Intel SSD 600p jams system

[KEise]

My Thinkpad T460s uses a Intel SSD 600P Series NVMe M.2 stick.

Since yesterday the stick causes the initialization of the laptop to be

Very slow. To reach the first BIOS string output it takes around 5 minutes. When removing the NVMe stick I can enter BIOS setup as normal.

It feels like the NVMe stick causes the system to jam. Maybe interrupting the CPU or causing DMA on the PCIe bus.

I also tried to boot the NVMe stick inside a Gigabyte BRIX, however while the BIOS screen appears faster entering BIOS menue is not possible because the system hangs again (maybe it continues but very slow)

Is there a possibility to get the NVMe stick working again? What can be the reason for the failure? I cannot update the firmware or examine the NVMe device because a inserted stick jams the system.

[LeonWaksman]

Hello @KEise​ 

1. Please download and install Intel SSD Toolbox application https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28674/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-Toolbox
2. Using this tool you can check the SSD health and also if needed to update the firmware.

Leon

[KEise]

Problem is that the system doesnt boot at all when the NVMe is inserted in the M.2 socket. So I cannot boot into Windows with the

M.2 stick inserted. There is a USB3 to NVMe M.2 disk cabinet that I could try, but I guess the SSD Toolbox needs raw PCIe access. I can maybe

buy a PCIe to M.2 adaptercard and try boot on a desktop pc, but unclear weather the system will lock-up also.

There was no special workload I ran, suddenly it failed to boot. I'm running Linux. Can the NVMe's firmware maybe get corrupted? I tested

with another NVMe M.2 stick (Samsumg) on the T460s and it boots normally. The Intel 600p NVMe on the other hand fails on

both T460s and Gigabyte Brix. System gets locked up.

[LeonWaksman]

1. Is the Intel 600p NVMe recognised in Bios? If yes you may try the following:
2. Boot from bootable drive (for example Windows 10 Installation USB) into Advanced Menu.
3. In Advanced Menu, open Command Prompt.
4. In the Command Prompt you may try to rescue any data important for you to an external drive.
5. Once you have your data protected, you may try to install Windows 10 on this SSD.
6. All the above you may try only if the SSD is recognised in BIOS.

Leon

[KEise]

As explained above (please read) the BIOS not even starts up in the T460s case (or at least vivibly). There is a "_" shown in the screen only. Sometimes, after around 5 minutes a "To interrupt startup press space" or similar message is shown.

I cannot boot into i.e. a Ubuntu USB stick or a Windows 10 installation stick because the bootprocess doesnt come that long.

In the Gigabyte Brix case at least the BIOS logo is shown but then it is the same, system hangs.

Short answer propably is that the NVMe stich is simply broken.

[LeonWaksman]

O.K. I didn't understood correctly your post. Yes, probably your SSD failed.

Leon

[KEise]

Question to Intel would then be weather there is a possibility to recover the data from the NAND chips. Maybe there is some recovery mode that can be activated by a resistor or similar... ??

[n_scott_pearson]

No. Your only hope for recovering your data (which should have been backed up; just saying) is to try using a NVMe-to-USB adapter and see if the SSD can be accessed this way.

S​orry, reality bites.

...S

[KEise]

I do have backup of most but not all. The controller chip on the stick labeled "SMI" gets quite hot when inserted and the laptop is trying to boot. Not shure weather this is normal.

I'm almost tempted to connect an oszilloscope to the PCIe serdes pins to see weather the chip is alive or see weather I can get another 600P stick and exchange the SMI controller with a heatgun :-) .

Have ordered a "ICY BOX IB-1816M-C31" and a "PCIe adapter card". Lets see how far I can get.

[KEise]

I'm tempted to buy a replacement stick where I would try

to swap the Flash controller using a heatgun to restore my 

failing stick. 

The controller on failing SSD stick is labeled: 

"SMI N07T79.00 S LLUT TW 1636 4D."

There are quite some sticks available with model number

SSDPEKKW512G7 and the same silver shiny SMI controller,

however the labling is different most of the time: i.e. 

"SMI N03X56.00 S LLUT TW 1627 4D" I guess the labling

is production batch specific (?)

On top of that the the 512 GB model SSDPEKKW512G7 is 

quite expensive and my guess is that the controller on a  

SSDPEKKW128G7 with 128 GB is the same?

So question to the SSD part of Intel:

Is the Silicon Motion Flash controller of the  SSDPEKKW128G7

SSD stick the same as the one used on the SSDPEKKW512G7 ?

I want to use a heatgun to heat the SSD sticks from the bottom, 

then use a Kapton take to pull the Flash controller off. Then hope that

the BGA balls supply enough lead still so that I can swap the 

controller chips. Cannot reball.

[KEise]

Intel: The NAND chips used on the 600p stick's are labled 29f01t2ancmg2 . Is it possible to get the datasheet of this chips? I can wire them to an FPGA and try readout that way.

[Santiago_A_Intel]

Hi KEise,

Thank you for contacting Intel® SSD support group with your request for assistance with your Intel® SSD 600P Series.

We have reviewed all interactions on your community post and read the amazing contributions from the experts and it indeed looks the drive its bricked.

There are no possibilities from Intel®, to recover the data stored on the failed SSD; there might be some services offered on the web; we haven’t tested or confirmed the effectiveness of such services.

Might you want our cooperation to verify if it’s possible to start the process for a warranty claim, we can request our warranty team to confirm unit’s warranty status; therefore, before making any further diagnostics, we will require your cooperation, so please send us the markings of your SSD as detailed in the following link: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025532/memory-and-storage.html

Please let us know if you might need further assistance.

We will be looking forward to your reply.

Best regards,

Santiago A.

Intel® Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Santiago_A_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hi KEise,

Greetings from Intel® SSD Support Group.

Please accept our apologies for our belated reply, we needed to investigate about your inquiry; today, we can share the following details with you

In order to provide information not available to the general public, such as datasheets or other proprietary information, it’s mandatory to be under the privileges of a NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) signed by your company with Intel®, meaning this information can’t be shared by you or your employees outside your organization. Might you have already signed a NDA with Intel®, please let us know.

In regard the possibility of wiring the NAND chips removed from a SSD, to a FPGA; this is not validated, nor supported or encouraged by Intel®.

On a previous post, we have requested from you, the markings of the failed SSD; if you have them, please send them to us.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Have a nice day.

Santiago A.

Intel® Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[KEise]

Marking is Intel SSD 600P Series:

SN: BTPY65050Q6A512F

WWN : 55CD2E414D93DD4D

Model: SSDPEKKW512G7

SA: J25627-101

PBA: H87797-101

My company has a NDA with Intel, maybe you can send an offline email to me to discuss.

Having the datasheet will let me decide weather I have a chance to recover. If the protocol

is ONFI I can read it.

[Santiago_A_Intel]

Hi KEise,

Greetings from Intel® SSD Support Group.

Thank you for your reply.

You will receive an email from our advanced technical support.

Have a nice day.

Santiago A.

Intel® Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation