Intel SSD 520 Series Disconnecting/Reconnecting, what to do?

[ENeto]

Abount an year ago I bought an ASUS Zenbook UX32VD with an Intel SSD 520 Series 480GB.

I got rid of Windows 8 (that ended up inside Virtualbox) and installed Linux, that time was Linux Mint 14 Nadia and now I have Linux Mint 17 Qiana, since the beginning I noticed occasional crashes that the logs ended pointing out the culprid was the SSD drive.

The kernel keeps logging that several times a day:

kernel: [15833.344939] ata1: exception Emask 0x50 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x4090800 action 0xe frozen

kernel: [15833.344952] ata1: irq_stat 0x00400040, connection status changed

kernel: [15833.344971] ata1: SError: { HostInt PHYRdyChg 10B8B DevExch }

kernel: [15833.344975] ata1: hard resetting link

kernel: [15834.068392] ata1: SATA link up 6.0 Gbps (SStatus 133 SControl 300)

kernel: [15834.079528] ata1.00: ACPI cmd f5/00:00:00:00:00:a0 (SECURITY FREEZE LOCK) filtered out

kernel: [15834.079606] ata1.00: ACPI cmd ef/10:06:00:00:00:a0 (SET FEATURES) succeeded

kernel: [15834.079615] ata1.00: ACPI cmd ef/10:03:00:00:00:a0 (SET FEATURES) filtered out

kernel: [15834.099770] ata1.00: ACPI cmd f5/00:00:00:00:00:a0 (SECURITY FREEZE LOCK) filtered out

kernel: [15834.099825] ata1.00: ACPI cmd ef/10:06:00:00:00:a0 (SET FEATURES) succeeded

kernel: [15834.099837] ata1.00: ACPI cmd ef/10:03:00:00:00:a0 (SET FEATURES) filtered out

kernel: [15834.109697] ata1.00: configured for UDMA/133

kernel: [15834.124335] ata1: EH complete

It says it needed to hard reset the sata link.

Occasionally it keeps doing that, downgrading the link speed to 3.0 Gbps then try with 1.5 Gbps, never stops and the system crashes.

I readed a ton of claims of people with the same problem principally with lenovo computers and the solution is always the same "I ended up exchanging my Intel 520 SSD for a Samsung 840 Pro" and now I don't have any problem.

I have a Samsung 840 Pro SSD with 512 GB that doesn't do that. Another interesting thing that happens with my Intel 520 and not with my Samsung 840 Pro is that if I put them in an external USB 3.0 case (I tested with a 2.0 USB case of another brand too), the Samsung works fine, but the Intel SSD keeps disconnecting and reconnecting all the time at a point to be impossible to use it, no matter what the computer/system I connect it to, Windows/Linux.

Is that normal? An Intel 520 Series 480GB SSD be unusable through USB, and only be usable because the kernel can handle its disconnections when connected through the SATA connector, and still ocassionally crashing?

I was considering buy another Samsung 840 Pro as the Intel 520 one will not serve me even as a backup drive.

[ENeto]

SMART information:

smartctl 6.2 2013-07-26 r3841 [x86_64-linux-3.13.0-24-generic] (local build)

Copyright (C) 2002-13, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===

Model Family: Intel 520 Series SSDs

Device Model: INTEL SSDSC2CW480A3

Serial Number: CVCV2060028N480DGN

LU WWN Device Id: 5 001517 bb2841cb5

Firmware Version: 400i

User Capacity: 480,103,981,056 bytes [480 GB]

Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical

Rotation Rate: Solid State Device

Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]

ATA Version is: ACS-2 T13/2015-D revision 3

SATA Version is: SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)

Local Time is: Fri Oct 3 15:23:32 2014 BRT

SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.

SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===

SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:

Offline data collection status: (0x00) Offline data collection activity

was never started.

Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.

Self-test execution status: ( 0) The previous self-test routine completed

without error or no self-test has ever

been run.

Total time to complete Offline

data collection: ( 1048) seconds.

Offline data collection

capabilities: (0x7f) SMART execute Offline immediate.

Auto Offline data collection on/off support.

Abort Offline collection upon new

command.

Offline surface scan supported.

Self-test supported.

Conveyance Self-test supported.

Selective Self-test supported.

SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering

power-saving mode.

Supports SMART auto save timer.

Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.

General Purpose Logging supported.

Short self-test routine

recommended polling time: ( 1) minutes.

Extended self-test routine

recommended polling time: ( 48) minutes.

Conveyance self-test routine

recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.

SCT capabilities: (0x0021) SCT Status supported.

SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 10

Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:

ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE

5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0

9 Power_On_Hours_and_Msec 0x0032 000 000 000 Old_age Always - 901366h+01m+56.610s

12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 1726

170 Available_Reservd_Space 0x0033 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 0

171 Program_Fail_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0

172 Erase_Fail_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0

174 Unexpect_Power_Loss_Ct 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 1722

184 End-to-End_Error 0x0033 100 100 090 Pre-fail Always - 0

187 Uncorrectable_Error_Cnt 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0

192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 1722

225 Host_Writes_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 104717

226 Workld_Media_Wear_Indic 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 65535

227 Workld_Host_Reads_Perc 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 70

228 Workload_Minutes 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 65535

232 Available_Reservd_Space 0x0033 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 0

233 Media_Wearout_Indicator 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0

241 Host_Writes_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 104717

242 Host_Reads_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 249846

249 NAND_Writes_1GiB 0x0013 100 100 000 Pre-fail Always - 4807

SMART Error Log not supported

SMART Self-test Log not supported

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 0

Note: revision number not 1 implies that no selective self-test has ever been run

SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENT_TEST_STATUS

1 0 0 Not_testing

2 0 0 Not_testing

3 0 0 Not_testing

4 0 0 Not_testing

5 0 0 Not_testing

Selective self-test flags (0x0):

After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.

If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

[ENeto]

Found other complaints about this same 520 Series SSDs here in the community. Seems I just bought a known crappy Intel product with a Sandforce SF-2281 chipset. Known to be a chipset with a crappy firmware even here.

[Jose_H_Intel1]

Hi edmundo_vn, there are some steps that may help:

• Update the https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18363 Intel® SSD firmware.
• Update the BIOS
• Do a http://www.thomas-krenn.com/en/wiki/SSD_Secure_Erase secure erase on the drive.

I hope the above suggestions help.

[ENeto]

My BIOS is already the latest one for UX32VD (214).

If you see the link you gave me and the above SMART information, I'm already using 400i firmware since I received the SSD. issdfut_2.0.13.iso don't have any update.

If I do a secure erase will it work inside an USB case and stop powering off/on by its own? Besides loosing 2 or more days of work to reinstall everything and not pretending to mess with the host protected area (that I don't have sure if helps with wear levelling) I don't see the point.