[Swordfish9000]

Hey everyone,

I'm here today in hopes someone may be able to assist with a strange hardware issue that has arisen over the weekend. I've looked around online for similar threads from various sources that deal with SSD issues of the same sort, but I thought it would be more appropriate to get a second opinion, as I was unable to find any other instances of this sort of issue that matched the same circumstances as the one I'm currently facing (based on how this issue came about).

Before I begin to address the issue itself, a little backstory about what led up to my discovery of the issue at hand:
Back in December of last year, I purchased a number of upgrade parts for my desktop and, some weeks later, an SSD to go along with it as the primary hard drive. The system I upgraded previously had a HDD as the primary drive, which I retained a copy of Windows 8 on, and am now accessing to use my computer and post this thread. After installing the SSD and Windows 8 on it as the only operating system, it was running smoothly for several months as my primary hard drive.

As of yesterday, however, I returned to use the computer after a couple of days (having powered it off through 'hibernate' mode prior to visiting my parents for the weekend) only to find it wouldn't boot up past the BIOS screen (the furthest I got was a blank, black screen with a blinking white cursor in the top-left corner, which remained that way for several minutes before I rebooted the computer). I suspected it was stalling because of connected external USB devices, so I disconnected all external devices and rebooted, but then I found it had booted up using my former primary hard drive (which is still part of the system's boot loader), and as such, it was now running the copy of Windows 8 I had on this hard drive, and not the one on my SSD.

I'm not sure how this problem came about as its occurrence was completely unexpected. This is the first issue I've had with the SSD after months of solid operation, but I suspect the repeated usage of 'hibernate' mode may factor in (I've read that SSD's aren't particularly friendly with sleep/hibernate functions).

Moving onto the issue itself: the SSD is no longer detected as a drive as part of my system, nor any other system I have attempted to use it with. I tried to use it internally with my desktop a number of times, but found each time I turned the computer on, no record of its existence could be found in either the BIOS setup screen, or the Disk Management feature as part of Windows. I figured it may be an issue with my desktop's motherboard, so I tried to use it externally with a 2.5 inch SATA-to-USB adapter, but the laptop I tried to connect it to externally was unable to properly detect it. I did notice, however, that upon connecting it via USB that the laptop began to scan for drivers, so that leads me to think it still powers up... just doesn't function in any capacity. Device Manager also detected it, listing it as a generic SATA USB device, but Windows claimed it couldn't install drivers for it successfully after connecting it externally. There is no listing of it as a volume in Disk Management, either.

I've tested the internal SATA cable inside my tower that was connected to the SSD, and it works with other drives I've connected it with perfectly (as does the power cable connector as part of my PSU that I used as part of it). My latest attempt in determining its functionality was to place it into a spare laptop's main hard drive bay, to see if it worked internally as part of that system. I booted it up, but following the BIOS screen it gave me a message in the top-left corner reading 'Operating System not found'. Based on this, I suspect that the SSD has either been wiped out (drivers and all), or that there are issues that prevent it from being accessed by BIOS in order for it to function as part of the system.

I'm not sure if there's anything I can do to resolve this through my own devices, as I am not particularly experienced with diagnosing SSD issues (being relatively new to them), so I can only hope someone would be so kind as to help in overcoming this issue, or providing any assistance or suggestions so that I may determine what the issue is and work from there. If any information is required of me, I will be glad to provide it ASAP.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Networks]

You did a good job of process of elimination and the SSD drive has failed thats the diagnosis based on your post. By the way that is how SSD's fail one min they work the next nothing. RMA the drive back for a warranty replacement.

The laptop drivers were trying to install the USB Bridge drivers nothing to do with the SSD attaced to it.

 

[MPR]

I'm glad I found this post in a search so I would not have to make a duplicate thread, because I stumbled on a procedure to reset a non-detected SSD.

Just this evening I noticed a BIOS update for my SSD and applied it. I thought it a bit concerning, however, that the Device Manager's hardware ID didn't register the update.

I shut down the computer and, later, when I powered it up the OS was not detected. I rebooted into the BIOS -- sure enough no SSD detected.

Thinking that a cable may have come unattached (it's happened before), I turned off the computer, unplugged the SSD's power and data and then re-plugged them. I then booted but to no avail -- the SSD was still not detected in the BIOS. I sat there a while and then decided to just boot from a Windows 8 CD and do an install on my HDD.

Now where did I put that product key? Well, I searched high and low and didn't find it so I shut off the computer, which had been on about 30 minutes.

Later, I thought let's try replacing power and data cables, so I did this and booted into the BIOS. Nope, still no SSD detected. I then booted from the Win 8 DVD but still hadn't found the box with my software manuals and product key so left the computer running and continued my search. After another half hour I gave up and decided to clean up the basement so turned the computer off.

Well, to cut a long story short, the box was in the last place I looked, as usual. So I come upstairs, Product Key in hand, and start the computer... and it boots from the SSD right into Windows like nothing was ever wrong. A trip to Crucial.com informed me why -- I had inadvertently performed their reset procedure for a non-detected SSD.

From Crucial.com:

Your SSD can be returned to normal operating condition by completing a power cycle, a process that will take approximately one hour.

1. Power down the computer.
2. Disconnect the power connector to the SSD, wait 30 seconds then plug it back in.
3. Power up the computer, wait 20 minutes.
4. Power down the computer.
5. Disconnect the power connector to the drive, wait 30 seconds then plug it back in.
6. Power up the computer, even if it boots wait 20 minutes without using it.
7. Power down the computer.
8. The computer should now power up with the SSD detected.