Problems with new drive

[adamandaj]

Hi,

I'm having trouble upgrading the SSD connected to my RPi. Several times, I've flashed the drive and connected it. The drive shows activity, but the lights on the Pi never light up. The yellow network activity light turns off, then turns back on, but never shows activity. The drive shows activity for about 45 minutes, and then stops. I had this problem over a year ago, but after I tried again a few times it finally worked.

I've re-flashed a few times. Last night, I just left it plugged in overnight, and surprisingly, the web interface opened this morning (it did not last night). But it got stuck at the point where I needed to direct it to which drive to save to -- and could not see the DVR partition.

The old drive works fine. I've tried the new drive in the old enclosure too, in case that's the problem.

Any ideas?

[djw]

Long shot, but if it is USB, I have seen the drive want (apparently) more current that the Pi4 want's to deliver. I think it is a Pi4 hardware bug. Try a self-powered USB hub? Even with SSDs like a Samsung T7. A powered USB hub fixed it in my case.

[speedingcheetah]

What does the screen say? Meaning u need to hookup to HDMI to see the boot process.
Also, sounds more like a failed flash, or the "new" drive is defective.
You never state what specifically your old drive is or what your new drive is.
Really need to post more information inorder to be helped well.

The Pi are known to have some issues with certain usb drive enclosures due to their chipset they use. There was a list of known problem ones, somewhere. Don't recall where.

[awesomedvr]

This page has a lot of good info around SSD drives for Raspberry Pi.

Agree with the above. More info needed on the drive and how it’s being connected to the Pi (eg what enclosure, cable, adapter).

I am using the Canakit 3.5amp power adapter, Kingston A400 SSD and the recommend Startech USB 3.1 to SATA with good results, no additional power necessary on the USB chain.

Best Working SSD / Storage Adapters for Raspberry Pi 4 / 400

[djw]

I'd pay attention to that section about power, try a powered USB hub as it notes, and if that doesn't help, send the hub back if you want.

[speedingcheetah]

An ssd should not need a external power adapter or a powered hub.

Again, no one can really help the OP in this case just yet, so far, just guesses.

They need to see what the boot screen messages say, to even get started.

[speedingcheetah]

@adamandaj

The old drive works fine. I've tried the new drive in the old enclosure too, in case that's the problem.

That really sounds like bad flashing or defective new drive.
You are flashing the image via the R Pi Imager software right?
You should also be able to connect the drives to a PC and see the partitions and data that was flashed to it.

Raspbery Pi Installation

[djw]

I had a pi4 that would not run two Samsung T5 without external power. The drives were fine. Power supply was fine. Powered hub solved it. They would mount for a while, then disappear. Or mount. Then not mount. Inconsistent behavior.

[adamandaj]

Sorry for the delay. I didn't have a Micro HDMI adapter and Amazon messed it up.

I am using the stock setup as advised, though with 4 gigs of RAM.

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free Clear External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Supports UASP SATA III] (EC-OCUB)

Crucial MX500 4TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD, up to 560MB/s - CT4000MX500SSD1

I have had exact same enclosure working without incident for over a year with this smaller version of the exact same SSD.

Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD, up to 560MB/s - CT500MX500SSD1(Z)

The first time I booted, it got stuck here

I rebooted and

This is where it sticks. Nothing happens by IP address or nameserver on port 8089.

[adamandaj]

Between doing this and writing the post, I left it on for about an hour and lo and behold:

Last time, there was an issue of some sort I don't remember with this distro, so I updated:

and then got into trouble again.

(stuck here for a long time)

Then the display went dark, so I power cycled.

(stuck here for a long time)

(and then no further progress.)

I am re-flashing again and this time won't update. I'll report back.

[tmm1]

Those [sda] errors don't seem good, its having issues in the driver talking to the SSD. Could be a hardware issue with the drive, or some type of incompatibility with that combo of large SSD + enclosure + rpi.

[racameron]

Most of the failed and dependent devices look like they required internet connectivity, the main root issue being unable to get time sync/NTP going.

Perhaps the issue isn't necessarily the image or drive, but some issue with your network?

[adamandaj]

Zero trouble with network connection with the old SSD over several years -- same router, same cable.

[adamandaj]

Tried again.

Rebooted and

[racameron]

Well, those errors clearly show that the NetworkManager service is not running, which is the service on the OS responsible for network connectivity. So, there is a network issue.

However, based upon Aman's previous reply about drive issues, it looks like you might have a bad drive, which is causing your services/daemons to not run, which is why there are network issues.

[speedingcheetah]

@adamandaj

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free Clear External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Supports UASP SATA III] (EC-OCUB)

There are many reviews on Amazon of that enclosure of users that can not get 4TB drives to work in it, of any brand ssd. Some even say "does not support drives over 2TB". The product details do say it supports up to 8TB, but the reviews seem to prove that wrong.

I would suggest, getting a different enclosure first. And connecting it to a PC and check the ssd's SMART status in a program like Crystal disk to make sure the ssd is not damaged or bad.

I have a clear enclosure as well, for one of my pi's, however, it only has a 500GB ssd in it.

[adamandaj]

Thanks. It works fine connected to a Mac, but the problem must be either the enclosure or the drive or both. I'm gong to start by choosing another enclosure.

[speedingcheetah]

I know LTT (Linus Tech Tips) seem to love and trust Sabrent m.2 ssd's, at least their high capacity 8tb ones...

However, Sabrent's other products, mainly enclosures, i have had bad luck witth, every single one of their products i have used/owned, have failed, had issue, or just felt cheap and low quality.

I personally recommend Vantec or StarTech brand enclosures. But, as with anything, YMMV.

[speedingcheetah]

On Mac, DriveDX is good for checking heath of a drive.

[awesomedvr]

Why not try the Startech USB312SAT3CB USB 3.1 to 2.5" SATA Hard Drive Adapter that is proven to work well with the Pi per lots of data that was collected per the link (James A. Chambers) I posted previously. If you have a SSD, doesn’t have exposed electronics like non-SSD drives, do you really need an enclosure? The drive electronics are already enclosed. Why put a clear plastic shell on it that will likely just trap heat? $18.99 at Amazon at the moment, as a reference.