Dell Mini 9 ssd issues

[cp320703]

hi, ok so for the past two days i've been trying to fix a dell mini 9 with a 8gb STEC ssd that seems to be locked/ somehow stuck. It will not format or preform read/write operations. I do not think it is dead as it shows up fine in bios, and i checked from a linux live usb key and the smart report on it seemed clean (healthy, no bad sectors, etc..) however the diagnostic tests do not seem to run. I have tried reformatting it to install an OS and both ubuntu and win 7 installs fail due to input/output error, i have also booted from the gparted live cd and all attempts to reformat via that utility failed as well (read/write error). I have also booted to the partition wizard live disk and that successfully formats it, but it reverts back to its former state seconds after the format. None of the utilities are available (rebuild mbr, etc) however disk wipe (write all ones or zeros) seems to work, however the drive still will not reformat afterwards. I have no way testing the drive on another computer as it uses a 50mm pata connector and i do not have any sort of adapter for it. This is my 1st ssd so I'm not accustomed to their foibles, any help would be appreciated, I'll probably end up replacing it due to its small size however I still would like to fix it, as it seems functional still. any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[buzznut]

And I think if its not functional then I don't care if the smart report says its healthy, its not working. Your getting read write errors, so something is amiss.
Its a simple logic problem, like a true false question. If it is only true some of the time, then the question is false. If your drive is only working some of the time, then its not functional.
Those drives that came with the minis are low end and inexpensive, otherwise Dell wouldn't have sold the machine for such a low price. I would do two things:
1) If you think the drive is recoverable then call Dell and ask them to restore your system. If that fails, (and it seems likely it will) then check to see if the part is under warranty and RMA if possible.
2) 8GB is a terribly small drive and you can get a pretty nice 60GB under $100. I'd go that route.

 

[cp320703]

thanks for the reply, the laptop is old, and i bought it off craigslist knowing the flaw($40) so official support channels are out. I know these drives are prone to failure and probably will just replace it with the 64gb runcore that fits the weird 50mm mini 9 adapter. I was hoping there was some way to revive it in the meantime

 

[buzznut]

Well, in the future I wouldn't recommend multiple formats on an SSD.

 

[cp320703]

I've never formatted it, i bought it with a broken xp install, i wanted to delete the borked ntfs partition so i could do a fresh install of with ubuntu or osx

 

[doxiegirllhippi]

I had my SSD card go down in my little insperon mini 9. I went ahead and got a new one and went up in capasity. I installed a 16gb from the 8g then I reinstalled the windows xp. I bought mine (the new card) off of ebay it was brand new and of high quality for around 30$s. I also went ahead at that time and up graded the ram on it as well.
This was the best solution that I found for the SSD issue and the simplest. I really like my little mini and it has put up with more then some of the larger laptops that I have had. This was also the bigest problem that I have ever had with it.