PNY 240GB SSD runs slowly, seen by BIOS half of the time

[MrQuallzin]

Around a month ago I decided to start upgrading my computer. Went ahead and got the PNY 240GB SSD and it has done wonders for my system. This past week I got my new motherboard and CPU, an ASUS M5A99FX Pro R2.0 with the AMD FX 8320. For the first few days everything was wonderful. I pulled out an old unused HDD that was in my case, and ever since my motherboard does not see my SDD, and when it does it runs horribly slow.

There was nothing on the HDD, as I had formatted it to re-purpose it for something else. When the computer turned on, it would tell me to enable the CSM parameters, but they were already enabled. I fiddled with every BIOS setting remotely related to boot devices and didn't have any luck. Drivers were updated, different SATA ports and cables were tried, nothing has worked.

I figured this might be a motherboard problem, so I exchanged it for the ASUS M5A99X Evo R2.0. Same problem, not matter what I try.

As of now, the SDD is plugged into my old rig where it works flawlessly, quick as an eagle. Before filing a warranty claim with PNY for a faulty SDD, what do you guys suggest I try?

New rig:
ASUS M5A99X Evo R2.0
AMD FX-8320 Vishera 8-Core 3.5GHz
PNY Optima 240GB (Firmware version N0530A)
Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD1600BEVS 160GB (Secondary Drive)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6400AALS 640GB (Unused, removed from build)
4 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT
Windows 7 64-Bit

Edit: BIOS sees my Western Digital drive with no problems.

Edit 2: The unused hardrive is a third drive I had formatted and repartitioned for a seperate use. The WD160 on my list is where my library folders are. Unused drive has been added to the build, although it is not part of it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Reformatting the HDD may have formatted the main partition but left a boot partition unaffected which could be affecting your performance. Remove the HDD from the system and see if the performance returns to the SSD. If so, reconnect the device, open disk management in administrative tools, or run another partition manager, and after backing up any important files on the HDD to another location, delete ALL partitions on the HDD, then create a new partition using all of the unallocated space and THEN format the drive.

You can also run Seatools for windows on all drives to check for problems with the drives.

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

Also, if you have the HDD connected using the same SATA cable the SSD is using, try using the HDD with it's own SATA cable on a different SATA header.

 

[MrQuallzin]

Reformatting the HDD may have formatted the main partition but left a boot partition unaffected which could be affecting your performance. Remove the HDD from the system and see if the performance returns to the SSD. If so, reconnect the device, open disk management in administrative tools, or run another partition manager, and after backing up any important files on the HDD to another location, delete ALL partitions on the HDD, then create a new partition using all of the unallocated space and THEN format the drive.

You can also run Seatools for windows on all drives to check for problems with the drives.

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

Also, if you have the HDD connected using the same SATA cable the SSD is using, try using the HDD with it's own SATA cable on a different SATA header.

The unused HDD that I removed has already been dealt with via Disk Management. It currently has two partitions for a duel boot system which I will implement after this issue is taken care of.

Seatools shows my SDD with no problems, passing all the tests.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Was the HDD previously being used for the OS at any point in the past? If so, was it attached to the system when you installed the SSD and when you installed the SSD did you do a clean install on it or did you clone your previous OS to the SSD?

Have you tried resetting the BIOS to optimal defaults?

 

[MrQuallzin]

Was the HDD previously being used for the OS at any point in the past? If so, was it attached to the system when you installed the SSD and when you installed the SSD did you do a clean install on it or did you clone your previous OS to the SSD?

The WD6400 was my old C: drive containing my OS. It was cloned over to the SSD, and after making sure it worked correctly I deleted the partitions and repartitioned it with what is there now.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd be willing to bet that only the main partition was cloned and copied but the boot partition didn't make it's way to the new drive. Since the WD drive was still installed the BIOS was using the boot partition, MBR or GPT, from the WD to boot the OS that was on the SSD. Once you removed the WD there was no longer a boot partition available.

I'd do a complete CLEAN install on the SSD, choosing the "custom" option and delete all existing partitions on the SSD then create a single partition using all of the unallocated drive space. Install windows to that partition and it will automatically recreate the boot partition to the drive during the installation. If you don't have any installation media you will need to get installation media.

If you have a valid windows key you can usually download a working installation ISO file from Microsoft or if your system was a prebuilt unit, from the OEM.



http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2299-clean-install-windows-8-a.html

 

[MrQuallzin]

I'd be willing to bet that only the main partition was cloned and copied but the boot partition didn't make it's way to the new drive. Since the WD drive was still installed the BIOS was using the boot partition, MBR or GPT, from the WD to boot the OS that was on the SSD. Once you removed the WD there was no longer a boot partition available.

I'd do a complete CLEAN install on the SSD, choosing the "custom" option and delete all existing partitions on the SSD then create a single partition using all of the unallocated drive space. Install windows to that partition and it will automatically recreate the boot partition to the drive during the installation. If you don't have any installation media you will need to get installation media.

If you have a valid windows key you can usually download a working installation ISO file from Microsoft or if your system was a prebuilt unit, from the OEM.



http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2299-clean-install-windows-8-a.html

I may have to rewrite my problem for clarity. The problem is that BIOS does not see the SDD at all. According to BIOS, there is nothing connected.

One in 10 times, it does see the SDD and will boot into Windows, albeit very slowly. The "Starting Windows" screen takes a couple minutes, and every program lags when opened. This is with only my SSD and WD1600 plugged in.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, my bad, I must have misunderstood. But, you say on the old rig the SSD works fine, recognized every time, correct?

 

[MrQuallzin]

Ok, my bad, I must have misunderstood. But, you say on the old rig the SSD works fine, recognized every time, correct?

That is correct. That's what I'm running from right now, actually. The motherboard is the Zotac H55ITX-A-E Mini-ITX.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If the drive works fine on another system, it's not likely that the drive is the issue. It's more likely to be the SATA controller on the other motherboard or a setting in the BIOS. You might try reconnecting the SSD to the system, go into the BIOS and reset to default settings. Make sure you're connected to the SATA_0 or SATA_1 header on the motherboard. If that fails, try connecting it to a different header.

It's not uncommon for motherboards to have multiple storage controllers which usually are represented by different colored SATA header on the motherboard. Yours are apparently all native controllers though so use the lowest numbered header and then move up to the next lowest for a second try.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1858430/sata-ports-asus-m5a99x-evo-ssd.html

 

[MrQuallzin]

SSD is in the new rig. Like before, the motherboard sees it about one third of the time. When it did see it and I booted into it, it took 5 minutes to get to the Windows login screen. I'm sitting here waiting for it to load startup programs which normally take less than a minute.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Have you tried using a different drive with the new rig to see if you have the same problem? I just don't see the drive being the problem if it works fine with other hardware. It leads me to believe something about the storage controller on the new motherboard is to blame. If you had the same problem with the drive on your older hardware, I'd agree the drive was faulty.

Have you tried updating the BIOS on the ASUS board?

 

[MrQuallzin]

My second drive is seen by BIOS every time. The current BIOS version is at 2301, one version behind the latest which added some USB compatibility.

I'm thinking I might reset the SSD and try cloning again. Perhaps that's where something went wrong somehow.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Do you have installation media? I've seen systems that simply wouldn't work correctly with a cloned OS that just wouldn't work no matter what was done. Once a clean install was performed, they worked perfect. Doing a clean install would be the best option but you can try to copy the cloned OS again.

It may also be that the cloned OS that came from your old system used an MBR boot partition, so it works fine in the old legacy system, but the newer UEFI system wants to see an AHCI GPT boot partition. Maybe go into the bios and switch the setting to legacy and see if the SSD works then, or, as I said, do a clean install which will ensure you're using the correct type of boot partition for the new system.

 

[Darkbreeze]

This: http://www.howtogeek.com/193669/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive/

 

[MrQuallzin]

Just tested the SDD on a third rig in our house: Worked perfectly. I'm going to try a clean install (After cloning it to the WD6400 and resetting it, of course). If that doesn't work, I'm throwing my money into it being a bad batch or something from ASUS. I'd return the motherboard for a different brand. Do you have any recommendations in the $150 range? (Yeah, I know this is the wrong thread to ask, but I suppose it's conversation while I try this remedy).

 

[Darkbreeze]

There are no WRONG threads or categories if that's the direction the thread goes, then that's the direction the thread goes. We're not that anal about stuff here. Now if you started a motherboard thread in the wrong category, like Windows 8 for example, it might get moved to the correct area, but it's not that big a deal honestly.

Personally, I really like ASUS and Gigabyte better than all others and this pretty much holds true for all chipsets. That particular board though is not a high tiered model, and has a history of troubles.

Do you plan to overclock the CPU at all, at any future point in time? I've got an 8320 as well, as you can see in my sig, running at 4.5Ghz for quite some time now and it is a world of difference from the stock speed. But either way, just like to know what board to recommend based on your intentions.

 

[MrQuallzin]

I'll likely overclock it some. My CPU advertises 5.0Ghz overclocked, but I would likely stick to 4-4.5Ghz. I'm planning on going into video production which is why I chose AMD over Intel for its multitasking.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd recommend either of these, leaning towards the Sabertooth which is a bit more than your stated budget of 150 bucks, but well worth it. The Gigabyte is a good board too though. Both are good overclocking boards and great boards in general.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/asus-motherboard-sabertooth990fxr20%2Cgigabyte-motherboard-ga990fxaud5/

 

[MrQuallzin]

I'm leaning more towards the Gigabyte between the two of those. Moreso because of the color. I'll likely head to Fry's tomorrow to return the M5A99X if a clean install doesn't work. They might have one of those two, or something comparable.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, good luck either way. If it doesn't work out we can get down to brass tacks. I'm really betting that a true "clean" install, as outlined at the eightforums link above will work hopefully. More often than not, it's something about the previous install that conflicts with something in the new hardware and causes issues with cloned drives.