Intel X-25M G2 TRIM Firmware RELEASED (02HA)

[jimhsu]

You know, I think the SSD toolkit is doing a bit more than just TRIM.

Disk: 13 GB free
Task: Moved a 10 GB folder (~50000 files) off to hard drive, moved a different ~10 GB folder (about the same # of files) to the SSD. This is close to the worst case scenario because a) free space is very low, and b) the entire free space region is being written over.

Crystaldiskmark before running the tool (after task completion): Writes 80/50/30 (sorry, I didn't save the exact numbers)
Crystaldiskmark after:

Sequential Write : 85.222 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 85.278 MB/s
Random Write 4KB : 57.813 MB/s

Technically under Windows 7 and TRIM on (disabledeletenotify = 0), the performance before and after the task should be the same. But, it's not. And the tool restores performance.

/goes off to set the tool to run daily

 

[dfuze]

SSD Toolbox installed w/o a hitch for me. Firmware update went smoothly also.

Crystal Diskmark write before: 76.24MB/s, 26.85MB/s, 24.04MB/s
write after: 90.79MB/s, 90.5MB/s, 63.79MB/s

 

[monkeydust]

Borked my Win7 64 installation. It is trying to do a repair now but I'm not that hopeful. Didn't have that much on it anyways so not a big deal to reinstall.

 

[kyp275]

dang... I really wanna get the toolbox to work, esp. after seeing these benchmark numbers.... Maybe I should just make a image and then reformat the drive?

 

[dfuze]

Could it be the IDE/AHCI issue (if I have that correct) that could be changed in the BIOS?

 

[taltamir]

The intel tool DOES have a "wiper" tool... the intel toolkit works on XP, vista, and windows 7.
The firmware is required to run the toolkit. (The toolkit can actually be used to get smart info from non SSD / non intel drives)
The driver for TRIM to work for a non RAID member SSD (intel or non intel SSD) on an intel mobo with RAID enabled has NOT been released yet.

So... intel mobos + raid array + SSD trim (on an SSD that is not part of the array) will have to wait for a driver update that intel promised and is late on.
TRIM was promised and has been delivered for windows 7.
A wiper tool was never mentioned but was delivered, and it can be scheduled to auto run, helping those with windows XP or windows Vista enjoy trim performance on intel.

 

[briguy812]

<noob alert>

So I've got a brand new G2 SSD sitting in a box, and a copy of Win7 waiting to install. Do I need to re-install Win7 once I update the FW, or is this all I need to do:

1. Hook-up SSD
2. Install Win7 (XP Pro currently installed)
3. Update FW
4. Good to go?

 

[vtfanmv5]

You don't need to reinstall after updating firmware, but if I were you I would go ahead and update the firmware before you install Windows 7. You update the firmware from a boot disk, so you don't need an OS to do it.

 

[dfuze]

@briguy812, I already had win7 installed and didn't have a problem flashing the drive w/ the updated firmware, it left my system intact. If you want, you can burn the firmware ISO to a CD and update the drive before installing the OS if you want though.

 

[monkeydust]

Originally posted by: monkeydust
Borked my Win7 64 installation. It is trying to do a repair now but I'm not that hopeful. Didn't have that much on it anyways so not a big deal to reinstall.

Sigh.... now I can't even get my box to POST for some reason. :'(

 

[georgewillow]

You're not the only one. See:

http://communities.intel.com/thread/7693?tstart=0

 

[thawolfman]

Originally posted by: georgewillow
You're not the only one. See:

http://communities.intel.com/thread/7693?tstart=0

Hey George...Thought I'd check here as well to see if anyone experienced our issues. (I'm Shade in that Intel thread)

 

[footballrunner800]

Does anyone know if its necessary to run the toolbox regularly or is it fine with trim\Win 7?

 

[ApostolicFire]

I'm having the same problems you have, monkeydust. I just spent the past 5 hours trying to repair my windows install. I finally am able to try and reinstall windows again, but the install said that the hard drive is bad.

 

[shabby]

No issues here with the trim firmware.

before - http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/5919/ssd3.jpg
after - http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8707/ssdbm.jpg

 

[ApostolicFire]

I got Windows installed again (the first time it tried installing I got an I/O error) and here are my results:

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2435/ssdtest.png

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: briguy812
<noob alert>

So I've got a brand new G2 SSD sitting in a box, and a copy of Win7 waiting to install. Do I need to re-install Win7 once I update the FW, or is this all I need to do:

1. Hook-up SSD
2. Install Win7 (XP Pro currently installed)
3. Update FW
4. Good to go?

1. Hook-up SSD
2. Set bios to legacy mode (probably named IDE mode... or disabled for RAID and AHCI. -RAID and AHCI should be disabled-)
3. Update firmware (boot disk)
4. Set bios to RAID mode or AHCI mode.
5. Install windows 7.
6...
7. Profit

You CAN update firmware after installing windows 7. But there is always some risk in firmware upgrade (although generally speaking they can be pretty safe).

 

[Stoneburner]

As I just learned, the SSD may need to be on a specific sata channel. I had to switch among four different sata cables before getting the utility to recognize the drive.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Download the tool regardless you have the Gen 2 or Gen 1. On my 50nm Gen 1, I can't use TRIM itself, but it still shows useful statistics about the drive-That's cool.

 

[BaboonGuy]

Just updated here successfully! Following what others have said, I disabled AHCI went to IDE, booted from the iso CD, updated firmware, switched back to AHCI and voila!

AS SSD benchies; 80GB G2, 55.5GB used and 18.9GB free:
Before
After

The only thing is I thought TRIM was an automated function? After I updated my firmware the initial run of AS SSD was actually worse than before. Then I downloaded the toolkit and did the optimize function and presto change-o, better scores.

So does this mean we have to run this utility every time we want to use TRIM? If so, I'll just schedule it to run everyday.

 

[dank69]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
Just updated here successfully! Following what others have said, I disabled AHCI went to IDE, booted from the iso CD, updated firmware, switched back to AHCI and voila!

AS SSD benchies; 80GB G2, 55.5GB used and 18.9GB free:
Before
After

The only thing is I thought TRIM was an automated function? After I updated my firmware the initial run of AS SSD was actually worse than before. Then I downloaded the toolkit and did the optimize function and presto change-o, better scores.

So does this mean we have to run this utility every time we want to use TRIM? If so, I'll just schedule it to run everyday.

I believe the act of deleting a file or formatting a partition triggers TRIM. When you first install the firmware, you have to manually TRIM it the first time.

 

[latch]

Originally posted by: footballrunner800
Does anyone know if its necessary to run the toolbox regularly or is it fine with trim\Win 7?

If you want better performance, yes. It appears to be doing more than just a trim...dunno what though.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Too many reports of dying drives after flashing. I guess I'll hold off until we hear an explanation from Intel. Working computer is much more important to me.

 

[jimhsu]

Originally posted by: latch

Originally posted by: footballrunner800
Does anyone know if its necessary to run the toolbox regularly or is it fine with trim\Win 7?

If you want better performance, yes. It appears to be doing more than just a trim...dunno what though.

My observations so far show that this is the case. Since Intel won't tell us what the tool is actually doing, I've scheduled it to run every day.

 

[tomt4535]

Does anyone know if this update will work with the Kingston branded drives as well?