ASRock Z68 PRO3-M & SSD problems

[boondocks]

HTPC in sig. It took 2 days to install Windows on the SSD; on almost every boot the SSD wasn't recognized in the BIOS unless I cleared CMOS and brought it up in IDE mode instead of AHCI.

Finally it wouldn't see the SSD at all and I went ahead and installed Windows on the Caviar Green just to see if I had more problems.
Even now after posting and the flash screen I get a blank screen on some boots. Starting to think there may be some incompatibility with the PSU (which was used briefly in my wife's pc)

The F60 SSD was used in my main pc until I swapped mobo's and functioned just fine.

The ASRock mobo shipped with what appears to be the latest BIOS (1.60) and I've updated all the drivers with the latest from the ASRock site.

Any thoughts? Try swapping PSU's? RMA? B.F.H. ?

 

[boondocks]

Swapped PSU: no change. Just does not like SSD plugged into SATA 3_0.

 

[grohl]

I assume you installed Win 7 on the SSD with ACHI mode right?

 

[mfenn]

Any change if you use the SATA 3Gb/s ports?

 

[boondocks]

I assume you installed Win 7 on the SSD with ACHI mode right?

Yes. I had a major problem getting the BIOS to recognize the SSD on SATA3_0. I would have to shutdown, clear CMOS, boot up in IDE and then change to ACHI, reboot, etc, etc. I was finally successful in installing Windows, but could never get back "into" it again on the SSD.
I finally installed Windows on the Caviar Green on SATA3_0 and then with the SSD on SATA3_1 it's recognized.

 

[boondocks]

Any change if you use the SATA 3Gb/s ports?

I confess I did not try them.
Gives me something else to try tomorrow while waiting on ASRock support.

 

[boondocks]

OK, after more testing, basically the problem(s) is this:
a)The SSD, when plugged into any SATA port as the only device (excepting ODD) is usually not even seen in the BIOS.
Only when the WD HDD is plugged in as primary device is the SSD recognized in the BIOS.
b)The pc does not power down when exiting Windows.

Have tried 2 different PSU's
Have installed latest Intel ACHI driver
Latest BIOS (1.60) installed
Have contacted ASRock support and waiting to hear back

One of the reasons I bought this mobo was because of the CIR header, which lets me cold boot the pc from remote. Pretty cool feature for an HTPC, I think, even though I know there are other ways to acheive this I thought it would be handy to have the functionality built into the board with only adding ASRock's IR receiver.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It might be a like a loose cable, or possibly a defective motherboard.

Unfortunately if you read newegg reviews, ASRock, Asus, MSI, even intel all seem to send out both DOA and partially-dead motherboards to some customers.

 

[boondocks]

Well, the mobo could be defective. I've swapped cables quite a bit.
Dunno, unless this mobo just doesn't like a SATA II plugged into a SATA III slot for a boot drive (the SSD is SATA II). Never had that problem with other boards, though.

Hoping ASRock can fix me up with a BIOS that works.

 

[boondocks]

Fixed, Sort of. Installed as RAID per suggestion. Works. Fast again.

 

[mfenn]

Fixed, Sort of. Installed as RAID per suggestion. Works. Fast again.

Interesting. Sounds like there was some sort of incompatibility between the SSD and the Z68 controller? Did you happen to check to see if your F60 was at the latest firmware?

 

[boondocks]

Yeah. Fortunately RAID is in the ROM so installing was painless.
Last I checked the SSD was on latest, 1.3.x I think, but I better go have a look again.
Hoping ASRock will eventually get back to me as I'm still getting no hardware shutdown when Windows closes. But the guys on the ASRock forum have been great with help and suggestions.

 

[mfenn]

Sounds like either a problem with ACPI or there is some device you have plugged in that isn't letting Windows shut down. Make sure that your PC is ACPI enabled in the Device Manager. If so, try removing devices one at a time until it shuts down properly.

 

[boondocks]

Update: Never had any luck with the SSD. I put it back as boot drive in my P67 mobo and installed a new SATA3 Crucial M4 64GB in the HTPC. The shutdown issue is fixed. Chalk this up to "operator error". I had enabled "turn on from keyboard/remote" in BIOS since I'm using the CIR header to cold boot the machine by remote. This apparently prevented the board from shutting down and is the exact opposite of what I expected. Oh well, the mobo manual is less than clear but in the end it's my fault.
Using F9 to reset defaults and reenabling BIOS options one at a time found the culprit.