SSD is Causing Boot Problems

[Verdant Force]

Hi there, thanks in advance. First I will provide my specs, then I will describe my last known Windows activities to the best of my memory, and then I will describe the problem itself. Windows is installed on the SSD. I am posting in the Storage forum because I'm pretty sure my SSD is to blame, which I will describe in the Problem section.

My specs:

• 
  CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor
  Mobo: MSI - B350 PC MATE ATX AM4 Motherboard
  RAM: Patriot - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
  Storage 1: HP - 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
  Storage 2: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
  Storage 3: Toshiba 500 GB portable USB HDD
  GPU: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Video Card
  Power: SeaSonic - 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Last Known Windows Activities:
Yesterday I remember doing two new things I hadn't attempted before:
1- GeForce Experience wasn't detecting the game Elder Scrolls Online so I went into the game directory and created a text file named eso.exe because I read online that that's what GFE is looking for and the game devs recently changed it to eso64.exe or something. My Steam game directory is NOT on the SSD- it's on Storage 2 (Western Digital).
2- I installed a fresh version of iTunes in the SSD because I hadn't done anything with a pile of MP3's on the portable Toshiba HD (storage 3). I copied an iTunes library file (*.itl) from the portable to the Windows standard Music folder location which I guess is on the SSD because that's where Windows is. In retrospect, iTunes should have been installed on my second HD (the same one the Steam games are stored in) because there's no way all my music would have fit on the SSD. iTunes populated itself using my iTunes Library data, but without the files in the proper Music folder, it wasn't able to actually play the song. Without "locating" anything for it, I left it alone. I don't remember closing iTunes.
After these items, I left the computer alone for a few hours to run some errands. I don't remember putting it in sleep mode, although historically it does it by itself after a few hours.

Problem:
I came back to the PC after the aforementioned errands and noticed the first red flag: the displays were dormant (not off), but my power button was solid (usually it's blinking in sleep). I tried to move the mouse and press a few keys to wake up the displays but they wouldn't come on. I thought it was strange because my displays never turn black without the tower powering off or entering sleep.
After that failed, I held Power to manual shutdown. I unplugged every USB peripheral except for keyboard, mouse, and a monitor via Display Port.
Upon rebooting, display comes on, mobo splash screen appears, but doesn't move past it. Two minutes go by, I hit DEL in attempt to enter BIOS. Unsuccessful, as no key will work, not even SCR LCK (my keyboard LED toggle).
I do a manual hard reboot again.
I hit DEL right away to get into BIOS, verify both of my HDD's are recognized by the mobo. I change the Boot Order to my USB Key with Windows Media Recovery Tool on it in an attempt to investigate the HDD.
I do a manual hard reboot again.
Power on, no mobo splash screen, just a black screen with the Windows "loading spinning dots" at the bottom of the screen. I left it on overnight thinking it might need a while to load it; nope, never boots to the WMR Tool in the USB.
For shits and giggles, I unplug the SSD and try to load WMR Tool without it. It loads right away. This leads me to believe something is up with the SSD because my Western Digital spinning drive is still plugged in.
I shut down using the WMR Tool UI and plug the SSD back in to verify that Windows won't do anything with it plugged in. Boot it back up and verify that it gets nowhere with that drive plugged in.

I conclude that the SSD needs to be repaired, but I don't know how I would do it since it freezes the PC when it's plugged in.

First of all, is my conclusion correct? It's my SSD, right?
How do I fix or investigate a hard drive when it freezes everything like that?

Thanks again!

 

[Ralston18]

Consider that you may have a PSU problem.

That 520 Watt PSU (age, condition) may not be up to or no longer up to supporting the system's total load or even some part of the load.

Use a couple of online calculators to total up the required wattages for all system components. Add 40%. How close is the total to 520?

As for the drives, do run the respective manufacturer's diagnostic drive software/utilities.

Be aware that if there are indeed drive issues then anything you do may cause loss of data.

Ensure that all important data is backed up and verified readable.

 

[Verdant Force]

Hi Ralston, many thanks for the reply.

I bought everything new 6 months ago, so age and condition shouldn't be a factor.

However, maybe you're right about the PSU. The calculations (W*1.4) total 498.4. Pretty close to 520. Me being new to this- I naively thought it only needed to be under 520.

I'm having a hell of a time finding a diagnostic for an HP SSD.

So, in my initial post, I referred to the SSD "freezing" up my computer while plugged in. Freezing is a little strong, because if I then unplug it, the PC will resume whatever process it was doing before the SSD was plugged in. The biggest problem I have is that the OS is on that drive and any attempt to fix it through a Command Prompt is halted as soon as the drive gets plugged in. It's not changing the display on screen or anything, it just kind of stops things from moving. The cursor in the Command Prompt just blinks on the next line when I plug it in for a chkdsk /f. If I then unplug it, I can chkdsk until the cows come home, I just can't plug that SSD back in and try. Chkdsk was attempted successfully on my other drives, so I know it works on them.

 

[Ralston18]

Unplug one or both HDD's. Maybe connect the monitor to the Motherboard's built in video port.

Boot into Windows if possible and take a look at Reliability History and Event Viewer. Take some time to explore and gain some understanding of each tool. Look for error codes and warnings that correspond with the occurrence of the problems.

You may find some common cause or pattern.

The following link may be useful as well:

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/pc-diags.html

And here is a second link:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1PvDgi5ikL.pdf

Do read carefully and be cautious about the information - I did not note any dates.

Quite lengthy and seems to be a good "summary" but the document does not seem to have any official association with HP per se.

However, if the screens, windows, and menus presented in the document match your HP diagnostic tool then you will at least have some idea about how to run the diagnostics.

You can also look in the case and inspect the SSD. There may be some clue as to the original make and model SSD. HP just "branded" it.

As for the PSU it is very much like all other electronic devices. Time is not so much the factor as opposed to "wear and tear". Heating up, cooling down, power demands on the high side for long periods of time, will cause deterioration and lead to failing behavior - then failure itself.

 

[Verdant Force]

Unplug one or both HDD's. Maybe connect the monitor to the Motherboard's built in video port.

Boot into Windows if possible and take a look at Reliability History and Event Viewer. Take some time to explore and gain some understanding of each tool. Look for error codes and warnings that correspond with the occurrence of the problems.

You may find some common cause or pattern.

The following link may be useful as well:

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/pc-diags.html

And here is a second link:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1PvDgi5ikL.pdf

Do read carefully and be cautious about the information - I did not note any dates.

Quite lengthy and seems to be a good "summary" but the document does not seem to have any official association with HP per se.

However, if the screens, windows, and menus presented in the document match your HP diagnostic tool then you will at least have some idea about how to run the diagnostics.

You can also look in the case and inspect the SSD. There may be some clue as to the original make and model SSD. HP just "branded" it.

As for the PSU it is very much like all other electronic devices. Time is not so much the factor as opposed to "wear and tear". Heating up, cooling down, power demands on the high side for long periods of time, will cause deterioration and lead to failing behavior - then failure itself.

So I went out and bought a new SSD on Saturday which fixed the problem- it was completely the SSD's fault for locking everything. Unfortunately I don't know how to fix a drive that won't cooperate while plugged in...