Firmware update now available - Addresses Bad Context 13x Error

[Alan_F_Intel]

Status:

Intel has posted a firmware update for the Intel® SSD 320 Series (firmware 4PC10362) which addresses the Bad Context 13x Error being discussed on the Communities site and elsewhere. You can download the new firmware here:

http://www.intel.com/go/ssdfirmware www.intel.com/go/ssdfirmware

Also posted at this link are Read Me, Release Notes, and SSD Firmware Update Tool Guidelines which provide detailed firmware update instructions and other relevant information such as the most current firmware revision available.

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

In order to provide the best user experience, Intel always recommends users download and install the latest firmware. As with any storage device, Intel recommends users frequently back up their data and periodically check for firmware updates. The http://www.intel.com/go/ssdtoolbox Intel® SSD Toolbox provides a host of utilities to monitor your SSD, including displaying detailed information such as the currently installed firmware revision.

What should I do if I have already experienced this issue?

If you have already experienced a drive failure or encounter this problem before the firmware update was 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 new firmware. The 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" caused by 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,

Alan

NVM Solutions Group

[idata]

OCZ is just BRAND NAME, this is a big and not very bad resseler, it's a LABEL on OEM products, produced by others manufacturers, so I am very sceptic hearing about "OCZ engineers on OCZ forums". What engineers? Label gluing?

[idata]

I think you might be mixing up OCZ with companies like Adata, Patriot or G.Skill.

[idata]

Those are the same companies.

They all not producing anything, just resellers.

For example OCZ PSUs are manufacured by FSP group and other well known China manufacturers. I know because I was disassembled a lot of OCZ products, including memory modules (heatsink removing), that have remarkered "OCZ" chips, but after dozen of alcohol and acetone became some AM2 manufactured memory chips. Some OCZ products are not selling with other brand names, like SSDs, but not in China, that have own well-known brands internally and I am not sure that OCZ SSDs is not some OEM drives or just manufactured and labeled for OCZ, but in real-life there is nothing from OCZ itself, except good user manuals/guides and technical support.

[idata]

OCZ has its own manufacturing plants for SSDs.

[idata]

This does not look clear for me. It could be true, but it could be fake also. Hope I am wrong.