Solved Kingston SSD’s not retaining partitions

Halo.

1 Sabrent 4 slot SSD hub/docking station

https://www.amazon.com.au/Sabrent-drive-Docking-Station-DS-4SSD/dp/B0711L68MS

1 x Samsung EVO 1TB SSD
3 x Kingston 500GB SSD’s
Minitool partition wizard

I bought 3 unused unopened Kingston 500GB SSD’s this week, 3 separate occasions, 3 separate stores, only because they were inexpensive and I had used Kingston once in the past which are still operational in my sons pc after 8 years.

I’ve placed the Kingstons in the 4 slot Sabrent dock, created a partition (GPT but this also happens if they are MBR) for each drive and allocated drive letters x, y & z to them. I then dbl checked in disk management and all seems fine.

The Samsung EVO is also in the dock, I have used the EVO all year and never had the issue as I am having with the Kingston’s.

If the hub/dock is turned off, when next turned on all the Kingstons have randomly ended in one of the following possible states.

• Drive letters resort to default next in cue letters (in this case J, K & L)
• Unallocated space appears at the beginning of the drive, main partition gone/unformatted plus drive letters resorted back to J, K & L
• Partitions gone

As mentioned, there is still one EVO in the hub/dock and is unaffected. I have been using the EVO all year with other EVO’s in the hub, that are now inside the case, but they never behaved like the Kingstons are above when they were all in the hub/dock together, ever.

I know that Kingston aren’t the greatest brand anymore but this can’t be a coincidence that all 3 SSD’s are bad?
.

Any guesses what may be causing this?

If the partitions are gone, what do the JKL drive letters refer to?

I suggest you post Disk mgmt screenshots showing
- the disk states after you have set them up [partitioned, JKL set]
- the disk states after a reboot


All the best,
Denis

Try3 said:

If the partitions are gone, what do the JKL drive letters refer to?

I suggest you post Disk mgmt screenshots showing
- the disk states after you have set them up [partitioned, JKL set]
- the disk states after a reboot


All the best,
Denis

Click to expand...

Hi, Denis, thank you.

If the partitions are gone, what do the JKL drive letters refer to?

Click to expand...

I should of said
"non-allocated space appears before partition, main partition needs to be (re) formatted. All test files on drive (now un-formatted partition) gone. Drive letters resorted back to next in cue.

I'll have to put this on hold for a minute. After 6 tests and having issues each test, it now won't replicate. I will post back as soon as it happens.

antspants said:

main partition needs to be (re) formatted

Click to expand...

Does Disk mgmt say that are Raw?
Whilst I have no experience of this, there are threads about disks becoming Raw in both TenForums & ElevenForum.


Best of luck,
Denis

Try3 said:

Does Disk mgmt say that are Raw?
Whilst I have no experience of this, there are threads about disks becoming Raw in both TenForums & ElevenForum.


Best of luck,
Denis

Click to expand...

No.
For the life of me, over 2 days this was happening now it won't happen. As much as that pleases me, it doesn't install a great deal of confidence that if I use these drives for which they are intended, they will not fail and my system images will be gone.

I'll mark it as solved and search out for some of the issues you've mentioned on 10/11F. I will return when/if this happens again, with screenshots.

Thanks for jumping in, Denis.

This inconsistency, coupled with the previous symptoms affecting each one of the Kingstons, makes me wonder if the Sabrent hub is the direct or indirect cause.
Or perhaps the power used by the disks adds up to around the maximum that the Sabrent or its USB connection can cope with.

Denis

Scary. I stopped buying Kingston SSDs for different reasons but later on I discovered that Samsung was pulling the same stunts: Using inferior chips and selling them under the same make and model. They got caught too. Kingston used to have firmware for their SSDs that you could upgrade to but I don't know if they still do. These days I like to use ADATA for backups because they're cheaper SSDs and I never have a problem with them. I did notice you saying you were making system images? I'm just wondering what sort of "system image" you're making.

Personally, I have no confidence in Windows "system images" or their recovery software. I learned my lesson the hard way. If you want to be confident about getting back your OS after a catastrophic system failure just format that Kingston SSD and clone it with your Mini Tool Partition Wizard so that you have two exact, identical copies. After this just shut down your PC, remove either copy and keep it in a nice cool, dry place. When Windoze finally poops itself and dies you (as you can almost count on it doing) you can pull that poopy drive and pop in the clone. If you want your data back and File History is being retarded like it usually is just put the poopy drive in an enclosure and strip off what you need. Reformat the poopy drive and clone it. *Rinse and repeat*

OR:

Fight with the blasted thing for hours and hours to back it up to some point in time where you're missing a bunch of stuff already but hey, it worked! (sorta)

Only my opinion of course, strictly my opinion. (Based on angry old man user experience.)

I hope this helps

Try3 said:

This inconsistency, coupled with the previous symptoms affecting each one of the Kingstons, makes me wonder if the Sabrent hub is the direct or indirect cause.
Or perhaps the power used by the disks adds up to around the maximum that the Sabrent or its USB connection can cope with.

Denis

Click to expand...

Very possibly, Denis, and it would make a lot of sense. Testing will be on order but unless it happens again it may be hard to know. I will have to look into the product a little more. Maybe try and find more reviews.

Thank you

Scannerman said:

Scary. I stopped buying Kingston SSDs for different reasons but later on I discovered that Samsung was pulling the same stunts: Using inferior chips and selling them under the same make and model. They got caught too. Kingston used to have firmware for their SSDs that you could upgrade to but I don't know if they still do. These days I like to use ADATA for backups because they're cheaper SSDs and I never have a problem with them. I did notice you saying you were making system images? I'm just wondering what sort of "system image" you're making.

Personally, I have no confidence in Windows "system images" or their recovery software. I learned my lesson the hard way. If you want to be confident about getting back your OS after a catastrophic system failure just format that Kingston SSD and clone it with your Mini Tool Partition Wizard so that you have two exact, identical copies. After this just shut down your PC, remove either copy and keep it in a nice cool, dry place. When Windoze finally poops itself and dies you (as you can almost count on it doing) you can pull that poopy drive and pop in the clone. If you want your data back and File History is being retarded like it usually is just put the poopy drive in an enclosure and strip off what you need. Reformat the poopy drive and clone it. *Rinse and repeat*

OR:

Fight with the blasted thing for hours and hours to back it up to some point in time where you're missing a bunch of stuff already but hey, it worked! (sorta)

Only my opinion of course, strictly my opinion. (Based on angry old man user experience.)

I hope this helps

Click to expand...

I am out of the loop on the chip scandals. i will have to read on it. As for Kingston firmware, I downloaded their app, there is a spot for firmware in the app but the app wont work. Reading up on it, apparently AHCI mode set in BIOS is a requirement.

I’ve posted in a few threads, I do actually use Windows 7 backup system, the only time it has ever failed me was due to a failed backup drive. BUT I also use others. The idea of getting the 3 500gb was to store backups, one for each drive;
- Windows 7 Backup and restore
- AOMEI
- OTHER
I don’t do Macrium, if I wanted to jump through hoops I would join a circus. And yes, cloning my C: drive was also on the books.

Only my opinion of course, strictly my opinion. (Based on angry old man user experience.)

Click to expand...

I have many of those myself mate. Many.

antspants said:

I am out of the loop on the chip scandals. i will have to read on it. As for Kingston firmware, I downloaded their app, there is a spot for firmware in the app but the app wont work. Reading up on it, apparently AHCI mode set in BIOS is a requirement.

I’ve posted in a few threads, I do actually use Windows 7 backup system, the only time it has ever failed me was due to a failed backup drive. BUT I also use others. The idea of getting the 3 500gb was to store backups, one for each drive;
- Windows 7 Backup and restore
- AOMEI
- OTHER
I don’t do Macrium, if I wanted to jump through hoops I would join a circus. And yes, cloning my C: drive was also on the books.

I have many of those myself mate. Many.

Click to expand...

Well, I hope you have it solved. Mini Tool is pretty reliable when it comes to cloning drives. I purchased the lifetime license and I'm not sorry I did. I've used those others as well. The Windows 7 Backup and Restore is what over wrote all my other backups and pretty much the rest of my data after my getting a pop up window verifying that C and D would be overwritten. I wish! To be fair, this happened with a Windows 8.1 Recovery disc as I was attempting to recover my Win 8.1 after EOL. Normally, it has been my experience (at least with the Win 7 operating system) that the tools either work or they don't. I've never had Windows devour all my data like that before.

To make a really reliable, bug free backup takes time. I don't care what sort of software one uses to do it, if they want it to be reliable it's going to take a while. This is also why I make multiple backups with various apps because if one doesn't work perhaps the other will. Alas, I got over confident on my last attempt never thinking that there would be a chance that Windows would over write all my other backups along with my other drives after specifically stating that drive C and D would be overwritten. So now I'm 100% convinced that backups aren't enough. Make drive images and keep them tucked away in a cupboard. Over write them every 6 months to ensure they don't get too old. It's probably the best advice I can give anyone about backups. R-Drive Image is pretty good too if it's still around. If I remember correctly it can do a few things Mini-Tool can't but it's been a while and I have a memory like a sieve.




Here's an example of why I dislike making legitimate backups. ^^^

antspants said:

I am out of the loop on the chip scandals. i will have to read on it. As for Kingston firmware, I downloaded their app, there is a spot for firmware in the app but the app wont work. Reading up on it, apparently AHCI mode set in BIOS is a requirement.

Click to expand...

You're not currently using AHCI in the bios?

BamaInArk said:

You're not currently using AHCI in the bios?

Click to expand...

I'm thinking he's probably using soft RAID.

BamaInArk said:

You're not currently using AHCI in the bios?

Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't know what happened to the rest of that sentence and I obviously can't edit it now.
"As for Kingston firmware, I downloaded their app, there is a spot for firmware in the app but the app wont work. Reading up on it, apparently AHCI mode set in BIOS is a requirement. AHCI is enabled in my BIOS but it isn't detecting any drives through the software"

Scannerman said:

I'm thinking he's probably using soft RAID.

Click to expand...

OMG no. My introduction to RAID was via a mate 30 years ago who was obsessed with it. All I remember is that it constantly failed and when he called (Once a week) to tell me of the latest fail, I'd just put the phone down, go about my business and pick the phone back up an hour later and say "right... right"

antspants said:

Sorry, I don't know what happened to the rest of that sentence and I obviously can't edit it now.
"As for Kingston firmware, I downloaded their app, there is a spot for firmware in the app but the app wont work. Reading up on it, apparently AHCI mode set in BIOS is a requirement. AHCI is enabled in my BIOS but it isn't detecting any drives through the software"


OMG no. My introduction to RAID was via a mate 30 years ago who was obsessed with it. All I remember is that it constantly failed and when he called (Once a week) to tell me of the latest fail, I'd just put the phone down, go about my business and pick the phone back up an hour later and say "right... right"

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear your friend has so many issues with RAID. I'm running RAID 10 X2, RAID 1 X2, and RAID 0 on this unit and haven't had an issue with it in years apart from Intel being yo-yos about the IRST app. Even in spite of this my RAID kept on functioning and still works fine.

A word on Sabrent. I owned three Sabrent enclosures and the bridges went in all of them after a couple of years. Get a cheap LSI IT card and a breakout cable from EBAY and make yourself some Drive Images to put away in a cupboard. I have a sneaky suspicion there's nothing wrong with those SSDs. Pictures please?

Scannerman said:

Get a cheap LSI IT card

Click to expand...

I prefer mid range, mate. But I am willing to have a go. I’d prob spend up to AUD$200 (CAD$170) Any ideas?
Also, I’d have to have another look but as far as I know, the only spare PCI-E slot I have spare is blocked by my GPU, the other is being used by wireless/bluetooth. So I’d probably have to buy an extension cable. Something like this?

I owned three Sabrent enclosures and the bridges went in all of them after a couple of years.

Click to expand...

Bridges?

The 3 Kingston SSD’s in this Sabrent Hub are super hot and I haven’t even accessed them yet. Maybe this hub isn’t so great.

antspants said:

I prefer mid range, mate. But I am willing to have a go. I’d prob spend up to AUD$200 (CAD$170) Any ideas?
Also, I’d have to have another look but as far as I know, the only spare PCI-E slot I have spare is blocked by my GPU, the other is being used by wireless/bluetooth. So I’d probably have to buy an extension cable. Something like this?

https://www.amazon.com.au/90-Degree-Extension-Extender-Accessories-Graphics/dp/B0CFLJKGWD/

Bridges?

Click to expand...

antspants said:

The 3 Kingston SSD’s in this Sabrent Hub are super hot and I haven’t even accessed them yet. Maybe this hub isn’t so great.

Click to expand...

Yup. Bridges — the things in your external enclosures you plug your drives into. They provide the hardware interface between SATA and USB. That Extension looks scary. I don't recommend it. Check and see how much bandwidth you have left on that board before you buy more cards. You need to access a 4x PCIe slot for what I'm suggesting. No need to get fancy if you don't plan on running an OS on the card. If you want to run your blue tooth on that extension cable I suppose you could, but the thing gives me the creeps. Shop around. If you're patient you can get an HBA card for a song. This one comes with cables.
You can also get blue tooth dongles that run on USB. An ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula has plenty of PCIe lanes. I'm not sure what the challenge is. Oh wait... Are you talking about your Lenovo? If that were mine I'd get rid of it pronto. Lenovo is bad news.

Scannerman said:

Yup. Bridges — the things in your external enclosures you plug your drives into. They provide the hardware interface between SATA and USB. That Extension looks scary. I don't recommend it. Check and see how much bandwidth you have left on that board before you buy more cards. You need to access a 4x PCIe slot for what I'm suggesting. No need to get fancy if you don't plan on running an OS on the card. If you want to run your blue tooth on that extension cable I suppose you could, but the thing gives me the creeps. Shop around. If you're patient you can get an HBA card for a song. This one comes with cables.

HBA CARD

​

You can also get blue tooth dongles that run on USB. An ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula has plenty of PCIe lanes. I'm not sure what the challenge is. Oh wait... Are you talking about your Lenovo? If that were mine I'd get rid of it pronto. Lenovo is bad news.

Click to expand...

Asus ROG

The Maximus VI Formula doesn't do 4x



From the top;
1st (Above GPU) Blocked by CPU fan
2nd To close to GPU fan (which I just discovered I may have an issue with as they aren’t spinning)
3rd WiFi/Bluetooth.



I could always spend $200 on a 2nd hand Maximus VI and hope the mPCIe combo is still intact and place it on my board.

Hey I don’t know much about motherboards. Can you place what is made for my Black PCI-e slots into the Red PCI-e slots?