3 dead Kingston NVMes in 1 year...why?

[ThePiePieper]

I built a new AMD rig back at the end of 2022, all my specs and parts below. And since then, I’ve had my boot drive die 3 times. I have been using the Kingston KC3000 1GB as my boot drive and can’t find anything, anywhere as to why or how it would die 3 times. I’ve OCed the CPU through BIOs (3.5 min/4.5 max) and the GPU through Adrenalin. Anyone have any guess as to what would be killing drives in my M.2?

Windows 10 Home 22H2
Ryzen 5 5600
T-Force Delta RAM 32 GB
MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk MB
XFX RX6900 XT GPU
Corsair RM850x 80+ Gold PSU
Toshiba P300 3 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM storage
Corsair 4000D Airflow with 5 fans
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Air Cooler (installed after the first 2 drives died)

[Bruce]

lucky they have a 5yr warranty!

which m.2 slot are you using?
have all the dead drives been the same Kingston KC3000 models?
have you checked the temps - are they getting cooked by the GPU?

[ThePiePieper]

lucky they have a 5yr warranty!

which m.2 slot are you using?
have all the dead drives been the same Kingston KC3000 models?
have you checked the temps - are they getting cooked by the GPU?

Yes, they have been easy to get RMAed. So, with that, they all have been the same model and size.
Slot 1, and temps have seemed fine the few times i checked. I’ve chatted with others with the same MB, CPU and GPU and they reported that temps weren’t an issue for them either.

[xrobwx71]

What happens when they “die”? Do they disappear, from everywhere? When you go to re-install Windows and you get to the partition part, is the drive gone or nonexistent?

[ThePiePieper]

What happens when they “die”? Do they disappear, from everywhere? When you go to re-install Windows and you get to the partition part, is the drive gone or nonexistent?

One minute I’m on the web or watching Twitch, the next I can’t open any new programs. After restart it goes to windows repair screen. I’ve tried them in other slots and other PCs but i’m never able to boot from them or have the PC even recognize its attached.

[PeterOz]

when it fails do you check if it is in bios before doing anything else.

[ThePiePieper]

when it fails do you check if it is in bios before doing anything else.

Yes, nothing shown. When attached via the 2nd slot or with an adapter, it’s not recognized.

[Rustys]

Might be something that the speccy report might show.

[COLOR=rgb(243, 121, 52)]Do not forget to post the make and model of the PSU if this is a desktop.

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s.

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:

In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.

In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.

Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.[/COLOR]

[ThePiePieper]

Might be something that the speccy report might show.

[COLOR=rgb(243, 121, 52)]Do not forget to post the make and model of the PSU if this is a desktop.

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s.

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:

In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.

In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.

Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.
[/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgb(243, 121, 52)]

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/iIqKp87mglYbdTdBwJFfA7F

let me know if i have to post the list in a reply.[/color]

[Rustys]

They may have more to input as well.

When you get the replacement drive how are you putting the operating system onto the drive?

Toshiba P300 3 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM storage

Have you checked the drive for failures?
Is this attached if you are preforming a fresh install?

Anyone have any guess as to what would be killing drives in my M.2

One issue I see that the drive is getting full.

Partition 1
Partition ID: Disk #0, Partition #1
Disk Letter: C:
File System: NTFS
Volume Serial Number: 161379F4
Size: 222 GB
Used Space: 155 GB (69%)
[COLOR=rgb(243, 121, 52)]Free Space: 67 GB (31%)

One issue could be because Windows requires on average 30% to 35% free space including 32 GB free space for updates, 7-10 GB reserved for future proofing on the C drive.

This is not including and limited to what the system uses for backups, swap page and hibernate files.

Power Profile
Active power scheme: Balanced
Hibernation: Enabled

If you do not use Hibernation, you can turn it off.[/COLOR]

[xrobwx71]

When you go to re-install Windows and you get to the partition part, is the drive gone or nonexistent?

Have you tried to re-install Windows on the SSD in question, via a bootable USB drive? If so, please answer the above question.

The reason I ask?

I had this happen on a system at work. One day, the drive was gone. Went into a Windows Repair boot loop. I tried to clean install via a bootable USB and it told me there was no drive to partition.
The solution was to include the NVMe driver on the bootable USB. (copied the driver to the root of the USB drive) and presto, the missing drive appeared. I was then able to clean install Windows, then restore from a backup image and all has been fine for over a year.

[ThePiePieper]

When you get the replacement drive how are you putting the operating system onto the drive?

Have you checked the drive for failures?
Is this attached if you are preforming a fresh install?

When i’ve reinstalled Windows, i usually unplug the other drives and use a USB to get the fresh install going. The current C: drive in that log is my backup that I imaged after the second failure. The second one I made sure to have under 80% usage and the last one never reached 50% as I only put the OS and minimal apps on it.
I haven’t looked at the Toshiba for failures since it’s never given me any issues.

[ThePiePieper]

Have you tried to re-install Windows on the SSD in question, via a bootable USB drive? If so, please answer the above question.

I believe i tried with the second one, seeing if a fresh install would help but I don’t think I could ever get windows to find it. I’ll try that again with the 3rd since you said you had luck with one prior.

[Rustys]

For your information

We can also check the drive integrity with CrystalDiskInfo.

https://crystalmark.info/en/download/

You can run a Check Disk on that drive using the following connand.

chkdsk d: /r

So you can review the results and post if needed.

https://pchelpforum.net/r/retrieve-check-disk-information.209/

[Bruce]

@ThePiePieper - any update?