Solved SSD (Boot system) Drive sometimes not recognised on boot

[Knossos]

Relevant Computer Specification

OS Version:
Windows 7 Ultimate Edition 64-bit SP1 (Build 7601)

Drives:
MT-CT256 M4SSD2 (driver 6.1.7600.16385, provider MS)
WDC WD30 EZRX-00DC0B0 (driver 6.1.7600.16385, provider MS)

Problem

I have a problem with my Crucial M4 Solid State Drive. When I start my PC, it takes a lot of shutdowns and reboots in order for the system to recognise that the SSD is installed. I used diskpart when it managed to load up and I edited that to show how it appeared when I used diskpart in the W7 disk console. Here is an image of my Disk Management window after a successful boot.

I read into using diskpart / Disk Management to set the active partition to the SSD drive. As you can see in my screenshots, the System Reserved partition is currently set as active. Is this correct? I worry about changing that without fully investigating the options.

I have only one installed operating system.

As a side note, I couldn't do the "3 Startup Repair" routine, because Windows 7 is telling me that my disk is incompatible with my installation. Which is completely baffling. (Reading into that some, I get this message from an MSFT user: "All the hard disks during recovery should be of exact size or greater than the backup time. The number of hard disks should also be equal or more.", this is likely the source of that issue).

 

[TVeblen]

Is the SSD recognized and listed in the UEFI (BIOS)?
How are your drives connected to the motherboard (SATA port number and type/speed)?
What are the specs on your power supply?

 

[whs]

Before you do anything, post a screenshot of your Disk Management so that we can see wht is going on. See the format below.

 

[Knossos]

@whs: I linked that in my original post. Here: imgur: the simple image sharer

@TVeblen:
I will check these when I get home tonight. I can remember that it is using SATA3 off the top of my head.

 

[TVeblen]

While you are checking look for this:

The motherboard will have 6 SATA ports on the Intel Chipset controller. 2 will be SATA3 (6GB) ports, 4 will be SATA2 (3GB) ports.
You will also have either 2 (or 4 depending on the board) additional SATA3 ports that are on a secondary controller (usually Marvel for Asus).
Consult your motherboard's manual to determine which ports are which.

You want your SSD on one of the Intel SATA3 ports. Do not connect it to the secondary controller.

If it is currently on that secondary controller that might explain your symptom. That controller initiates after the Intel one and that small lag could be all that is causing it.

 

[crankypenguin]

You stated that you have a Crucial M4, first and foremost I would ask if you have the most current version of the firmware for this SSD. It is crucial that you update this Crucial SSD to the latest firmware, as it solves a lot of problems. The current firmware for this SSD is 070H. If you have an older firmware, please upgrade. Crucial.com Product Downloads - Firmware Updates

 

[Knossos]

My power supply is "OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W".

I took some photos of the BIOS process.

BIOS cannot locate the SSD
1. One single boot option as my optical drive.
2. My BIOS information.
3. SATA configuration (doesnt change, even when the drive IS detected - may not be relevant)

BIOS locates my drive:
1. The new boot selection. A friend of mine just mentioned that the M4 SSD is labeled "S0" and the other drive is "P0". Is this possibly "(P)rimary", "(S)econdary"?
2. Boot override options.

I haven't done any firmware updates for my Crucial SSD, I will see what I can find out for the firmware version. However, the "P0" "S0" revelation is possibly the cause?

 

[crankypenguin]

Relevant Computer Specification

OS Version:
Windows 7 Ultimate Edition 64-bit SP1 (Build 7601)

Drives:
MT-CT256 M4SSD2 (driver 6.1.7600.16385, provider MS)
WDC WD30 EZRX-00DC0B0 (driver 6.1.7600.16385, provider MS)

Problem

I have a problem with my Crucial M4 Solid State Drive. When I start my PC, it takes a lot of shutdowns and reboots in order for the system to recognise that the SSD is installed. I used diskpart when it managed to load up and I edited that to show how it appeared when I used diskpart in the W7 disk console. Here is an image of my Disk Management window after a successful boot.

I read into using diskpart / Disk Management to set the active partition to the SSD drive. As you can see in my screenshots, the System Reserved partition is currently set as active. Is this correct? I worry about changing that without fully investigating the options.

I have only one installed operating system.

As a side note, I couldn't do the "3 Startup Repair" routine, because Windows 7 is telling me that my disk is incompatible with my installation. Which is completely baffling. (Reading into that some, I get this message from an MSFT user: "All the hard disks during recovery should be of exact size or greater than the backup time. The number of hard disks should also be equal or more.", this is likely the source of that issue).

This is taken from the firmware site, I quote :

Resolved a power-up timing issue that could result in a drive hang, resulting in an inability to communicate with the host computer. The hang condition would typically occur during power-up or resume from Sleep or Hibernate. Most often, a new power cycle will clear the condition and allow normal operations to continue. The failure mode has only been observed in factory test. The failure mode is believed to have been contained to the factory. This fix is being implemented for all new builds, for all form factors, as a precautionary measure. The fix may be implemented in the field, as desired, to prevent occurrence of this boot-time failure. To date, no known field returns have been shown to be related to this issue. A failure of this type would typically be recoverable by a system reset.

 

[Knossos]

Ah. Yes, that seems very likely to be the cause!

I will download that firmware right away. I will report back with the results.

 

[VistaKing]

Release Date: 04/02/2013 Firmware Version : 070H


Download



How to Update

:ar: http://www.crucial.com/firmware/m4/070H/Crucial_m4_Windows_Utility_Tool_Instructions_070H.pdf

 

[Knossos]

I have just ran the update to the firmware.

Strangely, the Windows 7 updater does not detect that my drive needs an update.

I created a boot disk with the ISO provided by Crucial, and that installed perfectly.

I rebooted 3 times in a row, and it booted up with no issue. I will let you know if it fails to load up again, but for now, it seems to be corrected.

Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[whs]

I really wonder whether the firmware will make a difference. My M4 is still on 0309 which is really old and never gave me a problem.