Dell Driver Update - Samsung PM800 256GB 2.5 SATA2 SSD

New Samsung PM800 256GB SSD update available from Dell Drivers and Downloads for those with the Samsung SSD in their M11x.

Drivers and Downloads


NOTE FROM BATBOY:

This update applies to any system with this drive.

Alienware Desktop Area-51/Area-51 ALX
Alienware Desktop Aurora/Aurora ALX
Alienware Desktop Aurora-R2
Alienware Laptop M11x
Alienware Laptop M15x
Alienware Laptop M17x
Alienware Laptop M11xR2
Alienware Laptop M17xR2
Inspiron Mini 10 (1010)
Latitude 13
Latitude 2110
Latitude E4300
Latitude E4310
Latitude E5410
Latitude E5510
Latitude E6400
Latitude E6400 ATG
Latitude E6410
Latitude E6410 ATG
Latitude E6500
Latitude E6510
OptiPlex 160
Optiplex 580
OptiPlex 780
OptiPlex 960
OptiPlex 980
OptiPlex XE
Dell Precision Mobile WorkStation M2400
Dell Precision Mobile WorkStation M4400
Dell Precision Mobile WorkStation M4500
Dell Precision Mobile WorkStation M6400
Dell Precision Mobile WorkStation M6500
Dell Precision WorkStation T3500
Dell Precision WorkStation T5500
Dell Precision WorkStation T7500
Studio Laptop 1450
Studio Laptop 1458
Studio Laptop 1747
Studio Laptop 1749
Vostro Notebook 1320
Vostro Notebook 1520
Vostro Notebook 1720
Vostro Notebook 3300
Vostro Notebook 3400
Vostro Notebook 3500
Vostro Notebook 3700
Vostro Notebook V13

 

Thanks! Notice any difference?!

 

Apparently it isn't compatible with 64-bit.

 

It lists it as being compatible with 64bit OSes.

 

I see that... but I get the following message when running the .exe:

"The version of the file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need an x86 or x64 version of the program..."

I tried doing a manual driver update by directing to the extracted folder and no luck either...

 

Is all the factory SSDs Samsung? I'm not at home right now, just curious.

 

Yeah, I believe so.

 

"you Must Back Up All Data On The Drive As The Firmware Update Process Will Erase All Pre-existing Data"

!

 

That's fairly typical with SSD's when it comes to firmware updates. I had to a firmware update on my Crucual C300 and it wiped the drive, I just cloned it to another drive before I did and cloned it back after.

 

I'll probably wait until my replacement laptop arrives to do this then. I really hope it's a worthwhile update. Seems like a lot of hassle.

 

Yeah I don't see enough reason at this point to do it, but maybe this will fix the random lockups and freezes. I doubt it tho, I've read that has to do with WiFi transfers.

Unless there's some major performance jump or something crazy, I'll pass.

 

UPDATE: Reading now, I see Dell is listing as a performance update. I'd like to bench a few things now and I'll try it in a few days.

 

Moving thread to main AW forum as this update applies to any AW system with this SSD.

 

It appears the VBM15D1Q firmware owners like myself are still left out in the cold. Earliest version supports is the VBM18D1Q.

Guess I'm stuck Tony Trimming each week, /sigh, wonder how long my drive is going to last.

 

Seems like a lot of effort for not knowing for what you are doing it for. I have 2 256 SSD in raid 0 I would really want to know what I was getting for a ton of work.

 

The main function of the firmware is simply to add TRIM I believe (hence the 'maintaining performance' description). In RAID 0 (or any other RAID config) you'll pretty much get nothing as none of the onboard RAID controllers even support TRIM through RAID.

The only option is to either break your RAID so you can use TRIM or simply use Tony TRIM on your RAID like I do.

 

What is Tony TRIM?

 

It's a procedure by using PerfectDisk in SSD mode to aggressively consolidate free disk space, and then using a tool called FreeSpaceCleaner to right the hex value FF to every byte of free disk space on the drive.

It's rather aggressive and I'm not sure on how it will impact the lifespan of my drive but it has massively restored my drive performance on my old VBM15D1Q drives (which have no firmware update option).

Advocated by one of the OCZ engineers on their boards here.

You don't want to use it on non-RAID drives that support TRIM though.

 

Drivers and Downloads

^^^ Thish is for the 128gb version, just in case anyone needs it.

 

well its about time dell released this

 

So I guess this is not for raid or we have to switch to ahci in the bios then update?

 

yes

and of course all data will be lost,

you will have to format and install your OS again.

 

dont think its worth the trouble.

 

And the fact that if you wanted to go back to RAID afterwards you'd get no benefit from TRIM anyway as TRIM isn't supported in RAID configs.

 

I am thinking about doing away with my raid setup.Would I have to flash both drives after changing to ahci in the bios?

 

Actually the newest intel driver is supposed to support TRIM in RAID,

 

I tried flashing my SSD drive which already have TRIM,(VBM19C1Q) and the utility did not identify them as supported drives

 

No it doesn't, it supports TRIM pass-through which means in a system containing a RAID array you can also have an SSD attached (non-RAID) that supports TRIM. Previously if you had an active RAID array, Intel's storage manager could not pass TRIM commands through to attached SSDs.

 

Yeap, that's correct

 

I stand corrected

 

Upgraded my Samsung PM800 VBM24D1Q A02 (128gb). Did the following:

a) Removed SSD from laptop, put into 2.5" to USB adapter, and ran the following command on my Linux server:

dd if=/dev/sdX of=laptop-SSD-backup bs=5M

An hour later, a 128gb "laptop-SSD-backup" file was on my Linux machine. Great!

b) Replaced drive in laptop. Used a 1.44mb USB floppy disk drive, and booted DOS 6.22 from a DOS 6.22 boot disk (use F12 key on laptop bootup!).

c) Copied all files from the Dell download, except the PDF, and except everhything but the VBM25D1Q directory in the "FW" subdirectory, to a 1.44mb floppy disk.

d) Inserted said floppy disk into my USB floppy disk drive. Ran the firmware loader.

e) Sat back while the utility updated, following the prompts.

f) Shut laptop down, removed SSD, re-attached SSD to USB adapter, plugged back into Linux server, and then ran this command:

dd if=laptop-SSD-backup of=/dev/sdX bs=5M

g) Once this was done, pulled drive out of USB carrier, re-installed in laptop, turned on laptop, and voila, no longer is my SSD slow as mollases, but rather, is as fast as it was brand new (and hopefully will retain such speed!). (running Windows7, BTW, see tagline, Dell Latitude D830)

So...basically, this firmware upgrade will take some effort, but very well worth it, for performance restoration, even on a drive like mine that already included TRIM.

I don't see why one couldn't implement the above procedure, on a disk-by-disk basis, on a RAID-0 implementation, since the dd facility takes a bit-by-bit image of the disk, and the firmware update does not alter the block count or geometry of the disk.

 

Its very much worth the trouble, IMHO, and if you follow my procedure, as above, you won't have to re-install your OS.

 

You don't actually run the update under a 64-bit OS, or even a 32-bit OS -- the actual loader runs under 16-bit DOS. What bit-ness of OS, whether it be 16-bit, 32-bit, 36-bit, 64-bit, 128-bit, etc., that the drive ultimately is installed on, doesn't matter.

This isn't really an upgrade for amateurs. Unless you're comfortable working under (and have a copy of) MS-DOS 6.22, you really shouldn't attempt it.

Of course, the backup procedure I gave above requires knowledge of how to use a Unix machine (ie: Linux), and root access to one. Again, best to defer to a nerd who knows what he's doing .

 

Is there a way of replicating this thread in the main Dell forum?

There's a lot of these drives installed in Dells, and if my experience is any indication, many of them, even some of the newer ones with TRIM, will suffer significant, but correctable performance degradation over time.

 

I just got informed from another thread that there is a firmware update from Dell concerning 2 Samsung SSDs (PM800 256GB 2.5 SATA2 SSD and PM800 128GB 2.5 SATA2 SSD). The link to the update is here. I have the 128gb drive and was thinking of updating the firmware, however the additional information carried in the update description states that the new FW will erase ALL data on the drive.
If this is true which i believe so myself, then how do i go on and backup my data?
I am planning to use the Alienware W7 CD included with the laptop but was wondering whether the original partitions from the Alienware factory will be restored as well? Will the CD also install the m17x drivers and then i will just have to upgrade them with the latest ones according to the specific sequence specified on the M17x Wiki?

Wouldn't it be wise if i used a special backup/restore software such as Acronis True Image Home 2010 to backup the partitions of the SSD on the secondary SATA drive, and then restore them back on the SSD?

Please let me know as i read so many problems over the forums with driver installations that i am scared to tamper with the settings of the laptop, however if the gains are as massive as stated by a fellow m17x owner on another thread then i would be willing to take the risk and do the whole thing over again.

Thanks in advance.

Tio

 

Done. Perm redirect left in AW main forum.

 

See my post above for one method -- to do a bit-by-bit cloning of the drive itself using a backup utility such as dd. That involves Linux though, which isn't "easy" for your typical Windows user.

Yeah, that would work, and would be far less time consuming than re-installing all your software, more than likely. There is the cost of Acronis though.

A significant chunk of the difficulty is actually booting the machine to DOS. Because DOS is proprietary, licensed software, vendors cannot merely provide a nice extractable utility that creates a USB boot environment. So the Samsung instructions gloss over that.

 

we have Acronis at work so no cost.

 

MS-DOS 6.22 free download from Microsoft if anyone needs it for my 'floppy disk' method:

Download details: MS-DOS 6.2 Step-up Files

 

I just went through with the update and now have firmware version VBM1AD1Q which reports TRIM is supported in CrystalDiskInfo.

Now I just hope it really makes a difference. Do I have to leave the laptop idle within win 7 for TRIM to be activated or how does that work?
How can I make sure TRIM is actually working in the background?

And what about the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver (according to this post) Do I need to update that as well?

 

I am very curious about this too - if, as the Dell tech suggests, Windows 7 TRIM can only be enabled for certain drive models (which don't seem to include the "Ultra Performance" 64gb Samsung PB22-JS3 in my XT2), is there any point in my updating the drive's firmware?

Also the model PB22-JS3 doesn't show up in any of the documentation but it is running the same firmware (VBM19D1Q) as the ones which can be upgraded. Many hours of googling have not helped much (although I did discover Paragon Backup & Restore which seems like good disk cloning software).



UPDATE: OK so I pulled out the ssd and it turns out to be a MMCRE64GTMXP-MVBD1, which is one of the models listed in the Dell firmware upgrade package. After a bit of fiddling around getting it into ATA mode, I managed to flash the new firmware (VBM1AD1Q) and used the Paragon software to restore all partitions (after a few small heart attacks when the system wouldn't boot from USB properly). Then downloaded the new Intel RAID controller driver (not the "Pre-OS install" version) and now CrystalDiskInfo reports TRIM support. I also gained a fair bit of speed in CrystalDiskMark, but the drive will always suck for 4K random writes it seems.

As for whether TRIM's really working, well that remains to be seen....

 

I have this pb22-js3 128GB drive as well with firmware version: VBM1AD1Q - that is the latest firmware correct? meaning I dont have to do anything to it? I just got this freaking thing sorted out properly lol. Its not good that updating the firmware on these wipes the drive. I also have an 80gb intel and it doesn't do that when i update it (and it does it from CD)...who are the amateurs writing the updating process for these samsungs?

 

I have a VBM15D1Q, is there any firmware update to enable TRIM on this drive or not?

 

Nikehome is a spammer account for the company Renice (China). I would be careful before you listen to anything posted under that account.

 

hi, im sorry if this comes across as a silly qn but:

will the hdd slow down again over time after updating the firmware?

I installed the firmware last year and the computer has been great...however recently it seems to be slowing down once more, similar to before. I am wondering if it has to do with the ssd before I do more diagnosis.

Thanks!