RealSSD C300 Series New Firmware is out

Cosimo

Cosimo

Cosimo

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Here it is:

http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx

Release Notes:

Release Date: 5/4/2010
Change Log:

•Improved Power Consumption
•Improved TRIM performance
•Enabled the Drive Activity Pin (Pin 11)
•Improved Robustness due to unexpected power loss
•Improved data management to reduce maximum write latency
•Improved Performance of SSD as it fills up with data
•Improved Data Integrity

Note: This requires a Low Level Format to the SSD which will erase any data on the drive.
Please ensure that your data is backed up prior to performing the Firmware Update. We are hopeful that future Firmware revisions/updates will not be destructive.
Click to expand...


Good Luck. :)
 
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Having looked at the feedback thread link in the last post I would proceed with great caution or wait to hear of some successful updating.
 
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NinjaCool said:
Good new for RealSSD C300 owners although it sucks the fw update deletes all date.

Edit::eek:

Quote "It seems as though the new firmware, designed to prevent drives from bricking, appears to be bricking drives. Hold off on this one guys."
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3694/crucial-releases-realssd-c300-firmware-fix
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-S...irmware-update-and-Feedback-thread/td-p/12363
Click to expand...



Just done the update all gone good to go.
just that when u need to instal windows it says cant on this partition.
put ssd in other computer did format that way then put in main pc all is good.
flashed with a asus rampage 2 extreme . so im a happy chappy.
 
Well with so little response from Crucial so far:


If you are using a Gigabyte X58-UD7 main board either:


1. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE UNTIL CRUCIAL ADDRESS THE ISSUE WITH THE UPDATE FAILING.

Or (at your own risk!)

2. Connect the drive to the SATA2 controller, set IDE and set "SATA Port 0-3 Native Mode" to disabled or Legacy.

I'm not certain of (2.) at all but one user mentioned that this worked fine with the same board.
.
Click to expand...

http://www.forum.crucial.com/t5/Sol...-update-and-Feedback-thread/td-p/12363/page/2

I wouldn’t update the firmware until we hear more from Crucial. You have been warned.
 
Dazboots said:
Just done the update all gone good to go.
just that when u need to instal windows it says cant on this partition.
put ssd in other computer did format that way then put in main pc all is good.
flashed with a asus rampage 2 extreme . so im a happy chappy.
Click to expand...

All well and good but you should not have to use two computers to do this. We all have two lying around don't we. ;). It looks like it may not work using a SATA3 port but it’s a SATA3 drive, marvellous.


Well with so little response from Crucial so far:

If you are using a Gigabyte X58-UD7 main board either:

1. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE UNTIL CRUCIAL ADDRESS THE ISSUE WITH THE UPDATE FAILING.

Or (at your own risk!)

2. Connect the drive to the SATA2 controller, set IDE and set "SATA Port 0-3 Native Mode" to disabled or Legacy.

I'm not certain of (2.) at all but one user mentioned that this worked fine with the same board.
.
Click to expand...

http://www.forum.crucial.com/t5/Sol...-update-and-Feedback-thread/td-p/12363/page/2

I wouldn’t update the firmware until we hear more from Crucial. You have been warned.
 
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Update from Crucial:

We are reviewing the issues experienced by some users with the firmware update tool to determine if additional steps in the process are required for their specific systems. We’ll post an update back here on the forum as soon as we have more information.
Click to expand...
 
We now have bricked drives, Windows 7 not seeing drives, updates not working on SATA3 ports or latest motherboards, updates working on old pcs and performance loss. I wonder how this got "tested".
 
indeed. epic suckage here on crucial's part...

although that said i don't really want to upgrade the FW anyway - not had any problems here so far, running for a couple of weeks with only 13GB left on it.

whatever the case i'll be waiting until FW 003...
 
Update from Crucial:

Re: C300 Firmware update and Feedback thread.Options
Mark as NewBookmarkSubscribeSubscribe to RSS FeedHighlightPrintEmail to a FriendReport Abuse...05-05-2010 02:31 PM

As part of the test and validation of firmware, we validate the procedures on a combination of multiple motherboards, operating systems, and SATA drivers. Despite our testing and validation efforts, we did not initially identify there was a port sensitivity issue in some systems. We are now adding this test to our procedures.

In the short-term, we are editing our Firmware Update Guide to include the following step: “Once in IDE mode, plug the drive into any of the Ports 0 - 3 directly on the motherboard”.


The reason for connecting directly to the Motherboard and not through an HBA (host bus adapter), is that HBAs typically only support 4 ports - Primary Master/Slave and Secondary Master/Slave - when in IDE mode. On the Gigabyte board (specifically, the X58A-UD7), we were unable to replicate the issue on Ports 0 - 3 (ICH10R). However, when using some of the other ports, we encountered issues where either the drive isn’t detected or the process failed.

It’s important to note the difference between Native and Compatibility mode: the Compatibility mode maps the I/O ports to “well known” port ranges, whereas “Native” (or “Enhanced”) mode allows the HBA to map the ports more-or-less where ever they want. Once the port ranges are known, there is no difference in communication with the drive. We found no difference in our testing in using Native or Compatibility modes. Additionally, we did not have any issues using Ports 0 – 3.


If you previously attempted the Crucial firmware update and have a drive that is no longer detected, please contact Crucial Technical Support for immediate resolution.

We apologize for any inconvenience you’ve experienced, and we appreciate the feedback and insights we’ve been receiving from Crucial customers relative to this matter.


Guru, Crucial Moderator US
Click to expand...

Source

They have updated the guide as well.

So who is going to try it now?
 
The Firmware has now been pulled..

"Due to unforeseen compatibility issues with the firmware update tool, we’ve pulled down the recently released Crucial RealSSD C300 firmware update from our SSD support page. We will continue to provide updates to our valued Crucial customers as they become available. We apologize for any inconvenience.




Guru, Crucial Moderator US"
 
they should have pulled the FW update ages ago when the first reports of problems cropped up. why they waited a full day or so I'll never know.... it says a lot that they basically relied on the community (their customers) to properly test and diagnose the problem then come up with a solution, then they update their procedures, then they finally realise they've cocked up and pull it...

what a shambles!!!
 
Update from Crucial:

On Wednesday, May 5th, we pulled the RealSSD C300 firmware v0002 update from our support site. We did this to allow our product engineering team time to evaluate reported issues. We have identified a compatibility issue between the update tool and certain motherboards. There are no known issues with the firmware itself. We are revising the update tool to eliminate the known compatibility issues.

We plan to begin testing and validating the new update tool early next week (week of May 10th), and we’ll continue to provide updates as they become available on the Crucial forums.

Although the majority of customers that have downloaded the firmware have seen no issues with the update, our goal is to protect customers that may encounter issues. Customers who have experienced an issue are encouraged to contact the Crucial support team for immediate resolution.

Guru, Crucial Moderator US
Click to expand...

Source
 
Here we go again with a new software update tool:

http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx

It's also worth keeping an eye on the Crucial forum:

http://www.forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD/bd-p/ssd

EDIT: some new instructions in the guide:


Plug the drive into the motherboard — port 0-3
Make sure your SSD is plugged into one of the first four ports on the motherboard, typically labeled 0 through 3. Some
systems do not support “hot-plugging” your SSD. If necessary, shut down power to your system before plugging your
SSD into a new port. Note: The upgrade process will not work with drop-in HBAs (Host Bus Adapters) or 6.0 Gb/s ports.
A native 3.0 Gb/s SATA port must be utilized.
Click to expand...

• Check the Boot Order
While in the BIOS editor, check the drive boot order. As a default, most systems will boot from the CD-ROM/DVD
drive before the system drive. Depending on the BIOS vendor, look for a parameter named Boot Device Priority or
Boot Load Order. Ensure that the system boots to the bootable media drive before the drive that contains the OS.
Note: This is not required for Macs.

• Change SATA mode to IDE mode
From BIOS Setup, change the SATA mode to IDE mode. The firmware update will not work in AHCI mode.
Note: This is not required for Macs.
Click to expand...

I’ll be trying this on Saturday if I hear positive results, good luck. :)
 
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You have to laugh to some degree, at the people who think they can possibly test every combination, the tool itself, the firmware and the update is fine, the tool however wasn't working on a few systems.

I'd like to see anyone who thinks Crucial were neglegent in letting customers field test it, go into a lab with EVERY motherboard in the world and every possible setup, and check the firmware update tool would work on every single last one, when they're finished, in about 8 months they could come back and admit they were wrong.

You can't forsee every incompatibility, because until someone finds theres just too many places to look. You test the main ones, every sata 3 mobo you can get your hands on, a standard AMD 790fx, a I58, and if you don't find problems the fault, is likely with someone elses implementation/bios.

The fact that they will replace them easily, and Crucial are fairly good with very quick turnaround for RMA's, is really all any company will do.

You'll find EVERY other SSD maker does the same, and infact, lets see, maybe the biggest two SSD guys right now, OCZ and Intel, have BOTH had firmwares that bricked drives, Intel, maybe the most reliable, have shipped drives that had a fault in them, and OCZ have made dozens of mistakes with SSD firmwares and dodgey releases.

For instance they just released 3 ranges of Sandforce based drives(le, 2, agility 2) and have now decided they can make all 3 bigger capacity, they are releasing a agility 2E, and probably an E version of the Vertex 2 aswell, and its going to take them 2 MONTHS to get a firmware out to update the drives people have already bought.

SO buy a 50GB drive today where basically OCZ vastly over estimated the excess capacity required, and their customers are suffering worse performance and lack of space(and from that, value).

Mistakes happen, SSD mistakes will happen.

Realistically drives haven't changed for decades now, what we probably want is a new interface started from the ground up designed for SSD compatibility only(and bandwidth to go with it) so everyone from chipset makers who will support SSD features, and software makers have a specific and completely dedicated set of ways to talk to SSD's.
 
From the Crucial Forum:

C300 Firmware release and feedback thread.Options
Mark as NewBookmarkSubscribeSubscribe to RSS FeedHighlightPrintEmail to a FriendReport Abuse...05-20-2010 10:25 AM

The newly revised Crucial RealSSD C300 firmware update tool is now available for download. To implement the firmware update, please click on the following link: http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx. The Crucial Performance Lab has performed extensive testing of the new update tool functionality, and we’ve confirmed it works properly across multiple platforms.


Before implementing our revised C300 firmware update, please take the following items into consideration and under advisement:

•The upgrade requires a Low Level Format to the SSD which will erase any data on the drive. Please ensure that your data is backed up prior to performing the Firmware Update. We are hopeful that future Firmware revisions/updates will not be destructive.

•The upgrade needs to be implemented using a native 3.0Gb/s SATA port. It will not work in a 6.0Gb/s SATA port. However, once the upgrade is complete, the SSD will run as a 6.0Gb/s drive in a 6.0Gb/s port.

•The upgrade needs to be done directly in the motherboard, not via HBA. Again, once the upgrade has been completed, the C300 drive can be utilized in an HBA.

We appreciate all of the Crucial customer feedback we’ve received to date, and have taken these comments and concerns into consideration while developing our revised firmware update tool. We’d like to thank all of our C300 SSD customers for their continued patience as well.

Guru, Crucial Moderator US
Click to expand...
 
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