New SSD firmware available from Lenovo

[alins]

By all means please let us know what Lenovo decides to do ...

[alins]

I should mention that for a few weeks now I've been following the directions here to manually "TRIM" my Samsung SSD:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum ... -TONY-TRIM

Basically, run PerfectDisk to consolidate free space, with "aggressive free space consolidation" set. Then Run As-Cleaner with the FF option checked. I can confirm this is safe on the 128GB Samsung SSD in my X200S (the same one mentioned here, without TRIM support from Samsung).

[aau007]

I should mention that for a few weeks now I've been following the directions here to manually "TRIM" my Samsung SSD:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum ... -TONY-TRIM

Basically, run PerfectDisk to consolidate free space, with "aggressive free space consolidation" set. Then Run As-Cleaner with the FF option checked. I can confirm this is safe on the 128GB Samsung SSD in my X200S (the same one mentioned here, without TRIM support from Samsung).

The author of that article suggests doing "it once or twice a week". I would definitely caution against it since you will be putting more wear on the drive, thus shortening the life of the drive. I have been using the 1st gen Lenovo Samsung SSD for over 15 months and with the newest firmware for the last 3 month without TRIM support on Win7 and have not seen much of a performance degradation.

[victorhooi]

heya,

I just rang Lenovo to check the status of my system. They're still awaiting parts for the LCD screen, no ETA. I asked about the HDD, and he said they'd send them an email to get them to take a look at it.

However, the tech-guy was nice, but didn't seem to know much about SSDs, or TRIM. He said Lenovo hadn't issued anything out about the issue either. I got the impression they'd only check for a completely failed drive, but not for a very poorly performing drive. Also, the parts ordered obviously wouldn't indicate on the outside whether they supported TRIM or not, so if they did swap the drive, it would be luck of the draw - it might be for an identical part #, or another 128Gb SSD drive that was a newer manufacture date. I really hope they can swap for a newer one that has the fragmentation issues fixed, and TRIM support.

Anyhow, I was quite insistent in my notes that I sent along with the unit, as well as when I opened the support case that I really didn't want to have to send the drive back every few months for them to swap-over for another 1st gen drive. If they send it back without swapping it, or they swap it for another that lacks TRIM support, hmm, I'm really not sure. I might have to try and open up a case with out local consumer affairs tribunal (http://www.cttt.nsw.gov.au/default.html), and see if I can get Lenovo's hand here. Urgh, really don't want to have to do that. Any advice?

Cheers,
Victor

[victorhooi]

heya,

I finally received back my laptop today . Took them over a month, but ah well.

They've fixed the screen issue, but the harddisk wasn't changed, and I just checked, still doesn't support TRIM. *sigh*. For a moment, I was hopefully they'd replaced the drive, and been nice enough to image my data across.

I rang again, and they said that the HDD issue was noted in the call logs (and I even kindly attached a note to the [censored] laptop), but they somehow didn't put it in the action plan. They said the best approach is to log a new call for the HDD. The product specialist was busy when I rang, but the CSR said he'd get back to me by tomorrow. However, this means I may have to send in the whole laptop all over again. Anyhow, hopefully this will sort out the whole thing - either they have a TRIM firmware, or hopefully they'll replace the drive. After this, I'm not really sure - take them to the CTTT (consumer court)? Does anybody else have any experience with getting manufacturers to fix c*appily performing SSDs? The Dell case?

Cheers,
Victor

[mobowhunter]

Will the DSRD 2.1.0 Firmware update work with the Samsung SDD in my x201s? THis is the Samsung firmware update that supports TRIM.

It says the driver update is for the VBM18C1Q driver, but my driver for the Samsung VBM1EL1Q.

Thanks.

[visionviper]

That is a very good question. I can't even find a list of model numbers supported by the update.

My guess is that we may see this firmware eventually from Lenovo.

[mobowhunter]

I am guessing it would probably be wise to wait for the Lenovo update.

[visionviper]

I am guessing it would probably be wise to wait for the Lenovo update.

Well, that's if it actually comes --- which I hope it does.

[victorhooi]

heya,

I spoke to a CSR from Lenovo again, he said he didn't know anything about TRIM. He spoke to a "product specialist", who unfortunately also didn't know anything about it.

He said that Samsung shouldn't be blocking Lenovo updates, and that since it was a re-branded Samsung drive, any updates from them should just work. I told him I had an email from Samsung, which basically stated it was actually Lenovo's policy, and he said forward it to him, and he'd chase it up.

Either way, if they don't know much about TRIM, or whether there's a firmware update upcoming. Anyhow, I'll see what happens when he/Lenovo get back to me, I might have to kick up a fuss here to try and get a definite answer from Lenovo. It seems a bit shonky on Leonovo's part, if we shell out extra money to Lenovo for a top-of-the-line, cutting-edge SSD drive, then get left in the cold when aforesaid drives develop known problems with fragmentation. At least Dell had the decency to replace customer's drives, albeit after much pushing.

Cheers,
Victor

[visionviper]

I am not sure you will even be able to get the info you (and the rest of us) are looking for. The only way would probably be to somehow get the contact info of the guy who is in charge of this kind of stuff over at Lenovo and ask him.


Either way I hope you do, and I hope TRIM comes to our SSDs.

[victorhooi]

heya,

I finally got a reply back from an Andrew, in Lenovo Singapore (I'm in Australia). It seems he spoke to somebody higher up, and they do know about the TRIM issue, but there's no word on when the update would be out. They were hoping for mid-to-late this year.

Anyhow, my thinking is, I'll give them till just after mid this year, then maybe ring again, and if that falls through, try the consumer courts. It seems a bit ridiculous that Samsung's already released their update since February, and Lenovo is dragging their heels on letting their customers use that update. Are all manufacturers like this?

Hmm, the other issue is, if I drag Lenovo through the consumer court, I suppose I can leverage on them to either release the firmware (unlikely), or just give me a new drive with TRIM already on it - thoughts? Can anybody confirm that the new Lenovo drives have TRIM?

Cheers,
Victor

[GrandMasterKhan]

heya,

I finally got a reply back from an Andrew, in Lenovo Singapore (I'm in Australia). It seems he spoke to somebody higher up, and they do know about the TRIM issue, but there's no word on when the update would be out. They were hoping for mid-to-late this year.

Anyhow, my thinking is, I'll give them till just after mid this year, then maybe ring again, and if that falls through, try the consumer courts. It seems a bit ridiculous that Samsung's already released their update since February, and Lenovo is dragging their heels on letting their customers use that update. Are all manufacturers like this?

Hmm, the other issue is, if I drag Lenovo through the consumer court, I suppose I can leverage on them to either release the firmware (unlikely), or just give me a new drive with TRIM already on it - thoughts? Can anybody confirm that the new Lenovo drives have TRIM?

Cheers,
Victor

Why not just buy a new one for the time being since you are entitled to normal usuage of your machine, send the old one back along with a bill for the new one and call it a day?

[aau007]

heya,

I finally got a reply back from an Andrew, in Lenovo Singapore (I'm in Australia). It seems he spoke to somebody higher up, and they do know about the TRIM issue, but there's no word on when the update would be out. They were hoping for mid-to-late this year.

Anyhow, my thinking is, I'll give them till just after mid this year, then maybe ring again, and if that falls through, try the consumer courts. It seems a bit ridiculous that Samsung's already released their update since February, and Lenovo is dragging their heels on letting their customers use that update. Are all manufacturers like this?

Hmm, the other issue is, if I drag Lenovo through the consumer court, I suppose I can leverage on them to either release the firmware (unlikely), or just give me a new drive with TRIM already on it - thoughts? Can anybody confirm that the new Lenovo drives have TRIM?

Cheers,
Victor

Has Lenovo ever promised TRIM support on their SSD? Otherwise, you will have a very difficult time with the court. Just because Samsung released a firmware for their own SSD, that does not mean Lenovo needs to follow. If Lenvo never promised TRIM support on their SSDs, instead of fighting them to get TRIM support, you might as well go buy one that already comes with TRIM support. Ask yourself whether it is worth the time and effort.

[GrandMasterKhan]

"Ask yourself whether it is worth the time and effort." Point on exactly. Seems like a waste of time. Most people who have SSDs generally install on their own. Likewise for RAM.

[visionviper]

I finally got a reply back from an Andrew, in Lenovo Singapore (I'm in Australia). It seems he spoke to somebody higher up, and they do know about the TRIM issue, but there's no word on when the update would be out. They were hoping for mid-to-late this year.

Finally some good news about TRIM coming to our SSDs.

[alins]

Contacted Lenovo (USA) today to see if my Samsung SSD could be replaced by a TRIM compliant one. Was told that at best they would ship the same part number (which was out of stock anyway) and that I could buy a TRIM compliant one myself if I really needed it!

[alins]

Yet another reply from Samsung when I asked about a firmware upgrade:

Re: Firmware upgrade for Samsung SSD
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 6:51 AM
From: "SemiWebmaster" <semiconductor@samsung.com>

Hello

Thank you for your inquiry to Samsung Semiconductor.

The firmware VAM0DL1Q is developed to contain the specific features requested by Lenovo. Therefore,we recommend you to contact Lenovo for any inquiries regarding the firmware update on this drive.

If you have any further questions, please send us more question again or visit our Homepage (http://www.samsungsemi.com).

Sincerely,
Semiconductor Business
Samsung Electronics Co,.Ltd.

This is an automated response. Please do not respond to this message.
If you want to make any comments or ask another question, please use the link provided in this mail.

[visionviper]

So basically we just need to keep bugging Lenovo.

[alins]

From the Samsung SSD FAQ:

http://www.samsungmemory.com/faq

Do all Samsung SSDs offer TRIM support?
All Samsung branded consumer solid state drives offer TRIM support.

[chongyixiong]

So what is the status for the current 'bugging' procedure?

For X200's "MMCQE28G8MUP-0VAL1" Samsung 128GB SSD

[victorhooi]

heya,

Well, I sent an email to a Singapore Lenovo employee around August 12, and I received a reply saying he'd get back to me.

I didn't hear anything back, so I sent another email on September 9, still waiting back for a reply from that.

The next step, from what I can gather, is just to file a case via our local consumer courts, since a SSD that is slower than a HDD is certainly not fit for purpose.

I'm in the UK atm (work), but I'll be back around October, so I'll probably just start filing the claim then.

Has anybody else had any luck dealing with Lenovo? It's a bit surprising, I mean, IBM/Lenovo was historically meant to be one of the better brands to deal with, and there's a reason I originally picked them over say, Dell (notorious for not supporting their products), or say, Acer/Benq. It's a bit sad that they now seem to have fallen into the same tranche.

Cheers,
Victor

[visionviper]

So Samsung has a new tool they use for their SSDs (for updating and other things) called "SSD Magician". I went ahead and installed it on my X301 to check it out. It turns out it doesn't even recognize my Samsung SSD.

Just another nail in the coffin for those of us with the older Samsung SSDs.

[artic_squirrel]

From the Samsung SSD FAQ:

http://www.samsungmemory.com/faq

Do all Samsung SSDs offer TRIM support?
All Samsung branded consumer solid state drives offer TRIM support.

Are SSDs sold to manufacturers like HP, lenovo etc. considered branded consumer ?

[aau007]

No. These are called OEM.

[victorhooi]

heya,

Well, this is a barrel of laughs...the same screen issue from before just recovered on my Lenovo X200 tablet. Guess I'm sending it back in again. Even though it's still the first year, I'm starting to think it's a good thing I purchased the extended warranty for this thing.

On the SSD front, I'm still waiting to hear back from Lenovo since the last email. It's getting a trifle annoying.

Anyhow, since I'm sending it in anyway, I'm going to ask quite strongly that they resolve the screen issue as well as this SSD issue. A SSD that I paid around $500 extra for and is slower than a mechanical spinning disk, and for which they've gone out of their way to block firmware updats from is really not that fun. Either they somehow figure out how to flash the firmware, or they just slot in another SSD that actually supports TRIM and won't slow-down.

Fingers crossed it gets resolved this time.

Cheers,
Victor

[Daniel Bakker]

by the way, does anybody know if the new 160GB SSD from lenovo supports TRIM?

[erik]

by the way, does anybody know if the new 160GB SSD from lenovo supports TRIM?

yes.   they are intel G2 drives and support TRIM.   (i own two of them.)

[victorhooi]

heya,

Well, I got my laptop back today, screen repaired, harddisk issue unresolved...*sigh*.

They've really gone downhill. Even Dell had the decency to replace customer's mis-behaving SSDs. It's funny how they're using Intel G2 SSDs now...maybe enough people complained about the Samsungs.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2829/19

Anyhow, I've applied for a committal hearing with Lenovo:

http://twitpic.com/35980c

will keep you guys updated on what happens.

Cheers,
Victor

[martin6115]

Hello Victor,

how did the committal hearing go? Any luck?

I bought my X301 just because it contained SSD HDD so it should be fast. I was deciding between Sony and Lenovo, chose Lenovo for their good support - now my SSD write speed is low and I am very disappointed by Lenovo not really supporting expensive machine they sold to me.

Martin