8/13 Update on "Bad Context 13x Error" for Intel SSD 320 Series

[idata]

Status:

Intel has reproduced, identified root cause, and developed a firmware update which addresses the Bad Context 13x Error being discussed on the Communities site and elsewhere.

Response plan:

The new firmware update is in final validation testing and is targeted for release on Intel® Communities within the next two weeks. Intel takes firmware updates and issues of reliability very seriously and is taking extra steps to support a smooth release. We appreciate your patience.

What should I do if I have not experienced this issue?

To minimize occurrence, if a system requires a shut down, Intel recommends using that system's standard power shut down sequence. As with any storage device, Intel recommends users frequently back up their data. Download and install the new firmware when it is available. As with our previous firmware updates, a secure erase is not required.

What should I do if I have experienced this issue?

If you have already experienced a drive failure or encounter this problem before the firmware update is released, please contact your Intel representative or Intel customer support (via web: http://www.intel.com/ www.intel.com or phone: http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/contact/phone www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/contact/phone) for an SSD replacement. An alternative option is to use the Intel ® SSD Toolbox or similar tools to perform a secure erase in order to restore the SSD to an operational state; all data will be erased. After secure erase, update your SSD with the upcoming firmware. The pending firmware update will not recover user data.

Background:

For users unfamiliar with the issue, an Intel SSD 320 Series drive may exhibit a drive capacity of 8MB and an electronic serial # field containing a message of "BAD_CTX 0000013x" due to an unexpected power loss under specific conditions. Once this error occurs, no data on the SSD can be accessed and the user cannot write to or read from the SSD.

Rgds,

Scott

Intel Corporation

[idata]

After following this thread for a while I decided to post my experiences as well.

First of all I never had the 8MB bug, but as Intel stated, even users without the 8MB bug were encouraged to install the firmware update.

The update itself went quite well, the SSD (it's an 320 160GB) was immediately recognized and soon I was greeted with the firmware complete message. Like the included readme stated, I turned off my system for 10 seconds (actually I turned it off for 30 seconds, just to be sure) and then the problems began. The SSD wasn't recognized anymore and the HD-LED was blinking like a Christmas tree. A couple of reboots and power-off cycles didn't solve my issue. It turned out I had to detach my SSD from my system, boot my system without the SSD, attach the SSD again, and boot up again. Although the operating system (win7 64 bit) now did boot up correctly and seemed to work fine, I noticed the SMART 09 attribute (the power on hours) didn't function anymore. SSD Toolbox stated the power on hours was reset to 0 and CrystalDiskInfo (SSD Utility software) stated the power on feature wasn't supported on my SSD.

I decided to reinstall windows to see if it would solve my issue. It indeed solved it partial. The power on hours seemed to work again, but for the last two days it states, it's only been powered on for one (1) hour. I will continue to monitor it off course, though I think it is a bit strange.

[idata]

SMART 09h Power On Hours is a bit misleading in that it does not track to the time the "system" is powered on. Power on hours only increments based on the amount of time the SSD is in active state which is a very small percentage of time your system is in use. A majority of the time the SSD is in low power DIPM mode where Power On Hours does not increment. One hour of SSD active time for two days of system use sounds about correct.

[idata]

Ah ok, I didn't knew that. By the way, the Power on Hours just raised to 2, so I guess it's just working fine now.

Still leaves me with the strange Christmas Tree HD-LED flickering and the drive not being recognized after flashing and off course the Power on Hours which only worked after a re-install of the operating system.

Like I said, the SSD seems to work just fine now, so I guess I shouldn't be worrying that much at the moment.

[Vegan]

Power on hours are a feature carried over from hard disks who have been more studied over defects.

No moving parts in SSD so once the logic is good, it should be durable

[idata]

In this day and age we have to update the SSD's using flashdrives, where supposedly are to make our lives easier they made it a lot harder and full of grief.

The way I see it it's easier to make espresso with our computers than it is to make these goddam drives work.