• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

So... Crucial M4 SSD just died - flat out dead...?

C

chazdraves

Golden Member
Two days ago I installed the latest Ubuntu and wiped my Win 8 Beta install. As is par for the course, not everything worked flawlessly with Ubuntu and I decided it was time to wipe that and go back to Win 7 64-bit. My install disc doesn't have SP1, so I scoured the internet for a quick SP1 .iso, downloaded it, burned it to a disc, and then walked away from my computer for a couple hours after that had finished successfully. I left my computer with nothing running and came back to find it completely locked up - no response from mouse/keyboard/power button/nada...

Anyhow, I blamed Ubuntu and then hard-reset the device only to find it wouldn't restart - wouldn't even clear the BIOS splash screen. Completely dead-in-the-water - screen hangs and I can't even get into the BIOS or boot selection screen.

My first accusation was the computer (relatively new still), so I stripped out the SSD in hopes that something might behave differently. Without the drive, the BIOS loaded proper and I could even boot my Win 7 SP1 disc. I tried the M4 again - nada.

Then, I thought maybe it was something with the HDD and installed the original 640GB 5400 WD drive. First time, no go - just like the SSD. Second time, worked just as good as ever (boy are mechanical drives slow... 😛 ). Popped back in the SSD - nada.

Called Crucial and the tech support guy told me to power the unit on and leave it for 20 minutes hung at the BIOS then turn it off and disconnect from power for 30 seconds. He said to repeat that 3-4 times and it should reset the controller on the device... I was wondering if it also might help to wave a dead chicken or dance on one leg... I've never heard that technique before but SSDs are still foreign to me. Anyhow, didn't work. Crucial will get me an RMA, but I would rather fix what I have if anyone has any ideas?

I see update 0309 fixed an issue with the SMART counter which could cause the drive to hang after 5184 hours, but I haven't had my drive long enough to hit that hour count (though I have Firmware 0009 and not the newer 0309)...?

Thanks for reading all that mess!
- Chaz
 
Last edited:
... And here's the fix...

I don't think this is supposed to work. However, I popped the SSD and HDD out of the system and rebooted with only the Win 7 disc. Once the system had loaded up Win 7 Setup to the first screen, I connected the SSD to the SATA/Power connector on the bottom of my laptop (again, pretty certain that's not recommended - so don't try this at home!). When I hit through a couple of "Next" buttons, Setup actually recognized the drive even though it hadn't been connected during POST and allowed me to delete the existing partitions and reformat the drive. When I hit "Next" to install the OS, however, I was informed that this drive was not supported.

So, I restarted the computer with the SSD still installed. To my surprise, no errors. Win 7 Setup loaded as before and now I was allowed to proceed with installation. Once everything finished, I restarted with a bootable disk containing Firmware ver. 0000F for the Crucial M4 which patched successfully and, well, here we are...

Hopefully that can help someone else in the future.

- Chaz
 
Glad things worked out for you. From the sound of things, I would start reconnecting connectors, swapping SATA cables around and then running Memtest+. If you had anything overclocked, then obviously run things back to stock or throttle back a bit.

Intermittent issues are a pain to debug, but for sure you wouldn't want it to happen again.
 
Very true. I'm blaming Ubuntu as it has NEVER happened before in any capacity. It's not a matter of cables either as it's a laptop with a built-in connector. It was consistently an issue with the SSD and completely resolved every time I connected the HDD. Something got upset when I left it alone (possibly fearing the impending Win 7 install?).

Anyhow...
- Chaz
 
Hugo Drax said:
Ssd are still in beta. Think hard drives for workstations in 1982.
Click to expand...

Beta? What exactly does this mean? Flash is mature enough. It's been here for a long time. The HDDs are mature, but can die on you anytime without a single warning.
 
chazdraves said:
... And here's the fix...

I don't think this is supposed to work. However, I popped the SSD and HDD out of the system and rebooted with only the Win 7 disc. Once the system had loaded up Win 7 Setup to the first screen, I connected the SSD to the SATA/Power connector on the bottom of my laptop (again, pretty certain that's not recommended - so don't try this at home!). When I hit through a couple of "Next" buttons, Setup actually recognized the drive even though it hadn't been connected during POST and allowed me to delete the existing partitions and reformat the drive. When I hit "Next" to install the OS, however, I was informed that this drive was not supported.

So, I restarted the computer with the SSD still installed. To my surprise, no errors. Win 7 Setup loaded as before and now I was allowed to proceed with installation. Once everything finished, I restarted with a bootable disk containing Firmware ver. 0000F for the Crucial M4 which patched successfully and, well, here we are...

Hopefully that can help someone else in the future.

- Chaz
Click to expand...

I've had some weird issues like the ones you've described with both ssd's and hdd's over the years. I'd chalk it up to some software mess that was fixed with a reinstall. If you really wanted to get crazy you could secure erase the m4.
 
Yeah, I think it was a software glitch. The SSD has been flawless since the above incident. Interesting learning experience though...

- Chaz
 
Yeah the SSD controller can hang and in parted magic they tell you that sometimes putting the system to sleep and waking up can reset it. Or you can unplug it for 30seconds and then hot plug it.

What I'd do in your situation is the following. Do a backup of the M4 drive in full. Then boot into parted magic or another program that can do a secure erase. Then secure erase the drive and restore your backup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top