Samsung has quickly launched a firmware replace for its troubled 990 Professional premium PCIe 4.0 SSD. The information comes only a week after Samsung promised to do exactly that (opens in new tab).
If that appears moderately well timed, issues with multiple Samsung drive have proliferated into one thing of a palaver in current weeks. As we reported beforehand, some Samsung 990 Professional (opens in new tab) drives appear to be affected by speedy drive well being degradation as reported by Samsung’s personal Magician SSD software.
Initially, homeowners reported that Samsung was refusing to course of returns, however as stories of the issue multiplied Samsung started to recognise the difficulty was actual and commenced changing drives. We additionally word from stories from Redditors (opens in new tab) right here that it is most likely a good suggestion to close down your PC in the course of the replace course of, particularly in case your 990 Professional is a boot drive.
The drive itself won’t reboot except totally powered down, which a mere reboot of the PC will not obtain, and thus will probably be left unresponsive if the brand new firmware, model 1B2QJXD7, is utilized and not using a full energy down, resulting in ye olde blue screens and PCs falling over.
There may be additionally the difficulty that, whereas the firmware repair would possibly put a cease to the aforementioned drive degradation, it would not reverse it. Which means in case your drive has been struggling the injury has already been carried out.
After all, the 990 Professional is not the one Samsung SSD to have problems with late. Reviews of the older 980 Professional being topic to surprising mortality (opens in new tab) as a consequence of a freak firmware situation, forcing Samsung to roll out a brand new firmware for that drive.
It is all fairly unedifying for Samsung’s popularity. It was as soon as the gold commonplace for each SSD efficiency and reliability. Now you would be courageous to purchase one, at the least with out ready for these firmware updates to brew lengthy sufficient to see if they really do the trick. Certainly, Samsung hasn’t precisely been knocking it out of the park in a extra basic sense, what with the buggy efficiency of its mini-LED displays just like the Neo G9 (opens in new tab).
Admittedly, the engineers engaged on SSDs do not precisely work shoulder to shoulder with Samsung’s show consultants. The corporate is nothing if not an enormous, sprawling empire. However we’re on the level now the place it is justified to at the least ask the query whether or not there is a broader high quality management or company tradition situation that’s resulting in so many problematic merchandise.
It isn’t like Samsung would not have the assets to make sure wonderful high quality management. So, it is puzzling that it simply is not occurring.
You’ll be able to obtain the updates for each the 980 Professional and the 990 Professional right here (opens in new tab).