Varied SSD Problems/Issues

JDY · 24 Jun 2012

I recently bought a new SSD and eventually managed to install it after some issues (motherboard doesn't support ACHI which I think caused an issue with upgrading the firmware so I didn't bother with that) I thought the installation had gone fine but I am now experiencing a lot of issues.

When I start up the computer I often get an "Disk Read Error Occurred" error. This is normally "fixed" by turning the computer off for a while (a minute) and trying again.

Another problem is that the computer often states that it didn't shut down correctly and gives me the safe mode options at boot.

Another problem is that the computer has also totally turned off without no notice and when rebooted gives the option to use the built in HP recovery software or boot windows normally.

And an issue that has just occurred is that I got a message saying that windows needs to be reactivated. A reboot seems to have temporarily fixed this.

One of the causes of these issues might be that on my other 1TB HDD is still a version of Windows 7 (the version I cloned to the SSD) the reason I haven't removed this is because of this types of issuing occurring I can simple remove the SSD and revert back to the HDD.

I was tempted to do a fresh install of Windows onto the SSD but I have a variety of paid for software that I do not want to pay for more licenses again (Office, Serif etc.)

Any help or recommendations appreciated.

Cheers

whs · 24 Jun 2012

Hmm, some of the problems you describe are definitely not caused by the SSD. But something is wrong with that installation.

One possible problem is that the bootmgr is still sitting on the 1TB HDD. Another (mostly performance) problem could be that the SSD is not properly aligned.

Suggest that you post a full expanded picture of your Disk Management so that we can have a look. And also tell us how you installed Win7 on the SSD.

To check the alignment, run these commands in Command Prompt:

Diskpart
List disk
Select disk n
List partition

Now you should see a result like this.

Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
Partition 1 Primary 59 GB 1024 KB - but 64KB or any number divisible by 4 is also good

The offset (in KBs) has to be divisible by 4.

There is nothing wrong running the SSD in IDE mode. But then this registry key should be set to 3 and not 0: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services - proceed to MSAHCI > Start

JDY · 25 Jun 2012

I installed Windows 7 onto the SSD by using Macrium Reflect and cloned my HDD to the SSD.

The reason for the 100MB partition at the beginning is because originally I just cloned the 2nd partition (the biggest one) and the computer wouldn't boot.

I have also gone back into the registry and changed MSAHCI back to 3 because I originally changed it to 0 thinking my motherboard would have support for it.

whs · 25 Jun 2012

The pics are not visible. Use the paper clip to attach them. From what you say I already have the suspicion that there is a problem.

JDY · 25 Jun 2012

Done.

whs · 25 Jun 2012

Hmm, at first glance that looks pretty good. Since you get disk read errors, you might want to restart from scratch.

1. Move the bootmgr to C: Bootmgr - Move to C:\ with EasyBCD

2. Image that C

3. Secure Erase the SSD: Guide Secure Erase With bootable CD/USB Linux.. Point and Click Method

4. Define one aligned partition on the SSD. Easiest with Command Prompt.

5. Dump the image into that partition.

Now that is the whole 9 yards - but it may help.

Layback Bear · 25 Jun 2012

Hit me, knock me down I might be wrong. You have two active drives. Disk 0 and disk 1. I don't think that is correct.

whs · 25 Jun 2012

Layback Bear said:

Hit me, knock me down I might be wrong. You have two active drives. Disk 0 and disk 1. I don't think that is correct.

There is nothing wrong with that. You can have 1 active partition on each and every disk drive.

Layback Bear · 26 Jun 2012

Thanks for the info.

JDY · 28 Jun 2012

I followed the first two steps but went no further. I haven't had any issue since moving the MBR and changing the MSAHCI mode back to 3 so that may have fixed the problem, if my previous issues do re-occur then I will continue to follow the last 3 steps you suggested.

Cheers