Problems installing SSD

Question

Hi,

I was asked to speed up a Studio XPS 1558 laptop, which featured a 1st gen Core i5 and 4gb RAM, so I thought I'd go all out on this one and installed 8gb Crucial RAM and an OCZ Agility 120gb SSD drive, however I've run into an issue with the SSD. Firstly I ensured I had the latest Bios update A12 and made sure the SATA setting was ACHI. But when attempting to install and once installed the system continues to BSOD crash. Knowing I had installed new RAM I tested it with my licensed version of Gold which returned no issues, thats why I always use Crucial RAM, never get issues with it!

Having worked with this machine over the past couple of days and now reinserting the original HDD and performing a factory recovery my main observation has been noise and temperature. At all times the fan is running, but when the SSD is installed it overworks and becomes rather hot, possibly the cause of crashing but why would an SSD cause this??? Could there be a fault with the SSD?

As my customer is flying off to Hong Kong on Tuesday I've resigned myself to the fact its going with its HDD, and its running fine although fan noise could be less (she never mentioned it, so not an issue), but I thought I'd throw out the question regarding the SSD and see if anyone had any ideas?

Thanks for reading :emotion-1:

Simon

ejn63 · Accepted Answer

The answer is yes - the drive could be faulty.  SSDs are still in learning-curve mode -- the first tier (Intel, Samsung, Crucial) are reasonably good but the second tier and lower (OCZ among them) aren't quite as consistent.

Simon Simple · Accepted Answer

Update, New SSD arrive this morning, cloned OS, and all working correctly :)

ejn63 · Answer

Clean the heatsink assembly and apply new thermal compound between it and the CPU.  Reducing the temperature will likely solve the problem with the fan AND the SSD.

Simon Simple · Answer

I did think about that, but it runs fine with the HDD? Could the SSD be faulty?

Dell-shomprakas · Answer

Hi Simon,

My name is Shomprakash and I work for the Dell Social Media Team. I'd be glad to assist you in this query.

I'm trying to answer your latest question, which will let us know if the SSD is faulty or not.

There is a Dell-branded custom test which you can use to check the status of the HDD.

The suggested method would be to install the Dell Support Center Tool

(at : www.dell.com/.../dsc_home)

This includes an application known as "PC Checkup" which allows you to run direct tests on custom devices that you have installed on the machine.

Kindly Note: Installation of DSC 3.1 requires that you have the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Update installed on your computer.

If the Custom Test on your Solid State Hard Drive fails, you will receive an error code.

You can try the steps above and post your results here. I'd be happy to follow up.

Kindest Regards,

Dell_Shomprakash_R

Dell Social Media Responder

Simon Simple · Answer

Hi,

Thanks to both of you for your replies, I believe its faulty, luckily I've got it RMA'd with a new one coming on Monday, so i can now clone the OS and get it back to her on Monday evening before she leaves Tuesday.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

Problems installing SSD

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