bad blocks and check the health tab ( SMART ).


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## TahaCRS (Dec 22, 2014)

AsRock said:


> You try using HDD tune to check for bad blocks and check the health tab ( SMART ).


But I've just gotten a brand new SSD. How can it contain bad blocks or have bad health? Is there nothing wrong with the voltage or something?


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## AsRock (Dec 23, 2014)

Could be number-us reasons how but even the best company's can have faults from new.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 23, 2014)

AsRock said:


> I would not know how but even the best company's can have faults from new.


So far I have tried running my SSD on IDE and ACHI, update the firmware, try different SATA cables and ports, disable LPM and install a different version of Windows but haven't checked my SSD with any program yet. The thing is, I didn't have this when I first bought the SSD which I now traded in for a new one because it had the same problems as the one I currently have. What program could I use to check my SSD for errors?


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## xvi (Dec 23, 2014)

Does the problem definitely go away with the SSD unplugged?
I'm leaning towards it being a hardware incompatibility issue.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 23, 2014)

Yeah, when my SSD was being replaced and I only had my HDD plugged in, I had no problems at all.


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## erocker (Dec 23, 2014)

Post your system specs please.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 23, 2014)

PNY XLR SSD 128 GB.
AMD FX-6300.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti.
ASRock 970 Extreme4.
WD 1 TB HDD.
CX600M Power Supply.


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## flmatter (Dec 23, 2014)

which FX 6300 are you running and what kind of cpu cooler are you using? The 3.9 or the 3.5  there are 2 models  one is a 95 watt and the other is a 125 watt. A top down blower or from the side. Depending on which one you are running you could have the wrong cooler on it and it is overheating the components that are around the cpu and thus thermal limit shutdown/freezing issues. Also do you have the latest bios and drivers for your mobo? What ram do you have? how much and clock speeds?


On a side note do you have your OS on the HDD? Format the ssd and install it as storage and test it. If it passes the tests, install an OS on it again and give it another shot.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 23, 2014)

FX-6300 Black Edition, got a different cooler. Corsair Hydro H55, nothing is overheating because I am monitoring my GPU and CPU and they're both at a steady 43 C. I just updated my BIOS but not sure if it actually worked, will check later. I got 8 GB of Kingston HyperX RAM. It's: Kingston 2x4GB, DDR3, PC19200, CL11, Beast, XMP. I'm not overclocking anything by the way.


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## xvi (Dec 23, 2014)

Sig rig with an ASRock 990FX Extreme9 has issues with my SSD. I think the SSD just runs TRIM whenever it feels like and it ends up locking up the machine when using the main SATA controller, but it seems to work well when using the ASRock SATA controller. You might have to reinstall, but I'd try that 5th SATA port.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 23, 2014)

xvi said:


> Sig rig with an ASRock 990FX Extreme9 has issues with my SSD. I think the SSD just runs TRIM whenever it feels like and it ends up locking up the machine when using the main SATA controller, but it seems to work well when using the ASRock SATA controller. You might have to reinstall, but I'd try that 5th SATA port.


What do you mean exactly? Do I have to plug my SSD in the latest SATA port (number 5)? And if I do, do I have to re-install Windows? Also, is there a way I can disable this TRIM thing you're talking about that's locking my SSD?


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## xvi (Dec 23, 2014)

I'm just guessing here, but there appears to be a single SATA port facing straight up instead of at a 90 deg bend. If the board has a second SATA controller besides the one that's on the southbridge, that's probably it.







Compare that to my 990FX Extreme9 with two ports labeled A1 and A2, which are the ones off the other controller.


Spoiler











You can disable TRIM, but it's generally considered to be a bad idea. I wouldn't think that's your issue. When I see my issue, mouse and keyboard still respond, task manager shows CPU usage at idle, but drive usage pegged at 100%. I'm not sure what would need to be done to disable TRIM offhand. Perhaps someone else would be able to weigh in here.


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## TahaCRS (Dec 23, 2014)

That's exactly my motherboard and my SATA ports are aligned just like that! But which of those 5 should I use? It was usually in the one that's alone but now I've put it in the upper one in the lower port. Can you mark with paint or tell me which SATA port exactly I should plug it into?


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Dec 23, 2014)

TahaCRS said:


> But I've just gotten a brand new SSD. How can it contain bad blocks or have bad health? Is there nothing wrong with the voltage or something?


Just because something is new doesnt mean it cannot be faulty. That applies to everything in life. Not just computers. Newborn babies can be born with defects. Just because it's a baby, doesnt mean its 100% healthy/free from all diseases.


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## xvi (Dec 23, 2014)

TahaCRS said:


> Can you mark with paint or tell me which SATA port exactly I should plug it into?


Whichever one fixes your issue, if any. I'm not familiar with your board, so I can only guess. If it's already on the one separate SATA port, I'd suggest trying any of the other four. If that doesn't work, it's either not a controller incompatibility issue or you only have one controller and you'll have to look at something else.

Some of the symptoms of my SSD being incompatible are that I couldn't update the firmware on it and programs like SSDlife can't detect it. Keep in mind that symptoms can vary.

Again, it's hard to say whether or not that's the issue you're having.

Out of curiosity, does the Windows Event Viewer show any disk errors?

Edit: Related


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## Steevo (Dec 23, 2014)

I would download a bootable disk utility, see if PNY has one, and check the drive while NOT in windows so you don't bork your install. 

Run all the tests with only the SSD plugged in. 

Make sure the BIOS is set to AHCI but NOT RAID mode. 
Disable any second SATA controllers.
See if there are BIOS updates available for your motherboard.


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