Crucial M4 firmware 010G (09-25-2012)

[Keitosha]

New firmware released for the Crucial M4 drives.

Release Date: 09/25/2012

Firmware for the Crucial m4 2.5” SSD is being updated from version 000F to 010G.

The m4 is updatable to this new firmware starting from any previous version in a single step.

This is an OPTIONAL update for any drive in the field. It is only recommended if the end user is experiencing an issue related to the following items.
Do NOT use any other m4 firmware update for your 2.5” SSD such as the 01MG firmware for the mSATA form factor.

Version 010G includes the following changes:

Improved Trim response time
Improved power-on-to-ready time (known as POR, or TTR for Time-to-ready)
Improved resume-time from low power modes, and improved reliability of warm reboot
Improved power consumption by disabling HIPM (Host Initiated Power Management)

Additional details can be found in the firmware guide

Windows 7/8 updater
Manual ISO file
Firmware homepage

[scheherazade]

Thanks for the heads up!

-scheherazade

[Brendruis]

Be careful with this one guys. There is a warning about using this with UEFI which honestly could be in larger text or bold on the website.

My SSD has been perfect for over a year and 3 different firmwares.. I load this one and I had freezing within 20 minutes on AHCI with Intel RST on logon screen and while I was watching a movie.

I am trying using MSAHCI and if it persists I am going back to 000F which was fine as was 0309, 0009, 0003, etc.

[scheherazade]

Originally Posted by Brendruis

Be careful with this one guys. There is a warning about using this with UEFI which honestly could be in larger text or bold on the website.

My SSD has been perfect for over a year and 3 different firmwares.. I load this one and I had freezing within 20 minutes on AHCI with Intel RST on logon screen and while I was watching a movie.

I am trying using MSAHCI and if it persists I am going back to 000F which was fine as was 0309, 0009, 0003, etc.

Good call.
I totally missed the warning.
They should bold that text, so no one steps in poo.

-scheherazade

[densou]

Originally Posted by Brendruis

Be careful with this one guys. There is a warning about using this with UEFI which honestly could be in larger text or bold on the website.

that's a myth, just switch back ROM settings to "Legacy" then return it to EFI after the update. Is yours already on Legacy? No need to touch anything

[scheherazade]

Originally Posted by densou

that's a myth, just switch back ROM settings to "Legacy" then return it to EFI after the update. Is yours already on Legacy? No need to touch anything

So you're saying that the 'updater software' is not UEFI compatible, but the 'firmware' is UEFI compatible.

That could be clearer...

-scheherazade

[Brendruis]

Originally Posted by densou

that's a myth, just switch back ROM settings to "Legacy" then return it to EFI after the update. Is yours already on Legacy? No need to touch anything

It turns out that's true, but don't call me out for being "stupid" for believing something that was not otherwise clarified in any way. Here is the post from Crucial forums tonight:

In response to your comments about systems using the new UEFI BIOS, we’d like to clarify some of your concerns. Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a new BIOS architecture shipping with some systems. Our firmware code itself is compatible with systems utilizing the UEFI BIOS; if you have already successfully updated your firmware, rolling back to older versions is not necessary and not recommended.


We issued this note because we noticed instances where our update tools do not recognize the SSD with some systems using UEFI. The target device is not recognized as an updateable device during the reboot process. If this happens, the firmware update will not occur, and you’ll retain the firmware version you started with. Windows will then restart normally. If this sequence occurs, you cannot upgrade to this firmware version at this time, but please note that you’ve done no harm to your system or to your data.

We chose to make this firmware available because the vast majority of Crucial customers are not using UEFI-based systems, and we wanted to get the benefits of this upgrade out to the majority of our users. We are working on UEFI-compatible tools and expect to have them available within the next month.

We appreciate your feedback during the firmware update process, and we’ll continue to do our best to keep you informed.
Guru, Crucial Moderator, US

[Darren Hodgson]

I cannot install this new firmware on my m4 even though I no problems with the previous three updates. When I run the Windows 7 installer it reports that there are no SSDs to update and although I'm given the option to Continue I'm reluctant to do so in case this leads to a corrupted or incorrectly installed firmware since it isn't recognising my drive at all. And, no, I do not have a UEFI BIOS as my motherboard is almost four years old.

Several other people on the Crucial forum have the same issue but Crucial have yet to respond or update the installer.

[densou]

Originally Posted by scheherazade

So you're saying that the 'updater software' is not UEFI compatible, but the 'firmware' is UEFI compatible. That could be clearer...-scheherazade

man....sure thing - my bad.
Putting it simply: some software still struggles with all UEFI brought along. The ROM, which I was talkin' about, allows to execute fw update and such - not yet ready for EFI ROM mode. Why? Let's consider you have two HDDs/SSDs (using entire capacity - 1 volume): respectively install Win7 with Legacy ROM mode and EFI ROM mode THEN check their MBR, you'll see that the twos GUID differ....

[Chillin]

Firmware for the Crucial m4 2.5” SSD is being updated from version 000F to 010G.

The m4 is updatable to this new firmware starting from any previous version in a single step.

Do NOT use any other m4 firmware update for your 2.5” SSD such as the 01MG firmware for the mSATA form factor.

Version 010G includes the following changes:
Improved Trim response time
Improved power-on-to-ready time (known as POR, or TTR for Time-to-ready)
Improved resume-time from low power modes, and improved reliability of warm reboot
Improved power consumption by disabling HIPM (Host Initiated Power Management)
Additional details can be found in the firmware guide

Firmware Release Notes
Firmware for the m4 SSD is being updated from version 000F
to 010G.

Firmware 010G is optional for anyone currently running 000F,
as it includes incremental improvements and refinements over
these versions, but recommended if the user is experiencing
issues with the current firmware.

Firmware version 010G includes improvements which are
specific for Windows 8 and new UltraBook systems, although
Windows 7 and other operating systems and computer
platforms may also see improvements. Any m4 firmware
version will function normally in Windows 8. However, the
following improvements were made to meet new certification
requirements for this operating system:

Improvements for Windows 8
• Improved Time-to-ready (“TTR”) after a clean power
cycle. TTR is now less than 850 milliseconds for all
capacity points. A “clean power cycle” is defined as
a power off and power on sequence which follows a
STANDBY IMMEDIATE command sent by the host and
acknowledged by the SSD. STANDBY IMMEDIATE is
typically sent during a normal operating system Shut
Down.
• This change also improves resume-from-sleep time to
meet new Windows 8 requirements.
• Trim response time is reduced from 50ms to 20ms
(typical).


Power consumption improvements for some notebook
computers
• HIPM (Host Initiated Power Management) is no longer
supported. In some notebook computers HIPM can
interfere with the SSD’s ability to get into and stay in
low power modes using DIPM (Device Initiated Power
Management). Using DIPM alone is the most efficient
method to conserve SSD power.
• SATA pin 11 (Device Activity Signal) is electrically isolated
from the host when the SSD is in low power modes.
This eliminates a potential leakage path which could
draw unnecessary power while the SSD is in sleep or
hibernate. This does not affect most computer systems

Link here:
http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx

I'm going to run some quick before and after benchmarks to see if there are any major changes.

Before (000F), drive is 98% after a year and mostly full:


Sequential Read : 492.573 MB/s
Sequential Write : 103.648 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 412.096 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 102.631 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 26.576 MB/s [ 6488.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 58.293 MB/s [ 14231.7 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 145.166 MB/s [ 35440.9 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 85.753 MB/s [ 20935.8 IOPS]

Test : 50 MB [C: 69.3% (41.2/59.5 GB)] (x2)
Date : 2012/09/29 9:22:16
OS : Windows 7 Ultimate Edition SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)


After (010G):

Sequential Read : 477.969 MB/s
Sequential Write : 104.793 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 397.531 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 103.648 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 25.888 MB/s [ 6320.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 55.604 MB/s [ 13575.1 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 136.077 MB/s [ 33222.0 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 82.591 MB/s [ 20163.9 IOPS]

Test : 50 MB [C: 69.3% (41.3/59.5 GB)] (x2)
Date : 2012/09/29 9:37:27
OS : Windows 7 Ultimate Edition SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)


Looks like the new firmware is a tad slower across the board, I'll give it another bench in a day or so and see if the same score holds up.

[clawhamer]

Think I may sit this one out and see things look over the next few weeks, the M4 is in my work laptop so I’m a little reluctant to upgrade since its working perfect

[Chillin]

OK, here is another run after a full day of the system running with the new firmware:

Sequential Read : 495.513 MB/s
Sequential Write : 104.077 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 401.018 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 104.146 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 26.319 MB/s [ 6425.6 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 57.589 MB/s [ 14059.8 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 136.652 MB/s [ 33362.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 83.068 MB/s [ 20280.3 IOPS]

Test : 50 MB [C: 69.8% (41.6/59.5 GB)] (x2)
Date : 2012/09/29 20:22:47
OS : Windows 7 Ultimate Edition SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)

-----------

It's still a tad slower in some cases, but for the most part there is no major performance change.

[Brendruis]

Chillin are you using MSAHCI or Intel Rapid Storage?

[Chillin]

Originally Posted by Brendruis

Chillin are you using MSAHCI or Intel Rapid Storage?

Intel RST 11.6.0.1030 on an Intel Z77 controller, 64GB Crucial M4 SATA3 that I've owned for over a year.

Keep in mind that my write speeds suffer horribly due to size compared to your 128GB M4.

[Brendruis]

Originally Posted by Chillin

Intel RST 11.6.0.1030 on an Intel Z77 controller, 64GB Crucial M4 SATA3 that I've owned for over a year.

Keep in mind that my write speeds suffer horribly due to size compared to your 128GB M4.

Yeah I know on write speeds.. wish I had the 256 sometimes for that reason.

Was just wondering because I am having some issues with the P67 on same Intel RST 11.6.0.1030 . I'll get some strange disconnect notifications in the system tray from RST when I resume working after I'm idle for a long time like watching a video. It will resume working somewhat normally, but it is disconcerting to see the drive drop out and then come back. It must be whatever they altered for power saving in this revision.. Never had this issue with any of the other firmwares like 000F, 0309, 0009, etc.

[Chillin]

Originally Posted by Brendruis

Yeah I know on write speeds.. wish I had the 256 sometimes for that reason.

Was just wondering because I am having some issues with the P67 on same Intel RST 11.6.0.1030 . I'll get some strange disconnect notifications in the system tray from RST when I resume working after I'm idle for a long time like watching a video. It will resume working somewhat normally, but it is disconcerting to see the drive drop out and then come back. It must be whatever they altered for power saving in this revision.. Never had this issue with any of the other firmwares like 000F, 0309, 0009, etc.

Try updating your BIOS.

On my Asrock I have an option in the UEFI under SATA drives to select for a drive either "Hard disk driver" or "Solid State Disk driver"; check out if you have something similar.

[scajjr2]

Originally Posted by Chillin

Try updating your BIOS.

On my Asrock I have an option in the UEFI under SATA drives to select for a drive either "Hard disk driver" or "Solid State Disk driver"; check out if you have something similar.

Hadn't seen that before, have to check that out.

Sam

[scheherazade]

I've now updated 7 M4's to this version, on 5 different mobo's.

No issues before, no issues updating, no issues now.

Can't tell any difference from previous firmware, performance or anything else wise.

-scheherazade

[harkinsteven]

I installed this fine for a while until today when my SSD stopped being detected. Alot of people on the crucial forums have had the same issue. I was able to fix it by power cycling as advised my crucial themselves. Basically you only connect the sata power cable, no sata data cable and switch the pc on and let it idle for 20mins then power off and disconnect for 30 secs and repeat 2-3 times. This should fix any detection issues. It worked for me just now.

[Darren Hodgson]

With the reports that the SSD stops being detected by the BIOS after this update, I'm kind of glad that I've been unable to update my 256 GB m4 (the Windows installer keeps saying there's no SSD to update). Still puzzling though as the two previous Crucial m4 Windows installers worked absolutely fine.

I'm using the latest Intel RST drivers (v11.6 I believe) and AHCI is enabled in the BIOS.

[scheherazade]

Originally Posted by Darren Hodgson

With the reports that the SSD stops being detected by the BIOS after this update, I'm kind of glad that I've been unable to update my 256 GB m4 (the Windows installer keeps saying there's no SSD to update). Still puzzling though as the two previous Crucial m4 Windows installers worked absolutely fine.

I'm using the latest Intel RST drivers (v11.6 I believe) and AHCI is enabled in the BIOS.

I always use the bootable ISO.

Call me paranoid, but I don't want anything else happening when I am flashing firmware.

Last thing I need is for a random/surprise [unrelated] software bug to strike out of nowhere and screw up my system mid-flash.

-scheherazade

[Robbo9999]

Originally Posted by Darren Hodgson

With the reports that the SSD stops being detected by the BIOS after this update, I'm kind of glad that I've been unable to update my 256 GB m4 (the Windows installer keeps saying there's no SSD to update). Still puzzling though as the two previous Crucial m4 Windows installers worked absolutely fine.

I'm using the latest Intel RST drivers (v11.6 I believe) and AHCI is enabled in the BIOS.

Hi Darren, I had the same problem as you. I solved it by reverting to the previous version of Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver, and then upgrading to 010G. I then re-installed the latest IRST drivers after updating to 010G. Hope this helps. Let me know if it worked. :-) (bootable ISO didn't work for me when I tried it before downgrading to previous IRST drivers).

[Darren Hodgson]

Originally Posted by Robbo9999

Hi Darren, I had the same problem as you. I solved it by reverting to the previous version of Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver, and then upgrading to 010G. I then re-installed the latest IRST drivers after updating to 010G. Hope this helps. Let me know if it worked. :-) (bootable ISO didn't work for me when I tried it before downgrading to previous IRST drivers).

Sorry for the late reply but, yes, I did finally get this firmware installed using the installer. I just clicked on continue even though it said no update was necessary for my SSD, accepted the terms and then it rebooted and installed the 010G firmware.

However, a month on and I'm wishing I'd stuck with the previous 0F firmware because I've just had my first experience of the BIOS not detecting my SSD after I had to hit the reset switch on my case following a benchmark freezing my system. The BIOS kept stalling at SATA Port 1 and eventually failed saying it couldn't be found. Fortunately, I remembered reading about a power cycle possibly fixing it. This requires you to unplug the SATA cable but leave the power connected and reboot your PC several times, leaving it on for 5-10 minutes at a time. Eventually you can plug the SATA cable back in and the drive should be detected. Luckily, this worked for me but it leaves me feeling understandably nervous everytime I power my PC off as I'm not sure it'll come back on!

This is apparently a known issue with this firmware and I'm shocked that Crucial have not withdrawn it or replaced it with one that doesn't suffer from this issue. I've never had that issue for the year I've owned my m4 with any of the previous firmwares and I've had a few system freezes that required me to use the reset button on the case. Crucial's response to this issue was just to tell their customers how to do a power cycle!

[Keitosha]

Originally Posted by Darren Hodgson

Sorry for the late reply but, yes, I did finally get this firmware installed using the installer. I just clicked on continue even though it said no update was necessary for my SSD, accepted the terms and then it rebooted and installed the 010G firmware.

However, a month on and I'm wishing I'd stuck with the previous 0F firmware because I've just had my first experience of the BIOS not detecting my SSD after I had to hit the reset switch on my case following a benchmark freezing my system. The BIOS kept stalling at SATA Port 1 and eventually failed saying it couldn't be found. Fortunately, I remembered reading about a power cycle possibly fixing it. This requires you to unplug the SATA cable but leave the power connected and reboot your PC several times, leaving it on for 5-10 minutes at a time. Eventually you can plug the SATA cable back in and the drive should be detected. Luckily, this worked for me but it leaves me feeling understandably nervous everytime I power my PC off as I'm not sure it'll come back on!

This is apparently a known issue with this firmware and I'm shocked that Crucial have not withdrawn it or replaced it with one that doesn't suffer from this issue. I've never had that issue for the year I've owned my m4 with any of the previous firmwares and I've had a few system freezes that required me to use the reset button on the case. Crucial's response to this issue was just to tell their customers how to do a power cycle!

You don't need to unplug the sata cable. You can fix it by letting your pc on within the bios for about 10 mins. That's how i fixed that problem on my rig. Just keep the pc on in bios for a few mins and shut it down and turn on again. SSD gets detected again. Troublesome yes and Crucial needs to fix it asap.

[Darren Hodgson]

Thanks for the tip, Keitosha.

Can I safely downgrade my m4 SSD back to the 0F firmware without it destroying my data? All the upgrades are, of course, non-destructive. I do have backups of my C: drive anyway, especially as I've just installed Windows 8 Pro, but restoring those takes about 20-30 minutes so I'd rather not have to. I never had this BIOS-not-detecting-drive issue with the 0F or 0309 firmwares so it's an issue specific to 010G.

I've also contacted Crucial about the 010G issue as I believe this firmware should have been withdrawn as this kind of thing just destroys user confidence in the drive IMO. It certainly has me and I'm dreading turning on my PC when I get home and finding it doesn't boot.