Important Firmware update for Crucial SSDs

Je fais suivre pour tous ceux qui ont des SSD Crucial:

Crucial has informed us of an issue within their Crucial® m4 SSD firmware code that will eventually cause the system to require a restart. A “system hang” event will occur after 5,184 hours of actual “on time” use. Following the initial reboot, the system will “hang” again after one hour and require subsequent restarts after each additional hour of use. However, the data on the SSD is unaffected and will not be lost due to this condition.

Crucial has determined the root cause of the problem and have tested and qualified a code fix, which was made available to all users on their support site on January 13th in the form of a firmware update utility. The utility and accompanying user instructions are available at: www.crucial.com/ssdfirmware.

The firmware update completely rectifies the problem for drives that have already experienced the system hang event, and proactively installing the update will prevent this issue from ever occurring on drives that have not yet crossed the 5,184 hour threshold.

We are currently recommending all customers to check if their drive needs to be updated, and upgrade their firmware if needed. To update the firmware, either follow the written instructions below, or watch this video outlining the entire process in a few easy steps!

Option 1: Crucial m4 SSD customers may go to www.crucial.com/ssdfirmware and download the 0309 firmware update using a bootable USB flash drive. This option is ideal for customers who do not have an optical drive.

Option 2: Crucial m4 SSD customers may choose to have a CD pre-loaded with the 0309 firmware update mailed to them directly. This option is ideal for customers who do not have optical burning software or blank optical media.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the failure occur?

The failure occurs when the drive’s internal “on-time” hours counter crosses 5,184 hours.

What happens when the bug occurs?

When the drive hits the fault condition, it causes a system hang, such as a spinning wheel at the mouse pointer or a blue screen error. A system reboot temporarily clears the error, but the fault condition will reoccur every subsequent hour with the same failure condition.

Have you verified that the new code resolves the problem?

Yes. The new firmware has passed Crucial’s qualification and compatibility testing. It was designed as an accelerated test that rapidly advances the drive hour counter to simulate the condition. The firmware update resolves the problem for drives that are in the error state and will prevent it for drives that have not yet experienced the error.

Why should I have confidence in this code?

We have high confidence in the firmware patch. Only the code necessary to remedy the problem was changed and thoroughly tested.

Which drives are impacted?

The firmware code impacts the following drive models: C400, Crucial m4, C400 SED, P400e.

Am I at risk of data loss because of this bug?

No. User data is not at risk. After the failure, the drive and its data will be accessible after a reboot. In fact, the operation which causes the failure occurs only during “quiet time” on the SATA bus. In other words, all I/O functions complete before the SMART checks occur, so even “in-flight” data is not at risk.

Who should upgrade to this firmware?

All Crucial m4 SSD customers should perform this firmware upgrade.

How do I know which firmware revision my SSD has?

The firmware revision is printed on the drive label.

How can I tell how many hours are on my SSD?

Power-on hours are recorded in SMART (self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology) attribute ID 9. There are a variety of applications that will allow you to view SMART data. If customers wish to view their drive’s logged hours, they should choose one of these applications and use it to check SMART attribute ID 9.

Is my drive logging hours whenever my machine is on?

Yes. The drive will log hours whenever it is receiving power.

How are you handling firmware updates?

A firmware upgrade utility and accompanying user instructions are available at www.crucial.com/ssdfirmware.

In addition to the downloadable version of the firmware update utility that is currently available, two alternative solutions will be made available very soon.

Yep, Linus à fait un video de "how to flash your Crucial SSD".

Cool, justement j'ai installer mon M4 la semaine passé ....

C'est une vieille nouvelle mais toujours pertinente. Crucial à toujours eu des problèmes de firmware avec ses SSDs même par le passé. Ça m'a toujours un peu arrêté quand j'ai voulu en acheter.