Freeze, sudden reset, SSD no longer recognized by BIOS

Question

How it came about:

On a Windows 7 Pro 32-Bit Machine. I was running an incremental backup covering the usual user specific data and a couple of manually selected directories (nothing special: no system directories) with the standard windows backup and restore function. At roughly 50% of the operation my system froze up not reacting in any way holding that state for about 5 minutes followed by a self-induced reset.

Since this reset:

The SSD [PNY XR8 120GB / 4 weeks old] is no longer being recognized by the BIOS.

What i have tried:

• Different SATA Cables
• Every available SATA Port
• Every SATA-Mode (Disabled/IDE/AHCI)
• The power cycle (20 mins of power to the ssd without sata cable connected, disconnected power for 30 secs, reconnect and repeat twice - then restart with sata/power connected)

Can't find any concrete Information on this - any help appreciated.

Answer 1

What you describe sounds exactly like an SSD failure. I have seen this 3 times before in the last couple of years. All 3 happened the same way.

When a Hard Disk goes, sometimes you get intermittent functionality, a clunking sound to indicate imminent failure, etc. When an SSD goes, there's no warning. Just, gone!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it sounds like the drive has died. Being that it's only 4 weeks old, send it back under warranty and start from scratch.

Always, ALWAYS have a good backup of your SSDs. They go without warning.

Answer 2

Your problem is common, and, as i didn't really see any answer to your problem here, i'd add some bits of my experience.

New SATA interfaces come with a lot of enhancements, along with drivers that manage them. The result is that some old SATA controllers have hard time dealing with latest optimizations, in particular when it comes to SSDs, that did not even exist when the controllers were designed.

Often, SSD freezing and disappearing, like in your case, is a sign of SATA failure, not SSD. Rebooting won't work because motherboard is not powered off: you need to turn it off, then on again.

So why does SATA fails, and how to prevent that?

There are many reasons for SATA failure with SSDs, and causes also depends on controller, so there's no absolute answer but a general one:

disable optimizations until you find which one freezes your computer

I'd suggest you start by disabling any RAPID technology (Intel RAPID storage or Samsung Magician RAPID feature are two good examples). Indeed, this technology, involving RAM, can easily become a huge bandwidth consumer, which may overcharge the controller. Disabling RAPID always worked as far as i faced the problem.

Of course, try to update your BIOS and motherboard drivers. They may have injected a workaround for that meanwhile.