I've got an internal 2TB secondary SSD in my ASUS ROG laptop that's acting up lately. It keeps disconnecting while I'm using the laptop, and the only way to get it to reconnect is by restarting the machine. I've already opened it up and reseated the drive, plus swapped it into different slots to rule out a faulty connection, but it still doesn't work properly. Sometimes it doesn't show up at all, and even when it does, it disappears at random times. I've tried utilities like chkdsk and CrystalDiskInfo, but they haven't flagged any issues. Since this seems like a hardware problem, I'm looking for either some additional troubleshooting steps to try or a way to clone the drive in case I have to replace it. I have an external drive with plenty of space that I can use for backups, and I'm hoping to transfer all my installed programs over to the new drive. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
Be careful with your system settings; altering BIOS or disk configurations can risk data loss. It's always wise to double-check your backups before diving into those changes. Just a heads-up!
As a quick test, you could boot from a live Linux USB to see if the SSD issue persists there as well. It might give you a clue whether it's a hardware issue or something else. If the drive disconnects even in Linux, you might consider replacing it.
You might want to try using Macrium Reflect to clone your failing SSD to the external drive, provided the drive stays operational long enough for the task. They offer a free trial that includes all the features you need for this. If you make a precise clone and switch out the old drive, your programs should still work fine afterward. I've done similar cloning, and it worked like a charm for me!
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