Windows 7 Random Power Down

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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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I got a call from a friend who's Windows 7 system beeped and then shut itself off.

Upon rebooting it said the usual "insert boot device".

I had him power-cycle from the wall, and it booted fine.

Ran MEMtest multiple times for 10 hours, 0 problems.
Ran numerous SSD tests all show 0 problems, CDInfo showed "possible loose cable" (it's not).
SSD = MX100 512gb that's <1yr old, 4690K, mobo, psu, all <1 year old.

What other tests would you guys run? Would something like this be in the event log of windows?
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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You've looked at the right stuff. This kind of fault often indicates a memory or boot-disk fault, so running memtest and checking the boot drive is the right test.

Could be a transient fault. Have him give it time and see if it happens again. Meantime, save work often (which is a good habit anyway).
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
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Thanks @PigLover

Do you think this could have been caused by a non-OS disk?

There's a 3.5" spinner in there I didn't run any tests on, and it's not new, but maybe it's dieing.... not sure if that would crash the system, and shut down though... although I think it may be used for User profiles, so it may interact with the OS to some degree. I forget how we set itup when we moved from the small SSD to the large.... i may only be used for backups now.
 

PigLover

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Memory fault or Boot disk fault is probably the 95% percentile cause for this type of fault (ok - I pulled that number out of my butt, but you get the idea). Beyond that it could be almost anything. Bad PCIe card (e.g., video). Other HDD. Whatever.

I'd say best course for now is see if it happens again. If not, chalk it up to cosmic waves or gremlins. Start your hard troubleshooting after the 2nd event.
 
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EffrafaxOfWug

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Feb 12, 2015
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There's been a few reports from users on the crucial forums of their discs sometimes disappearing from the OS, causing a reboot/BSOD. Sometimes the disc isn't visible again on reboot, but keeping it powered off for a few minutes it'll apparently start working again so sounds similar to the symptoms you describe above.

Example thread: MX100 Causes Bluescreens, Disappears from system - Crucial Community

FWIW I've got several systems running MX100 drives and I've never seen the problem myself.
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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There's been a few reports from users on the crucial forums of their discs sometimes disappearing from the OS, causing a reboot/BSOD. Sometimes the disc isn't visible again on reboot, but keeping it powered off for a few minutes it'll apparently start working again so sounds similar to the symptoms you describe above.

Example thread: MX100 Causes Bluescreens, Disappears from system - Crucial Community

FWIW I've got several systems running MX100 drives and I've never seen the problem myself.
Interesting, if it keeps re-occurring we'll swap an intel ssd and test again, so far once in ~1 year.
 

EffrafaxOfWug

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Feb 12, 2015
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Yup, it doesn't seem to be incredibly common TBH, the MX100 is a very popular drive. But as stated always a bit worrying when you have an undiagnosed problem. The 512GB model seems to be the one that crops up the most as having problems.

Assume your mate is already running MU02 for this drive? There were a few supposed fixes in that release that said "better coping with power fluctuations" and the rest of it although users with MU02 still say they get the failures. Can't hurt to ensure you have it at any rate.
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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Yup, it doesn't seem to be incredibly common TBH, the MX100 is a very popular drive. But as stated always a bit worrying when you have an undiagnosed problem. The 512GB model seems to be the one that crops up the most as having problems.

Assume your mate is already running MU02 for this drive? There were a few supposed fixes in that release that said "better coping with power fluctuations" and the rest of it although users with MU02 still say they get the failures. Can't hurt to ensure you have it at any rate.
I actually don't recall what it was running, but I'll make sure now! :) THanks again.