The importance of firmware updates to SSD drives should not be underestimated as it directly affects the functionality of the drive and therefore it is important to always be running the latest version.
If you want to be sure that your SSD works as advertised, you should always keep it up-to-date with its firmware as it offers bug fixes, performance improvements, improved reliability, etc.
Firmware updates are not tied to the operating system and there is no one software for all SSDs.
Instead, each manufacturer offers its own software for updating the firmware. If you haven't updated your SSD's firmware in a while, or if you're just wondering if a new firmware update is available for it, here's how to do it.
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Identifying your SSD drive
The first part of the process involves identifying the SSD on your computer. You can skip this particular step if you built the computer yourself or just know which SSD you're using.
To find the SSD manufacturer name and model number, and if you are under Windows, go to Windows Search, type “System Information” and open it. Then go to Components > Storage > Disks and under Model you should be able to see the name of the disk.
If you have multiple drives installed in your computer and you are not sure which one is SSD, you can open “Defragment and optimize drives”.
Also the Crystal Disk Info program can easily and quickly give you all this information.
If you are under Linux try the hdparm command. Open the terminal and type the following command to find information about the dev/sda disk
hdparm -I /dev/sda
ή
sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda
Another alternative command that can give you information is lshw:
lshw -class disk -class storage
Updating the firmware of an SSD disk
Before updating the SSD firmware, we advise you to back up your most critical data on the drive. This will keep your data safe in case something goes wrong.
Once you know the model name, download and install your SSD manufacturer's tool. Whether your drive is made by Samsung, Crucial, or WD, they'll all have some sort of utility for their SSDs, and it's often just a Google search away.
- Western Digital has the WD SSD Dashboard (Windows only)
- Seagate has the SeaTools (Linux and Windows)
- Samsung has the Samsung Magician (Windows and Android only)
- Kingston has the Kingston SSD Manager (Windows only)
- XPG has the SSD Toolbox (Windows only)
- ADATA has the SSD Toolbox (Windows only)
- Crucial has the Crucial Storage Executive (Windows only)
- SK Hynix has the Drive manager (Windows only)
- Intel has the Intel SSD Firmware Update Tool or Intel Memory and Storage Tool (regardless of operating system)
Linux users don't have many options to update the firmware through the manufacturer's software, as most don't support linux (except Seagate and Intel).
So for sata there is the command hdparm --fwdownload
. Also Linux comes with firmware update management utility called fwupdmgr
.
- With the command
sudo fwupdmgr refresh
you will download and refresh metadata from the LVFS server - With the command
sudo fwupdmgr get-devices
you will get a list of all devices that support firmware updates, - And with the command
sudo fwupdmgr update
you will upgrade the firmware.
Η Debian has a relevant documentation. Alternatively, you can put a Windows 2 Go operating system on a usb stick, boot your machine with it and perform the firmware updates from there.
Test firmware update on Samsung
step 1 : Launch the corresponding Samsung SSD utility. In our example it will be Samsung Magician. At startup, it automatically receives all the latest information from the company.
step 2 : The app will show you all your drives. Focus on the Samsung SSD and simply click on “Update” located at the bottom left. The update will start (if available).
Note : Utility settings may vary between SSD manufacturers and their utilities. Look for similar settings in your own app.
So you can easily update your SSD firmware. You can keep your SSD utility installed on your computer which will keep your SSD firmware updated from time to time.
Is it safe to update firmware on an SSD?
Updating your SSD's firmware can improve its performance, fix bugs, and make it work better with other hardware, helping your drive last longer.
However, there are some risks such as data loss if something goes wrong during the update.
NICE ANALYSIS ALWAYS CONGRATULATIONS