Cannot format Intel 520 180GB SSD

[idata]

Hey all,

Asus CM6870 series desktop

Windows 8, 64-bit

16 GB

Intel i7-3770 A 3.4Ghz quad core

7200RPM 2G HDD

Intel 520 180 GB SSD, connected to an SATA 6GB/s interface with an SATA 6GB/s cable

I was hyped to get my new SSD ... I plugged it in and it was recognized in the BIOS just fine. However, when I try to format it using the Disk Management tools it comes back with an error saying "Could not complete the operation" and when I check the events I see

Reset to device, \Device\RaidPort0, was issued.

The IO operation at logical block address 40800 for Disk 1 was retried.

The IO operation at logical block address 14f5bfff for Disk 1 was retried.

The IO operation at logical block address 40800 for Disk 1 was retried.

The IO operation at logical block address 14f5bfff for Disk 1 was retried.

The IO operation at logical block address 40800 for Disk 1 was retried.

The IO operation at logical block address 14f5bfff for Disk 1 was retried.

When this first happened I started looing around for diagnostic tools and came across the Intel SSD Toolbox. When I first start the computer and check the drive with the toolbox I see that the SMART indicators are all green and the drive looks otherwise normal. When I try to format it then I see the aforementioned problems.

I've tried different wire combinations (switching the wires from the HDD to the SDD but all to no avail)

I'm just wondering if there isn't something basic I should try, or is it time to activate the warranty and send it back to Intel? Let me know If I left out any vital information.

Thanks in advance

[Jose_H_Intel1]

Is the drive part of a RAID array or connected to a RAID controller? I wonder if it is possible to connect the drive to a native SATA controller as a single drive (if it is not already connected) and run the full diagnostic scan from the SSD Toolbox.

[idata]

The Lenovo W530 is capable of RAID and IRST from the factory load, I've allowed all the factory software to remain on the machine and update itself as it wants.

Each time the format would fail, it would cause windows 8 to log in the system event log "Reset to device, \Device\RaidPort0, was issued".

I was able to perform the full diagnostic on the Series 525 card in Windows 8 in this machine without relocating the card. It showed no error, full pass. This is what I would expect, since two identical Series 525 drives, the second shipped in response to an RMA caused the format failure behavior, and the odds that two would fail to format the exact same way are very long, indeed.

MiniTool was able to format this drive in situ, where Windows 8 could not. This tells me that the RMA I performed with Newegg was likely not required, and there is some sort of a problem with the Intel driver installation that MiniTool bypasses. I found references online where some found success in disabling Intel Link Power Management by adding LPM enable/disable DWORD's to the iastorV registry branch. I did not do this, I just used MiniTool.

[Jose_H_Intel1]

It is good to know you were able to format the drive in the end. The description of the registry entry seems to be related to the SATA controller driver (IRST). You may want to post this subject in the Intel(R) Chipset communities.

[idata]

jfederline, what version of IRST is used in your Lenovo W530?

If you can run the IRST UI that should be listed in Control Panel, do that and click on the Help button. A new window should open, in that find the System Report option, and click that. You should see a report like this:

I'm wondering what version of IRST and which IRST option ROM is being used with Windows 8 on that PC. I've formatted two 520s using Windows 8 and a IRST driver, with no problems. I've noticed that any SSD using a SandForce controller takes longer to format than SSDs using other controllers, but I've never had a format fail on a 520.

[idata]

Um. There is no Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology control panel icon on this W530. There is an iastorV registry tree, as well as an iastorA registry tree, too.

I am now also getting boot time blue screen periodically (not always) with volume manager.

The system was re-built from the Lenovo W530 system recovery disc image to an Intel 520 - I'm having the issues since I installed the Intel 525 mSATA. The 520 has been gloriously smooth so far, its just the 525 that causes issues.

Tonight, since MiniTool was able to bring it up with a filesystem I could write and read well to, I reformatted it with Windows 8 now. It reformatted (quick) successfully. I'll run this way a bit. In the meanwhile, if you have anything else to try, let me know here! I'm getting subscription emails from this thread.

-Jim