SSD randomly works

[Permutation]

Ok, so I'm new here, been watching a lot of videos lately and I wanted to see if I could get some help here.

 

So I am rebuilding my old PC for my partner (just recently built a new one for myself) and I am encountering a problem with my SSD, which of course has the OS on it.  It never had a problem untill it was in storage for a little while.  I did take the power supply out for my new build but put it back when I got a new one.

 

So what is happening is that when I start it, it doesn't see the hard drive to boot from it.  I check the BIOS and nope, it's not seeing it.  I then unplug it and replug it back in and then sometimes it will see it, sometimes not.  I have tried different power ports and different sata cords in different positions on the motherboard but I have a feeling it's not related to the motherboard or sata but to the power somehow.  I bought a new battery for the motherboard just because it was cheap to try but no help.

 

When it does start it runs perfectly fine and we can game with no problem and no errors occur.  I am unsure if the the drive is failing or the power supply but I thought if it was the the SSD it would just fail, not work sometimes.  And the old power supply worked perfectly fine on my new PC. 

 

It's really throwing me for a loop, if it's the SSD failing, fine, that's cool I can get a new one, but if that's not the problem it's a bit of a waste of money.

 

If anyone here has any ideas it would be fantastic, thanks for reading this and I hope you to hear from anyone!

 

The build:

 

Motherboard : Asus Maximus IV Gen Z/gen3

Processor : i5-2320 4 core

OS: windows 10 Pro 64 bit

Ram : g-skill ripjaws 16 gig (not sure of the details but it's not changed)

Graphics : Asus GTX 970

Power Supply :  XFX pro 750w

Failing Drive : ADATA 120 gigs 

[DG House]

do you have another PC available (friends..) where you can text both divices ?

[Permutation]

What do you mean by text both devices?  I do have another computer sitting in the other room, my new one.

[Thirdgen89GTA]

If the disk does not show up in BIOS sometimes you have one of two likely candidates which I usually encounter at work.

 

I have seen this with SSD's that have controllers that are starting to fail due to poor manufacturing processes.  The controller's connection to the PCB is not great, and sometimes its bad enough that error correction can't bring it online.  Generally this starts off occasionally, and increases in frequency until its just not bootable any longer.  Sometimes heat is a factor, but usually only in laptops where there is less airflow.

 

If its an M.2 drive, try reseating it.

 

If its a SATA drive, try reseating the connectors, or replacing the SATA cable, and/or moving it to a different SATA power connector on a different string.

 

If neither of those seem to fix it, you could try cleaning the contacts with something like 99% isopropyl alcohol, just be careful and don't use a lot.  A little goes a very long way, especially with the tiny contacts on these new M.2 drives.  There is no need to soak it.  Also, give it time to dry.  And avoid a Q-Tip, the fibers split easily.  you'll want something with a small foam pad that doesn't leave lint behind.

 

that said, its possible none of this will help your issue.

[Permutation]

Ya, I think at this point I almost hope it's the drive because that's the cheapest failure point.  I will try cleaning the contacts but if that is the problem it's fine

 

The older disk based drives don't have the same issue, they always start up no problem.  I have tried changing all the cords and power connector to no avail.  

 

Oddly, it does it less frequently when one of the disk drives is disconnected.  

 

I just need to figure out how to transfer windows to a new drive before it completely fails.  I guess a small part of me hoped it was not going but in my heart I think I know. 

 

But I will try cleaning the contacts first!

[Thirdgen89GTA]

52 minutes ago, Permutation said:

Ya, I think at this point I almost hope it's the drive because that's the cheapest failure point.  I will try cleaning the contacts but if that is the problem it's fine

 

The older disk based drives don't have the same issue, they always start up no problem.  I have tried changing all the cords and power connector to no avail.  

 

Oddly, it does it less frequently when one of the disk drives is disconnected.  

 

I just need to figure out how to transfer windows to a new drive before it completely fails.  I guess a small part of me hoped it was not going but in my heart I think I know. 

 

But I will try cleaning the contacts first!

There are many ways to reach the same goal.

 

Learn yourself DISKPART, and how to partition disks, along with DISM commands to clone partitions.  This is free, 100% built into Windows vanilla recovery environments.  But honestly, not friendly to those not intimately familiar with Command Prompt, however, it 100% works for cloning any drive from smaller to larger, and vice versa as well as from MBR to GPT.  You just need to create a Windows USB installer disk using Microsofts Media creator tool.

 

You also have Clonezilla, a free distro, old school in its ASCII GUI approach, but a long standing staple.  It can clone both MBR and GPT, but it can't convert, and it can't automatically upsize a smaller disk to a larger disk, and definitely can't go from a larger disk to a smaller disk.

 

And you also have AOMEI Backupper Standard. its free, and can clone just as well as Clonezilla, but with a full GUI. AOMEI is probably your best bet as it will be the easiest and most familiar to use.  Its also more capable than Clonezilla as it can automatically resize partitions to suit the new disk on the fly.

 

If all you care about is your files though you an just use the Windows backup utilities to ensure your files are held on an external disk.