Any news on the dead 320 SSDs fix?

[idata]

There are a number of posts on the 320 series SSD failures, but I can't find any word on this except that Intel knows about it and is working on a fix, but we all seem to be wondering the same things:

Will the fix be only for functioning drives or will it also make busted ones usable again?

Will the fix restore our data or is it lost forever?

If the data is going to be lost no matter what, we can move ahead and replace the drive, but until we know, we're kinda stuck here. Even a "we're not sure yet" would be nice.

[idata]

I just spoke with Intel tech suppport. Here is my paraphrasing of what they told me.

• They hope to have a fix in the next couple of weeks.
• They cannot guarantee that data will be recoverable by the fix, though other firmware fixes for Intel SSDs have allowed data recovery in the past.
• The firmware should make the drive useable again (though perhaps without the previous data). If not you can get the drive replaced.
• I asked if relacement drives will differ in any way from old drives -answer, no hardware will change, any replacement drives will be hardware identical (just be sure it has the frimware fix before using it!)
• They wil post the availability of the fix in the SSD forum and in the download area.

The tech was careful to say that they are still working on this and these answers are not guaranteed.

For me, then, I'll wait to see if the fix allows me to recover my data.

[idata]

Thanks for this post, George. It's good to have SOME kind of information, even if it's "not guaranteed". Sheesh.

[idata]

It's not really too surprising that they're a little careful about a response. it's hard to get any tech in any iondustry to comit to anything unless they know for sure they have the problem licked. It is surprising that there is little communication on the forums. As a salesperson I know that even if I don't have an answer for my customer right away he'd rather hear that it is being dealt with with a sense of urgency and that I'm working on it and making progress instead of being left in the dark. That's customer service 101. The phone tech understood that though, even putting me on hold and getting some specific info from others.

[idata]

I think you're forgetting that anything said publicly can/will be picked up by the media and review sites, which in turn could (will) have a detrimental effect on stock price, which directly upsets shareholders. Review/tech sites picked up the announcement of the upcoming firmware fix within minutes of the forum post from Intel. So it comes as no surprise that all the statements about the problem so far have been carefully phrased; I can assure you anyone who works for Intel is avoiding discussions about the problem publicly, else risk immediate termination. Such statements have to come from management and get PR approval. That's the sad reality of big business, even if it isn't a reality I approve of.