Samsung 850 SSD Disk metadata test 0x32

[carmen617]

So some of you might have read my post about a client who's brand new (installed by me) Samsung 850 SSD failed to boot a few days after install. The drive tested fine, and all the data was there and accessible, but I couldn't get the system to boot. It would just go into startup repair and fail. Following the SRT Trail log there was an error code 0x32 next to Disk Metadata test. In that case, in the interest of a quick fix, I simply replaced the drive and moved on.

Well, a client dropped off a non-booting system yesterday, and it has exactly the same symptoms. 500 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, all data seems to be there, passes diagnostics, system won't boot, goes straight to start up repair, error code is Disk Metadata test 0x32. I've googled and can't come up with anything, but this is rather too much of a coincidence.

Anybody seen anything like this? Shall I treat this as a drive failure or is there something else going on here?

 

[Diggs]

You've got my attention. I have allot of these Samsung Evo 500s out there.

How long has the second one been in the field?

 

[CLC]

Seems to point to sudden power loss, yes even on ssd's, but the posts I read are from 2013 so not sure if it applies.

 

[carmen617]

You've got my attention. I have allot of these Samsung Evo 500s out there.

How long has the second one been in the field?

I don't know - first time client, dropped off system with very little information except that the system had been slowing down for a few weeks and now wouldn't boot - which doesn't sound like the way an SSD fails, but what do I know? When I asked him where and when the SSD was installed in the system (it's an older ASUS desktop) his answer was that he was not sure, but thought his son did it.

 

[CLC]

2015 firmware update on that drive seems to caused a no boot issue, there are a few posts on it. Not sure if it helps but check it out. Are these pro drives?
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2548883/ssd-850-pro-boot-problem.html

 

[carmen617]

Seems to point to sudden power loss, yes even on ssd's, but the posts I read are from 2013 so not sure if it applies.

Interesting, looked that up and found what you are talking about. However, the first system was on a UPS.

These are EVO drives, not Pro.

 

[GTP]

I just bought six of these drives and had the same on booting? issue as this with two of them.
Updated the firmware via SSD Magician and still same problem. Sent them back for credit and bought Kingston.
I've never had an issue with any Kingston product.

 

[HCHTech]

I would be talking to Samsung on this. At the vary least, you can RMA the drive, but it seems like this might be worth a support ticket to try and get to the bottom of the problem. I also have a ton of these out there - haven't seen this problem yet. Following.

 

[carmen617]

Just as a follow-up - with the client drop off system, I backed up the client data and reinstalled Windows on it. It appears to be working just fine, and Samsung Magician reports the drive as healthy and in good shape. I told the client I suspected a power outage had corrupted the drive, and he said that made sense, as we live in a rural town and power outages are not uncommon. My advice to the client will be to keep his data backed up and keep an eye out for anything odd - when we were discussing his options, he was willing to just replace the computer if the drive was unusable.

That doesn't help with the first system, which was on a UPS and didn't have any power issue that I know of. I'm returning that drive today, so won't be opening a case with Samsung. I, too, have a ton of those out there, so hope I don't see this problem again.

 

[Diggs]

That doesn't help with the first system, which was on a UPS and didn't have any power issue that I know of. I'm returning that drive today, so won't be opening a case with Samsung. I, too, have a ton of those out there, so hope I don't see this problem again.

At this point I would be more willing to bet the UPS farted (old batteries?) causing the SSD problem than thinking Samsung EVOs have a problem. But please, anyone else with issues on these speak up as there are many of us with a heavily vested interest.

 

[Sky-Knight]

UPSs get slow with age, and you need PSUs in computers with enough hold up time to bridge the gap. If you do not, the SSD will lose power, and if it does so at a bad time you WILL corrupt things. SSD drives require time to commit data from cache to the nonvolatile ram, if you interrupt that process at a bad time, bad things can happen.

I've only observed this myself twice, two systems that failed to boot after a monsoon took out power during a Windows update. Two UPSs later and two years later, the two systems are online and happy. I've never observed this behavior in a laptop, which for obvious reasons makes sense.

Updated firmware does help, because the data corruption on powerloss problem was HUGE back in the early days of SSDs. It's much better now, but it's also the nature of the beast, there is only so much you can do. The faster these disks go, the more cache they require. If you're in an area with dirty power you may consider disabling write caching on your SSD equipped units for extra reliability.

I stopped using Kingston drives due to failures, I only use Samsung, Intel, and WD Blue SSDs now. In that order of preference, unless it's a server... then it's Intel SSD all the way.