Trouble with Samsung 830 OS Install

[Cykoth]

Howdy!

First off, I searched the threads to see if anyone has had my issue without much luck....so I'm throwing this out there because I'm just not smart enough to figure this out....

I've got an older computer that I've put into service as a HTPC. I've been using it more, and I wanted to get a nice peppy SSD to use as the OS drive. After a little research and reading Anand's review, I settled on the Samsung 830 128MB SSD. Now I was really going to do something and put the Release Preview of Windows 8 X64 on the drive to see how that works out in a HTPC environment. But I can't even get through the installation with the display turning itself off.

Particulars during installation: Motherboard - Gigabyte P35-DS3R v2.1 with F11 BIOS
A single stick of 2GB RAM
Video Card - Radeon 7850

No other drives are connected, the MB supports SATA II with Intel chip. Also, I have AHCI selected in the BIOS.

So, at various times during the install of Win 8, everything seems fine, and then the display just turns off....So I hooked the SSD up to my regular computer, deleted any partitions on it, repartitioned it just as a storage drive, and it seemed to work just fine. I re formatted it (on a Win 7 Ultimate X64 OS) and then tried to install Win 7 Ultimate on the HTPC. I got further along this time, the OS actually booted, but once again before I could begin installing pertinent drivers (MB, Video, etc...) the display would turn itself off. So....could this be a buggy SATA II interface with this drive? Would there be a difference of the drive performance being storage versus OS? I installed the Samsung SSD Magician software on my main computer and verified that the SSD has the latest Firmware version.

Thanks so much for reading this long post, it's just that I know what the first few questions are going to be and thought I'd try to answer them. This is the 3rd SSD I've installed. I have experience with OCZ Vertex 3 (Ugh!!! BSOD after long term running ALWAYS) and Intel 320 (which has always worked FANTASTIC).

Cyk

 

[tweakboy]

I have no idea what your saying ? What help do you need ? Use a different OS and you wont have that problem.,,gl

 

[mrpiggy]

Well, does it work with a standard drive or another SSD? If it doesn't work with a completely different drive/SSD, chances are good it's simply Win8 being too new. The P35 chipset is a relatively old board, so Win8 might not even work on it correctly. There's reasons why Win8 hasn't been actually released yet. You might have hit one of them.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Why are you blaming the ssd for losing video? Have you tried a different video card?

 

[Coup27]

I agree with the two posters above. You have a really mixed bag of parts which is bound to through up some issues. You're using a beta-OS, a very latest graphics card, a very latest SSD, and an old Intel motherboard which considerably pre-dates all of the hardware and OS you are trying to use it on.

My only advice would be a series of trial and error testing. I think you need to try an older video card first if possible, followed by a Windows 7 install, swap the SSD for a HDD and eventually you'll arrive at your problem but I would be suprised if the SSD is found to be the culprit.

 

[Cykoth]

Well I guess my long hopefully detailed post wasn't clear to you?

First of all, I did try to install using a different operating system (Win7) as was described in my post.

It really shouldn't matter the video card as it doesn't even get far enough to load the manufacturer's drivers. Plus it IS a new video card.

The MB may be older, but certainly not too old to support this drive. It DOES have SATA II capability after all.

And in the end, all home built systems are rather "hodgepodge" wouldn't you say?

Unfortunately I do not have an extra HDD or SDD just to try out.

Still looking for helpful responses.....like has anyone else ever seen this type of behavior? Or do you know of another resource I could look into to try to resolve my issue that I'm having?

Thanks for any help.

Cyk

 

[mrpiggy]

Well your lengthy spiel on what you have tried does not include trying any different hardware.. Regardless of brand new or old hardware, when an established OS (win7 in this case) fails to load properly, and not counting a buggy pre-release Win8 OS, chances are that it is hardware/driver related.

Video has nothing to do with SATA/drive implementation. If your video is failing (turning off), it's the MB or video card (or perhaps even the monitor although unlikely). Only way to test it is to try a different video card. Logic dictates that the newness of your video card is irrelevant. Your video card is going to run in some built-into-Windows SVGA type mode on a new install until you get the manufacturer drivers loaded (just like every other video card does during an initial install). As you aren't getting to the point where you can load manufacture video drivers, it indicates an issue with the built-in driver or your video card is bad..

Until you get the video situation fixed, you won't be able to tell if the SSD is actually working (maybe hints from disk activity lights but that's about it). So jumping to the conclusion that there's a buggy SATA2 implementation when you have video issues is a stretch.

There's lots of things you can try to troubleshoot SSD drive issues, however you need to get your video issue under control first so you can see what's going on with the OS (even BSOD's provide information). While they (SSD and video disappearing) might be related issues, it's doubtful unless it's the motherboard itself, in which case your forked regardless of what you do with the SSD or video cards.

 

[MoInSTL]

Did you install the new firmware for that drive? CXM03B1Q. Btw, the new firmware number is very close to the older one. Can you change the BIOS to on board graphics during install? In order for me to upgrade the firmware and use secure erase on SSD Magician I had to use on board graphics to do that as my screen would be garbled. I just did a secure erase last night and it's a bit of a PITA to change the BIOS and swap ports and the unplug the drive for a few seconds & plug back in. I did not touch my GTX btw.

Try using Intel's on board graphics.

 

[mrpiggy]

Try using Intel's on board graphics.

P35 chipset dude..

 

[MoInSTL]

P35 chipset dude..

Not a dude, but anyway.

 

[Cykoth]

Well, the first person you must always rely on is yourself. I'm fixed and Windows 8 Release Preview is working WONDERFULLY on this "old" system.

The issue turned out that I did not in fact have the very latest BIOS update to my motherboard. I was at F11 and there was one newer version at F13.

I stated that the issue MIGHT have to do with the SATA II because that is how the SSD drive was connected to the motherboard. And HDD's did not have any issues with stability. The BIOS could have also updated the ACHI (which is likely) such that this new SSD could work.

Mr. Piggy, thanks for a response that actually had meaning.

There is always a way, and seldom do you find them in forums......

Cyk

 

[Coup27]

If you are that good then you wouldn't have made such a school boy error by not checking your BIOS was up to date before hitting a forum. By listing "F11" BIOS and all of the other information in your two posts you implied that you had already checked your BIOS was current. Had we known that you had not done this then it would have been one of the first things to suggest.

It is also clear that you have a chip on your shoulder. Maybe if you checked that, you may find that forums are an amazing source of information.