Hi everyone,
I have a MSI GT72S 6QE laptop where the OS (Windows 10) is installed on a PCIE RAID0 SSD (I know, Raid0 sucks, I won't make that mistake again when buying a laptop). One of the two SSD's in the RAID kept getting not detected at all, the room temperature seemed to be the reason (I know how it sounds but everytime my room got under 20°C the SSD wasn't detected) but it also happened seemingly at random. I then would have to reboot my computer a number of times for the SSD to be found and then everything would work absolutely fine. Then it started doing it more and more.
I got tired of it so I opened the laptop and reseated the SSD's in the RAID structure and booted my computer. One of the disks was marked as "Error Occured" in the "Intel Rapid Storage" section of my BIOS but besides that every test I could find told me the RAID was OK. I installed another windows on an HDD that was also in the computer so I could mark the drive as normal in "Intel Optane".
Here is the drive that was marked as error:
Here is the other :
Here is the raid, and when I do "Verify volume", it passes 100%:
Now in the BIOS both SSDs are marked as "RAID member" and the RAID is in status OK and Bootable "Yes". After that I did every volume test available, TestDisk can see EVERY file in the Windows partition and the boot manager still sees a Windows boot on that volume but when I try to boot on that Windows, I just get a black screen.
Here is the disk in TestDisk:
What's in the RAID looks all OK, Windows is in "OS_Install", obviously (to note, in diskpart that partition shows no filesystem or volume name, but it shows OK on testdisk)
And here are the contents of OS_Install (I've already copied most of it with testdisk with 0 Failed, and I can see every file in the partition)
Chkdsk finds no error at all. TestDisk doesn't see any lost partition and tells me the boot record and backup boot record are fine and yet I can't neither boot on that windows nor repair it, when I try the "Startup Repair" the laptop reboots and MSI tells me "checking drive for errors, this could take hours" but stops after a few minutes and reboots. If I try to reinstall windows from the Cloud ou local image it says right away that there is a problem without saying more and goes to the previous screen. I'm at my wit's end. If the SSD was really dead, could I do everything I did above? I don't think so but I'm not a pro.
In the other windows installed on the HDD, the drive appears as the letter "D" and isn't accessible, it tells me "access denied" if I try to go in, but TestDisk can with no problem and chkdsk can find and test every volume in the RAID.
What is maddening is that both SSD's seem absolutely fine, the RAID too, Optane, testdisk, chkdsk, etc. find no error and the boot manager sees my windows install on the RAID but cannot boot or repair it, I'm at a total loss. I can't believe that the SSD is dead and yet I can acess and copy every file on the volume with TestDisk, but I don't know what to do next.
I need help guys, I feel like it's a little stupid thing like remaking the boot record or something (but it's GPT, not MBR, and I don't know much about either) like that and I would be able to boot on it no problem.
When I boot my computer it sees both windows boot though, the problem seems to be on the OS_Install partition being locked or something, but I can't find the problem.
I've tried to fix the windows install on that partition with sfc /scannow with offbootdir=D:\ and offwindir=D:\Windows\ from the Windows Boot USB command prompt, it told me that it fixed errors successfully but I still get a black screen when trying to boot on that Windows.
So I tried DISM to fix the install, with a DISM /Image: D:\offline //Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth with the install.esd from the USB as source but I get an error 2 (or 5 depending on the command) telling me "Unable to access the image", so then again the drive seems OK but can't be accessed by "elevated" tools, but "low level" tools can see every file and doesn't find any errors... It's maddening seriously.
Is there a disk attribute (diskpart doesen't see it as readonly, I checked) or something that I missed?
Please anyone, help! I just can't get over the fact that the disk seems OK with every tool I use, it has to be something small that's wrong with it.
PS:
When I first opened the laptop I didn't note the order of the SSD's in the RAID0's controller "structure", and I switched them from their ports several time, so I don't remember at all in which order (there are only two ports where the disk can fit on that "structure") they where. If I have put them back in the wrong order, could I still access the files on the partition like that, could that be the problem?
Furthermore,
and I think it's the whole problem, from the command prompt when I boot on the windows USB, I can do dir d:\windows and it shows me the files, but if I do dir d:\ it tells me "access denied", and finally, if I type dir d: it marks:
Volume in drive D is OS_Install
Volume Serial Number is XXXX-XXXX (hidden by me)
Directory of D:\
File not found
Does that means anything to you guys?