Hey everyone – so my SSD just disappeared out of nowhere. I’ve had it for about 2 years with no problems, but now it’s not showing up anywhere except one spot.
Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
Reconnected all cables
Reconnected RAM
Reconnected the graphics card
Updated all drivers
Last windows update was on 11/17, and it was working fine until yesterday
The SSD still shows up fine in Disk Manager, but it’s completely gone everywhere else. There’s not even a folder. Disk Manager says everything’s up to date, though. Weird.
I checked Disk Management and it’s not showing up there either.
I’m on Windows 11 Pro, and the drive is a PNY CS1311 240GB.
Sounds like a typical SSD failure, where it just dies suddenly. It seems like you’ve already tried a lot of the right things, but make sure you follow up on the suggestions in the top comment.
Look up the SSD model, some of them go into a read-only mode temporarily.
@CathyGenesis
Thanks! I’ll definitely check the top comment. Do you have any advice on a good backup system for an SSD? Should I use cloud storage or another external drive?
Luckily, it’s just a bunch of steam games, so nothing super important.
I checked Disk Management and it isn’t there either.
These two are not the same thing, right? Or do you mean Device Manager? Sounds like your SSD might be dead. A lot of times when an SSD fails, it just happens out of the blue.
• Open Disk Management (Win + X > Disk Management).
• Look for your SSD and check:
• Is it online? If not, right-click and select ‘Online.’
• Does it have a partition? If not, it might need reformatting (but that will erase everything).
Run CheckDisk (CHKDSK):
• Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Run: chkdsk X: /f /r (replace X with your SSD’s letter).
• This will check for file system issues or bad sectors.
Update Drivers:
• Open Device Manager (Win + X > Device Manager).
• Expand the Disk Drives section.
• Right-click your SSD and choose ‘Update Driver.’
• You can also uninstall it, restart, and let Windows reinstall it.
Check BIOS/UEFI:
• Restart and enter BIOS/UEFI (usually F2, F12, or Del on boot).
• See if the SSD is listed in the BIOS.
• If not, there could be a hardware issue.
Test the SSD in Another System:
• If you can, try connecting the SSD to another computer.
• This will help you see if the issue is with your PC or the SSD itself.
Try Different Cables/Ports:
• Swap the SATA cable or try a different port.
• If it’s an M.2 drive, reseat it and check for any dust.