Windows won't start. Suspect SSD failure. :( Please help.

First of all, I'm not a very technical person, so please be patient with me.

My computer has suffered a catastrophic failure. Don't know what happened. Windows will not start.


My laptop: ASUS Zenbook UX31A. running Windows 8.1. Mostly used for gaming and general internet use.


I used it briefly this morning without any problems. Opened Steam gaming program, and noticed there was a 1.1gb update for my favourite game, DayZ. Downloaded it and let it complete, and I read the change log information for about 5 minutes. Then I had to leave for work, so put the computer to sleep with Shift+F1, because I was in a hurry to go. Not sure if the update was still installing, but I suspect not.


Now when I came home, and tried to start the computer up again, there is nothing but a blank screen. Nobody touched my computer while I was gone, as I live alone.


I tried several times to restart. Once I noticed the ASUS startup screen initialize, but then it went black. After several more tries, the computer just automatically started booting into BIOS.


I tried using my recovery USB (no DVD drive on my laptop), but it says the drive where Windows in located is locked.


Tried reinstalling Windows from recovery drive, but again it failed because "drive is locked" or "cannot be found".

Tried running Gparted, but there is no drive recognized.


Don't have a backup image.


Don't know how to boot into Safe Mode on Win 8.1.


Can someone please help me? I can't think of anything more to try. From the few hours I've already spent looking for answers, I suspect my SSD has failed. Anything I can do?


Thanks in advance.

It helps to know the manufacturer & model of the SSD. Almost all SSD manufacturers right now will replace the units if they have gone bad. Due to they are still considered new technology and they want to keep customers happy.

I would suggest pulling the SSD out of the computer, place it into an external case, and see if you can access it that way on another computer. If that works. It could just be a bad interface or the bios may need to be reflashed on your computer, along with checking to make sure the bios settings are correct for the SSD.