Windows partition was destroyed by corruption. Bootable drive vanished.
Windows partition was destroyed by corruption. Bootable drive vanished.
Hi everyone, I recently set up a new setup and let it run for about a week. Then slowly things began to go wrong. The CPU was i7-14700KF at 5.5GHZ, the GPU was 4070 SUPER STOCK COOLER, the SSD was M2 WD BLACK 2TB, the power supply was 750W, and the motherboard was Corsair RM (it’s nearly ten years old, lol). The system had Memtest86 running fine—no issues detected. Sorry, I don’t have any dumps and I’m not sure where to find them, but once you read till the end, you’ll grasp why I think I’m missing them.
Recurring Problems: During gaming sessions, after idle time it slowed down, and BSODs popped up—including Critical_Process_Died. I saw similar errors too, though I can’t recall screenshots or exact details. The most frequent one was during long playthroughs of Elden Ring; the system would get unstable, slow, and even block Chrome. It showed errors like: “The instruction at 0x00007FFCC4940F66 referenced memory at 0x0000000006F90018.” This meant data wasn’t stored due to an I/O error (file explorer.exe Application Error). These issues kept coming back, getting stronger each time.
Another issue involved a phone picture file for sihost.exe, which triggered a stack buffer overflow. This could let someone take control of the app. All these problems eventually led to frequent BSODs, including Critical Process Died.
I tried restarting the PC, ran antivirus scans (Malwarebytes caught some threats), updated drivers, and used CHKDSK. It repaired the drive in boot mode, but then it kept crashing—like a virus. I also checked for overflows in system files like System Error and Stack Buffer Overflow.
The repairs helped temporarily, but the problem persisted. Eventually, I disabled Intel Rapid Storage during CMOS setup, which made the drive appear dead. It disappeared from BIOS, and boot times spiked to 3–5 minutes. After a few attempts, it finally booted into Windows, but still wouldn’t find the drive.
Now I’m worried about my M2 drive. The diskpart didn’t recognize it, and the F:/ STORAGE folder was missing all files. Could this mean the drive got corrupted? I’m concerned it might be too damaged to run Windows anymore. I ordered the same M2 tomorrow, so I’m hoping to fix this before then.
What’s happening here? Is my NVMe SSD faulty? How can a drive get so corrupted in just a week? How do I prevent this next time? Should I set up Windows properly, stress-test drivers, and follow best practices? Thanks for your time, and please let me know your thoughts. Love you all, Alex
New components or refurbished items? Checked if the CPU was brand new or used. Verified BIOS settings—EFI versus CSM/Compatibility mode, Secure Boot status. Made sure M.2 was not accidentally configured in RAID mode. For boot troubleshooting, this tool is often helpful, especially for issues with bootloaders and EFI partitions.
Thanks for your message! Everything seems fresh except the PSU, which is the same unit I bought for my GTX1080 build when it was released. Yes, the CPU is brand new. The PSU is nearly ten years old. I mistakenly enabled Intel Rapid Storage Technology while troubleshooting—this likely caused the M2 to switch to RAID mode. Secure boot might have been off during installation but came back on for Valorant. I wasn’t sure about CSM compatibility, so touching it would have changed EFI to CSM. If that’s the case, I’ll attempt a boot repair. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the update! At the moment I can't test it because I don’t have a spare PC. I attempted to run the M2 inside an M2 slot and connected it to my Mac Air, but it just displayed the housing name (like Realtek) and showed 0kb available. I’m not sure what the exact reading was, but it didn’t recognize the drive. However, the folder I created on Windows with that M2 drive appears in the installation file browser. I’ll let you know about the SMART health update once I have another drive ready and Windows set up. Looking forward to tomorrow evening!
Turn off Intel Rapid Storage, revert it to AHCI. The issue likely stems from RAID mode being enabled while the Windows bootloader isn’t recognizing the drive. Setting BIOS back to AHCI should allow it to locate the NVME again, regardless of other NVME problems or installation concerns.
Hey everyone, thanks for your messages! @Bitter @leclod My system couldn't boot using any app I tried, so I decided to try a different method. I ended up using an old HDD from a friend's PC that I'd forgotten about. Surprisingly, it worked! I'll wipe the guy but it functions. For our other friend, the OG M2, it seems like another tough situation. Regarding the /F partition issue, files were read but folders couldn't be opened—something about a missing location or path that didn't exist. I couldn't recall it clearly, and when I tried to access the drive, it just wouldn't open and show anything. The system booted without a heatsink, which made me think maybe it was overheating or something went wrong. It's been running without a cooling fan all along—could be a sign of trouble. What a wild ride!
The SSD should slow down when it gets too hot to prevent damage Edited December 29, 2024 by leclod
Thank you for your updates! The tool is reading everything but can't interact with the drives due to BitLocker encryption. When accessing folders it shows an error about an unrecognized device, and activating BitLocker indicates it's in the middle of decryption. Diskpart and cstatldiskinfo don't detect any data. Switching to AHCI by disabling Intel Rapid Storage seems to resolve the issue. Try adjusting those settings next time.