Boot issues - ocz vertex2

huliogeordio

Distinguished
Sep 17, 2013
32
0
18,530
Hi, I've been having a few issues with my PC booting up of late, it has a SSD ocz vertex2 and is just over a couple of years old. The boot works I would say 50% of the time and the rest gives a few out comes of how its not going to boot. They are:
1: Black screen with _ flashing in the top left corner. Computer needs restart
2: Gets past this screen but sits on the windows 7 boot screen
3: Black screen with Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media and press a key
4: An error such as TRAP 00000030 EXCEPTION followed by alot of random codes

These all on reboot usually request that the system repair run which seems to find no errors, I thought this may have been due to Peripherals such as a xbox controller and external hard drives but removal gave a little respite of a few weeks but its back to its usual start up issues.

To my knowledge the computer has never crashed while in windows or blue screened in the years ive had it.

I'd be really appreciative if anyone could let me know if this is a SSD issue as on googling alot of problems seem to be the with the vertex2 SSD and also any tips to transfer this boot drive to my internal sata if it is gone.

Oh another thing that could be said for the SSD is that its boot time on purchase has gone from around 10 seconds to nearly a minute which again makes me think of trouble.

Computer is:
vertex2 111GB
Windows 7 home
I7 2600k at 3.4
8gb ram

Thanks in advance for any help

 

boogalooelectric

Distinguished
Jul 1, 2009
266
0
18,860
It does sound like the SSD is going, I have just gotten one myself so not in expert on SSD's. I recommend replacing the SATA cables first, they do wear out and I have had them cause SOME of the issues you describe, replacing them solved it.

I am not saying that will help you, but its a cheap thing to do, and if it works, 'thumbs up', if not then you may have to look into replacing the SSD, most reviews show the Samsung 840 Pro SSD's as king right now, so you may want to look there, though Toms has a good SSD chart to help you get good bang for your buck.
 
You should make sure the SSD is on firmware version 1.37. You should also make sure that your motherboard's BIOS is on its latest firmware version.

You should also Secure Erase the Vertex 2 to restore it to a blank, fresh-out-of-the-box condition. That will restore your performance. You can then do a fresh O/S install, or if that's too much work, then create an image of your drive and then restore the image after you SE the drive.
 
You can update your SSD's firmware without making any changes to your drive. The Secure Erase advice I gave was to improve your boot time performance. You can update the firmware 1st and see if that fixes your black screen and error message problems.
 

huliogeordio

Distinguished
Sep 17, 2013
32
0
18,530
Thanks again Dereck47, Ive tried to update the firmware without success, I'm unsure if the problems are caused from the drive being 16gb from capacity and am looking at upgrading to a Samsung 840 EVO 250GB for both size and reviews seem to be promising. Dont suppose anyone knows if the software that comes with the Samsung 840 EVO 250GB is as easy to use as it says for transfering a boot drive to it.

Again thanks