Description: I’m facing intermittent hard drive issues that manifest as ~90-second Windows Explorer lockups when performing file operations (renaming, deleting, moving). During these freezes:

• All Windows Explorer instances become unresponsive.
• I can switch to any other program and browse web, email, etc.
• I haven’t noticed and file corruptions or other issues.
• there is no obvious CPU load, disk, network, GPU, etc indication in Task Manager’s graphs

After the ~90-second freeze:

• Focus returns to the Windows Explorer instance that initiated the operation.
• File operations seem to function normally.

The issue is erratic, disappearing and reappearing without a clear pattern. I am fearful that my C: drive (1TB M.2 SSD) may be failing due to heavy usage.

Request: Can someone guide me on how to troubleshoot this using the Windows Event Viewer, or other tool(s). I’m hoping I can identify where the problem is; if it’s my ~2 year old SSD, I can replace it, but am not keen on the necessary downtime and effort. I used to love moving operating systems from drive to drive, but I’m getting too old for that crap.

I need help with: Identifying relevant logs in the Event Viewer, setting up event tracking to capture data during the freezes, etc.

If needed, I can provide detailed computer specifications.

Thank you for your help!

Windows updated to latest recommended. Dell diagnostics, both “quick” and “full” reveal no issues.