SSD Slow after power outage

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

I was playing a game that was stored on my SSD when a power outage occured. I thought everything was fine while it was rebooting until it took over 5 min to boot over what used to be a 5 second boot before power outage. When it finally boots into the desktop, everything runs painfully slow and the computer has random freezes every couple of minutes. I have confirmed the problem is this SSD becuase I have 2 other hard drives and the computer runs perfectly fine without the problem SSD plugged in. Also, when I try to open it in the windows explorer, it is blank and the name of the drive is reverted to "Local Disk" even though I can see all my files still in the drive in Partition Wizard. Does anyone know how I can fix this, or is the SSD unfixable? Any help is appreciated.

 

[thor220]

It sounds like a power outage could have done some damage. What you can try to do it to move all your data off the drive, wipe it, reformat, and then put the data back. If that doesn't work then the drive is damaged and possibly other parts of the PC, although they may not be immediately apparent.

Do you have your PC hooked up to any sort of surge protection? Is it grounded?

 

[techgeek]

From an elevated command prompt, run:

sfc /scannow

This will check to see if your Windows system files have been corrupted. If System File Checker finds corruption, it will attempt to fix it.

 

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

It sounds like a power outage could have done some damage. What you can try to do it to move all your data off the drive, wipe it, reformat, and then put the data back. If that doesn't work then the drive is damaged and possibly other parts of the PC, although they may not be immediately apparent.

Do you have your PC hooked up to any sort of surge protection? Is it grounded?

The PC is plugged into a surge protector which is why I wasn't too worried when the power went out, I have now learned my lesson. I don't really care too much about the data on the drive so I have just been trying to wipe it and start over with Partition Wizard, the problem is that everything is running so slowly. If it helps at all, I when I click on the drive in the File Explorer it says "D:\ is not accessible. The parameter is incorrect."

 

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

From an elevated command prompt, run:

sfc /scannow

This will check to see if your Windows system files have been corrupted. If System File Checker finds corruption, it will attempt to fix it.

I ran it and it said that it did not find any integrity violations.

 

[techgeek]

OK, well if it didn't find any integrity violations, then it looks like Windows is OK. However just to be sure, try this from an elevated command prompt:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Make sure you are connected to the internet when you run this. It will check for component corruption. If it finds corruption, then run this:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

This will replace any corrupted Windows component from Windows Update.

Maybe we could get your system specs too, it would help to know what we are dealing with. Motherboard, CPU, RAM, SSD, HDD(s), etc.

 

[Ambular]

Have you checked the drive's SMART data? It's not always terribly helpful, but if you see a ton of reallocated sectors, uncorrectable errors, etc., that'd be a pretty good indication the drive's a bust.

 

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

OK, well if it didn't find any integrity violations, then it looks like Windows is OK. However just to be sure, try this from an elevated command prompt:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Make sure you are connected to the internet when you run this. It will check for component corruption. If it finds corruption, then run this:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

This will replace any corrupted Windows component from Windows Update.

Maybe we could get your system specs too, it would help to know what we are dealing with. Motherboard, CPU, RAM, SSD, HDD(s), etc.

I don't know if I mentioned that the SSD causing the problems does not have Windows on it, which is why I have been confused. I ran all the commands and everything has come up clean, it just won't allow me to access the drive and my computer is randomly unresponsive and laggy.

 

[techgeek]

OK, well if it doesn't have Windows on it, then those commands aren't going to find anything. I assumed that your SSD would be a boot drive.

I would do a couple things first. Physically check both ends of the SATA data cable for the SSD. Also check the SATA power cable going to the SSD. Make sure these are fully inserted. It couldn't hurt to try another SATA data cable and a different SATA power connector just to be sure.

Can the drive still be seen in Windows Explorer? Does it have a drive letter? Also if you look at the drive in Disk Management, does the partition(s) show as healthy?


If this doesn't produce any thing, then I suspect something has gone wrong on the SSD itself. As you say the drive is inaccessible, is this all the time or occasionally? If it's occasional, you could try backing the data up off of it and try deleting and remaking the partition and reformatting it.

 

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

OK, well if it doesn't have Windows on it, then those commands aren't going to find anything. I assumed that your SSD would be a boot drive.

I would do a couple things first. Physically check both ends of the SATA data cable for the SSD. Also check the SATA power cable going to the SSD. Make sure these are fully inserted. It couldn't hurt to try another SATA data cable and a different SATA power connector just to be sure.

Can the drive still be seen in Windows Explorer? Does it have a drive letter? Also if you look at the drive in Disk Management, does the partition(s) show as healthy?


If this doesn't produce any thing, then I suspect something has gone wrong on the SSD itself. As you say the drive is inaccessible, is this all the time or occasionally? If it's occasional, you could try backing the data up off of it and try deleting and remaking the partition and reformatting it.

The drive still is in Windows Explorer, but it lost the name I had on it and is now just called "Local Disk" and it does still have a drive letter. I tried swapping the cables with another hard drive that was working but to no avail. I don't know what I did, but my Disk Management now just freezes upon startup saying "Connecting to Virtual Disk Service..." I did get to see the drive a couple of hours though and it was labeled as Raw.

Edit: Scratch the Disk Managment thing, it just takes a really long time due to the SSD thing. It says the SSD is Healthy in Disk Managment.

 

[techgeek]

I am guessing the drive is toast. I've had drives that have caused issues when opening Disk Management and it was always the drive in question. Hopefully you had a backup of the data on that drive.

What brand SSD is this? Samsung?

 

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

I am guessing the drive is toast. I've had drives that have caused issues when opening Disk Management and it was always the drive in question. Hopefully you had a backup of the data on that drive.

What brand SSD is this? Samsung?

It is a Sandisk SSD, but since I finally got Disk Management open, I am trying to format the drive. I hope it works, but previous attempts have proven futile.

 

[techgeek]

There is a utility built into Sandisk Dashboard for Secure Erasing the drive. Since this isn't an OS drive, it should do it within Windows. I've never done it this way as the drives I've Secure Erased were always OS drives, so I had to do it from a bootable USB thumb drive. So I'm not a 100% sure what the procedure is for a non-OS drive. With an OS drive, the OS freezes the drive, so it requires the SATA power cable be removed (with the power left on) and left unplugged for 10 seconds then reconnected, then the Secure Erase will proceed. However the OS may not freeze the drive since it's a non-OS drive.

Give the Secure Erase a go. This will essentially return it to factory fresh assuming it works at all on this drive.

 

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

There is a utility built into Sandisk Dashboard for Secure Erasing the drive. Since this isn't an OS drive, it should do it within Windows. I've never done it this way as the drives I've Secure Erased were always OS drives, so I had to do it from a bootable USB thumb drive. So I'm not a 100% sure what the procedure is for a non-OS drive. With an OS drive, the OS freezes the drive, so it requires the SATA power cable be removed (with the power left on) and left unplugged for 10 seconds then reconnected, then the Secure Erase will proceed. However the OS may not freeze the drive since it's a non-OS drive.

Give the Secure Erase a go. This will essentially return it to factory fresh assuming it works at all on this drive.

So I seem to have solved the slow PC problem, but the problems of a really slow boot and not being able to access the drive are still here. When I try to format in Windows Explorer it said that I don't have permission for some reason even though I am the administrator. I want to try the Secure Erase but I don't currently have a Usb to Sata cable. As for Disk Management, the drive said formatting under status and I left it there overnight, but when I came back in the morning it still said formatting, so I don't know if it was working or not.

 

[techgeek]

Formatting a SSD should take seconds, maybe minutes if you uncheck Quick Format.

As for Secure Erase, why do you need a USB to SATA cable? You just do this while it's connected to the SATA port of your motherboard. The only thing you might have to do is disconnect the SATA power with the system on to unfreeze it. Though I am not sure this step is necessary if the SSD isn't the OS drive. It will tell you if you need to do this step.

 

[Gam3Pwn3rz]

Formatting a SSD should take seconds, maybe minutes if you uncheck Quick Format.

As for Secure Erase, why do you need a USB to SATA cable? You just do this while it's connected to the SATA port of your motherboard. The only thing you might have to do is disconnect the SATA power with the system on to unfreeze it. Though I am not sure this step is necessary if the SSD isn't the OS drive. It will tell you if you need to do this step.

I am trying to format using the Windows Explorer button and I have just left it for about an hour now since it looks like it is doing something. As for the Sandisk Dashboard, when I click on Secure Erase it says, "This erase operation is block by Windows. To erase this drive, please connect it using a USB to SATA adapter and try again." So I am debating going and picking one up to see if it would work.

 

[thor220]

Formatting a SSD should take seconds, maybe minutes if you uncheck Quick Format.

As for Secure Erase, why do you need a USB to SATA cable? You just do this while it's connected to the SATA port of your motherboard. The only thing you might have to do is disconnect the SATA power with the system on to unfreeze it. Though I am not sure this step is necessary if the SSD isn't the OS drive. It will tell you if you need to do this step.

I am trying to format using the Windows Explorer button and I have just left it for about an hour now since it looks like it is doing something. As for the Sandisk Dashboard, when I click on Secure Erase it says, "This erase operation is block by Windows. To erase this drive, please connect it using a USB to SATA adapter and try again." So I am debating going and picking one up to see if it would work.

You already tried another drive as the boot drive and that worked fine, which means it is specifically the SSD at fault. I do not know why other members here are having you scan your operating system when it's already been determined that other drives run fine and thus the OS is not at fault.

Do not waste money going and buying an adapter. Copy the data off the drive if possible and RMA it.

 

[techgeek]

Formatting a SSD should take seconds, maybe minutes if you uncheck Quick Format.

As for Secure Erase, why do you need a USB to SATA cable? You just do this while it's connected to the SATA port of your motherboard. The only thing you might have to do is disconnect the SATA power with the system on to unfreeze it. Though I am not sure this step is necessary if the SSD isn't the OS drive. It will tell you if you need to do this step.

I am trying to format using the Windows Explorer button and I have just left it for about an hour now since it looks like it is doing something. As for the Sandisk Dashboard, when I click on Secure Erase it says, "This erase operation is block by Windows. To erase this drive, please connect it using a USB to SATA adapter and try again." So I am debating going and picking one up to see if it would work.

You already tried another drive as the boot drive and that worked fine, which means it is specifically the SSD at fault. I do not know why other members here are having you scan your operating system when it's already been determined that other drives run fine and thus the OS is not at fault.

Do not waste money going and buying an adapter. Copy the data off the drive if possible and RMA it.

As you might have noticed from the OP's first post, it wasn't obvious that the drive didn't have the OS. After I was told this, I said this:

OK, well if it doesn't have Windows on it, then those commands aren't going to find anything. I assumed that your SSD would be a boot drive.

As for the adapter, I agree, it's not worth buying unless you'll have a use for it afterwards. I find it odd that it won't do a Secure Erase connected directly to the motherboard. Every time I've done it, it worked find, other than having to hotplug the power to unfreeze it. However I think this particular behaviour is only applicable if the SSD is the boot drive. I have done this several times with Samsung drive and once just recently on a Sandisk U110 SSD.

 

[thor220]

I've had a few of the issues displayed here in older generation SSDs and usually when they fail to format it's either a firmware issue or they are going bad.

Funny thing about the sfc /scannow command, if someone pirated windows it will in many cases force a re-activation. Some pretty interesting scenarios have come out of this.

 

[techgeek]

I've never seen sfc do that, however I haven't had to deal with pirated versions of Windows. So this seems to be an upside to sfc, mess with pirates. I would guess that to pirate Windows certain system files would need to be modified which would be seen as corruption and replaced as part of the repair. This would lead to Windows wanting to re-activate as it would detect that it wasn't activated.

It would seem that DISM (using online source) would be a more likely to catch pirates.

 

[thor220]

I've never seen sfc do that, however I haven't had to deal with pirated versions of Windows. So this seems to be an upside to sfc, mess with pirates. I would guess that to pirate Windows certain system files would need to be modified which would be seen as corruption and replaced as part of the repair. This would lead to Windows wanting to re-activate as it would detect that it wasn't activated.

It would seem that DISM (using online source) would be a more likely to catch pirates.

Neither DISM nor sfc repair really catch pirates. It may alert you to them being pirates but they can simply just re-install the modified windows files. Windows doesn't lock people out of the operating system when they are found to have an illegitimate key. If they did it could really bone people over who are re-installing windows, those who are having os issues, and a few other select group of people.

 

[techgeek]

I wasn't saying that it catches pirates, but anything that makes their lives more difficult is a bonus.

As to re-installing the modified Windows files, most people that have a pirated version of Windows aren't very tech savvy. They've bought it from some shady shop and probably even had the shop install it for them. I've worked in countries where it's very hard to find legitimate copies of Windows to purchase. When I was working in Yemen, I had to have our IT department in the UAE send me legitimate copies of Windows. I've got a few friends that live in India and they told me it's next to near impossible to find a local store with a legit Windows license for sale. In many cases the people running these pirated versions don't even know that it's not legitimate until something like a re-activation happens. I can't tell you how many times I had friends from these countries come to me with their laptops saying that Windows was telling them they didn't have legitimate copies. They had no idea. If they took their laptops back to these shops, they "fixed" the issue for them for a small fee.

Now that it's more mainstream to purchase Windows online, this should disappear slowly. However in some of these countries, decent highspeed internet isn't a reality. So downloading a 4GB+ ISO is out of the question.

 

[thor220]

I wasn't saying that it catches pirates, but anything that makes their lives more difficult is a bonus.

As to re-installing the modified Windows files, most people that have a pirated version of Windows aren't very tech savvy. They've bought it from some shady shop and probably even had the shop install it for them. I've worked in countries where it's very hard to find legitimate copies of Windows to purchase. When I was working in Yemen, I had to have our IT department in the UAE send me legitimate copies of Windows. I've got a few friends that live in India and they told me it's next to near impossible to find a local store with a legit Windows license for sale. In many cases the people running these pirated versions don't even know that it's not legitimate until something like a re-activation happens. I can't tell you how many times I had friends from these countries come to me with their laptops saying that Windows was telling them they didn't have legitimate copies. They had no idea. If they took their laptops back to these shops, they "fixed" the issue for them for a small fee.

Now that it's more mainstream to purchase Windows online, this should disappear slowly. However in some of these countries, decent highspeed internet isn't a reality. So downloading a 4GB+ ISO is out of the question.

You don't even need to go that far to find pirated windows copies. Just take a look on ebay at the guys offering Windows 10 + Microsoft office on $300 computers. Not even big OEMs offer office just due to the cost. Go and ask any of them if they have a COA. It happens just as often in America as in other countries. When you consider the cost of windows is $140, that's a large part of all but the biggest budgets. To add fuel to that fire, most people I know hate Microsoft so many just wouldn't care if their OS is pirated or not. We now live in a world where windows is really the only OS that you still pay for. Given that Microsoft haven't actually done something interesting with it since windows 7 other than pushing ads and mobile features, I can't say I feel the slightest bit sad for them about it's piracy problems.

Legit software has always been hard to get in certain markets and you can thank that largely on the regional based rights. Russia will require you to have servers to store consumer data only in russia, china will push you through a gambit or regulations, ect, ect.