nvidia chipset and Intel 320 ssd 120gb

[idata]

So I've heard/read that you cannot do a firmware update for the ssd with an nvidia based chipset. I've also noticed some sort of 8mb issue that is going around which requires a firmware update.

Should I take this SSD and upgrade the firmware in a different computer?

Also, I have the SSD as my main OS drive. Is the nvidia chipset the reason for the weird behavior of the intel toolbox? For instance, it tells me that SMART is not enabled on the drive.

Thanks for your help

[idata]

Well, right now I have two G2 SSDs installed with my Asus Crosshair II (NVIDIA chipset), and I've never had any issues updating them in that system (outside of it tending to wipe out all stats upon flashing). I also have no issues with S.M.A.R.T., so that probably means you don't have it enabled in your BIOS.

Now, if you were trying to do a secure erase, then I could say it might be an issue with the chipset, but there are also workarounds for that as well. As for your issues, what are they besides no S.M.A.R.T. values? Are you using the standard Microsoft AHCI drivers? Are your controllers in BIOS set to AHCI mode instead of RAID or Legacy? You've left out too much info for me to even guess as to what you're experiencing, so if you could be more explicit I'd appreciate it.

[idata]

I have a Dell machine so my BIOS is pretty limited.

I cannot access SMART values in the Intel SSD toolbox despite having enabled SMART reporting in the BIOS. I CAN access the SMART values of my hard drives using SpeedFan (which won't give me SMART values for the SSD either).

Not sure about the drivers, and whether my SSD is configured via AHCI and IDE. I don't have very much experience with this, but from what I've seen with other BIOS, I think this is an option usually found in the BIOS. My Dell BIOS doesn't allow me to choose this.

I can run the quick diagnostic scan, which comes out okay, and the "Run" button CAN be clicked in the full diagnostic scan.

Obviously, Secure Erase will not be clickable on this SSD since I have the OS installed on it. The firmware "Update" button is grayed out; I am not sure if this is due to my OS being installed onto this SSD? When I burnt the firmware update image file onto a CD, and chose it at the POST screen, the utility told me that it cannot find any SSDs attached to my computer.

Finally, the "Drive Details" is also grayed out on the intel SSD toolbox home screen.

Hope that gives you some more info, and thank you for the help