Laptop SSD upgrade doesn't work

[ut1959]

Hey I was using Memtest86 (Gskill 16gb 1866), I didn't expect it to fail anyway since I didn't overclock anything on my laptop

 

[ut1959]

Any other ideas on what I should try?

 

[Puffnstuff]

I wonder if its a compatibility issue with the laptop bios and the evo. Are there any bios updates for your laptop?

 

[UsandThem]

I wonder if its a compatibility issue with the laptop bios and the evo. Are there any bios updates for your laptop?

He already is on the latest version. That was my train of thought earlier in this thread.

 

[ut1959]

Alright gents, just tried the samsung drive again with a clone of the Adata drive and it's a no go. I also tried with default bios settings in my laptop, it's not working.

 

[Puffnstuff]

If it works in another pc then there's a compatibility issue somewhere. Can you obtain a bios white list for your laptop?

 

[ut1959]

Is that safe? lol

 

[UsandThem]

Is that safe? lol

The "white list" or QVL (qualified vendor list) is just a document most companies release on components they have tested to work with their product. For example, motherboard companies publish a QVL that lists the ram, ssd, hard drives, and CPUs that will work with the motherboard.

At this point you can try another 840 EVO to know for sure your current one has an issue, use another model and assume there is some type of compatibility issue.

 

[addverma]

This is a newbie question so please bear with me. Why would the RAM cause installation to fail with a SSD when the same RAM appears to work fine with the old HDD and does not report an issue with MemTest86? Shouldn't it be the case of the BIOS or motherboard which is causing this failure? For example DELL states that despite its Laptops having SATA some of its models will not support SSD. Am I missing something over here?

 

[UsandThem]

This is a newbie question so please bear with me. Why would the RAM cause installation to fail with a SSD when the same RAM appears to work fine with the old HDD and does not report an issue with MemTest86? Shouldn't it be the case of the BIOS or motherboard which is causing this failure? For example DELL states that despite its Laptops having SATA some of its models will not support SSD. Am I missing something over here?

Because it can cause errors and crashes. One of the biggest issues I saw when all the z170 motherboards first launched was people buying ram that wasn't on the QVL. If you look at some of the motherboard user reviews from last year, people couldn't get it to work properly in XMP mode, some were experiencing random crashes, and some couldn't even start their computer. After the manufacturers updated their BIOS over the last 9 months, a lot of those issues have been fixed.

In short, RAM that is not fully compatible can cause minor issues or they can prevent the computer from starting all together.

Also, it could be the RAM is not an issue. It could be your that your laptop, for whatever reasons, has issues with the 840 EVO. You might want to send an email to their tech support. They may already be aware there are issues.

 

[Batmeat]

I quickly skimmed through and saw you had it on AHCI mode. This generally is the way to go. However, I've had a few laptops where you need to NOT have it on AHCI or SCSI. It should be on EIDE or IDE. Then after the install I was able to switch to AHCI. Hope that helps.

 

[Elixer]

Alright gents, just tried the samsung drive again with a clone of the Adata drive and it's a no go. I also tried with default bios settings in my laptop, it's not working.

Did you try the archive test I mentioned with the Samsung SSD connected to the desktop?

 

[ut1959]

Hello gents,

I tried using that clean install of windows 7 on my ssd via my desktop on my laptop and I got an error when trying to load up windows. I got another mechanical drive to test on my laptop and the windows install worked fine.

I'm starting to lose hope on this, maybe I'll just get a crucial mx300 for my laptop and keep the samsung drive for my desktop.

 

[addverma]

If you have one more laptop or desktop can you please try to put the crucial MX300 SSD into another Desktop or laptop and see if you can install Windows 7 over there? If the installation of Windows 7 works over at another machine then it highly likely that it might be something on the laptop which is causing this and not on the SSD per se.

 

[ut1959]

Hey gents, got a crucial mx300 in my laptop, works flawlessly, the samsung drive in my pc works flawlessly as well, very strange lol

 

[addverma]

That is great. What happened to the original Samsung 840 Evo 1TB SSD? Did you get that to work?

 

[ut1959]

Yeah I'm using it on my desktop since there are no issues there