SandForce BSOD bug identified, OCZ first to provide fix

[Shawn Knight]

SandForce and OCZ Technology have released a firmware update for SF-2000 series solid state drives that addresses a nagging blue screen of death and disconnect bug that has plagued drives for months. OCZ is one of many vendors that use SandForce controllers and they have been at the forefront of the issue, working directly with SandForce and affected users to pinpoint the problem.

Although details are sparse, the firmware release notes indicate that the fix concerns a “rare” condition that may cause a blue screen error when the primary drive is woke up from either a SATA slumber mode or S3 / S4 modes. The change log also notes a BSOD error when the drive is configured as the primary unit with an OS installed and another issue that could cause stuttering or freezing when a media read error occurs.

Finally, OCZ’s Secure Erase function has been enhanced to prevent possible data structure corruption and TRIM handling has been improved.

These issues are corrected in OCZ’s firmware update 2.15 available here and all new drives manufactured at OCZ will ship with this firmware version (or later).

The firmware used on SandForce drives are uniquely manufactured for each SSD OEM and system manufacturer, and for that reason any firmware updates created by SandForce are provided through those vendors, not SandForce. That said, those with SandForce drives from other vendors will need to wait until they release their own firmware update to address the issue.

As with any software or firmware update, it’s recommended to back up any data before performing the update.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/45902-sandforce-bsod-bug-identified-ocz-first-to-provide-fix.html

 

[Guest]

Hopefully they will use this to fix the problems with the drives using SF-1200 as well!

 

[Guest]

I have a Kingston HyperX 120GB SSD, and it's been a terrible experience so far. Random BSOD and the works. I hope this fix will spawn a firmware update from Kingston soon.

 

[Guest]

OCZ and Sandforce really shot themselves in the foot... repeatedly... with a BFG-9000.

Most techies avoid their drives at all cost. Those unlucky ones who did not realise the extent of the problems... they're never buying OCZ/Sandforce again.

 

[Guest]

I tend to believe the issues weren't all that widespread. I've had a Vertex 3 since May and I haven't had any issues. I'm sure there are plenty like me out there, you just don't hear about it.

 

[Guest]

YES!!

I can put my computer to SLEEP NOW!

I knew SandForce and OCZ would pull through on this one!

 

[Guest]

Sandforce works great on the latest Intel Chipsets

ICH10R +

anything else .. = sandforce BUG!

i have a nForce 680i SLI ..and no sandforce controller will run properly on it!

i use Vertex 1 on that chipset.

but my SB + vertex 3 Max IOPS . .just screaming fast .. with 0 problems since I bought it.

(except a wake from sleep problem) .. but i never sleep my computer!

 

[Guest]

I've had a Vertex 2 in my laptop for over a year without issue. Based on that experience I recommended them to a client for use in 3 different laptops. I've gone through 5 different drives failing at varying intervals. All Vertex 2 drives both old nan and new, 60 and 120GB. Drive replacement through OCZ via RMA is taking weeks. I've currently been waiting for over a month for drive replacement on the last drive.

It will be a while before I try another OCZ drive ...