SSD Problem

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Revonav

Revonav

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Hello all

I recently bought a OCZ Agility 3 120G SATA 3 from newegg to put Windows 7 on. I already have a 7200 rpm drive with windows on it but I bought this new one with the intention of making my system faster, etc.

Here is what i did. I took out all of my current HDD's (two HDD's, one SSD) and mounted my new 120g SSD. I put in the W7 disc and started up the computer. Installation came up like normal and I went to select a drive to install a fresh copy of W7 onto. Unfortunately, my SSD didn't show up. After switching SATA power & data cables several times, and rebooting, it still didn't show up. I even went into the BIOS and it didnt show up in there either. Any suggestions to fix it, or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks so much in advance. :)
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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I think you did everything right.

1) Did you go into the bios to set the sata mode to AHCI? That is needed for trim support.

2) Did you connect the ssd to a marvell sata port? That won't work initially until you install drivers. Use the integrated 6gb port if you have one.

3) It is possible that your OCZ ssd has a problem, and you might want to return it. They seem to have more problems:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-7/components-returns-rates-5.html


 
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inzone

inzone

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Have you previously enabled AHCI ? If you had enabled AHCI you will not see it in the regular sata screen you will have to go to where the AHCI is on the sata storage ports. Is there an options link to click on that will take you to the other screen where you can set the drives partition in the Windows 7 install. If not then you can put the hdd with the os back in and see if windows can see the drive in disk management. What OS did you have on your computer , is Windows 7 new.
 
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Revonav

Revonav

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Thanks for all the responses.

Yes im pretty sure AHCI was already enabled. Yes i already had W7 64-bit but this is a new copy i bought. Was going to reformat the other drive and use SSD as Windows drive. Yes i plugged it into SATA 3 port, but as i said ti didn't show up. So it could be the SATA port?

Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI3
 
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Revonav

Revonav

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I went to the EVGA site and went to motherboard drivers. Do I download the driver that's called "SATA 6?"

I chose the following in the boxes:
Family: X58
Part Number: 131-GT-E767 - EVGA X58 SLI3
Type: I just chose SATA 6 and downloaded. Didn't install anything yet, cause i don't know if that is right.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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I doubt it is the sata port; your old drives worked fine.

I suspect the ssd, it is the only new thing.

Is there possibly a motherboard bios update that might be applicable?
Also, check the evga and OCZ forums to look for applicable problems.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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You will eventually want to update the sata 6 drivers which are in windows, to enable those ports. But if your ssd is attached to the 3gb sata ports, and you can't see it, you have not gotten that far.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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The sata 6 ports are controlled by a chip and driver that the basic windows 7 install dvd can't recognize.
You can update windows 7 drivers with the cd supplied with the motherboard, or from the motherboard web site.

If your bios can not see the ssd when it is attached to a 3gb port, then I suspect a ssd problem.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Until you can see the ssd in the bios, nothing can happen.

Check in the bios that you have enabled the 6gb ports, probably called the marvell controller.

If all else fails,
Attach the ssd to a sata 3gb port. You should be able to then see it in the bios and be able to install windows7 using it.
After w7 is installed, install all of the chipset drivers which were included on the motherboard supplied cd. That will include support for the 6gb ports.

I suspect that a motherboard bios update might be needed to be able to boot and recognize the ssd from the 6gb ports.
 
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inzone

inzone

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If you have the SSD attached to the sata3 ports and the drive is not recognized then plug it into the sata2 ports and see if it's recognized there , if it is then you can install Windows and switch it back later when you get the sata3 ports enabled with the drivers. If you attach it to the sata2 port then in the Main bios screen you should be able to see it , if not then there is something wrong with the SSD and you should RMA it.
 
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J

joe_newbuilder

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This may have to do with the windows 7 boot loader looking for the old hard drive.
If you disconnect all of the drives, Then connect just the SSD and the DVD drive then instal windows7 and connect the drives after the install.
 
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Revonav

Revonav

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Okay, I plugged the SSD into one of my SATA II ports, and installed Windows with no problems at all. Thanks so much for all of the helpful responses!! I owe you guys!


Correct me if i"m wrong. But your MB has NO intel Sata III ports, only two marvel Ports, using the older marvel controller.
If above is the case, Use the Intel Sata II ports - Performance lost is small !!!
Click to expand...

So would I still be able to use SATA III? I have a SATA III cable and would rather use it even if the performance difference is small. :)
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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1) Some sata cables are supposed to be higher quality and are marketed as sata III, but there is no electrical difference.

2) Most of what the os does is small random reads and writes, so the better sequential performance makes little difference.

3) If your motherboard marvell ports are capable of detecting and booting from the 6gb ports, then by all means try it. You might have to access the marvell bios to enable that capability. Read your motherboard manual for that. Also check to see if there might be an update to the marvell bios code to fix whatever reason you could not see the ssd in the first place.

4) Possibly there is a ssd firmware update that might be needed. Check with OCZ forums and support. I think they have some issues.
 
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RetiredChief

RetiredChief

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What I do is reserve the Sata III marvel ports for is HDDs. Sata III HDD's only benifit in terms of Burst speeds, no real gain - At least this way they are not a waste. New Hybrid HHDs with an intyernal 8 Gig SSD cache would also be a good option for the Marvel Sata III ports.
 
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inzone

inzone

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If the motherboard cd has drivers for the Marvell sata3 ports you can inststall them and connect the SSD to the sata3 port and see if it works. If you have found the latest firmware for the SSD then you can update it and see if that lets you use the sata3 ports. Now that you have windows installed on the SSD and you know it works you can try these things.
 
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Revonav

Revonav

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What will the updated firmware do for me? It said there is a risk of losing all of my information by updating them. Also, how do I know if i have the latest or not?

Thanks
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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As a rule, I do not install firmware updates or bios updates unless it looks like it will fix a problem that is hurting me. A failed update can brick the component.
Certainly when updating a SSD, you should protect any critical data first. In your case, be prepared for a re-install.

OCZ should have a utility or some means of checking what firmware level you are at, and a description of what the update fixes.
 
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