SSD 'pausing' when installing or copying multiple very small files

Win 10 Pro 64-bit, version 1909

I have two drives in my PC, a Crucial SSD for my main drive (model: CT2000MX500SSD1) and a hard drive acting as my D: drive (used as a backup) - model: Toshiba HDWD120. Both are SATA drives.

I've not had any problems with the SSD since installing it in my PC a month or so ago, however I've just had to install some software which has many hundreds of very small config files and it seemingly took forever - the main problem is that every few seconds the installation pauses, in fact I can't do anything on my PC at all during these pauses.

Even uninstalling the software and the multiple files takes a very long time (but not as long as installing).

As an experiment I tried installing the same software onto my hard drive and that went just fine, there were a few very brief pauses but nothing like I see with the SSD.


Is this indicating a problem with the SSD, the way Windows 10 is utilising it or some SSD performance issue that I'm not aware of ?


Thanks

Hello WinTenner,
I would install software from your SSD manufacturers to check their health and you can also try HD Sentinel app.

I've not seen that. (I have seen pauses when copying lots of small files to USB flash drives, though.)

semi-random suggestion: has "trim" ever been run on the SSD? (Right-click on c:. Select Properties, Tools, Optimize.)

Thanks for the suggestions.

I tried to install Crucial Storage Executive but when it tried to install my PC locked pretty solid (the mouse worked, Caps Lock worked, etc but nothing else), I had to hold in the power button to power off.

On powering back on the Crucial Storage Executive installed just fine, I checked the SSD's firmware and ran a few SSD tests and all was well.

I then tried to re-install the software that had hundreds of very small config files - no problem at all, it went very fast and smoothly and was finished in a minute or so.

So I wonder what went wrong as described in the first post of this thread. The PC was perhaps acting as if there was some kind of hardware conflict.

All very strange and rather puzzling.

Thanks again.

Good outcome, if mysterious.

Please mark the thread as solved.