Samsung 840 EVO not seen in BIOS after successfully running new restoration software fix

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Rileymac4

Rileymac4

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Sep 11, 2013
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I just ran Samsung's Performance Restoration software for the 840 EVO on a fresh install (so the drive literally only has Windows 7 on it atm) and restarted my computer (probably should have said shut down instead so that it would go through a full power cycle) but now the BIOS isn't seeing the drive. Any ideas?

Update: Okay I just restarted it and let it choose on its own and it started loading windows, but then switched to Windows loading files as if it were installing Windows again (but the ISO USB isn't in so it can't) and now it's on the windows boot manager telling me to repair the computer after I finally successfully installed Windows after having issues. See here if you want to read about that to know the backstory: http://

I have it installed UEFI/AHCI so my boot order puts the UEFI drive first, but it's not even being recognized.

Help I'm so close to having my computer back.
 
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That happened the first time I ran it and it corrupted all the data on my drive, so I cleared it and repartitioned it and reinstalled windows. However this time it went very smoothly because the only thing on the drive was Windows 7. I exited out of the restoration software myself (there is no automatic reboot) and I continued to use the computer A okay for awhile. Only when I decided to reboot did I see that the BIOS was no longer seeing the drive. Even if the files were damaged the drive would still be seen in the BIOS, it just would boot.

I just need someone who knows what I need to do to get it to be seen by the BIOS.
 
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It is only necessary to run the Performance Restoration software to improve performance on data over a month old that has not been moved. If you are doing a clean install you have no need to run it at all. I just ran it last night myself and it took a while but was successful.

If it's not seen in BIOS at all try clearing CMOS. Then don't run the tool again for a few months when you actually need it.
 
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I believe that's actually incorrect. Samsung's Performance Restoration is supposed to be a permanent fix because it changes the algorithm for dealing with data drift and electron leakage. It's supposed to prevent data from becoming "stale" in the future after not being recently written. What the software does is that it's a firmware update, but it also basically shuffles everything on your drive around so that it's all "fresh" just in case and thanks to the fix will no longer go "stale." Also, because it is a permanent fix to the algorithm, you actually cannot run the software again unless the drive is completely cleared and therefore the software is also cleared. The entire reason I ran the software was because I had 4+ month old data that was being read incredibly slowly, but the software corrupted everything so I had to reinstall windows, and now here we are. So yes, I'm installing the software now before I put the rest of my data on it so that it has less to shuffle and so that in the future my data will never go "stale."

I've also already reset the BIOS back to it's original settings. The only thing that is different than how I had them is that the default is UEFI + Legacy, and I had it as UEFI only. Either way, neither of them work.
 
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Optimal performance is UEFI + ACHI. Once you installed the firmware update - if you reloaded Windows (fresh install), you do not have to run the Performance Restoration. It doesn't matter how "old" data is, it matters when it was written to the drive. When you did a fresh install, 100% of the data was written in the last few minutes (30-60 minutes for the install????). Any data you copy to the drive after the install is new to the drive....
 
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Yep the tool updated the drive's firmware before doing anything else. That is the long term fix. Then the software rewrites all the old data on the drive to bring it back to a 'new' state. All you need with a clean install is the new firmware. There is not however a way to get the new firmware without the tool yet though. I imagine it will be released through the Magician software sometime soon.

I didn't realize you had old data I misread your first post and though you were starting from a clean install. Did you try clearing CMOS? If it still won't see the drive after that it might be bricked. I would imagine this should be covered by the warranty. I know I would have been upset to say the least if my 500GB 840 Evo was bricked last night!
 
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I had old data the first time I ran the software, but it corrupted everything because it didn't even make it through step 1 so I cleared the drive and it took me a solid 5 hours to get Windows onto it after running into various problems. I finally completely finished installing windows, copied over the performance restoration software, ran it, all was fine and dandy and I was using the computer for a half hour or so, then I decided to reboot just to make sure everything took, and now the drive isn't being recognized. I don't see how the drive could have bricked in the 15 seconds while it was rebooting.

And yes, I've reset the BIOS to default settings through the MSI BIOS multiple times to no avail. When I was in UEFI+Legacy mode I managed to get the drive recognized once, but only in SATA not UEFI, so of course when I selected to boot from it in SATA it wouldn't load because I installed windows in UEFI.

I'm convinced that the drive is fine there just must be something in the BIOS settings that are off but for the life of me I can't figure out what.
 
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You reset the BIOS to default or you really cleared CMOS by shorting the jumper on your motherboard? If you haven't done it yet clear CMOS then try again in AHCI mode.
 
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Ohhh. Okay. I'll give that a go, except I'm trying to find the jumpers on my motherboard in a picture before I deal with moving my tower to take the side of the case off but I can't find them, and I'd rather do it that way than reseat the CMOS battery because I'd have to remove my ginormous video card to get to it. This is my motherboard and the picture http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008S8WA18/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1 I'm trying to use to find it but I don't see anything labeled as CLR/PWD etc. I would look in the manual for my mobo but it's a solid couple hundred miles away from me in a box somewhere.

Even though this seems to indicate that choosing default settings in the BIOS is also resetting CMOS without having to deal with the jumpers or the battery. http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/tp/clearcmos.htm

I really hope this isn't bricked. I can't afford to wait weeks/months for a MRA claim to go through to only maybe get refunded/given a replacement drive while sitting here in the meantime with a gaming rig without a drive.
 
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So do I short it while the system as a whole is off because the CMOS has a battery so I'm shorting the battery? So I open the jumper to clear the data, but do I then close it again before turning the system back on? Hoping this works once I figure out how to do it or I officially give up on this drive after 10+ hours troubleshooting lol.
 
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System off and unplugged. There will probably be a jumper already on the pins. Just move it for a few seconds then move it back and leave it alone.
 
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There is no jumper for my motherboard, I just had to short it with a screw driver and it all reset fine but still no SSD in boot menu.

Are we at a consensus that it's just completely bricked? I could try reloading windows yet again to see if it can be found that way but I'm not very hopeful.

UPDATE: Definitely bricked. 🙁 Lasted a solid 3 months. I wish it had let me known that it was a dud before I went back to college and don't even have a screw driver lol. I don't have weeks/months to wait for the warranty to replace it so I just ordered a Corsair Neutron GTX 480GB since I've lost all faith in Samsung. Hopefully they give me a refund instead of a replacement so I can recoup some money after having spent all this time trying to fix it plus all the time it's going to take to download everything.

And bro, thank you so much for helping me out here. Ya kept this girl sane lol.
 
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Wish I could have helped more 🙁

Anyway don't give up on Samsung. Even the best stuff can fail and overall Samsung drives are the fastest and most reliable on the market. No other drives come with anything like the Magician software either. RMA the drive and make a stink. Who knows you might get an 850 out of it.

Edit: Just as a side note when you are installing Windows is the SSD the only drive connected? Because it needs to be or Windows will try to load boot files on any other drive you might have connected and will not install correctly.
 
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I know that the Magician software is good, it's just that the performance drop that made the restoration software necessary and the fact that the algorithm didn't already account for it that makes me lose faith. SSDs under warranty have like a 1.5% failure raid and HDDs are somewhere around 5% last time I checked, so I realize that I got a dud and that it happens with any brand.
An upgrade would be nice but I'd rather have a refund since I literally had to buy a replacement with Prime 2 day shipping since I need my computer up and running by this weekend. My $220 laptop just doesn't cut it for anything other than taking notes lol.

Oh well. Now I face the challenge of finding a screw driver on a college campus to take the old one out to get the code off of it to be able to register it to even begin the RMA process.

And yeah, the SSD is the only drive I have lol. I only play a handful of games and keep old vacation photos etc on an external because there's no reason to waste limited space on my SSD.
 
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The 840 and 840 Evo are the first consumer TLC NAND drives so this was not really Samsung's fault as it's not replicated in endurance testing. But yeah SSDs fail at a pretty low rate overall if you discount those few bad years of OCZ drives and in reality any SSD is better than no SSD.

If all else fails ask someone in maintenance if you can borrow a screwdriver. Or you can always go to the hardware store and get a cheap pack of various sizes for about $5. Everyone needs some screwdrivers laying around. Or a good multitool but they can be expensive.

Edit: Auto parts stores like Auto Zone and Advance Auto will lend you tools for a small deposit. Might be something to try if you can't find one anywhere else.
 
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Doing RMA's through Samsung appears to be a disaster and takes forever because SSDs are in high demand so they don't have many refurbished ones laying around to send back out from Korea. Plus to even start the process you have to just request "service" and wait for them to get back to you before you can even say that it's broken and need to return it. Apparently the entire process takes about a month and besides them telling you that they have received your drive, give you no further information and your new one will just eventually show up in the mail one day.

And I managed to borrow a screwdriver haha. All will be fine once the Corsair one comes in and if that one is also a dud I might punch a wall. On the bright side, I've learned a lot through this process and now have an ISO USB to install from (even though I really actually need that for school eventually haha).
 
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