Some WD nvme drives need a firmware update

[bertie40]

Hi. Admittedly I don't do much of this stuff anymore. I'm more msp.

Anyway, I had a win 11 gaming machine which repeatedly crashed on startup, and I read that the NVME WD drive (WD 770 black) required a firmware update.

So I installed win 10, upgraded the chip firmware, and everything went smoothly reinstalling win 11.

I wonder if this is applicable to other drives. I never thought of upgrading an SSD bios before.

See link below, it's not an ad.

Hugz.

SanDisk SSDs, Memory Cards, and Flash Drives for Your Digital Life | SanDisk

Find detailed answers to your support questions for your SanDisk or WD_BLACK products.

support-en.sandisk.com

 

[HCHTech]

We haven't run into this as a necessary part of a repair, but we use Samsung drives exclusively for builds & upgrades, and their Magician software handles this, both notifying that one is available and loading it if you choose. I haven't really dug into this process for a non-Samsung drive.

 

[Sky-Knight]

This is part of the reason I like WD SSDs so much, Dashboard just works. And it gives users the ability to check for this every so often. It's only on my annual checklist, but it's a necessary one.

The 731130WD is relatively old at this point, but it is required to get larger WD SSDs to cooperate with Windows 11 24H2.

Samsung is a close second in experience for this, because their Magician software is also pretty good.

 

[lan101]

This is part of the reason I like WD SSDs so much, Dashboard just works. And it gives users the ability to check for this every so often. It's only on my annual checklist, but it's a necessary one.

The 731130WD is relatively old at this point, but it is required to get larger WD SSDs to cooperate with Windows 11 24H2.

Samsung is a close second in experience for this, because their Magician software is also pretty good.

Yeah I've never had an issue with the samsung magician software when doing updates. Seems to be a solid program.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Yeah I've never had an issue with the samsung magician software when doing updates. Seems to be a solid program.

Same! I was using Samsung exclusively long before WD's SSDs were reliable.

I swapped only because WD licenses Acronis for all of their disks, and that imaging tool is objectively superior to the Samsung equivalent. It makes upgrading the SSD or performing a disk replacement easier in the cases where that software is needed. This is a minority of cases, but it's nice to have. Most users do not benefit from the performance gains on the Samsung side either, and the WDs are a bit cheaper. WD's warranty process is also a little easier to use as a VAR.

I consider EVO and SSD Blue has functional equivalents, I just reach for WD first because of the above.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

For many...many...many years...it's our SOP to update firmware on drives (even going back to spinners)...at the least...on new rigs sold...when on the bench being prepped to go to customers. Got increasingly important with SSDs...as well as the BIOS of course on the host system. Proactive...get ahead of possible issues.

While we've done a lot of WD and Samsung SSD, Crucial is still our preferred. Sheer high volumes of all 3 of those out in production lead us to prefer them. Their Executive software tool makes it easy peasy.

Oh...and Hey Bertie...good to see ya, been a minute or thirty....

 

[bertie40]

For many...many...many years...it's our SOP to update firmware on drives (even going back to spinners)...at the least...on new rigs sold...when on the bench being prepped to go to customers. Got increasingly important with SSDs...as well as the BIOS of course on the host system. Proactive...get ahead of possible issues.

While we've done a lot of WD and Samsung SSD, Crucial is still our preferred. Sheer high volumes of all 3 of those out in production lead us to prefer them. Their Executive software tool makes it easy peasy.

Oh...and Hey Bertie...good to see ya, been a minute or thirty....

Gracious Gracias

 

[sapphirescales]

This bug is bringing in so much business I fricking love it. I sell a lot of WD SSDs myself and I have to make sure to remember to update the firmware on every one before I send it out the door. Thankfully the Windows 11 image I use to image all computers is still 21H2 so all I have to do is image the computer, let Windows update the drivers, update the firmware for the SSD, then manually download the 24H2 update. Windows 11 just has too many problems nowadays to keep a newer image. This way I can image the computer, fix whatever the problem is (usually a BIOS/firmware update), then install the latest build of Windows 11.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I just built two machines on Windows 11 24H2 without the firmware in question and the platforms were fine.

The issue only really presents if the C drive is 2TB or larger. Most of mine are 1TB or less.