SSD Issue with Windows 8.1

Hi Guys

Got a problem with my system that is getting increasingly annoying and I have not been able to solve. My windows installation is on a SanDisk Extreme 256GB drive.

If I'm on the desktop and got IE open with several tabs my system will sometimes lock up.

What exactly do I mean by lock up?

- The HDD activity light on my case goes to constant on.
- The computer stops responding to inputs although I can still move the mouse cursor but not click on anything.
- Cannot Ctrl+Alt+Del or get to Task Manager
- Computer reboots
- The SSD drive does not show in the device list in BIOS on reboot and the system cannot load windows (Get insert disk message) but all other drivers do appear

If I power off the machine and leave it a min and turn it back on then the drive appears again and I can get back into windows.

Things I have tried to resolve the issue:

- Checked the error logs, unfortunately there is nothing written to the log (does this suggest the issue might be the drive itself?)
- Tried running CHKDSK but it doesn't complete it and the computer reboots itself

I have tried to back up info from the drive so I could reinstall windows but not been able to finish that process as when copying after a while the system crashes and reboots itself.

Also I was just about to rebuild my rig with some new parts but don't want to start that process as I can't trust the drive.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Check in device manager in case you have some missing drivers or other driver/hardware related issue.

If a new firmware is available for your drive, install it.

If problems persist, RMA it.

You have a firmware or hardware problem, not an OS problem

Oh, try another SATA port with another cable, for luck.

No missing drivers in Device Manager but did think about that. It could be a recent AMD SATA driver update so will unistall driver tonight and try the one windows finds itself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by directhex

If a new firmware is available for your drive, install it.

If problems persist, RMA it.

You have a firmware or hardware problem, not an OS problem

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I think there might be newer firmware for the drive but wonder why its been ok for so long and just started with issues now. Will have to check how long I have had it.

Will try new sata cable, different sata port and updated firmware tonight.

Cheers

Careful with 3rd party SATA drivers, they can interfere with/block firmware updates and TRIM, etc. Using the standard Microsoft SATA AHCI Controller driver is usually preferable.

Well have tried the following now as well:

- Different port
- Different cable
- Changed the SATA controller driver from AMD SATA to Microsoft Standard AHCI SATA
- Updated the firmware on the drive
- Checked the SMART, which detected 4 issues

Have contacted SanDisk support due to the SMART errors and am trying to start an RMA with them but it doesn't look like its going to be a quick process. :(

Have you run the drive utilities to check the drive?

My Samsung has software called Samsung Magician, this is a great tool for checking and optimising the SSD drive, IIRC SMART is not really that helpful for SSDs.

*** edit *** Sandisk SSD Toolkit

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KeyboardDemon

Have you run the drive utilities to check the drive?

My Samsung has software called Samsung Magician, this is a great tool for checking and optimising the SSD drive, IIRC SMART is not really that helpful for SSDs.

*** edit *** Sandisk SSD Toolkit

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Yup did that. The tools are pretty basic and the drive checking it included was to just run SMART diagnostic tests. I did the extended version which took about 30 mins and reported a bunch of issues with no offer of any fixes and the support guys wanted to see some screens of it too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KeyboardDemon

Have you run the drive utilities to check the drive?

My Samsung has software called Samsung Magician, this is a great tool for checking and optimising the SSD drive, IIRC SMART is not really that helpful for SSDs.

*** edit *** Sandisk SSD Toolkit

---

Yup did that. The tools are pretty basic and the drive checking it included was to just run SMART diagnostic tests. I did the extended version which took about 30 mins and reported a bunch of issues with no offer of any fixes and the support guys wanted to see some screens of it too.

Definitely update the firmware if there's one available. My Kingston HyperX 3K was massively unstable in out-of-the-box state; I updated the firmware and didn't have another issue with it. That's going back more than two years now ;) The laptop it's in has just been passed on to the step-son and is still going strong :)

You can try this method from Crucial to 'recover' access to the drive, if it works, it may only be temporary, it's not likely to be a permanent fix.

Well i have got SanDisk to issue an RMA and they will send out a replacement, slight "upgrade" in their view as it will be an Extreme II 240GB drive but it's a bit of a shame as they stopped using the better Toggle Mode NAND in this drive and that was one of the main reasons I went with their drive in the first place.

Guess it saves me having to buy another drive but will be without my PC for up to 3 weeks :(

How old is it? If its less than 12 months I'd be on to the retailer, or asking SanDisk to cross ship them

Over 2 years old (drive has 3 year warranty). At least they are replacing it free of charge. But yeah having acknowledged there is a fault i dont see why they couldnt just dispatch the replacement before the broken drive gets back to them which would have saved some time.