I ran the diagnostics, and no issues were found on the SSD.
I wiped the SSD clear and re-installed Windows 8 from scratch several times yesterday. I have discovered that Windows 8 is now evidently stable. I guess new SSD firmware must have fixed the issue I had previously? Unfortunately, a new issue arises. If I attempt to upgrade to Windows 8.1, I will either get an error on install or it will install but then never actually boot into Windows ever again. Something is incompatible with Windows 8.1.
The error I'm getting is 0xC1900101 - 0x20017, which is a sign that a driver is not compatible with Win 8.1, according to MS: Error 0xC1900101 - 0x20017 after reboot to install Windows 8.1 - Microsoft Community. I have used Windows Update to get as many things installed as possible, and I went to the manufacturer's webpage (including Intel) to find newer drivers if applicable. Everything is as up to date as possible.
When I attempt to install 8.1, it looks like the machine can't detect the SSD after rebooting. I can't find the drive listed in the bios. If I kill the computer for a cold boot, it appears again. If I have the original hard drive in the machine, there are no issues at all with Windows 8.1. It is only when the SSD is installed on the system that it does this.
Considering that the problem only appears when this SSD is installed, and the problem indicates that there is a driver incompatible with Win 8.1, is there any way the SATA controller driver is at fault here?