Hi all. I have a question for those of you that have been around the block in the computer world for a while. I'm trying to even figure out how to pose the question. I posted another thread back in June 2021 or so about multiple admin programs BSOD in Windows 7. I'm starting a new thread because I want to focus on a new topic very specifically. Many of you suggested things in the other thread and I appreciate it. Basically, I've been struggling with BSOD's in Windows 7 for a year or more. The PC will just crash to the blue, out of the blue. Then it may run for days. I've tried literally hundreds of troubleshooting steps. And, I don't want to rehash that here. I've tried spinner hard drives, SSD's, shutting down this and that, even a whole separate pc of the same model. So, let's see if I can make this make sense.
For a while, I had given up and just reconciled myself to having to endure a crash once or twice a week. I had cloned my system from a 1 TB spinner to a 1 TB SSD and then later to a 2 TB Samsung 860 Evo Pro SSD. So, even on the 2 TB SSD, I was still getting crashes 1 - 2 times per week. Then, very recently, within the last week, the crashes got much more frequent. No I cannot think of anything definitive that I did. The drive got to where it would crash every few minutes. But, if I could get it to run long enough, it would pass chkdisk just fine. Or, I could boot something else and run chkdisk with it in an external enclosure. As I said, I even put the drive in a whole other computer, with the same results. I was able to start using a 2 TB spinner backup that I had from a few months ago. It worked much better other than being dog slow. I've had the spinner BSOD a time or two, so it didn't totally fix the problem, but at least it was usable. Over and over I tried to get the SSD to work. I tried copying files from the spinner to the SSD. I am very convinced at this point that the crashes are caused by the CONTENTS of the drive, rather THAN the drive. Everything failed. Eventually, I cloned the spinner to the SSD with a copy box and now I'm actually running on the SSD. So, that corroborates the theory that the contents of the drive were causing the problem. I haven't tried this mode long enough to know whether it won't crash at all.
Now I get to the heart of the matter. Sorry for the long lead up. Something is bugging me in the back of my mind about a memory from long, like 15 years, ago. I think it had something to do with bit rot, IE data corruption, in Windows 7, with large hard drives, and maybe related to the IDE vs AHCI. I'm running IDE mode. It may have had to do with the registry, or with backup. In fact, it's so vague, I can't even latch on to enough of it to describe it to you. So, here's the question. Do any of you remember any situation involving Windows 7, large hard drives, and bit rot that could cause my 2 TB SSD to suddenly become unreliable and start crashing. Keep in mind that once I cloned my spinner back to my SSD, the SSD is happy again. AND, all the while, the SSD would pass chkdisk procedures when in an external enclosure. All this has me quite baffled. I've even been wondering if we had a rash of sun spots or something. @Steve has said that in these new drives, a few electrons in the memory storage cell can change the data. Frankly, that scares me, but I was really hoping to make the 2TB drive work. The PC is usable again and is running the SSD. But, I don't want to be in this same situation again in 2 months if bit rot is happening. For what it's worth, I ran SpinRite level 4 on the drive when I first got it, so I had every reason to trust it.
As always, all help is appreciated. Even geeks need tech support sometimes.
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast. Ron
For a while, I had given up and just reconciled myself to having to endure a crash once or twice a week. I had cloned my system from a 1 TB spinner to a 1 TB SSD and then later to a 2 TB Samsung 860 Evo Pro SSD. So, even on the 2 TB SSD, I was still getting crashes 1 - 2 times per week. Then, very recently, within the last week, the crashes got much more frequent. No I cannot think of anything definitive that I did. The drive got to where it would crash every few minutes. But, if I could get it to run long enough, it would pass chkdisk just fine. Or, I could boot something else and run chkdisk with it in an external enclosure. As I said, I even put the drive in a whole other computer, with the same results. I was able to start using a 2 TB spinner backup that I had from a few months ago. It worked much better other than being dog slow. I've had the spinner BSOD a time or two, so it didn't totally fix the problem, but at least it was usable. Over and over I tried to get the SSD to work. I tried copying files from the spinner to the SSD. I am very convinced at this point that the crashes are caused by the CONTENTS of the drive, rather THAN the drive. Everything failed. Eventually, I cloned the spinner to the SSD with a copy box and now I'm actually running on the SSD. So, that corroborates the theory that the contents of the drive were causing the problem. I haven't tried this mode long enough to know whether it won't crash at all.
Now I get to the heart of the matter. Sorry for the long lead up. Something is bugging me in the back of my mind about a memory from long, like 15 years, ago. I think it had something to do with bit rot, IE data corruption, in Windows 7, with large hard drives, and maybe related to the IDE vs AHCI. I'm running IDE mode. It may have had to do with the registry, or with backup. In fact, it's so vague, I can't even latch on to enough of it to describe it to you. So, here's the question. Do any of you remember any situation involving Windows 7, large hard drives, and bit rot that could cause my 2 TB SSD to suddenly become unreliable and start crashing. Keep in mind that once I cloned my spinner back to my SSD, the SSD is happy again. AND, all the while, the SSD would pass chkdisk procedures when in an external enclosure. All this has me quite baffled. I've even been wondering if we had a rash of sun spots or something. @Steve has said that in these new drives, a few electrons in the memory storage cell can change the data. Frankly, that scares me, but I was really hoping to make the 2TB drive work. The PC is usable again and is running the SSD. But, I don't want to be in this same situation again in 2 months if bit rot is happening. For what it's worth, I ran SpinRite level 4 on the drive when I first got it, so I had every reason to trust it.
As always, all help is appreciated. Even geeks need tech support sometimes.
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast. Ron
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