Solved PC not detecting SSD during boot

Patrick253

New Member
Messages
3
Hello, yesterday my PC stopped booting normally and now will rarely detect my SSD when booting leaving me with a blank screen with a blinking cursor in the top left until it reboots again. I have spent most of the day trying to troubleshoot this issue but I am baffled by this, it seems completely random if it will detect the drive and boot to it. My best guess is that the SATA controller on the motherboard is responsible and is failing. Is there anything else that could be causing this?

Thanks


System:
Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
AMD Phenom II X4 965
8.00GB DDR3 @ 667MHz
MSI 760GM-P34(FX) <--- Very cheap MB
ATI Radeon HD 7950 3GB
223GB INTEL SSDSC2CT240A3
931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-1CH162

Edit: I ran a full diagnostic scan using Intel's SSD Toolbox but didn't find any issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I think I may have fixed it. I changed my BIOS setting IDE instead of AHCI and it seems to boot properly each time but I don't understand why this would fix it. My understanding was that AHCI is best to use for SSDs, if anyone has a explanation I'd love to hear it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I think I may have fixed it. I changed my BIOS setting IDE instead of AHCI and it seems to boot properly each time but I don't understand why this would fix it. My understanding was that AHCI is best to use for SSDs, if anyone has a explanation I'd love to hear it.
You said it, Cheap MB but should detect it nevertheless, Check your BIOS version, there might be newer one that addresses that problem. For proper operation of SSD, AHCI is important.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I think I may have fixed it. I changed my BIOS setting IDE instead of AHCI and it seems to boot properly each time but I don't understand why this would fix it. My understanding was that AHCI is best to use for SSDs, if anyone has a explanation I'd love to hear it.
You said it, Cheap MB but should detect it nevertheless, Check your BIOS version, there might be newer one that addresses that problem. For proper operation of SSD, AHCI is important.

I just flashed the BIOS to the latest version today. Is running a SSD in IDE mode going to hurt the drive or will it just function slower?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
It will not "Hurt" SSD but because of lack of Trim command it's performance will deteriorate over time. It's not physical damage but GC (Garbage control) built in the drive will not work properly and will take more time for a file to be written to disk. Slowdown does not happen immediately but after such time every cell or block on the drive is written to at least once. GC does job of clearing cells marked for deleting by windows thru the command of Trim so if trim doesn't work, neither will GC.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Back
Top