sporadic computer freezes with Intel 520 SSD

[idata]

Hey folks,

Been battling an issue for the last week and could really use some help.

I purchased an intel 520 SSD and Windows 7 64 bit to install in my old machine that I am handing down to my son since I just received a new Digital Storm custom build. We are having issues with the computer sporadically hanging - the cursor spins but the computer is pretty much unusable for 10-30 seconds. I can reproduce it pretty regularly in web browsers (open a bunch of tabs, pull in a bunch of images from search results and scroll through them, playing minecraft.) At first I didn't think about it being caused by the new SSD drive but after significant trouble shooting and debugging I believe I have isolated it to the SSD. In resource monitor - on the disk drives tab I see significant drive access delays (upwards of 50-60,00) when the issue occurs - the graph in resource monitor also has a blue line that jumps up exponentially to 100% flat lines for the duration of the freeze up and then drops back down to zero and I am then able to continue using the machine normally.

So far to resolve this issue I've done the following:

Confirmed all of the optimization settings listed here are correct:

http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/x25m/80/sb/CS-031542.htm Intel� X25-M Solid State Drive, 80GB SATA II 2.5in, MLC, High Performance — Improving write speed of Solid State Drive that causes constant freezing

Validated fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify returns 0 to represent trim is enabled.

Installed Intel toolbox and verified that everything in it runs fines.

My motherboard is an older intel D915PGN - and it does not appear to have the AHCI mode in the bios but it is set to "Enhanced" - which is what it was set to with the previous non SSD SATA drive.

Since it is an older motherboard I found this thread:

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1511981&mpage=1 Need Help with SSD

And changed my drivers from the Intel ones ( I know the thread is for NVidia chipset) to the standard Microsoft PCI IDE drivers and I'm still having the issue.

Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[idata]

I'm having the same problem!! I have an dell precision m6600 with a09 bios firmware. I just put in a brand new intel 520 ssd this weekend. After reading a couple of online forums I set the bios to raid.. but, after installing the intel control panel it listed the drive running at 3gb/s. I reinstalled the os(windows 7 pro x64) after changing the bios to AHCI. The hard drive now runs at 6gb/s. But, in both cases I had issues with the computer intermittently detect the hard drive on both cold and warm boots. Once i get into the operating system it randomly freezes. The hard drives firmware is up to date, and from what I can tell so are the drivers.

I hope intel comes up with a solve soon.  

[idata]

Try disabling Link Power Management (LMP), either in Windows Power Options or by http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=96663 this registry fix, and Device Initiated Power Management (DIPM) in Intel SSD Toolbox.

[idata]

So far so good, I couldn't find the LMP under Windows Power Options.. so I ran the reg edit.. Its like night and day.. I can't thank you enough Starchild!!! Now I need to wait for a BIOS update so it doesn't take 3 restarts for the bios to see the hard drive.

Thanks Again!!

[idata]

Glad I could help!

The problems are related to the SandForce controller the 520 uses. Other manufacturers, like Corsair and OCZ, that use this controller in their SSDs have all issued firmware updates addressing these issues. Yet Intel continues to fail to recognize these problems. If you can, please visit /message/162385 my other thread here and perhaps show your support by posting a reply. Maybe we can bring some attention to these issues and get a firmware update.