[SOLVED] Samsung 840 Evo SSD poor performance

I'm posting this as [SOLVED] just in case anyone else comes across this issue. This isn't a linux problem but it may affect linux users and the cause isn't obvious. Mods feel free to delete this topic but it may be useful for people searching in the future.
Samsung have identified a problem with this model of SSD which causes data access to become slower over time. They have released a "Performance restoration tool" that upgrades the firmware and restores the performance of the drive (essentially by re-writing the data to it).
The tool is available here: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/ … tAodanEAIg
As of today (27/10/2014) the tool is only for Windows but a linux version is due "At the end of October"

I thought I'd already posted my experience, but I guess it's better late than never. I tried to update with the bootable cd.iso but the update failed with an error saying something like "I AM AN ERROR" which I found to be quite amusing. Luckily the error happened before starting the update process so nothing was broken. Next up was the FreeDos method mentioned by Slizzered and everything worked just fine. So just to play safe, go with the bootable usb stick method which has been confirmed to be working.

Similar Messages

  • Any known issues installing Samsung 840 EVO SSD in a T540p 20BE?

    After reading the "Hardware Maintenance Manual" for the Thinkpad T540p, and the installation guide for the Samsung 840 EVO SSD, this looks pretty straightforward.  But I thought I'd be careful and ask here if there are any pitfalls I should watch out for.
    I'm planning on using the Samsung Data Migration software to migrate everything from the old drive to the SSD. 
    Has anyone here installed one of these Samsung 840 EVO SSD's?  Is it as straightforward as it looks?

    Yes it is. Its wizard will guide you through the process, but just remember, that booting from your newly cloned drive, you must boot it from within your computer, not through an external USB connection.
    If that isn't working, you have done something wrong, but it's no problem as your original drive can be put back into the machine and the cloning program run again with different settings if required.
    ThinkPad W540 (20BG) - i7-4800MQ/24GB // ThinkPad T440s (20AQ) - i7-4600U/12GB
    ThinkPad T440p (20AW) - i7-4800MQ/16GB // ThinkPad Helix (3698-6EU) - i5-3337U/4GB
    ThinkPad W520 (4282-W4Q) - i7-2720QM/32GB // ThinkPad T400 (2767-W1C) - P9500/8GB
    ThinkPad T61 (7665-CTO) - T7700/4GB // ThinkPad T60p (8741-C2G) - T7400/4GB

  • P700 with Samsung 840 EVO SSD

    Hello every one
    I just bought a new Think Station P700. Before installing Windows 7 I changed the build in Hard disk to a new Samsung 840 EVO SSD. The diagnostic is able to find the SSD and all tests are passed.
    Within the BIOS the SSD is not listed and when installing Windows 7 I’m not able to select the SSD.
    I tested the SSD by attaching it to another System and it works fine.
    How can I get this combination to work?
    If more details are required please let me know.
    Any helpful remarks or suggestions are welcome.
    Thank you in advance.
    Best Regards

    Where is your SSD installed?  I need to know the specific port on the board.
    When installing win7 to the sSATA controller (i.e. red ports SATA 1, 2, 3, or 4) you need to provide the Intel RSTe driver.  The controller is not native to win7.  If you happen to have your SSD installed to a black port, these are legacy AHCI and those ports should be native to win7.  Installing to the red sSATA ports is recommended.
    With your win8.1 issue above, the only time I've seen messages like that (granted my German is a bit rusty) is when you have not deleted the existing partition on the drive.  You can try wiping out all the existing partitions on the drive and then installing the image.

  • Samsung 840 EVO SSD  slow in macbook Pro

    Hello Everybody.
    Some months ago I got from amazon the a 250 Gb ssd, samsung 840 Evo.
    Usign Black Magic I was impressed to see read/write speed about 450 MB/s.
    Lately, running Black Magic Speed test, I noticed that the results drop down to 30 MB/s.
    I just updated the ssd firmware and the result are almost the same (i think is going a lil better, but still dropping to 30-40 MB/s.
    I know there are some threads about this, but didnt get to have clear  is this normal, a faulty piece or what?
    Some more info:
    Trim Enabler ON.
    Free space from 50Gb-120 Gb (the results are almost the same)
    Macbook Pro 15" mid 2012, 2,3 GHz ,i7, 8GB ram.
    ssd firmware EXT0BB6Q (just updated)
    Even more info:
    Right now I have just Chrome opened, and I'm running some tests.
    The very first result go up to 480 Read and over 500 Write.
    Restarting the test sometimes the first results in Write dont go higher than 260 MB/s.
    Within 10-15 sec the write speed drops to 180 Write, then up again to 230-260 MB/s.
    Waiting  1-2 min It drops down to 100, then 80 to reach 30 MB/s (all this is Write speed, Read is almost  constant at 480-500 MB/s)
    Stress 5GB.

    totemsub wrote:
    Grant,
    I have been using the drive as a system drive for one year without enabling the TRIM, which I did yesterday. Are you suggesting that enabling TRIM does not remove the garbage filled blocks? Should I format the drive and proceed with a fresh install, or will the blocks clean with regular use?
    Put simply, when something is deleted on a HD, the OS understands that the space is now free and can be written to. SSD's do not understand that so the pages from which the file was deleted are considered still full of good stuff. The link I provided goes into some detail about what's involved in erasing SSD blocks so deleted files get moved along with the current files in the SSD erasure dance.
    TRIM is the way the OS informs the SSD that the space occupied by the deleted file really can be erased, and the SSD then acts on it. However, your SSD hasn't been directly notified about the year's worth of deleted data because TRIM wasn't activated to do it. The SSD's Garbage Collection process will get to that space eventually but it won't be as efficient as if TRIM was there to help.
    But since all the SSD's blocks have a finite life span, the less they're exercised by erasing, formatting and reinstalling stuff, the longer the SSD should last.

  • MSI GX660R with intel motherboard and compatibility with Samsung 840 EVO SSD

    Hi
    Im am new to this forum, so I apologize in advance if this post is in the wrong section.
    I am considering to replace the hard drive in my MSI GX660R with a Samsung 840 EVO 250 gb ssd, since it has the best benchmark ratings and are very afordable. My laptop has an Intel motherboard with an i7 core processor.
    My question in relation to the upgrade is, whether the laptop is compatible with that excact ssd. I plan to run it in AHCI mode, since I have bad expirience with loss of data under RAID. If i chose to run the extra HDD as a secondary drive, it will therefore still be under AHCI.
    Can anyone refer me to some sort of compatibility list, or tell me if the above mentioned drive is compatible? I havent been able to find out myself, and MSI is farily difficult to get in contact with.
    Any help is appreciated.

    Yes, your early 2013 Retina model uses 6.0 Gbps SATA but it's not a standard mSATA connection. You could upgrade using Transcend's JetFlash -> http://www.transcend-info.com/apple/jetdrive/ - to space up to 960GB, however.
    Clinton
    MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), OS Mavericks 10.9.4, 16GB Crucial RAM, Crucial M500 960GB SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

  • MacPro 4,1 won't boot from Samsung 840 EVO SSD

    Hello,
    I've recently replaced the SSD in my MacPro4,1 system with a Samsung 840 EVO one. Before that I had an older OWC disk that worked fine.
    Did a fresh install and everything was fine until the first reboot when the system doesn't start from the SSD anymore. It stays a bit displaying the access denied icon (cycles a couple of times through the mac icon, which dissapears immediately, and the access denied one) and then it boots into Windows or Recovery (both of these are on a separate partition).
    Startup manager does not show the SSD in the list. Booting in Windows or Recovery however, the SSD appears in the list of devices that I can boot from. However it does not work.
    I managed to start it up by booting into Recovery first, doing a Repair Disk which shows at the end "Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required." and then rebooting. This only works once, if I want to reboot again I have to do the Repair Disk bit again.
    Thanks,
    Andu

    Check to see if you have the latest firmware on the Evo
    http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/su pport/downloads.html

  • Samsung 840 pro or Samsung 840 EVO SSD?

    Can anyone please help me decide which one of these is better?

    The EVO has performed better in benchmark tests and is cheaper/GB, but there have been compatibility issues regarding performance in MBP's. See clintonfrombirmingham's response in this post >>>Can I upgrade my Hard Disk in MacBook Pro MD101 to Samsung SSD 840 EVO 1TB....Please advice
    for example.
    There have been many posts regarding issues with the EVO and MBP's. 

  • Samsung 840 evo ssd not recognized in macbook pro 2011

    Hello Apple Support Forum,
    I am trying to upgrade the hdd in macbook pro for ssd. I've formated the SSD in Mac format in another macbook air via USB, and installed the SSD in the main bay. However, after I booted using OS X mavericks usb drive, the OS X installer does not regonize the SSD. Can any one offer some adivce or suggestions? I am pretty sure that the disk is physically installed corrected in the mai bay.
    Thanks!

    biglizheng,
    have you checked to see if your SSD is recognized by your MacBook Pro externally, via USB? If it’s accessible externally, then you could run the Mavericks installer to do a clean install onto the external SSD. It will be slow, since it will be limited by your USB port’s transfer rate, but it should get the task done. Once the external installation process has completed, you can hold down an Option key while restarting your MacBook Pro, and it should list the SSD as one of the drives from which you can boot. If you can boot from it and run Mavericks from it, then the problem could be with your internal SATA cable rather than with the SSD. (HDDs can be more forgiving of faulty SATA cables than SSDs are, which could explain why it didn’t affect your HDD.)

  • Samsung 840 Evo incredibly slow in MacBook Pro 2011

    I just got a brand new 250GB Samsung 840 Evo SSD and put it in my MacBook Pro. The drive is incredibly slow. OS X install took hours, and it takes over a minute to boot up. Even small tasks like clicking a button take several seconds to process. I have enabled TRIM through terminal (which took about an hour) and still no better. Is this something that can be fix or should I get an RMA# from NewEgg?

    jeffturner24,
    older firmware revisions of the 840 EVO are known to be problematic on Macs. You can download the latest firmware package for it (and an instructional PDF) from this Samsung page; with this package, you can burn a bootable DVD from which the latest firmware revision can be installed.
    Another possibility is that you might have a faulty internal SATA cable. If you connect your SSD externally and boot from it then, and it runs at normal SSD speeds, but it remains incredibly slow when booting from it internally, that could point to a problem with your internal SATA cable. (Hard disks are more tolerant of a faulty internal SATA cable than SSDs are.)
    If neither step above resolves the issue, then you should arrange an exchange with Newegg.

  • GarageBand 10.0.2 will not open on MacBook Pro 15-inch, Early 2011 running OSX 10.9.5. w/ 8 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD Samsung 840 EVO.

    GarageBand 10.0.2 will not open on MacBook Pro 15-inch, Early 2011 running OSX 10.9.5. w/ 8 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD Samsung 840 EVO.
    Have deleted (secure delete) and reinstalled several times. Got it to open once right after download... Usually crashes/hangs upon attempted start-up, then shows as "Application unresponsive".   Must be forced to quit.
    No other audio interfaces or drivers installed that I am aware of. Playback through onboard audio interfaces, sometimes routed to Apple TV via Cat 5 cable, out to receiver via fiber optic SPDIF, or to Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable through Thunderbolt port.

    When you see a beachball cursor or the slowness is especially bad, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.  
    These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
    Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
    The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
              SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
    from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
              View ▹ Show Log List
    from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
    Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above.
    Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first.
    Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
    The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
    Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
    Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
    Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

  • SSD Samsung 840 EVO 250GB with problem. Support to change - Brazil

    Hello,
    I bought in Orlando Best buy one SSD Samsung 840 EVO 250GB and when I tried to install in my laptop the SSD it was not possible Clone the current HD because it´s not working properly.
    I´d like some support to understand what is my option to solve such problem?
    And also, how can I get the second via of invoice?
    Thanks.
    Best regards,
    Leonardo

    Hi leozanne,
    Sorry you’re having issues trying to install this Solid State Drive (SSD) into your laptop. If the SSD is defective you would need to bring it back to your local Best Buy store within 15 days to return or exchange the unit.
    If it is not defective, but you are merely having issues installing it, I would suggest visiting a Geek Squad precinct in your local Best Buy store. You could also try posting this inquiry to the Computers & Tablets board.
    Thanks for posting,
    Allan|Senior Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
     Private Message

  • Ssd samsung 840 evo

    Hi (sorry for my english, I'm a french customer)
    I have replace my superdrive (dvd) by a ssd samsung 840 evo (MZ-7TE500)
    When I run the mac, the ssd doesn't appear in the "finder".
    In the Disk utility, the ssd appear but I can't do nothing.
    An error message appear when I try to make a partition:
    Partition failed with the error:
    Wiping volume data to prevent future accidental probing failed.
    I do not know what to do!
    the problem just might be the sata cable?
    it is perhaps not quite electrically powered?
    If I switch the HDD and SSD at boot mac, he going to embark on the HDD or SSD?
    if it does not work and I presents the HDD in place, it will work there as before?
    thank you very much for your help.
    François
    config:
    MacBook Pro
    15 pouces, late 2011
    Processeur  2,2 GHz Intel Core i7
    Mémoire  8 Go 1333 MHz DDR3
    Graphisme  Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB
    Logiciel  Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63b

    François,
    do you have a SATA-to-USB or SATA-to-FireWire adapter, to allow you to access your SSD externally? If so, are you able to format it externally without problems?
    Note that earlier versions of the Samsung 840 EVO firmware were known to be problematic on some Macs. You can download its latest firmware (for burning onto a bootable DVD) from the Samsung firmware page.

  • IMac early 2008 Yosemite SSD Samsung 840 Evo= Kernel panic

    Hi ,
    I have an iMac (24-inch, Early 2008) with 2,8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB RAM. When Yosemite came out i've traded the iMac Superdrive with an SSD Samsung 840 Evo. I've installed OS X Yosemite on the SSD but my Mac keep crashing on boot and the third-part application doesn't work very well. I've tried reinstalling it, SMC reset, PRAM reset, Disk and Permissions repair and various clean installation but nothing changed. When I turn on my Mac on the apple logo appears the Kernel panic and restarts well. I tried to install the OS in the old HD and it work fine but is really slow. Help me please and sorry for my english

    I haven't changed the original RAM.
    This is the Kernel Panic but the BSD process change every time.
    Wed Mar 18 16:45:53 2015
    *** Panic Report ***
    panic(cpu 1 caller 0xffffff8010e1a46e): Kernel trap at 0xffffff8010dd2d85, type 14=page fault, registers:
    CR0: 0x000000008001003b, CR2: 0x000000010150003c, CR3: 0x00000000139bf000, CR4: 0x0000000000002660
    RAX: 0xffffff80114de8c0, RBX: 0x0000000000000006, RCX: 0xffffff80114de860, RDX: 0x0000000101500034
    RSP: 0xffffff8071d83b20, RBP: 0xffffff8071d83b30, RSI: 0xffffff8015658140, RDI: 0x0000000000000006
    R8:  0x00000000000000f9, R9:  0xffffff8015652100, R10: 0x0000000000000000, R11: 0x0000000000000200
    R12: 0xffffff80188345a0, R13: 0xffffff8018c72000, R14: 0xffffff8015658fc0, R15: 0x0000000000000000
    RFL: 0x0000000000010292, RIP: 0xffffff8010dd2d85, CS:  0x0000000000000008, SS:  0x0000000000000010
    Fault CR2: 0x000000010150003c, Error code: 0x0000000000000002, Fault CPU: 0x1
    Backtrace (CPU 1), Frame : Return Address
    0xffffff8071d837d0 : 0xffffff8010d2fe41
    0xffffff8071d83850 : 0xffffff8010e1a46e
    0xffffff8071d83a10 : 0xffffff8010e36683
    0xffffff8071d83a30 : 0xffffff8010dd2d85
    0xffffff8071d83b30 : 0xffffff8010dc4c8b
    0xffffff8071d83e60 : 0xffffff80111fd07d
    0xffffff8071d83e90 : 0xffffff7f923c0e77
    0xffffff8071d83fb0 : 0xffffff8010e14dd7
          Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
             com.apple.BootCache(35.0)[D0F8226C-C576-3842-8BBE-447477780234]@0xffffff7f923bb 000->0xffffff7f923c4fff
    BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task
    Mac OS version:
    14C109
    Kernel version:
    Darwin Kernel Version 14.1.0: Mon Dec 22 23:10:38 PST 2014; root:xnu-2782.10.72~2/RELEASE_X86_64
    Kernel UUID: DCF5C2D5-16AE-37F5-B2BE-ED127048DFF5
    Kernel slide:     0x0000000010a00000
    Kernel text base: 0xffffff8010c00000
    __HIB  text base: 0xffffff8010b00000
    System model name: iMac8,1 (Mac-F227BEC8)
    System uptime in nanoseconds: 12320794114
    last loaded kext at 8230090122: com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily 3.7.3 (addr 0xffffff7f914e2000, size 176128)
    loaded kexts:
    com.apple.driver.AppleIRController 327.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver 3.0.1
    com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless 1.0.0d1
    com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib 1.0.0d1
    com.apple.BootCache 35
    com.apple.driver.XsanFilter 404
    com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage 2.7.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub 705.4.2
    com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43224 700.36.24
    com.apple.iokit.AppleYukon2 3.2.3b1
    com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort 3.1.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI 705.4.14
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelPIIXATA 2.5.1
    com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI 5.5.2
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI 656.4.1
    com.apple.driver.AppleRTC 2.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleHPET 1.8
    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons 3.1
    com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS 2.1
    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC 3.1
    com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC 1.7
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient 218.0.0
    com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall 161
    com.apple.security.quarantine 3
    com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet 8
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement 218.0.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily 3.7.3
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHIDKeyboard 176.2
    com.apple.driver.AppleHIDKeyboard 176.2
    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver 705.4.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub 705.4.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite 705.4.9
    com.apple.iokit.IOATABlockStorage 3.1.1
    com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family 710.55
    com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily 3.2
    com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily 2.7.5
    com.apple.iokit.IOATAFamily 2.5.3
    com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM 2.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime 2.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily 4.5.6
    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily 710.4.14
    com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily 2.0.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily 1.1
    com.apple.security.sandbox 300.0
    com.apple.kext.AppleMatch 1.0.0d1
    com.apple.driver.AppleKeyStore 2
    com.apple.driver.AppleMobileFileIntegrity 1.0.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleCredentialManager 1.0
    com.apple.driver.DiskImages 396
    com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily 2.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOReportFamily 31
    com.apple.driver.AppleFDEKeyStore 28.30
    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform 3.1
    com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily 2.9
    com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily 1.4
    com.apple.kec.corecrypto 1.0
    com.apple.kec.Libm 1
    com.apple.kec.pthread 1

  • MSI GT70 0NC 494 - Samsung 840 Evo Problem

    I recently brought a Samsung 840 Evo 500GB to replace the WD Black HDD on my MSI GT70-0NC-494 laptop. OS is Windows 8. Im going type out pretty much how I ended up to where I am right now in hopes that maybe someone could catch where I went wrong.
    So here's the story:
    The cloning process went smoothly and I was able to load the OS from the SSD without any problems. Then I immediately updated the firmware and I set the optimizations using the Magician software.
    I ran CrystalDiskMark and had speeds around ~300MB for both read and writes on the sequential test. Thought that my speeds were kind of slow when comparing them to the others I've seen. AHCI is on. I know my laptop has a SATA 2 and SATA 3 slot but I did plug the SSD in the SATA 3. SATA 3 connection is confirmed through Intel RST application and Samsung Magician. The speed is just not around the ballpark of what everyone is getting.
    Ok, let's see the speeds with Rapid Mode so I turned on Rapid Mode and restarted. Then I get a "Start PXE over IPv6/4" message which then leads to the BIOS screen. Turn off laptop, turn it on, and get the same message. Turn off laptop again, turn it on, and the OS loads this time.
    I thought that was weird but whatever I got to the OS, I thought. Open up Task Manager to see how Rapid Mode affects my RAM capacity since my regular usage already puts me ~1.5GB below max. 1.9GB shows up on RAM. Thought I'd be starting closer to 3GB. Then again, Im not entirely sure on how Rapid Mode works so whatever. Run the benchmark test through Magician software.
    (This pic was from after I reinstalled Win 8 but the performance drop was similar)
    Ok, , the read speeds is now garbage. Did the test on CrystalDiskMark and it shows similar results. It was late at night and Im feeling tired so I keep my laptop idle overnight to see if that would help. Nope, read speeds are still garbage. Surprisingly enough, CrystalDiskMark would show write speeds for sequential hitting ~1000MB/s so it seems that the write process is somewhat fine. The read process seems like it's broken.
    So I turn off Rapid Mode and see if that fixes my read speeds. Restart. Get BSOD on startup. Turned laptop on and off multiple times to see if anything works but no avail. Thankfully I created a set of recovery disks 2 days ago so I immediately run that now. I was planning to restore the OS to factory install anyways so its fine.
    OS is restored. At this point Im scared of installing the Samsung Magician software so I make a restore point. This time I want to see what happens if I install the software and run Rapid Mode through Win 8.1.
    Seems like I can't just upgrade to 8.1 without installing a bunch of updates first so I do that. I got impatient so I went ahead and installed Magician and did the optimizations. CrystalDiskMark showed ~300MB/s for read and ~400MB/s for write. Ran the Magician benchmark and it produced the light blue bars on the screenshot above.
    Let's try Rapid Mode now. Turn Rapid Mode on, restart, and I am again greeted with the "Start PXE over IPv6/4" message before hitting the BIOS. Now Im telling myself that I messed up again. Turned off the laptop and turned it on. OS is back. Awesome, only 1 try.
    Did benchmarks on Magician which again showed that my read speeds were garbage (dark blue bars). I'm not even going to touch Rapid Mode for fear of having to reinstall the OS again. So now Im trying to upgrade to Win 8.1 and see if that fixes something.
    Download 8.1, restart, I get some BSOD message with the code "0xC1900101 - 0X20017", restart through BIOS, and I get an error saying that 8.1 failed and Im being reverted to 8. Desktop loads up, I check Magician and my 840 Evo doesnt even appear on the drop down list. The software even says Rapid Mode is disabled even though I can see the Rapid Mode service through task manager.
    Now Im just running tests, and restarting the laptop to install additional Windows updates. Upgrade to Windows 8.1 actually went through this time. After the update, Magician now says that Rapid Mode is on and my SSD again appears to be selectable. Read speeds seems to have gotten a *tiny bit* better but it is still extremely low.
    Decided to say screw it, disabled Rapid Mode, restarted, again with the "Start PXE over IPv6/4". Turn off laptop, turn on, surprisingly no BSOD saying my system is forever broken. Now Im trying to see if I could salvage the performance back through messing with the settings so I followed most of the advice on another website.
    Now it seems that the write speed is consistently good, but again the read speeds are absolutely horrid. I used AS-SSD for the benchmark instead of CrystalDiskMark this time.
    And that is where I am right now. I am very sorry that the post is ridiculously long. I've been constantly looking around the internets to see if anyone has the same problem as me and I couldnt find a solution. I wanted to somewhat be detailed with my process so I can know whether this problem is the software or the MSI hardware. Or if the problem is with my specific SSD and that I'd have to RMA it.

    How did you go about installing Windows?
    It looks like the first time you used some software that ended up cloning it from the HDD to the SSD. That's a no-no in general, and I'd never trust it to work well.
    Then the next time, you say you restored it. But you don't say if that was from the SSD/HDD or from recovery media that you had generated.
    I'll be perfectly honest, I'd only trust installing from Recovery media when it comes to installing a new drive.
    I'd say to do that. Install from Recovery media and see if that fixes the problem.
    I will also say that a number of users have had issues with the Samsung 840 drives. Most of them were using the Samsung 840 Pro drives, not the EVO's, but just something to keep in mind. They were only able to get them to operate at SATA2 speeds.

  • Samsung 840 Evo vs 850 Pro for thinkpad w530

    I want to purchase a 250 gb samsung ssd drive for my w530. My specs:
    Lenovo Thinkpad W530
    I7 3520M @ 2.90 GHz (2 Cores 4 Threads)
    8 Gb Ram
    Nvidia Quadro Q1000M
    I am a mechanical engineer at work, and use this computer for learning new things on my free time. I will be using it to study solidworks simulation, catia, and maybe inventor or creo. I wil use it to understand principles of features and technologies, not for heavy duty freaquent calculations, or constant work with large assemblies. This computer would be too slow for these tasks anyhow. 
    I would appreciate your advice between these two discs: Samsung 850 Pro and 840 Evo.
    Pro has a few GB more space, which actually makes no difference. The considered field is the other performance parameters: on certain tasks 850 Pro is a little, and in other tasks - much faster, according to benchmarks, e.g.:
    http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-850-Pro-256GB-vs-Samsung-840-Evo-250GB/2385vs1594
    Basically it is a new generation ssd drive, having much faster write speed.
    But my mentioned computer is for personal use, is not too fast, and is already 2 years old. Based on my setup and tasks, do you think Pro series will have a performance advantage on my system? Pro is a little more expensive, and I am not sure if I can feel the difference in this computer, maybe you have some advice on this?
    Thank you for your ideas

    Yes, all of those tasks are highly CPU/GPU intensive, not disk intensive. Where you would see a difference is large scale file transfers and/or when the drive is almost full. The EVO would slow down to below the speeds of a standard hdd when it is almost full due to the nature of its memory (which is why it is cheaper in the first place), while the pro would not as much (it still would - all SSDs do - but not as bad as the EVO).
    However, the EVO is kind of designed to account for this, which is why it is only 250 GB. The extra 6 GB is still in the disk, but it is set aside so that you can't fill it up. The rest of the EVOs follow this, too - 512 reduced to 500, 1024 reduced to 1000 - to protect the user from completely destroying its R/W speeds.
    Note that this is still not enough to prevent degradation, and that you should try to keep at least 23-25 GB free on a 256 GB drive for maximum performance. The best method is to just leave the last 25 GB unpartitioned.
    W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
    T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

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