I've been struggling with my computer for six months now, and I'm at my wit's end. I have a Ryzen 9 5900x, 32GB RAM, and an RX 6600 for my specs. My OS is installed on a 2TB WD HDD, while I also have a 500GB Samsung SSD and a 250GB NVME drive. I chose to run the OS from the HDD to protect my music projects, since recovery is easier from an HDD than an SSD if something goes wrong.
My HDD usage often spikes to 100% on startup, which takes about two minutes, and it stays at that level for 5-10 minutes before calming down. I've checked task manager and various processes like Windows Search and automatic updates seem to contribute to this. When the HDD is maxed out, I can hear the drive making loud clicking noises that remind me of a geiger counter near a nuclear reactor. I'm worried it might be failing since I've had it for about four years.
Besides the disk issue, my computer also restarts without warning, and this mainly happens when I'm away from the keyboard. I can game for hours without a hitch, but if I leave it idle, it often restarts itself, and sometimes it won't even reach the login screen, requiring a hard shutdown by holding the power button. I've done some overclocking in the past, but restoring the BIOS settings hasn't helped. I'm looking for advice on both the constant disk usage and the unexpected restarts. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
I recommend checking your HDD's SMART attributes with CrystalDiskInfo to see its health status. If it's showing issues, definitely back up your data ASAP and consider replacing the drive. As for those sounds you're hearing, if it's a rhythmic clicking that wasn’t there before, your drive likely isn't safe to use much longer. Regular backups are also essential — I can't stress this enough! And lastly, have you thought about adjusting your paging file settings? It could help reduce the strain on your HDD.
Hearing clicking sounds from your HDD is a big red flag; it could be failing. I'd recommend backing up your data immediately! You mentioned that you've been using the HDD for your OS out of fear of losing music projects, but it might be worth moving Windows onto the NVME for better speed and stability, while keeping the HDD for your files. And consider RAID for additional redundancy if you're really concerned.
Honestly, it's surprising you're still using an HDD as your C: drive, especially with a powerful CPU like yours. Wiping one of those SSDs to install a fresh Windows might be the best solution for better performance. I'm glad to hear the RAID idea is on your mind, but make sure you understand that RAID isn't a backup solution! You still need to back up your files separately.
Your HDD might be reaching its end, and if that's the case, you're really going to need that backup. Windows has become less friendly to HDDs, so switching to an SSD for your OS could significantly improve both speed and reliability. Just remember, backing up your data is key — RAID is cool but it's not a substitute for backup!
It sounds like your HDD is really struggling, especially if it's hitting that 100% usage mark regularly. The slower speeds of a hard drive compared to an SSD can only take so much. Why not consider switching your OS to the NVME drive? You can still store your music projects on the HDD without any issues. It'll really help with your boot times and overall performance. About the restarts, if it shuts down completely without the Windows shutdown sequence, you might be hitting a power issue or overcurrent protection, so do look into that!
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