How to diagnose issue between mobo, RAID, and SSD cache drive? [migrated]
- by goober
Background
This issue is happening on my custom-built desktop. Relevant specs:
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
Utilizing Intel RST technology (application that uses unused SSD as cache)
Processor: Intel core i7-2600k (not overclocked)
HDDs: RAID1 of 2x Seagate Barracuda 1TB (ST31000524AS) (RAID performed via z68 chipset)
Machine has run fine for ~1 year with no issues, and has been well-maintained (dust, etc.)
What Happened
Random Freezing issues -- intermittent
Looked at the RST application screen to see that the acceleration cache was listed as "unavailable" -- recommended that I power down and reconnect the drive.
Reconnected the drive to no avail.
Attempted to move the drive to another SATA port. Acceleration option disappeared from RST software.
Now, the freeze happens whenever loading something particularly data-driven (a video, a game, etc.)
Steps Attempted
Reconnected the drive to no avail.
Updated Intel RST software to v. 11.6.0.1030 to see if that made a difference.
Attempted to move the drive to another SATA port. Acceleration option disappeared from RST software.
Connected the drive as its own volume. Formatted it, ran disk check errors -- all seems fine.
Reconnected the drive and selected it again as the cache drive.
Now, what happens when there is a freeze:
Machine freezes
I am unable to perform any command
Screen then goes black
I hit the reset button
During boot, all drives show as "Disabled" and I am told no volume can be found
I then hit the reset button (or power off/on) again.
Either the next time (or sometimes after repeating this once more), the metadata cache is reconstructed and the system boots fine, showing the SSD as a cache.
Question
I believe this is an issue with the SSD itself, but how can I be sure since connecting it separately appeared to show no problems? I want to make sure it's not an issue with the motherboard, SATA ports, etc.
