FirmWare Updates - for WD Black and Samsung

[SPDIF]

The list in the first post is not complete.

The new Samsung 990PRO 4TB uses 0B2QJXG7 as firmware version. The D changed in an G as part of the new NAND process used it the 4TB versions.
For older drive versions of the 990PRO it was version 0B2QJXD7, and the fixed version firmware is 3B2QJXD7.

The 990 PRO I 990 PRO with Heatsink will be manufactured using a mixed production between the V7 and V8 process starting September 2023, according Samsung. Mine has production date 10/2023 Made in Korea.

it seems that the G version firmware is for all capacity drives in the end for the 8th gen SSD's. There is no updates for this SSD.
Samsung notes; The new 990 PRO 4TB SSD has a different firmware version 0B2QJXG7, due to the change of the NAND process (V7-> V8), but all 990 PRO V7 / V8 products support equal function and equal performance at the same capacity.

The speed of this new SSD;

This new NAND uses; TLC 8gen 1024 Gbit V-NAND (236 layer Toggle 5.0), while the 1 and 2TB versions use; TLC 7gen 512 Gbit V-NAND (176 layer Toggle 4.0)

It has 4GB LPDDR4, and SLC cache from; 10 + 432 GB

 

[SPDIF]

And for people that worry; NO, there is NO degrading issues anymore with this or older versions of the 990PRO!!
Just make sure you always install the latest firmware if any... Use Samsung Magician for that.
So remember for this new version firmware 0B2QJXG7, there is no updates available, and does not have degrading issues!

Only if you have an 990PRO with old firmware 0B2QJXD7, i urge you to install the newest firmware, 3B2QJXD7, if not your drive will die slowly...

Also WD fixed all issues with the SN850X.

It's all being fixed a long time ago already!

 

[jarablue]

My 990 Pro 4TB with the new V8 process still gets slow Q32 random write speeds. Not sure what to do.

 

[SPDIF]

There is a new Firmware update available for the older and NEW versions of the 990PRO. The firmware goes from 3B2QJXD7 to 4B2QJXD7.
If you have a new 990PRO with V8 process, the firmware goes from 0B2QJXG7 to 4B2QJXD7. Samsung made this firmware compatible with all versions of the 990PRO.
Samsung notes;

Release Note:
- To address reports of high temperatures logged on Samsung Magician.

You can easily get this update by using Samsung Magician!

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
WD sn850x 4th new firmware 624361wd

 

[SPDIF]

Hi,

Yep tomorrow i will post more info about this new firmware, Thanks, head's up!

Seems this update is only for 4TB SSD from WD. Seems to fix some problems with temperature readout.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Hi,
WD sn850x 4th new firmware 624361wd

Just looked now, my 4TB has this firmware, the 2TB is not the same so i assume this is a 4TB firmware only.

 

[SPDIF]

Confirmed there's nothing new, first the firmware's where compatible with all, now WD decided to have a new firmware ONLY for the 4TB versions. It's only for temperature related problem.

From now on the SN850X 4TB will use 624XXX firmware, and the 1 and 2TB versions will use 620XXX for firmware. But maybe later they will change this again.

 

[brave]

WD Black SN850X 1TB - FirmWare Updates
620241WD - 06.2022
620281WD - 08.2022
620311WD - 01.2023
620331WD - 03.2023 - fixed the problem with \Device\RaidPort1 error.
620361WD - 11.2023 - improves the stability and performance of the drive.

Samsung 990Pro - Firmware Updates
0B2QJXD7 - 10.2022 - First
1B2QJXD7 - 02.2023 - Fixing The Degradation to address these anomalies.
The update fixes the underlying cause of the rapid health declines.
3B2QJXD7 - 05.2023
4B2QJXD7 - 12.2023 - improves the stability and performance of the drive.

 

[Teal'c]

I just got notification in Dasboard for SN850 Firmware Version: 615400WD

I can't find any changelog about it.

 

[SPDIF]

There are updates available for the WD Black SN770 and the SN850.
My importer could tell me what has changed for both of therm;

1. Fixed issue incorrect temperature reading
2. Drive uses now less energy during idle state, less heat

It is highly recommended to take a backup before updating the firmware!

 

[AleXXX666]

There are updates available for the WD Black SN770 and the SN850.
My importer could tell me what has changed for both of therm;

1. Fixed issue incorrect temperature reading
2. Drive uses now less energy during idle state, less heat

View attachment 352011

View attachment 352012

It is highly recommended to take a backup before updating the firmware!

mine is 20 already.

 

[jarablue]

Real men don't do backups before firmware flashing! Just flash that f$cker already.

 

[SPDIF]

Some will come with newest firmware, other's not. My new ones ordered all had to be updated.

 

[chrcoluk]

mine is 20 already.

How on earth have you got a M.2 that low

My spindles typically run in mid to high 20s.
PCIe installed based NVME in high 20s
Sata low 20s
M.2 installed NVME high 30s to high 40s (so by far the hottest drives in my system)

If WD have made a new firmware for low power state its tempting, I have the SN850X though, not standard SN850, also a SN570 which I would assume I need to boot into windows to flash it.
My 980 Pro reports a lower temp than the SN850X in crystaldiskinfo, however Samsung have multiple temp sensors, and the first one seems to be nand temp, its actual controller temp is higher than WD even though it reacts to power saving modes.
My 970 EVO runs at 45-55C in a M.2 slot, but in a PCIe slot with heatsink it runs in high 20s.

 

[unwind-protect]

Am I too cynical thinking that WD might use low power states in a way that might affect performance when transitioning between low/no and high load?

 

[chrcoluk]

Am I too cynical thinking that WD might use low power states in a way that might affect performance when transitioning between low/no and high load?

If they using NVME low power states, there is latency, although for the first low power state its almost nothing.

In Windows if using high or ultimate performance schema its disabled by default.

 

[AleXXX666]

How on earth have you got a M.2 that low

My spindles typically run in mid to high 20s.
PCIe installed based NVME in high 20s
Sata low 20s
M.2 installed NVME high 30s to high 40s (so by far the hottest drives in my system)

If WD have made a new firmware for low power state its tempting, I have the SN850X though, not standard SN850, also a SN570 which I would assume I need to boot into windows to flash it.
My 980 Pro reports a lower temp than the SN850X in crystaldiskinfo, however Samsung have multiple temp sensors, and the first one seems to be nand temp, its actual controller temp is higher than WD even though it reacts to power saving modes.
My 970 EVO runs at 45-55C in a M.2 slot, but in a PCIe slot with heatsink it runs in high 20s.

I meant FW ver xxxxx20 that was shown on screenshot But, "how low can you go" - you can put waterblock and enjoy but with good rad or even lil fan can chill m2 if there's good airflow in case and not summer/heater heat in ambient.

 

[SPDIF]

Western Digital releases fix for Windows 11 24H2 BSODs — users are strongly advised to update their SSD firmware.​

Western Digital finally solved the BSOD problem with its HMB-equipped SSD lineup. The affected users have been urged to update their SSD firmware immediately.
Many reports sprung up on the Western Digital community forums about continuous BSODs on updating to the latest Windows 11 24H2 update. The culprit was a misconfigured HMB (Host Memory Buffer) allocation, which was fixable through a minor registry edit.

The Western Digital SN770, SN770m, SN580, SN5000, SanDisk Extreme M.2 are all affected. (only affecting 2TB models)

If your SSD is on the aforementioned list, then the resolution is that you must update your firmware, which may result in a complete data loss!! Backup first!
Updating the firmware does come at the risk of total data corruption.
I also inform users that systems with affected models might be unable to update to the latest version of Windows 11 until the SSD firmware is updated.

 

[chrcoluk]

From the bit of digging I just did it seems its related to WD requesting 200MB of host memory buffer, older builds of windows forced it down to 64MB, but 24H2 honours it and it seems a HMB that high is actually not stable.

The firmware fix puts the drive back down to 64MB so it doesnt request more.

Apparently also only affecting 2TB models. Regardless of size I would install this firmware anyway.

I would disable HMB in the registry before patching if using 24H2 to do the patch, otherwise might be a risk of a BSOD in middle of firmware update? Then enable HMB again after patch.

turn off HMB by setting registry “HMBAllocationPolicy = 0” to mitigate the problem

 

[SPDIF]

Yes i will put it the post, only 2TB drives are affected. Thanks for this.

I did update many drives already, out of ten SN770, three had lost all contents after update.
In windows 10 i did not see any BSOD's, and update Firmware in this OS does not cause loss of data.

But always take a backup first anyway to be sure.

How to update the firmware;

1) Download and install the Western Digital Dashboard for Windows (macOS is not supported).
2) If you are worried about the potential loss of data in the worst-case scenario, backup your SSD to another drive.
3) In the Western Digital Dashboard, navigate to the "Tools" section to see if any firmware update is available. If so, click on "UPDATE FIRMWARE."
4)Once the update has been finished, you'll be prompted to shut down your system. Once powered on again, the SSD firmware will have been updated.

It is pertinent to mention that the registry fix is still applicable. However, that appears to be a stopgap solution rather than a permanent fix. Admittedly, a large disclaimer stating the risk of losing your data is a jagged pill to swallow.

EDIT; Setting HMBAllocationPolicy to 0 solved the BSOD but the performance in games is crazy bad now.


When the update has finished without errors and a system restart you should see this screen;

 

[jarablue]

I have a 1tb 990 pro for my system drive win 11 and a 4tb 990 pro for my games folder. They both came with the latest firmwares. Just needed to enable full power in samsung magician and everything is speedy as heck!

 

[SPDIF]

I have a 1tb 990 pro for my system drive win 11 and a 4tb 990 pro for my games folder. They both came with the latest firmwares. Just needed to enable full power in samsung magician and everything is speedy as heck!

Yeah before this firmware update the fiasco with Samsung was even worse then WD, degrading SSD's that was completely unusable and had to be send back to Samsung...

Full Power does not make your SSD faster, it just prevents it from going to sleep that's all basically. Full Power is just burning up energy when nothing to do and keep hot temperatures for the SSD.

However, for the life of the drive, what you prefer to do is to let the drive shut off every now and then to cool off. Samsung actually warns you of this when you try to enable full performance.
Of course, make sure that your SSD is sufficiently cooled, because every watt that is burned must ultimately be dissipated as heat.
If you continue to use Full Power mode the life off your drive is much more shortened, keep that in mind!

 

[jarablue]

Well I don't mind the energy burn. My drives stay at 50C or lower. I live in cold new england. I can use the extra heat in my place. Plus I would not like it cycling up and down like that through power states. Keeping it static works for me. Plus I worked hard enough in life to afford a new ssd if it ever died and I couldn't rma it. I do 0 mission critical work. This is all for enjoyment and gaming. Nothing major at all.

 

[SPDIF]

Enjoy with shorter life. It's not for nothing Samsung warns you...
I did do enough tests here already, it does absolutely nothing more then burning up energy.
No electronics like to be hot constantly, it just shortens the lifespan. Same with CPU, GPU. CPU and GPU also go down in speed to let the chip cool down for longer life and less heat.