pnapp1 Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 There is no news from Samsung regarding a firmware update because there is no way for the end user to update the firmware of the Samsung drives. I'm I correct? There will be no firmware update issued. We will have to send the drives back to Samsung to be flashed... if that even becomes an option. I hope I'm wrong but with each passing day it seems more and more likely that this is the case. The bottom line? If you bought any of the P series or any other Samsung drives like I did (2x P128 $700 in the hole) your screwed. I wont go into my drives performance degradation I am having. That's a whole other issue. Sorry if this seems like a rant but someone needs to come clean and tell use the real story or at least get us an answer from Samsung. Best regards, A Usually Very Happy Corsair Product Owner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Read the stickies: Corsair P-Series FAQ Firmware updates and utilities are provided by Samsung, the manufacturer of the controller IC in the P-Series SSDs. Currently, Samsung has not made updated firmware and software utilities available to end-users. As and when Samsung releases new firmware versions and software utilities, they will be made available to download from this website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyc Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 It's impossible for one company to illuminate the workings of another company; Corsair, probably to their regret, saddled themselves with Samsung (along with other SSD manufacturers who find themselves in the same boat) unknowingly finding themselves faced with a firmware dilemma. Sadly, Samsung are one of worst for customer service - being so big they feel that they can wield their huge stick and batter everyone into submission to their whims and ways and they can, because they are BIG. They do themselves no service and commit to no honour when dealing with people; either the companies they deal with and certainly not end users who buy their products in huge quantities. They're so big that they have forgotten that it is the customer (whether another company or end users) that have given them this power; they just choose to misuse it. As to whether a firmware updater for end users will appear, who can say? They say they will, they say that they are working on it, they say that it is expected to release at the same time as Windows 7 (only they can say why it has to be then) .... but, don't hold your breath. I really do feel for Corsair because it isn't their fault, but as Samsung would like to play it Corsair (and the other companies) find themselves in the firing line from their customers because of Samsung's despicable lack of customer service. It hasn't gone unnoticed either, the computer press (paper and websites) are having a right old go at Samsung, but like an ignorant bully they just don't care. The thing to remember is that your drives are not faulty, they are performing far better than any spinning HDD; the unfortunate performance loss is down to the firmware, but as SSDs are new era technology (to end users) there was bound to be some hiccups along the way and it's just unfortunate that Samsung are getting in the way of correcting something that has come to light along the path to perfection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnapp1 Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 The reason I brought this up is I was reading a very good article via AnandTech called "The SSD Relapse: Understanding and Choosing the Best SSD" and on page "What's Wrong with Samsung?" I found it very disconcerting the info that was put forth on this particular page. Here is the quote that prompted me to post: "There’s currently no way for an end user to flash the firmware on any of these Samsung drives. To make matters worse, there’s no way for companies like ******** or Corsair to upgrade the firmware on these drives either. If you want a new firmware on the drive, it has to go back to Samsung. I can’t even begin to point out how ridiculous this is." Now I know you shouldn't believe everything you read but this is more info then I have found here. Also the above quote says: "there is currently no way for an end user to flash the firmware on any of these Samsung drives" so I guess there is some hope that an application will be forth coming that will allow us, the end user to update the firmware but I am still uneasy about this ever seeing the light of day for the very reasons Davyc posted above. You can read the full AnandTech article here: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631 It's a good read and I recommend it to everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 22, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 22, 2009 Well I understand and agree with you to some extent, however you have to remember one thing that will make them change their attitude. And that is we are one of Samsungs biggest customers they even contacted us a while back and told us we used more Samsung memory products then any other manufacturer. So I would expect that to hold some weight when it comes time for them to step up and honor their commitment. Let's give it some time please. Bottom line any drive we sold we will honor the warranty on the drive and if needed we will update the firmware if its needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnapp1 Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks RAM GUY... lets hope you are right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 22, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 22, 2009 I am not worried about it, I know it will work out. Its new technology for us and even with the current firmware SSD's are still the fastest thing out there. Just like with HDD's some types of drives are better suited for specific tasks just inherent to their design, just do your research and get a good understanding of the hardware limitations of any hardware you use. Then configure your system accordingly and know that we are all human and make mistakes the only down side is if we as individuals make mistakes it comes out of our pocket. And I can probably pay for a vacation or two from all of the mistakes I have made over the years. However, every mistake has broadened my experience with hardware in general so even though it was sometimes costly it was still a plus for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyc Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 and know that we are all human and make mistakes the only down side is if we as individuals make mistakes it comes out of our pocket. And I can probably pay for a vacation or two from all of the mistakes I have made over the years. However, every mistake has broadened my experience with hardware in general so even though it was sometimes costly it was still a plus for me. Amen to that one and I agree wholeheartedly - a pound (dollar) for every mishap I've made and I'd have SSDs falling out of every cupboard lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papercut Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 wow. a bit of a generalization there. not really called for in a tech forum (or anywhere else). if it matters, yes, i took offense to that. and i'm not chinese. if i remember correctly, the president of Samsung was indicted for tax evasion recently. nothing honorary about that. you probably didn't mean any harm by your statement. but please know that stereotypes and generalizations are hurtful no matter if they seem positive (japanese will keep their word) or negative (chinese will lie). Whatever the context, assuming anything (positive or negative) about anyone or any group of people is unfair, ignorant, and hurtful. now let's get back to this topic of firmware. they need to make garbage collection work for drives other than NTFS. also, they better make the firmware updater available for Macs! I'm assuming it'll have to be loaded by a bootable CD, so it should at least work for Intel Macs, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 23, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 23, 2009 Sorry about that I have taken that out and I profusely Apologize if that offended any one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papercut Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Sorry about that I have taken that out and I profusely Apologize if that offended any one. Thanks for the apology :D: It's all good, and thanks for the help you provide us here. Do you know is user upgradeable firmware is a definite, or is it still a maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 23, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 23, 2009 I can only tell you what I have been told which was they are working on it, and the last update was they were working with Microsoft. Officially I do not know they have ever promised to develop an end user utility, only they were working on one (Firmware Flash Utility) and the current utility is internal use only, and may be what they were talking about. So we will have to wait for them to release a new firmware, but at this time the current Samsung Firmware support's their version of TRIM but not Microsoft's version like most other SSD's on the market with TRIM Support, Example, INdolinx have their own wiper utility and does not support Microsoft's TRIM. However, as I have stated previously Microsoft's O.S. has not been officially released that comes in October and nothing can be publicly discussed until the official release. So Please wait till the official release. Any software hardware manufacture is held to this date because of NDA's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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