Hello,

first posting here, ofcourse with a problem.
I bought some used Samsung PM871 ssd drives (OEM, made for HP, model MZ7LN128HCHP) with various problems. Some could be "fixed" with a secure erase, but some not, they are always in frozen state. So no secure erase, and no PSID-revert, as there is no PSID on the label.
I tried with PartedMagic and sleep mode, advanced sleep mode, disconnect/reconnect power and/or sata cable, connect with usb-to-sata bridge. But nothing, hdparm always report "frozen".
There seems to be no password on it (security not enabled in hdparm). In Windows and with usb-to-sata-bridge they appear fast in "disk management", but cannot be initialized (crc-error).

I think that the firmware got somehow corrupted. Are these typical signs? Is there a fix for it?

I looked for a firmware update or even the same firmware version as installed, but nothing to find at HP. Samsung is no help, either, the Samsung tools don't work with it. I came across the Lenovo FWSD48 file, where i found a newer firmware for that ssd (EMT05...). I tried to unpack the file and decrypt the .enc file to .bin and use the hdparm -fwdownload command, but no success so far.

I read the missing manual (from sourcerer) and that firmware update over JTAG is possible for 840evo. Could that work, as the PM871 seems to be nearly the same as the 850evo? Any other thoughts or things I could try? I have no special equipment (PC3000 or similar).

Thanks for your help.

I got a PM today that sounds interesting. Unfortunately I can't reply (no rights since I'm too new here).
So JTAG doesn't seem to be the right way, but maybe the PSID. Is there more information about finding the PSID (or MSID) for OEM drives?
There are 4 barcodes printed on the label, are they useful or just the same as the values under them (S/N, WWN, CT and HP P/N)?

Is there a chance to change the frozen state to unfrozen by changing a bit in firmware maybe?
Are there computers that don't freeze drives? I tried with Laptops and desktop PCs, no difference, so I think the firmware might have an error.
Is there a chance to put a new firmware on a frozen ssd or do anything in frozen state? I read about safe mode, could that help?

If you can't retrieve a SMART report, then this would confirm a firmware problem.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

I would suggest that you post screenshots of the problems or status, and photos of the labels. (And perhaps dmesg, hdparm and smartctl output if you have Linux)

So here is the info from hdparm, smartctl and the label. Got the data from PartedMagic, SSD connected via USB-Sata bridge (JMS578 chipset, with that bridge I can get smart data from other good drives).

Smart data cannot be read. In Windows the SSD cannot be initialized (crc-error).
Secure erase or Sanitize in PartedMagic is not successful (frozen state). PSID revert may work, but I have no valid PSID on the drive. Is there something like the ATA master passwords in the good old days? PSIDs are unique, but is this true for oem drives?

If PSID revert doesn't work, I think firmware-update/repair could be worth a try. But where to get one? Can a Samsung or Lenovo firmware put on that drive? Can the firmware read from other good drive? Can a firmware be flashed to a frozen drive?

Can other (security-)software bring a drive to always frozen state (WinMagic or similar)?

Just a small follow-up: dmesg.txt is from booting with the SSD on internal Sata connector.

After that I removed SSD from the running laptop Sata and connected it with USB-to-Sata bridge (dmesg2.txt).

Booting with the SSD it is recognised in Bios and selectable as boot device, but within Linux it disappears. Hot-plugged to Sata or eSata the SSD doesn't show up in running Linux.
With USB-to-Sata bridge the SSD shows up.

I put that SSD into a HP Desktop, too. There i got a Smart warning while booting. The Dell laptop didn't show that warning.

Have you solved this problem? I have received 2 laptops with this problem

No, the problem still exists.
If you have the original laptops, maybe you can try secure erase from the bios, if they are HP-laptops?

Hi Paro!
Have you solved this problem?
I have got some dell OEM version PM871 with exactly the same problem.
cannot be initialized (crc-error) and SMART is empty.

No, the problem still exists. I think I have to much questions and not enough knowledge and tools.
If you have Dell OEM drives, maybe the is a firmware update from Dell? Lenovo made some updates for their PM871, HP not (at least not public).

This is the aging of nand, after a successful flashing, he will live no more than a week

That can flash the other OEM firmware to destory the old encryption