Intel Acknowledges SSD FW Issue; Promises Fix

Intel, which only last month released updated firmware to optimize the performance of its second-generation 34nm X-25M solid-state drives (SSDs), acknowledged on Friday an issue with the firmware, and promised a fix.

The 02HA update was to allow Intel's newer SSDs to work with the TRIM functionality in Windows 7. TRIM is a feature of Windows 7 that will (hopefully) prevent SSDs from seeing performance degradation over time. At the same time, Intel released its SSD Toolbox, to allow manual TRIM commands to be run on OSes that do not provide built-in TRIM functionality.

However, Intel quickly pulled the firmware after complaints on forums that the update bricked some SSDs and made Windows 7 non-bootable. It should be noted that typical of these sorts of issues, not all are experiencing issues. That includes the author, by the way. The issues seem to affect Windows 7 users with 64-bit versions.

Alan Frost, of Intel's NAND Solutions Group, said the following:

Intel has replicated the issue on 34nm SSDs - X25-M - and is working on a fix. Intel is pursuing the resolution of this as a high priority. 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."

No timeline was given, but as SSDs have been bricked, and systems rendered unusable, you can bet it will be quick.