Windows boot error 0xc000000f every ~ 1-in-4 to 6 startups with SSD

[jayrap]

*SYSTEM SPECS INCLUDED UNDER MY SYSTEM SPECS*

A few months ago I bought a Corsair Force III 60GB SSD and I use it for my OS and non-game programs (in exception of Crysis Warhead which didn't let me choose the install path). The drive is all very fast and all that (despite me using it in a SATA II board as opposed to SATA III which is still confirmed to be 100% compatible), but about every 1-in-4 to 1-in-6 power-ups, the system spends a few seconds scanning the drives then can only find the 2 WD HDDs and my DVD drive, then coming up with error message 0xc000000f:

The first time I got this error was the day after I installed the drives and set them all up (AHCI mode on, TRIM for the SSD on, Hibernation off, Defrag auto-disabled for the SSD, attempted to update Forceware for SSD which it turned out I already had the latest) e.t.c).

There is a simple TEMPORARY "fix"
​

I powered down the system, then unplugged the SATA data connector from the SSD and then back in again and powered up

Bingo - it works every time, with the OS and the rest of the system functioning wonderfully but doing this about every 1-in-4 to 1-in-6 power ups is getting very boring.

Does anyone have any PERMANENT solutions to this problem?

 

[Fred Garvin]

Did you try following the instructions in your print screen above? If it's a boot error, Windows 7 does a great job of automatically repairing many of them.

 

[jayrap]

Did you try following the instructions in your print screen above? If it's a boot error, Windows 7 does a great job of automatically repairing many of them.

I'll attempt that next time, but when my system is scanning for drives (from the motherboard, not the OS, before the OS is starts) the SSD doesn't show up, only the other 3 drives.

But I'll see what happens anyway next time if I do insert the disk.

 

[jayrap]

I would like to mention again, that if I turn the system off again, unplug then replug the SATA data cable for the SSD, and power-up again, everything works - might anyone know the reason to That?

 

[Fred Garvin]

I would like to mention again, that if I turn the system off again, unplug then replug the SATA data cable for the SSD, and power-up again, everything works - might anyone know the reason to That?

You're getting a Windows boot error message. You can either keep unplugging the drive or repair the error

. It sounds like you either installed Windows on a secondary drive or you had the wrong hard drive order selected in your BIOS. The automated Windows repair should fix your boot manager.

 

[Hopalong X]

You will need your Windows Disk.
Start with this tutorial.> http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

If that does not fix the problem then try this.> http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/20864-mbr-restore-windows-7-master-boot-record.html

One of those should work. Let us know if you need more help.

 

[jayrap]

I'll try them, I have to wait for the error though - I can't be sure when it will come up

 

[Hopalong X]

You can wait.

I'd run it and see if it fixes it now.

 

[Fred Garvin]

You can wait.

I'd run it and see if it fixes it now.

^ Ditto!

 

[jayrap]

Doesn't look like a problem with Windows as it could not even find my SSD (when I got the error again). I did the unplug and replug thing again and it works (as usual). It seems that my motherboard sometimes has trouble detecting the SSD when the system is powered up.

 

[Fred Garvin]

Which port on the mobo is your SSD drive plugged into? SATA 1 ?

 

[jayrap]

It was in SATA_1 - I've put it into SATA_0 now - problem not solved (I tried to replicate it for a while)

 

[Fred Garvin]

Rerun the Windows Startup Repair now that you're connected to SATA0

 

[jayrap]

I'll give it a go

 

[jayrap]

This is what I got when I ran it

 

[jayrap]

Can I just mention that even in the BIOS when this happens, the SSD is undetectable in the BIOS - doesn't that rule out Windows issues?

 

[Fred Garvin]

Can I just mention that even in the BIOS when this happens, the SSD is undetectable in the BIOS - doesn't that rule out Windows issues?

Yip, that would be a problem. Download the manual for your mobo and see if you can find any details on how to set the SATA drives correctly - e.g. SATA mode, AHCI, Raid, etc. SSD should be on SATA 0 and selected as the first Hard Drive boot device.

 

[jayrap]

Can I just mention that even in the BIOS when this happens, the SSD is undetectable in the BIOS - doesn't that rule out Windows issues?

Yip, that would be a problem. Download the manual for your mobo and see if you can find any details on how to set the SATA drives correctly - e.g. SATA mode, AHCI, Raid, etc. SSD should be on SATA 0 and selected as the first Hard Drive boot device.

Well the tweaks I did certainly made my system get past all the back and white pre-OS boot stuff a lot faster - but as I can't influence the error, I won't be able to report back what the result of what you suggested will be. If good for a week, then I'll assume it's fixed.

 

[Fred Garvin]

You may have had 2 different problems. If your BIOS wasn't recognizing the hard drive, it could be the connection on your mobo or SATA cable wasn't securely connected or is bad. You can normally use any of the available SATA ports on the board, as long as you have the ability to assign the SATA connection # that is to be used as your first boot device (done in the BIOS setup page).

The other issue I was looking at is your boot configuration and pointing the boot process to where Windows is installed. That's the part the Startup Repair should have fixed automatically.

 

[jayrap]

Well we'll see if any good has happened after the tweaks, otherwise I'll buy a new SATA cable and see what happens from there