Intel Confirms, Replicates SSD Firmware Bug

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Intel now working on a fix.

Late last month, Intel released a firmware update for its second-generation 34nm X25-M solid state drive line that adds support for the TRIM command--which keeps SSDs operating at a higher level of performance.

Sadly, instead of getting performance benefits, some users running Windows 7 64-bit found that the firmware bricked their precious SSDs--definitely not the effect that anyone wanted.

Intel pulled the firmware following the failure reports. The chip giant today confirmed that it's been able to replicate the fatal flaw that has plagued users.

According to the Register, Alan Frost of Intel's NAND Solutions Group wrote: "Intel has replicated the issue on 34nm SSDs - X25-M - and is working on a fix."

It seems that Intel is asking for outside help to resolve this issue, as Frost added, "Intel is seeking direct feedback on this issue from members of the [Intel Support Community]... asking them to send their drives directly to Intel to expedite the analysis of the issues. This action will enable us to more quickly generate a resolution for this issue."

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Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
31 Comments Comment from the forums
  • doomtomb
    Intel has been slacking recently. Exorbitant prices and things that don't work, disregarding USB 3.0 as unimportant... wow... Intel needs to get slapped in the face right about now.
    Reply
  • Onyx2291
    Oh man that sucks to have that bricked. Unfortunate for an update like that would cause that. I don't have one but hope a fix comes up soon.
    Reply
  • El_Capitan
    I've been commenting since forever that Intel's X25-M is an overpriced piece of dud that for some reason OEM's only use for SSD's. Crucial's M225 series and Corsair's P series are the ones to get.

    Too bad every distributor out there is rising their SSD prices for Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving), so that when they go on sale, they get back to the already pricey $350 pricetag. No illusion, check out all the prices, SSD's for 128GB are hitting $450, when just 7 months ago they were at $280.
    Reply
  • ssalim
    Since when did "bricked" become a word...?
    Reply
  • lubitz_420
    good to see they don't just try to sweep the problem under the rug by offering a replacement to those who lost their drive functionality and then just letting it trail off into oblivion +1 to solving the problem rather than hiding it
    Reply
  • spectrewind
    ssalimSince when did "bricked" become a word...?
    See the word "Meh" for how this happens. ;o)
    Reply
  • ctbaars
    @ El_Capitan. I'm having a hard time finding a post by you that says, "Intel's X25-M is an overpriced piece of dud that for some reason OEM's only use for SSD's"
    Reply
  • El_Capitan
    I like how I get a thumbs every time I comment on the Intel X250M, but on all my other comments always gets a thumb's up. There's some Intel fanboy's in this thread. :)
    Reply
  • El_Capitan
    ctbaars@ El_Capitan. I'm having a hard time finding a post by you that says, "Intel's X25-M is an overpriced piece of dud that for some reason OEM's only use for SSD's"I guess I found one Intel fanboi. I don't post threads like that. I only comment on the news sections. They're probably hidden because the Intel fanboi's like giving my comments the thumbs down.

    You'll find me repeatedly telling people that the Prices per Storage and Performance is vastly inferior (besides throughput) to that of the once-cheaper Crucial CT128M225 and Corsair P128. There was even an article a few months back noting the comparisons (but on 256GB versions).
    Reply
  • El_Capitan
    ctbaars@ El_Capitan. I'm having a hard time finding a post by you that says, "Intel's X25-M is an overpriced piece of dud that for some reason OEM's only use for SSD's"
    Intel to Ship Value-Based X25-X SSD in Q4
    10-16-2009 at 09:25:58 PM
    Besides for throughput, Corsair's CT128M225 and Crucial's P128 are much better overall. Plus, I'm starting to get rather annoyed. What's with this new business model over the last few years? I remember when the latest and best model got the high price tag, then dropped in price as a newer and better model came out. Nowadays, the latest model price stays the same (or in SSD's cases, goes up) when a newer but lower performance model comes out.

    Intel Pulls X25-M G2 TRIM Firmware Update
    10-27-2009 at 11:44:36 PM
    For those that put a thumbs down on my last post about the Intel X-35m... haha.

    *****

    Well, if you fanboi's don't keep giving a thumb's down to my comments, you'd probably have read them.
    Reply