Asus UX32A 24GB SSD slow start and shutdown

randulo

Estimable
Aug 4, 2014
1
0
4,510
I remain baffled about the SSD in these. I found several posts all over about how the drives and the motherboards of this laptop had problems. Here's my question:

For months the laptop (not mine, my wife's, Windows 8) was slow to boot and shutdown. When I finally looked at it, it was 6-10 minutes to boot and sometimes didn't appear to shut off at all.
I did NOT see the SSD in BIOS or in Windows. After messing with several elements like DISKPART, Express, Intel Rapid, etc. I could get nowhere. After a long sequence of seeing only one disk with "LIST DISK", one in Device Manager and one in BIOS, suddenly I was seeing the 24GB SSD in all those places. However, DISKPART took forever to list the two and the disk manager app didn't display anything, while device manager DID.
I installed and uninstalled the Intel Rapid Tech thing twice, turned the Express cache thing on and off a couple of times. I tried ECCMD.exe to create a partition and DISKPART as well, selecting disk 1 and doing a CLEAN. It still complained about an HFS partition not mounted and no creation of partitions.

You know how it is when you spend four days trying to figure this out. It's hard to keep straight what BIOS options etc you went through.

SO I set things back the way they were and again, no SSD visible anywhere, but SURPRISE!
Now the boot time in about one minute and shutdown is 18 seconds!


Does this mean:

A. The SSD is bad and now that the controller isn't trying to read it, things are working.
B. The SSD is working as it should and it's true that you should NOT see the SSD listed anywhere
C. Something else?

While I'm totally puzzled, I fear touching anything at all will hex it, so I don't dare make changes. I'm still waiting for a second reply from ASUS (it's out of warranty) after getting a long cut and pasted message about going back to factory default state and losing everything. If the notebook keeps working like it is now, who cares about the SSD, except that it's one of the main selling points so I am very curious to hear if anyone has any comments.
 

Xasder Hamilton

Estimable
Jun 19, 2015
6
0
4,510
This problem is caused by built-in-motherboard iSDD

There are 2 actual ways to solve this problem:

1.Unsolder it (DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!) (http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/ux32vd-issd-not-detected.679687/page-10#post-9627403)

2. Programm way:
2.1 Go to Device Manager->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
2.2 Replace Intel Rapid Storage driver with standart Windows driver (Standart ACHI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller)
2.2.1 Click "Update driver software"
2.2.2 Select "Browse my computer..."
2.2.3 Select "Let me pick..."
2.2.4 Select "Standart ACHI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller" from compatable drivers list
2.2.5 Reboot on prompt
2.3 Go to Device Manager->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers again and locate 2 entries: ATA Chanel 0 and ATA Chanel 1. In my case ATA Chanel 0 was a HDD and ATA Chanel 1 was an iSSD.

To determine what is on what chanel go to Chanel Properties and select Details tab. My HDD had an entry on drop down list named "Children" with text: "IDE\DiskINTEL_SSDSC2......", (I have replaced stock HDD with SSD) that tells You a model of Your curent drive.

2.4 Disable the iSSD (ATA Chanel 1 in my case)
2.5 Reboot
2.6 Have a nice day

Thanks JK for the idea (http://cookuop.co.uk/asus-ux32a-not-detecting-ssd/#comment-5350)
 

AmitS2015

Estimable
Jun 20, 2015
3
0
4,510


Thanks Xasder Hamilton - great solution. I really hope what I am doing is correct. I have the same issue in my Asus UX32VD. However in my case, under the Device Manager->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, I see Intel (R) 7 series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller. I did go down the series of steps you suggested and at 2.2.4, I get Standard SATA AHCI Controller along with the Intel (R) etc. When I choose Standard... and reboot, in the Device Manager, I still see IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers, and Standard SATA AHCI Controller under it. But no mention of the ATA Channels. Under Device Manager->Disk Drives I see only the HDD. Do I not need to turn off the Channel? Is the SSD dead? Booting takes about 90 seconds.

Thanks much, in advance,
-Amit
 

Xasder Hamilton

Estimable
Jun 19, 2015
6
0
4,510


Hi Amit!

Try to complitely uninstall Your ATA Controller driver software and then update:
1. Uninstall curent driver from device mgr (Safe mode way require)
2. Reboot
3. Update device driver (2.2 from my manual)
4. Reboot
5. Look for ATA Chanels in dev mgr.

Also, it may be caused by Your BIOS settings.

I'm using BIOS v. 216 with settings from this tutorial (www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4dfWfh6QOQ).

First, try the driver thing, then try flashing Your BIOS and updating Your BIOS settings.

Also, You mentioned, that it takes You about 90 seconds to boot. How long does it takes from:
1. You push "power" to windows logo
2. From windows logo to logon screen (or desktop)?
 

AmitS2015

Estimable
Jun 20, 2015
3
0
4,510


Thanks so much. After I changed the Device Manager->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers to Standard SATA AHCI Controller, ASUS indicated a windows update it needed to install which I allowed (could just have been a coincidence wrt timing, since I had reset my laptop to "factory settings" in frustration, the day before, without any luck). After that update (or pretty much the next time I booted after sending you my question), I have noticed that my laptop boots really fast.

To answer your questions: 1. 6 secs; and 2. about 10 secs

I see only my Hitachi 500GB under Disk Drives always. Should I follow your steps to uninstall/reinstall/delete channel now or leave it as is? My gut tells me I should since the SSD, which has for some reason magically disappeared, may just as well reappear and start creating a problem like before. Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
-amit
 

Xasder Hamilton

Estimable
Jun 19, 2015
6
0
4,510


Hi Amit!

Try to complitely uninstall Your ATA Controller driver software and then update:
1. Uninstall curent driver from device mgr (Safe mode way require)
2. Reboot
3. Update device driver (2.2 from my manual)
4. Reboot
5. Look for ATA Chanels in dev mgr.

Also, it may be caused by Your BIOS settings.

I'm using BIOS v. 216 with settings from this tutorial (www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4dfWfh6QOQ).

First, try the driver thing, then try flashing Your BIOS and updating Your BIOS settings.

Also, You mentioned, that it takes You about 90 seconds to boot. How long does it takes from:
1. You push "power" to windows logo
2. From windows logo to logon screen (or desktop)?[/quotemsg]

Thanks so much. After I changed the Device Manager->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers to Standard SATA AHCI Controller, ASUS indicated a windows update it needed to install which I allowed (could just have been a coincidence wrt timing, since I had reset my laptop to "factory settings" in frustration, the day before, without any luck). After that update (or pretty much the next time I booted after sending you my question), I have noticed that my laptop boots really fast.

To answer your questions: 1. 6 secs; and 2. about 10 secs

I see only my Hitachi 500GB under Disk Drives always. Should I follow your steps to uninstall/reinstall/delete channel now or leave it as is? My gut tells me I should since the SSD, which has for some reason magically disappeared, may just as well reappear and start creating a problem like before. Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
-amit[/quotemsg]

Hi, Ammit!

It's normal that You see only Your Hitachi HDD. It's only about ATA Chanels :) Since You have no problems with boot timing, I'd leave it as it is, if I'd be You :)

About boot times:
At start I had:
2 mins from bios to windows,
5-7 mins from windows to logon screen
After modifying drivers I had:
2 mins from bios to windows
5 sec from windows to logon

Yesterday I've desided to manualy remove iSSD from motherboard, and succeded.
Now it takes 6-8 sec summary to boot.
 

AmitS2015

Estimable
Jun 20, 2015
3
0
4,510


Thanks so much. After I changed the Device Manager->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers to Standard SATA AHCI Controller, ASUS indicated a windows update it needed to install which I allowed (could just have been a coincidence wrt timing, since I had reset my laptop to "factory settings" in frustration, the day before, without any luck). After that update (or pretty much the next time I booted after sending you my question), I have noticed that my laptop boots really fast.

To answer your questions: 1. 6 secs; and 2. about 10 secs

I see only my Hitachi 500GB under Disk Drives always. Should I follow your steps to uninstall/reinstall/delete channel now or leave it as is? My gut tells me I should since the SSD, which has for some reason magically disappeared, may just as well reappear and start creating a problem like before. Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
-amit[/quotemsg]

Hi, Ammit!

It's normal that You see only Your Hitachi HDD. It's only about ATA Chanels :) Since You have no problems with boot timing, I'd leave it as it is, if I'd be You :)

About boot times:
At start I had:
2 mins from bios to windows,
5-7 mins from windows to logon screen
After modifying drivers I had:
2 mins from bios to windows
5 sec from windows to logon

Yesterday I've desided to manualy remove iSSD from motherboard, and succeded.
Now it takes 6-8 sec summary to boot.[/quotemsg]

Thanks again. This is perfect for me - I'd rather not mess around. For you, I guess, JK's solution will have to be it. I believe its very easy to remove the SSD - a little heat is all it takes. I may have to default to it in future, so just confirming.
 

Xasder Hamilton

Estimable
Jun 19, 2015
6
0
4,510


Hi, Ammit!

It's normal that You see only Your Hitachi HDD. It's only about ATA Chanels :) Since You have no problems with boot timing, I'd leave it as it is, if I'd be You :)

About boot times:
At start I had:
2 mins from bios to windows,
5-7 mins from windows to logon screen
After modifying drivers I had:
2 mins from bios to windows
5 sec from windows to logon

Yesterday I've desided to manualy remove iSSD from motherboard, and succeded.
Now it takes 6-8 sec summary to boot.[/quotemsg]

Thanks again. This is perfect for me - I'd rather not mess around. For you, I guess, JK's solution will have to be it. I believe its very easy to remove the SSD - a little heat is all it takes. I may have to default to it in future, so just confirming.
[/quotemsg]

Amit,

Wish You luck and working iSSD :)
 

tonio5454

Estimable
Apr 19, 2015
5
0
4,510


OMG!! This worked like a charm. Thank you so much. I had a similar problem with UX32A (Slow boot and Slow Shutdown) also blue screen during boot up and now this is all solved with your fix. I even was behind Asus service center for the last three months and they came up and told me that I have to change the entire motherboard (Around 500$) as the SSD is fault. I almost considered my notebook is dead and not usable anymore. But you are my god :)
Actually I tried the 2nd option and I don't want to risk it soldering. After step 2.2.5, I could see only one option under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers which is "Standard SATA AHCI Controller". I guess thats okay right? Anyways now the booting to login screen is 50 secs and shutdown time is 34 secs. Earlier with SSD its was less than 15 secs to start up, but 50 secs doesn't matter now as its up and working.
A question though, do I need to disable the fast boot in the BIOS setting?
 

Xasder Hamilton

Estimable
Jun 19, 2015
6
0
4,510


Hello, Tonio5454!

You should realy see 2 ATA Chanels in device manager.

Booting time to logon screen more than 10 secs means, that Your SSD is corrupted somehow and cannot be read by BIOS. It can be fixed by unsoldering, or realy changing your motherboard.

 

tonio5454

Estimable
Apr 19, 2015
5
0
4,510


@Xasder Hamilton
I really don't know but I could see only one Chanel under the ATA Chanels in device manager. Let me attach a screenshot for your reference.
LB2olm.jpg

Also let me brief the sequence of events of my particular issue with Asus UX32A
1. When all was well with the notebook, suddenly I started seeing issues with slow booting and slow shutdown.
2. Looked out for solutions in many forums and it all told me that its something wrong with the 24GB SSD which is not allowing to boot or shoutdown.
3. There were two issues,
3.a The boot time takes 10 mins to reach the login screen and the shutdown would take 11 mins approx
3.b Sometimes it would stuck with the Asus boot logo screen and after 7 mins it comes up with a blue screen which says, "Windows have a problem and its solving by itself and sending information to Microsoft". After this blue screen it will restart again and takes the same 10 mins time to for login screen.
4. Once I login, there are no issues at all and it just worked as normal.
5. I took it to the service center and I was told that the SSD is corrupt as they could not see them in BIOS setting and they requested me to change the entire motherboard which costs around $500 which is same as the notebooks price. I was really hesitant to do that because the motherboard was working good and there is no issues once I login to the notebook.
6. I requested them back saying, If the SSD is corrupt can it be removed the from the notebook, so that I can skip the slow booting, shutdown and work as a normal notebook.
7. I requested them because, in many forums people suggested the same fix to unsolder the SSD. The service center said a "NO" and unsolder doesn't cover the policy. So they said the only solution is to change the motherboard and I don't want to do it.
8. I even asked them whether is there any other way to disable this SSD through program and they said there is no such solution
" I really thought its just ALL OVER with this notebook as this slow boot and shutdown pissed me off"
And found your fix, followed the second fix and now everything works as normal.
9. Today morning when I checked the booting time has improved. Yesterday it was 55 secs and now it takes 22 secs.
So, if you look at my screenshot it has only one chanels. Now what do you suggest me from here..
May be the SSD is corrupt and you have requested me to unsolder it, If I don't unsolder will I face any problem in the future with the notebook?
Is that okay to work this way?
For me the notebook has come back to life compared to the issue I had earlier, Please Help.
If you need more details I can let you know.
Thanks, Antonio
 

Xasder Hamilton

Estimable
Jun 19, 2015
6
0
4,510
Tonio,

I believe it can be caused by differences between operation systems we use. I curently use Windows 7 Ultimate.
ATA.jpg

Try to find any solutions to find ATA Channels in WIndows 8