530 SSD, sometimes bad, sometimes good

[ppara5]

I have a 530 120 GB SSD that exhibits problems when updating Fedora Linux. Messages along the lines of "write FPDMA queued" and "ATA bus error" are displayed. I removed the SSD from the PC and installed Fedora Linux on a WDC hard drive with no errors being seen, so it's not the PC. I ran a full diagnostic scan using SSD Toolbox, but no problems were found. Something seems to be wrong, but I don't want to send it in for warranty if it will just be returned to me as is (according to intel.com, I have almost two more years of warranty remaining). From reading the SATA specification, it appears that the supported life is 36,500 GB, but Total NAND Writes = 4639.00 GB. All SMART fields are green Ready For Use. What SSD Toolbox data would Intel support look at to determine if the SSD is toast?

[ppara5]

I have more information. I actually have two 530 120 GB drives. # 1 is the one I referenced before. After your comment regarding firmware, I updated both drives to the firmware you suggested. The PC has i5-2500K, DH67CL, a older Creative sound card, and an XFX R7 240 video card. I'm probably the only person with a K processor and a motherboard that does not allow processor overclocking.

On # 1, I previously tried to install both Fedora 25 and Korora 25, with the latter being a spin of the former. Both times I saw the ATA error messages. I only saw these error message when I did "dnf update" in the console, and more specifically, I only saw them during the download portion of the update. These error messages are NOT fatal, with the update continuing to the end.

Remember that this PC has a swap rack on it so I can switch between Linux and Windows OS. It is connected via SATA III.

I used W-7 installed on a 330 60 GB drive first thing this morning. As usual, I experienced no warnings or errors.

Then, after updating the firmware of the two 530 120 GB drives, I secure-erased # 1 and installed Korora 25. I saw the same messages as before, but the installation appears to have completed successfully.

Then I booted # 2, on which I had previously installed Fedora 25. I updated the OS via "dnf update" in the console. I did NOT see the ATA error messages.

I just realized I may have a non-Intel problem. All of my SSDs are mounted inside Vantec 2.5" to 3.5" converters to make it easy to use the swap rack. It is possible that the Vantec for # 1 has connection problems. I will remove the SSD from the Vantec, connect it inside the case via SATA III, secure-erase it, and install Fedora 25. I will post results later.

[ppara5]

Okay, I understand the problem. I secure-erased the drive, mounted it inside the case via SATA III, and installed Korora. No errors were found. The problem has to be in the SATA passthrough in the Vantec converter. I always thought it was simple circuitry, but perhaps I wore-out the connectors. It has been recycled, so it will not bother me again. Sorry, I should have recognized the potential before I posted.

[idata]

Hi Paramountain,

Thanks so much for providing the deep research on this one and the explanation to the situation presented.We really hope this can be useful for other users.Don't worry about posting here, it is always good to learn about this different situations and we are glad to see how you fixed it.Regards,Nestor C

[ppara5]

Okay, I'm back, even more confused than ever. I used Korora on that SSD since my last post in a different Vantec converter. I did not see the errors I saw before and therefore believed that the problem was solved.

Today I updated the system and saw ten times as many errors as before. I thought the system was going to crash. Over the past week or so, I have updated a Fedora system on another 530 SSD and a Korora system on a SanDisk USB flash drive, multiple times, with no errors. So, either the Vantec converters are conspiring against me, Korora (but not its parent Fedora) is having problems on Intel SSDs, or there is a subtle problem with the SSD.

I'm going to wipe the SSD, install Linux Mint, and use it for a while to see if the errors reappear. I will post again later.

[idata]

Hi Paramountain,

Please keep us posted on this one. This is really strange.Regards,Nestor C