Fix WD Black SSD Slow Write Speed – You Should Know

WD Black SSD Slow Write Speed

HDD is a traditional storage device for storing digital data. It uses mechanical parts to read and write data. SSD is a solid-state drive, which is a storage device based on flash memory technology.

As we all know, SSD has much faster reading and writing speeds than HDD, especially when booting the system, loading applications, and processing large amounts of data. Therefore, many people may choose to replace the existing HDD with an SSD. It can significantly improve the response speed of your computer.

Among the many SSDs, WD SSD is very popular. It offers several series of SSDs, such as WD Blue SSD, WD Black SSD, WD Ultrastar SSD, etc.

However, sometimes you may encounter the WD Black hard drive slow write speed problem. The following is a real case found on the forum:

Hey guys - I just installed a new 4TB WD Black SN850x. I cloned everything from my Samsung 980 pro, fired up crystaldiskmark, and saw very low write speeds. A cursory Google search had some people mentioning that cloning caused this - so I did the Windows reset (remove all files/apps option). Same thing, still slow writes.https://www.overclock.net/threads/4tb-wd-black-sn850x-slow-write-speeds.1804969/

Why is WD Black SSD slow write speed? How to benchmark the WD Black SSD write speed? Please continue reading.

What Causes WD Black SSD Low Performance?

WD Black hard drive slow write speed can be caused by a variety of reasons, here are some common reasons.

• WD Black SSD is nearly full: When the storage capacity of an SSD reaches a certain limit, performance usually decreases, especially during write operations.
• WD Black SSD overheating: If the temperature of the SSD is too high when it is working, it may cause performance degradation.
• Firmware issues: If the firmware version is older, it may affect the performance of the SSD.
• Inappropriate connection interface: If the SSD uses the interface SATA III, the speed is slower, and using NVMe or PCIe is faster.
• Operating system or driver issues: Incompatible or improperly configured operating systems or SSD drivers may cause SSD performance degradation.
• Other application interference: When the system is performing a large number of background tasks, it may cause the SSD write speed to slow down.
• WD Black SSD damage: Long-term use of SSDs will cause their performance to degrade.

How to Benchmark WD Black SSD Write Speed?

How to test WD Black SSD? Here I recommend free disk partition software – MiniTool Partition Wizard to help you test the read and write speed of SSD.

This software can not only help you test the speed of the SSD but also test the speed of the RAID controller and storage controller. In addition, it is a powerful software. It can help you create/format/extend/wipe/move/resize/delete partitions, copy partitions/disks, convert MBR to GPT, recover data from hard drive, clone a hard drive, etc.

Here is a tutorial on how to use MiniTool Partition Wizard to benchmark the performance of WD Black SSD.

Step 1: Click the following button to download and install the program on your computer, and then run it to enter the main interface.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2: Select Disk Benchmark from the top toolbar, choose the drive letter of your SSD from the drop-down menu, and set the parameters according to your preferences. Then, click the Start button.

Step 3: Allow some time for the disk benchmark to finish. The test results will provide key information, such as transfer size, random/sequential read, etc.

How to Fix WD Black SSD Slow Write Speed

Well, now that we know what causes WD Black hard drive slow write speed and how to benchmark the speed of WD Black SSD, let’s see how to solve this problem. Below are the different solutions listed one by one, please continue reading.

Method 1: Check the WD Black SSD Interface

If your SSD is connected to an older interface such as SATA II, its write speed will be limited. The WD Black series supports higher-speed interfaces such as SATA III, M.2, or PCIe.

You will need to make sure the SSD is connected to an interface that supports its maximum speed and is compatible with your WD Black SSD.

Method 2: Free up Space on WD Black SSD

As mentioned above, when your WD Black SSD is almost full, it may cause the disk to slow down. You can first try to delete invalid programs or files on the disk to free up disk space. Here is a guide:

Step 1: Type the control panel in the Search box and click Open on the right side to open the Control Panel.

Step 2: In the Control Panel window, change View by to the Large icons. Then select the Programs and Features. Scroll to find the program you want to remove, right-click it to open the context menu, and then click Uninstall.

Method 3: Check WD Black SSD Temperature

If your WD Black SSD is too hot, it may also affect its write and read speed. The temperature range for most SSDs on the market is 0ºC to 70ºC (32ºF to 158ºF). How to check if your disk temperature is too high, you can use the temperature monitor – CrystalDiskInfo.

Open the CrystalDiskInfo software on your PC and you will see your SSD temperature under Temperature on the left.

If your computer’s hard disk temperature is too high, you can try the following:

1. Clean the cooling system
2. Improve the ventilation of the case
3. Control the hard disk load
4. Use a cooling pad or a dedicated heat sink
5. Check the firmware and driver of the hard disk

Method 4: Disable Hibernation

The hibernation mode of your computer is a power-saving mode, but it is not good for your SSD. It may cause the performance of your SSD to deteriorate. Therefore, you’d better disable the hibernation function on your PC to solve the WD Black SSD slow problem. Please refer to the following steps:

Step 1: Type cmd in the Search box and then click Run as administrator from the right side.

Step 2: In the elevated Command Prompt window, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off and press Enter.

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Method 5: Check WD Black SSD Health

If your WD Black SSD has bad sectors or the file system is corrupted, it is very likely to cause the WD Black SSD low performance. Therefore, you need to check the health of your WD Black SSD.

Here, I strongly recommend you use the Check File System and Surface Test feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard. It can help you check if your WD Black SSD has file system errors or bad sectors.

Here are the steps:

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 1: Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard on your computer to enter its main interface. Right-click the WD Black SSD and select Check File System.

Step 2: Select Check & fix detected errors and click on the Start button.

Step 3: After the process is complete, go back to the main interface, then right-click on the WD Black SSD and choose Surface Test.

Step 4: In the pop-up window, click on the Start Now button to begin scanning bad sectors. If any blocks are highlighted in red, it indicates that there are bad sectors on the WD Black SSD.

Method 6: Align All WD Black Partitions

4K alignment can improve hard disk working efficiency, extend hard disk life, and improve the stability and security of file operations. If your disk is not 4K aligned, it may cause the disk’s read and write speed to decrease. Therefore, you need to perform a 4K alignment on the disk.

MiniTool Partition Wizard’s Align All Partitions function can help you.

Step 1: Open MiniTool Partition Wizard to access the main interface. Select the WD Black SSD and click on Align All Partitions from the left action panel.

Step 2: The software will display the number of partitions that need alignment. After that, click Yes to proceed.

Step 3: Click Apply to perform the pending operation.

Method 7: Update WD Black SSD Firmware

Outdated drivers or firmware may affect the performance of your SSD, resulting in slower write speeds. You need to check and update the firmware and drivers of your SSD.

Method 8: Wipe WD Black SSD

If the above methods do not help you to change the WD Black SSD slow write speed problem, then you can completely erase the entire WD Black SSD data. After using the SSD for a long time, a lot of data will be saved on the disk, which may cause the disk performance to degrade.

After erasing the disk, you can continue to use the disk, and you can also recreate new partitions, etc.

You can use the Wipe Disk function of MiniTool Partition Wizard for secure erasure. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1: Run MiniTool Partition Wizard to enter its main interface.

Step 2: Right-click the WD Black hard drive and select Wipe Disk. Or you can highlight the target disk and select Wipe Disk from the left action panel.

Step 3: A pop-up window will appear as shown below. Initially, the software will inform you about the potential consequences of wiping the disk or partition: “Wiping Disk will remove every sector of data on the disk. Data once wiped can not be recovered by any data recovery solutions.”

Next, you will see five wiping methods listed. Choose the one you prefer. We recommend selecting the last method. Then, click the OK button below to move on to the next step.

Step 4: After the process is complete, you will return to the main interface, where you can see that the target Disk 2 is labeled as “Unallocated” and does not have a partition letter. Then, you still need to click the Apply button at the bottom left corner of the toolbar to execute all changes.

This article tells you why is WD Black SSD slow write speed and provides you with 8 effective solutions.Click to Tweet

Bottom Line

This article presents 8 effective solutions to resolve the slow write speed issue with the WD Black SSD. You can select any method to address this problem, but we recommend trying MiniTool Partition Wizard.

If you have any questions or suggestions while using MiniTool Partition Wizard, you can contact us via [email protected] to get a quick reply.