Aspire S7 - SSD Disk failure - Reboots automatically right after starting Disk Repair

portos

Hi all

My SSD shows failure under Intel Management Tool. Everytime I reboot the PC it shows the "press any button to skip disk checking". Two alternatives:
 -  If a skip this step,I can access the PC and get access to my files under SSD, but I get a notification saying that disk is damage and needs repair to avoid loosing data (I backed up everything just in case).
 - If a let the disk repair feature go, it starts with "checking disk" and when reaching 3%,the machine reboots itself. It does it twice and then it shiwd "automatic disk repair". After running 1-2%, it reboots again and I start all over

Any ideas? I tried to reboot from my Utility Disk to repair but same thing. I do not want to go for full reset if can be avoided. I used to have the very well known problem with Windows 8 when while repairing the Disk, the process went for hours with no results. I upgraded to Windows 10 more than a year ago and this is the first issue I have had since then. No updates have been recently installed.

Best

JackE

OK. I now tend to believe Diskmgmt. It seems to be a RAID0 setup with two separate 256GB Kingston mSATAs acting as a single HDD0 C drive. RAID0 increases disk access speed by splitting processing between 2 drives instead of 1. RAID1 uses only 1 drive for processing and the other drive for mirror data backup only. So RAID1 is about half as fast as but safer than RAID0.

Which brings us right back to square one --- your very first post --- and your comment "I do not want to go for full reset if can be avoided."
You seem to have 2 choices. (1) Skip disk checking like you did before with Win8 or (2) Do what you don't wanna do either with a factory Win8 or an upgrade Win10 reset 

If it was mine, I'd probably choose (1) as long as I regularly back up my data, which I do anyway. My reasoning is that this issue has been occasionally manifesting itself for a very long time without much change and without apparent consequence other than the annoyance of hitting the skip button on boot. Yes, some data corruption/errors or SSD transistor failures might have happened that can't be corrected. Might even be getting progressively worse but seems pretty slowly. I'd probably also turn off fast startup in Control Panel's power button plan to try to clear any lingering RAM data errors that might carry over from one boot session to the next.

Jack E/NJ          

JackE

(1) What is your full s7 model number? S7-xxx?
(2) Press WINkey + Rkey. Enter msinfo32. Click component folder. Click storage folder. Click disk. What SSD model is listed?

Jack E/NJ

portos

Thank you, Jack.

(1) S7-392 (Intel Core i7-4500U CPU @ 1.80GHz 2.40 GHz (8GB RAM) - 64 bit x64. Running Windows 10 Home 1803 
(2) Model "Intel Raid 0 Volume"

I am attaching a printscreen of SSD model as in (2) above and also the problem as shown under Intel Rapid Storage Technology application

Thank you in advance!

portos

trying the attachment again

JackE

Yeah, there seems to be a problem identifying the SSD. Can you access the BIOS menu by tapping the F2 key on booting? If yes, is the SSD fully described in the Information tab? Manufacturer model number etc? Another screenshot would be good. Jack E/Nj

portos

Yes, I can access and the information is there. Screenshots attached (well, pics taken with my phone, couldnt produce a prntscreen in BIOS - sorry for the quality). 

JackE

Can you find a reference to a 'raid 0' configuration in any of the other BIOS menu tabs? Jack E/NJ 

portos

No, I couldnt. The "BIOS - screenshot.pdf" file included all tabs in case you want you check them But I see nothing with raid 0

JackE

Sorry, I didn't go past the first page Info tab. I now see SATA mode set to RAID in the Main tab. Everything looks fine except the Boot tab priority. Do you even a CD/DVD drive? Jack E/NJ

portos

No problem. Thanks for checking into it. I changed my Boot Tab two days ago moving up CD/DVD and USB to use my Recovery Disk. However the Repair Option does not work either. The only thing I have left is to Reset the Pc and reinstalled Windows, but I prefer to avoid that if possible. 

JackE

>>>No updates have been recently installed.>>>

I don't think there's a hardware problem.  So how do you know no updates were recently installed? Please check Control Panel anyway for automatic restore points that might've been created when you weren't looking. Jack E/NJ

portos

Sorry for the late response, I did not have access to the laptop until now...

No recent restore points created. Latest update from dec 23 (cumulative update for windows 10 version 1803 x64-based system (KB4483234). The problem started when a I had to shut down the PC because it freezed and when it was restarted, the disk checking tried to run with the consequences described in first post... 

JackE

Yes, but your first post doesn't say when this issue started. Did it start on Jan 3rd. Or perhaps earlier, like Dec 23rd? Jack E/NJ

portos

You are totally right, sorry for not being more specific.

It started on Jan 1st, but I have used it without any issues during the holiday season. It is the first time the PC tries to run the Disk Repair feature since I have upgraded to Windows 10 (1 or 2 years ago). When I had Win8, everytime I had a problem requiring disk repair, I had the common problem of the disk repairing process going forever with no results . Once I upgraded to Win10, everything changed for better. Smooth until this first issue. First time it requires to launch the Disk Repair process, but instead of going on forever, it reboots the computer without letting the process to finish

And let me thank you again for your time on this!!! I really appreciate it

JackE

>>>If a skip this step,I can access the PC and get access to my files under SSD, but I get a notification saying that disk is damage and needs repair to avoid loosing data (I backed up everything just in case).>>>When I had Win8, everytime I had a problem requiring disk repair, I had the common problem of the disk repairing process going forever with no results >>>

Seems like a glitch in the SSD's internal error detection system that has been there for a long time. If it was mine, I would not worry too much because it's solid state not likely to fail catastrophically like a mechanical drive and because it seems to boot OK by skipping the error checking. Like you've been doing, continue with regular backups just in case, as you would with any drive whether or not problems are detected. You might want to try a free ssd/hdd  checker like crystaldiskinfo https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/ to see if it picks up anything really serious. You could also run Microsoft's system file checker from the command prompt for fixing errors https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929833/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system 

Jack E/NJ

Commodore_1995#

In addition to the suggestions of colleague JackE, have you checked that trim is on? The crystaldiskinfo program shows this information! Also, have you tried upgrading the firmware of both ssds?

portos

Thank you, Jack E and egydiocoelho!

I have tried everything you proposed so far:

 - System Checker: Unsuccessful (see results attached) - It seems that I might find a healthy file to substitute whatever is corrupted with another source. I do not think the latest system image I created (October 2018) may be useful for two reasons: (a) I do not know if System Images are the source used by this program to substitute corrupted files and (b) if the glitch has been there forever as Jack E proposed (which I also believe so), then a previous System Image may not work

 - Crystal Mark: Good condition (TRIM shows on - I believe (??))

 - SDD Firmware Update: Waiting for feedback from KINGSTON (no updates available on their website)

Attached are the results obtained with the above, in case somebody could spot something that seems off

Commodore_1995#

Download this program to update the firmware: https://media.kingston.com/support/downloads/KSM_setup.exe
According to crystaldiskinfo, your ssd is healthy!

portos

Thank you!

I tried it yesterday before contacting Support because the only response I received from the Apps were, under "Events": "Unsuppported Drive"

Based on your expertise, Jack E and egydiocoelho, do you think it could be related to a problem with the SSD or other hardware problems? Or otherwise Windows 10? I do not intend to re-install windows 10 but backing up the system every week or so, however if I can run a program to solve it, it would be great to avoid future issues. I am attaching a video with the problem described in Post #1, I guess it is self-explanatory and may help to understand the issue to other Forum members (by the way, if you see nothing but me holding my cellphone, it means that the computes has restarted itself)

I will keep the forum updated if any firmware updates are available (in case any other users have had the same experience) and whether, if available, they are of any help to solve the issue 

Best

Commodore_1995#

I'm not sure if it's a problem in ssd, since, the crystaldiskinfo program did not detect anything wrong with ssd! Can you specify the model of your notebook better? For example v3-571-6682! Is there any option with the name fast boot in bios? Did your notebook come with this factory ssd? Have you tried using the alt + f10 command before the Acer logo to reinstall the operating system?

JackE

egydiocoelho

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/632268/#Comment_632268

Also appears to be set up as RAID 1 with 2 separate m.2s

Jack E/NJ