Update on Samsung SSD 840/840 Pro Failures
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 28, 2012 12:06 PM EST- Posted in
- Storage
- SSDs
- Samsung
- Samsung SSD 840
In our review of Samsung's SSD 840 Pro I noted that my drive died shortly after I completed testing. Samsung sent me a replacement, which also stopped working (although it still pulled current) after a couple of days. Kristian's Samsung SSD 840 review sample shared a similar fate.
I spoke with Samsung about this problem a couple of weeks ago and was told that there was a bug in the pre-production firmware (version 2B0Q/5B0Q for 840 Pro/840) loaded on our drives. All retail samples should ship with a newer firmware revision (3B0Q/6B0Q) that have this bug fixed. To confirm what firmware revision is on your drive, look at the end of the hardware id string for the SSD in Device Manager.
Samsung sent me an 840 Pro with the updated firmware and so far I haven't had any issues. I'm trying to retrace my steps in bricking the drive and things are looking good thus far. As always, if things change I will update you all.
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jwilliams4200 - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
By the way, I think I know why your firmware version is truncated. I think you are using Intel's IASTOR/RST driver rather than the MSAHCI driver. I can tell becuase of the "SCSI" part. MSAHCI starts with "IDE".Anyway, MSAHCI seems to show the full version string, whereas IASTOR seems to truncate it.
But you can always check the full firmware version by reading the SMART information, using something like Crystal Disk Info, gsmartcontrol, or just smartctl. Reply
Beaver M. - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Good to hear, now all we need is availability on the 512 GB one. Anyone know when they will be available? ReplyBeenthere - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Another day another SSD rushed out the door without proper validation. Will the insanity ever stop with these SSD makers? It's completely unscrupulous to ship improperly validated hardware to reviewers or customers.Often review hardware is hand-picked and sometimes even tweaked to give better than normal performance in benches. This can mean millions of dollars to an SSD, mobo, RAM, etc. maker, so you can understand why this consumer fraud is common and systemic. Reply
Death666Angel - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Aehm... the thing that is being sold does not have that issue in all likelyhood. Are you expecting all pre-released hardware and software to function without bugs? Do you know why there are (pre) alpha and beta releases? But please, continue your ranting, it makes you seem smart and well balanced. ReplyMetaluna - Friday, November 30, 2012 - link
It should be a little alarming that they are catching and fixing major, showstopper, data destroying bugs only a few months before commercial release. The lack of firmware stability has been an endemic problem in the SSD industry. This kind of thing only reinforces the theory that there is a rather cavalier attitude towards quality control in the industry. One that you don't usually see on mechanical drives, for example (it happens, but it's more the exception than the rule). Granted, SSD tech is moving pretty fast these days, but the stuff they're doing to push magnetic recording into extreme high densities isn't exactly simple either.You don't usually see major crashes or stability problems on Windows 7 or 8, OSX, etc in the same pre-release time frame, for example. If Intel was having Ivy Bridge chips crash and melt down in the socket a few months before their stated release date it would be a disaster. Reply
Mr Perfect - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
You took until page three today, I was starting to get worried. Replymayankleoboy1 - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - link
Is slightly that Samsung gave reviewers a pre-production firmware , and did not inform them. Only after Anand revealed the the drives failure,did Samsung make a clean chit.Of course, the retail SSD have the final firmware. SO thats OK. Reply
Rick83 - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Maybe the review firmware is...faster :O Replydamianrobertjones - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Did they ever fix the Samsung series 9 Wi-Fi problems? NoDid they ever fix the Samsung 7 slate screen separation issues? No
Two VERY expensive items so HEAVEN knows how they deal with cheap items.
...and now this: (At least there's an update)
"All retail samples should ship with a newer firmware revision (3B0Q/6B0Q) that have this bug fixed" - The word SHOULD strikes me with FEAR as so many people won't bother updating the firmware and literally moments after moving their backups onto the drive it'll fail. I can see it happening. Reply
Death666Angel - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Which will only be a pain in the ass for Samsung: those drives are clearly faulty and have to be replaced without cost to the buyer. It will generate negative press for Samsung that will likely translate to fewer units sold. Samsung has no incentive to see faulty SSDs. But if they had not included the word "should", it would have been disingenuous, because nobody is perfect and they can't guarantee that there won't be issues. This way, to me at least, I know they aren't just talking PR crap.Also, who moves their backup to a drive and deletes the backup? I see no issue in the example you provide above, except some lost time.... ? Reply