Has my SSD died?

[duck10]

Hello,

I built a PC (my first time) at the start of the year.

Today, I left my PC running whilst I went to attend to something else, and when I came back, it had reset itself.
I thought, "ok, no problem", but it wouldn't start up again. It was stuck on the screen that says "Verifying DMI Pool data"

I reset the machine several times but it always hanged on this screen.

So I entered the BIOS menu, and my SSD (my main drive with Windows 7 on) doesn't show up.
I opened up my machine and tried a different port and a different cable but it's still the same situation.

My SSD is a Corsair 60GB Force SSD 2.5" SATA-II Read = 285MB/s, Write = 275MB/s 50,000 IOPS

This computer and all of its components were bought brand new only 4 months ago!

What can I do?
I have deadlines coming up soon for my degree course. I use this SSD for Windows 7, Office '10, and my music sequencers!
Luckily my data is stored on separate hard drives, but I desperately need to use these programs again very soon.

Thanks for reading

 

[duck10]

I did as you said and booted the PC up with SSD disconnected.

Nothing changed...it gets to the screen that says "Verifying DMI Pool Data" and does nothing.

But, when I plugged the drive back in again, it appeard in the BIOS! Although it wasn't the first boot priority so I changed that and it booted up fine.

Now another problem has cropped up.

When I try and open a program, Windows hangs.
This doesn't seem to apply to all programs though. I can open up my Documents, Control Panel, Word just fine, but when I try Google Chrome or Windows Live Messenger, it hangs.

I thought maybe it was an internet problem, as these programs are connected to the net, but even with the ethernet cable unplugged it still hangs.

If I reset the computer, the SSD disappears from the BIOS and I am back at my original problem in the opening post.

I have tried a system restore, but upon closing down the BSOD flashes and it resets. The drive then disappears from the BIOS.

Once it disappears from the BIOS, the only way I can get it to reappear again is to hold the power button the shut everything down and turn it back on again. And, upon doing this, it appears 3rd in the boot priority list (I have 2 WD 1TBs along with the SSD).

So...it appears that my drive is intact, but something is still wrong and I can't work out what. I am not technologically minded so I have no more ideas!

Can anyone help?

 

[groberts101]

this is a known Sandforce controller issue most likely. You will need to install Windows to another HDD and use a 3rd party backup tool like Acronis True Image to keep that data intact.

If you had the system set to enable sleep you may have corrupted the install and fudged the mapping on the controller. Only way to get out of this situation is to secure erase the drive which wipes all the data and mapping to reset it to fresh state. From there you would want to go to the mfgrs forum to get the latest firmware update as it will have many new fixes issued by Sandforce.

After that you could try to restore the image you saved while working from the HDD OS volume to see if it's restored.

Th number 1 thing to do immediately is to set power options to high performance and disable ALL sleep/hibernation modes and in the advanced section to never let the drive shutdown.

 

[Wamphryi]

What you probably need to do is make sure that your SSD does not require a Firmware Update. The issue probably lies in the SSD's Controller. My OCZ Vertex 2 played havoc on my system. I updated the Firmware and it has run fine ever since. Most people seem unaware of this issue as the traditional HDD's use tried and true technology and thus very rarely require Firmware Updates. Indeed I can only think of one instance where that was required with a HDD and that was Seagate who made a specialised Firmware release for Dell that went wrong.

 

[duck10]

Hi guys, I appreciate your responses.

@Wamphryi

I tried your method first, but unfortunately a firmware update did not work.

@groberts101

I believe you're right, having my PC go into sleep mode has corrupted the drive.

I don't really understand your suggestion though (sorry, I have little knowledge in computers).
Is there a step-by-step guide you could point me to to help me with this method?

Also I have a question,

What happens with my licenses for Office 2010 and Windows 7? After wiping my SSD and starting fresh, will they still work? I only have one licence for each.

Thanks again for reading.