TRIM firmware for the 128 GB Samsung SSD??

[Blue_Frog]

gpgpfast,

I had not thought to mention the bios extension for ssd.

I do have the SSD bios extensions enabled....

Maybe that is causing some of the issues with different people.

-Blue_Frog

[icarni]

I do not see this point in my BIOS settings .... where is it?

[gpgofast]

To get the SSD Erase function in the BIOS you must run following update via CD.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-68369

Download the ISO, create CD, boot to CD and "Enable" the menu option in the BIOS. Reboot the laptop without the CD, hit "F2", go into "Security" and you will see the Erase SSD option. Not sure if this is the issue, but once I enabled the menu, I was able to flash the firmware as described.

[Lev]

No luck flashing the FW.

Everything works fine. But when I hotplug my SSD the Thinkpad is doing a reboot. I tried

the different methods by installing the SSD "step by step". No success

Any ideas how I'm able to hotplu the SSD?

Cracking palmrests, no trim and a DisplayPort which didn't work everytime. The 410s AND

Lenovo sucks. Really!!!!

[Jeho]

No luck as well

Maindiag just recognizes the drive immediately.

I tried to boot with the drive out, plugging it in at c: and starting maindiag, booting with drive in, unplugging it, replug and starting maindiag,  enabling/disabling the security menu, nand erase with maindiag an then removing the drive and reinserting, replugging while starting maindiag... didn't work out.

I'm on a t400s with the newest bios from December. Any other ideas?

I used the HP Boot Disk, which has the Dos files from Win ME.

Kind regards and many thanks!

[Blue_Frog]

Possible solution not requiring hotplug in the works....

I have someone else testing it and will post if he confirms it works.

-Blue_Frog

[td101]

thanks for the guide! worked for me just one note: after booting into c: and hotplugging, the Maindiag still showed the values of the ssd. I tried several times but never left the lines blank.

so i just played risk and started with step 2 anyway. success. then took the drive out again and rebooted into c: again. hotplugged in and started maindiag again. and then the lines were blank! so i continued with step1. success. reboot again. (dont remember if i hotplugged again). anyway, did the last step (4). success.

now i am copying my image back to the ssd

thanks again!

[Lev]

I don't understand why the hotplug isn't working on every machine.

BIOS version?

I installed the newest BIOS version from Lenovo. I hope you finde another

workaround blue frog

Thanks a lot!!

[JRL]

I have an x201s with a 128gb Samsung 1.8" SSD, running under a clean, up-to-date install of Windows 7 x64 enterprise.  When the December 2010 Lenovo SSD firmware upgrade was posted, I installed it successfully without any error or issue.  Upon testing, my read speeds had fallen off a cliff- down to no more than 20 mb/s- rendering my beautiful, impeccably maintained machine unusable.  I found this forum trying to track down a fix.

I've followed Blue Frog's excellent instructions, but no success- maindiag immediately identifies the drive every time, no matter what.  I've tried every workaround and variation in this forum several times each, and on three different thinkpads.  My x201s has every update that Lenovo posts, ditto for Windows-  I'm thinking that something in the most recent bios for the x201s or in the December firmware for the drive is blocking the hotplug technique.  Not even the Samsung maintenance programs work- they say that there's no Samsung SSD installed, even though maindiag identifies it as such.

The unit is no longer under warranty, and when I called for technical support, the Lenovo CSR told me to run a disk check, "regretted" that the warranty had expired, and otherwise totally ignored everything I said.  Very frustrating.

If not for Lenovo's faulty firmware update, I'd still have a working drive.  Warranty or not, this is class-action stuff, and once I'm done installing the new Zalman SSD I've ordered ($250 out of pocket), I'll be discussing instituting a class action with my lawyer.  It's amazing to me that a company reputed for enterprise-level reliability would tolerate the mess I'm in, but I was totally blown off by the CSR.  I'll keep you all updated here as to my progress.

Thanks to Blue Frog and everyone else here volunteering their time to keep our beloved machines working as they should.  I'm still hoping that the new workaround works, as I could really use that defunct drive.

[Blue_Frog]

Ok everyone, here is how to flash for those that cannot be done with hotplug, as the serial number is always read correctly.

THIS REQUIRES THAT HOTPLUGGING YOUR DRIVE DOES NOT CAUSE YOUR MACHINE TO REBOOT!

Ok, let me repeat, if you boot your machine from USB with your SSD out of the machine and plug in your hard drive and your machine does an automatic reboot, do not proceed, you will brick your drive until you get another machine to fix this.  If your machine does not automatically reboot when plugging in the SSD at a DOS prompt, then you can proceed.

1.  Boot to your usb with the drive in the laptop. (all other drives out and Compatibility set in bios)

2.  Run maindiag.exe, you will see the model/serial/firmware populated.  (this is ok this time)

3.  Choose Initialize Firmware (2) then Main Firmware (1), then (Q) to quit.  (These steps will fail and that is ok, you just mismatched your drive and confused it which is what we want)

4.  Attempt reboot - your machine should not boot, not even from the thumb drive.  You will get a LOCK symbol in the upper left asking for a password.  If you get this, fantastic, that is what you want!  Do not try to type passwords there to unlock it, I don't know how many attempts you get until it locks up.

5.  Turn off laptop and pull SSD hard drive out of laptop.

6.  Reboot to USB drive (with no hard drive installed)

7.  After you get to DOS prompt,  hotplug in your SSD hard drive.

8.  Run maindiag (model/serial/firmware will be blank this time) and choose (2), (1), (4), (Q) 

9.  Reboot to USB with SSD drive in and run maindiag, should see model/serial/firmware populated correctly. (VBM19C1Q)

10.  Power off, change bios back to AHCI, restore system

Let me know if this works for others.  I have seen it work on a few machines so far.

-Blue_Frog