M.2 SSD Locked in read only ?

[colomailbe]

Dear all,

First time that I see that:

- Win10 (pre-installed) never reach login screen (the circle with dot keeps running)
- Impossible to enter safe Mode

Now it starts geeting weird:

- I try to boot an USB Key with Win10 image, same problem !
- I try to boot an USB Key with linux (from https://www.system-rescue.org/).

Good I'm able to access in read-only Windows partition, I backup the data.

Now I try to fdisk, delete all partition and write the partition table. No error, but if I fdisk again all partition are still there?!

Let's try a smartctl -t long -a /dev/sda, no specific error, lifetime 668hours...

MODEL: INTEL SSDSCKKF256H6

Serial: CVLY65060JES256J

Firmware: LBFD07N

The only thing that I found is that this SSD could have locked itself in read-only mode.

Is it the case ? how can I return to a normal operation mode then ? (please note that I can't access any windows anymore, only Linux accept to boot).

Thanks !

H

[n_scott_pearson]

Here's the thing, you don't have any warranty from Intel for any component in this laptop (even if it was produced by Intel). You purchased a laptop from Dell as an integrated product, so it is Dell who provides the warranty for everything that is in this product. Yes, this means that, while drives bought separately have a 5-year warranty, drives bought as part of a laptop system get only the one or perhaps two years of warranty coverage that the system gets. Same goes for processor; those bought separately have a 3-year warranty, but those bought as part of a system have only the one or perhaps two years of warranty that Dell provides.

Note also that part of what you paid Dell up front was actually for support - yet, if you won't pay them extra, the slimeballs punt you over to Intel Customer Support (ICS). What a deal: you pay Dell for support, Dell punts you over to ICS instead and then Dell pockets the money that they didn't spend on support. Remember that Intel gives Dell a warranty on all parts purchased and, if something is wrong, Dell is supposed to bring this issue to Intel. When Dell punts you over to ICS, you present the issue with one voice. If it had been Dell presenting the issue, it would have many hundreds of thousands of voices behind it. See the problem? By punting you to Intel, the priority of the issue is drastically lowered. Dell gets away with it because, unfortunately, HP, Asus, Lenovo, etc. all do the same thing - yet people continue to purchase their crap and put up with their crappy support and crappy warranties. The whole thing is freaking sickening. 

Off my soapbox now...

...S

[JosafathB_Intel]

Hello, colomailbe.

Thank you for your reply.

I completely understand your point is a shame that this SSD ended up in this state after a couple of years of usage. Unfortunately, our tools are not able to change or update the firmware on OEM-modified SSDs. 

The OEM Dell* is the one responsible for providing support and warranty to this product.

We have two articles that may be helpful:

1- How to Recover the Intel® SSD from a Read-Only State Using Diskpart:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000056306/memory-and-storage.html

2- When to Run a Low-Level Format or Secure Erase on Intel® Solid State Drives and Tools to Use:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000006198/memory-and-storage.html

Another software you can use is the GNOME Partition Editor, better known as GParted (https://gparted.org/). This tool comes pre-installed on the most common Linux* distributions and has a live solution.  

*We provide links to third-party tools and sites for your convenience. We don't necessarily endorse the content, products, or services offered there. We don't offer support for third-party tools.

If you can not write information to your SSD after following all the steps and recommendations, the best option will be to replace it.

We will follow up with you again on Tuesday, the 13th of July 2021, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please let us know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

Best regards.

Josh B.

Intel® Customer Support Technician.

[colomailbe]

Hi Josh,

Thanks for your update.

1. Do you know if there's a similar command ("attributes disk clear readonly") that could be run from linux ?
NB. Otherwise I'll try to boot an old Win7 ISO (any Win10 refuses to boot even the installer).

2. I will try those tools too.

Gparted get the same result than fdisk, everything works perfectly but when I restart the program no partition were deleted.

I also tried to "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=10M", no partition were scrapped after 3 hours.

 Well I'll let you know and if I succeed, with any tools proposed above, I'll mark the thread as solved with accepted solution.

Best,

C.

[JosafathB_Intel]

Hello, colomailbe.

Thank you for your reply.

To answer your questions:

1- I do apologize, but I am not aware if there is a Linux* command as specific as the one you are requesting. I advise you to contact on your Linux distribution community forum.

2- On GParted, there is an option on the device tab to create the partition table of your drive, have you tried that option as well?

It seems that the device is completely blocked and will not allow you to write any data on the SSD. The best option will be to back up the information and replace the drive.

I will be looking forward to your update. Please, let us know if the other tools help you.

We will follow up with you again on Wednesday, the 14th of July 2021, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please, let us know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

Best regards.

Josh B.

Intel® Customer Support Technician.

[JosafathB_Intel]

Hello, colomailbe.

Greetings from; Intel® Memory and Storage support.

We were reviewing your community thread, which is related to your Intel® SSD Pro 5400s Series. We would like to know if you were able to check the previous communication.

We will follow up with you again on Friday, the 16th of July 2021, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please, let us know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

Best regards.

Josh B.

Intel® Customer Support Technician.