510 serie 120gb SSD not supported by Intel SSD Toolbox ??

[idata]

Hi Everyone,

I will try to make it simple as I spent my whole friday night and whole saturday today on this issue. I just bought the 120Gb version of 510 SSD serie, it is not supported by intel SSD toolbox.

Of the three Intel SSD Management Tools the system Configuration Tuner seems the only one working. This is quite surprising, as I actually picked an Intel SSD for this suite of tools, to ensure Trim while using XP Pro SP3.

Here are the hardware details :

• Windows XP Pro 32 Bit
• Asus A8n32 SLI Deluxe latest bios (Nforce4 SLI)
• Athlon X2 4200
• Controller Board Asus U3S6 (revision 0, the first version) PCI-E 4X for USB3 and SATA 6Gb
• The Intel SSD 510 serie 120gb is connected to the Asus U3S6 Sata3/USB3 controller board. It uses the Marvell 9123 SATA3 Chip
• I tried to attach the SSD to a Nforce 4 SLI SATA1 connector, Silicon Image SATA1 Connector, Silicon Image eSata2 Connector, and finally the Marvell 9123 of the Asus U3S6...nothing makes the SSD Toolbox to support the 510 Drive for Trim (Intel SSD Optimizer)

I have spent the whole day looking for info, found some, and did the following things

1. Updated the Marvell 9123 drivers the U3S6 Asus Board uses (1.0.0.1036, because the latest 1.2.0.1003 WHQL are not working, despite the WHQL)
2. Flashed the firmware of the 9123 controller, to the the latest available : 1.0.0.1028 available on http://www.station-drivers.com/page/marvell.htm http://www.station-drivers.com/page/marvell.htm

Nothing is working. I found some topics telling Marvell Microcontroller 91xx don't forward Intel TRIM Instruction, hence the Toolbox incapable to launch the SSD Optimizer. But what worries me the most is that the third tool "Secure Erase" cannot work as well (even when the SSD has no partition), so it seems that the toolbox just does not support the intel 510 series yet...how's that possible?

I also found testimonies of people using Seven, and having trouble with the Trim fonction when 510 SSD is paired with Marvell Microcontrolers.

I wanted to transfer my system drive, and old 74Gb raptor, to this 510 (Hefty price by the way), but definitely won't since there is no possibility to lauch manual Trim from time to time.

If an Intel expert passes by...his comments on this issues are welcomed ! And even if you are no Intel engineer, any help is welcomed as well !

Thanks by advance.

Dariel

[idata]

"By the way, is there another tool that could Trim my SSD and be an alternative to Intel SSD toolbox trim function?"

You are welcome, and that is a good question, if I had an answer for you it would have been rather rude of me not to offer it to you, IMO.

I am not aware of any other program that offers a manual TRIM function, although I have not needed one since I am able to use the Toolbox's Optimizer, as well as use Windows 7 in SATA AHCI mode, and the Intel iaStor (RAID) driver, but do not have SSD's in a RAID array. I do a fair amount of reading on PC hardware review web sites and forums, and have never heard of any other TRIM utility program, sorry to say. That does not mean it doesn't exist of course, and it surprises me that no one seems to have created one, other than Intel. I am not familiar with the offerings of other SSD manufactures, which may be a source of such a tool.

Frankly, regarding the use of the Windows msahci driver, I am uncertain that it must be used in AHCI mode (it won't install automatically unless the SATA mode is AHCI), since there are forum members that I think have said TRIM works in IDE mode, but I become confused with the details and conflicting information that I have seen. I also do not have much experience with SATA controllers beyond those found on Intel chipset based mother boards. Hopefully someone else may add some information to this thread that could help you.

I'm also surprised by the lack of information or caveats regarding the Toolbox and it's usage with various hardware. The Toolbox User Guide Requirements section is minimal, and mentions only a few very specific hardware restrictions or failures. I wonder if their is some legal issue behind that. One thing that is mentioned is the need of Microsoft's .NET Framework software, which is supposed to be automatically installed if not present when the Toolbox is installed. You might want to verify that you have that installed on your PC, although I cannot guaranteed that it will fix your problem at all, just a thought.