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Hi all,

I'm hoping I can get some help with a fault I'm getting with my HTPC.

The specs are:
MB - Asus E35m1-i Deluxe (Integrated AMD Dual-Core Processor E-350 with AMD Radeon™ HD 6310 Graphics)
Power - Pico 120W
RAM - 4Gb DDR3
HDD - 64Gb Crucial RealSSD M4
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64

It has been running for about 3 years with no issues but a few months back I got a BSOD and continued to do so. I reinstalled Windows and the fault continued. Basically I get a BSOD after a period of 20mins+ with the computer sitting at idle (no programs running). I took the PC to a local repair specialist and they said that they suspected that the MB was at fault so I'm assuming that they tested the RAM, HDD etc. etc.

I tried booting up a linux live USB (various distros) and left the computer running and sure enough the computer remained on overnight, however the SSD was no longer detected either by Linux or in the BIOS. I do not know if this is related? I tried swapping the SATA ports with the BD-ROM drive and it was detected again. I later tried to install Linux (50:50 partition) alongside Windows 7 but I got as far as entering my name, computer name etc. and I got an error and could not continue with the installation. When I booted into the BIOS, again the SSD was not there but the BD-ROM drive was. I updated the firmware on the SSD and also updated the BIOS to the latest version but to no avail.

The only things I have not tried yet are swapping the RAM (a friend is going to lend me a spare stick to try) and trying another SATA cable and hard drive.

I have just booted up Elementary OS using a liveusb stick and during the boot up sequence I noticed "ata2" issues resulting in reduced speed (3Gbs). When the boot sequence finished the drive was not connected, yet the BD-ROM drive was.

Could the problem be the SATA cable or SSD as the BD-ROM drive is always detected? I only experience the SSD drive not connected issue when I use Linux. I've always been able to boot into Windows okay but obviously get the BSOD after a period of time. Are there any checks that I can do on the MB? I'm afraid my knowledge is very limited to basic plugging/unplugging components!

If the MB is indeed the culprit, what would a suitable replacement be? I assume that repairing it would not be financially viable. I did notice sound issues when using Linux so I'm assuming that another AMD GPU setup is out. As I was only ever using live versions of Linux, I assume that the drivers would only work in the installed version? (My knowledge of Linux is zero)

Any help or pointers you could give me to hopefully resolve this without further financial outlay would be very much appreciated!!

Duff SSD.

Never trust a local repair shop that also sells parts, they usually have inexperienced workers that will go for the first and mist obvious fault they think of without any testing to back up the statement.

Would definitely try another drive, cable. You don't seem to be having issues running off a USB thumb drive. If you had issues with the rest of your hardware, USB would also be causing problems. Try CrystalDiskInfo

Also read this post http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-...d-p/117562

Boot from a memtest86+ cd to test ram - will very quickly show up errors there.

From your description, sounds more like ssd / cable issue. Have you checked for smart errors on the drive? Borrow another drive and see how you get on with that.

Also try updating the firmware, members at crucial's forum say it helped them http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-...860#M35177

http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx

(2014-02-16, 17:32)jammyb Wrote: [ -> ]Duff SSD.

I'm hoping that it is just the cable but I am beginning to suspect that you are right!

(2014-02-16, 21:31)BigB42078 Wrote: [ -> ]Would definitely try another drive, cable. You don't seem to be having issues running off a USB thumb drive. If you had issues with the rest of your hardware, USB would also be causing problems. Try CrystalDiskInfo

Also read this post http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-...d-p/117562

Thanks. I will download that and run it although I'm pretty sure that no errors have been reported in SMART tests.

(2014-02-16, 21:42)prae5 Wrote: [ -> ]Boot from a memtest86+ cd to test ram - will very quickly show up errors there.

From your description, sounds more like ssd / cable issue. Have you checked for smart errors on the drive? Borrow another drive and see how you get on with that.

I tried another RAM stick yesterday and got the same ol' BSOD after 30 mins or so. I have a 2.5" drive sitting in a duff Acer Revo that has just died on me. I will either try that or just buy another SSD. I was planning on swapping the drive in my old netbook to give it another lease of life anyway.

(2014-02-16, 22:21)BigB42078 Wrote: [ -> ]Also try updating the firmware, members at crucial's forum say it helped them http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-...860#M35177

http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx

I've already updated the firmware and updated the MB BIOS to no avail.

Therefore I'm left with trying another cable and drive. If they don't work, maybe the shop was right all along....

Thanks for the replies.

I have just downloaded CrystalDiskInfo and it came back as 100% healthy. I did notice that the firmware version was at 0001. I ran through the firmware update process again and this time I paid attention. It came up with a message stating that it couldn't find any elligible drives and my drive was being skipped. A further read of the crucial support site states:

UEFI-based Systems: During validation of this firmware update we noticed instances where our update tools do not recognize the SSD with some systems using UEFI. The target device is not recognized as an updateable device during the reboot process. If this happens, the firmware update will not occur, and you’ll retain the firmware version you started with. Windows will then restart normally. If this sequence occurs, you cannot upgrade to this firmware version at this time, but you’ve done no harm to your system (or your data).

I can only assume therefore that I cannot update the firmware. Going by the information that Crucial supply, if the firmware is 0001 and the drive has been powered on for more than 5000 hours, BSOD can occur. Mine has been powered up for 5262 hours. It looks like it is the drive after all.

Thanks for the help!

I'm good aren't I

Which updater did you use? Windows 7 updater or the boot .iso? The board in the video below is a UIEF board. He also mentions you should be plugged into usb sata0 - sata3 or may not work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aPfW-kk8_I

I was returning to close this out to say that it looks like I have solved the issue. I did a bit more research into the update and found that I had to use SATA1. I don't know what SATA port it was plugged into previously but both the Windows 7 and the boot iso version did not work. After changing SATA ports, I ran the Windows 7 updater again and it looked like it hadn't worked but when Windows loaded up, it rebooted again and voila' I now have firmware 070h installed.

Unfortunately I had already ordered another 120Gb SSD along with a new Noctua case fan and a shorter SATA cable from overclockers. I am in two minds whether to cancel as the 120Gb drive would allow me to dual boot with Linux and maybe learn a bit about Linux.