Latest Windows 10 Version Incompatible With Intel SSD 600p
by Billy Tallis on May 11, 2018 5:00 AM EST
Microsoft has advised that the most recent version of Windows 10—version 1803, codenamed Redstone 4—is currently incompatible with the Intel SSD 600p and the related Intel SSD Pro 6000p. Windows 10 version 1803 can crash when attempting to update Windows 10 installed to an affected SSD. The Intel SSD DC P3100 and SSD E 6000p were not mentioned but are probably also affected as they share the same controller and firmware platform as the 600p.
The Intel SSD 600p consumer drive and its relatives for other market segments were Intel's first M.2 NVMe SSDs, a radical shift from the large Intel SSD 750 and its enterprise counterparts. The 600p family uses Intel's first-generation 32-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory and a customized variant of the Silicon Motion SM2260 NVMe SSD controller. This combination made for the first low-end, (relatively) low-cost NVMe SSD, though more recent drives with controllers designed specifically for the entry-level NVMe market have now reached much lower prices than the 600p sold for when it was current. Intel's replacement for the 600p is the Intel SSD 760p, which uses a newer generation of 3D TLC NAND and a newer generation of controller from Silicon Motion. The 760p has not been reported to be affected by the same incompatibility as its predecessor.
It is not yet clear what is causing the incompatibility between the Intel 600p and Windows 10 version 1803, but the most likely culprit is a bug in the 600p's controller firmware. Intel has issued two firmware updates for the 600p family, each fixing several bugs including some that had the potential to cause data loss or corruption. The most common theme in the release notes for 600p firmware updates seems to be power management troubles, but those are unlikely to prevent Windows 10 v1803 from even installing to the 600p.
It is also possible that there's a bug with the 600p that cannot easily be fixed with a firmware update. The Linux NVMe driver has workarounds for two such issues with the 600p. The first workaround was for Linux to not attempt to use the deepest idle power state provided by the 600p; that was added about a year ago. The second workaround was added earlier this week. That issue is documented as affecting some P3100 drives but the workaround applies to everything in the 600p/P3100 family because they use the same PCI device IDs. The problem lies with the drive thinking that it has been instructed to use the optional weighted round robin method for deciding which queue to service commands from next, instead of the default simple round robin method. The workaround chosen by the Linux developers is to ensure that command submission queues on the 600p are assigned medium priority even when the driver doesn't intend to use the weighted priority feature.
For now, users with the Intel SSD 600p or one of its siblings are advised to not upgrade to Windows 10 version 1803, and Microsoft is working on a patch to allow version 1803 to work with the 600p. Owners of a 600p should also be on the lookout for a possible firmware update from Intel. The current version is 121 for the 600p, Pro 6000p and E 6000p, and version 119 for the P3100. A patch for this issue from either Microsoft or Intel would be sufficient to allow Windows 10 version 1803 to work with the 600p.
Other SSDs based on the SM2260 controller do not feature Intel's customized firmware, and historically have not been affected by the same bugs as the Intel 600p family.
Source: Microsoft
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microlithx - Friday, May 11, 2018 - link
It's likely dependent on the firmware on the drive when it was installed, I have two of these in my system and I know there was an issue with an earlier firmware that caused all sorts of issues. Newer ones are much more stable and I have had fewer issues since updating them, and none so far with 1803.I doubt the chipset is involved, the firmware definitely (especially with respect to power modes.)
Kwarkon - Friday, May 11, 2018 - link
Do uou use any special driver for the ssd?Nogib - Saturday, May 12, 2018 - link
My experience has been the same. Installed 17133 right away and have had no issues with that build or the eventual final 17134 build on my Intel 600p. (i7-4790K, Z97)MrCommunistGen - Friday, May 11, 2018 - link
Sounds like the firmware exposed functionality in the controller that was broken, but no one was using yet. 1803 started using it and started causing bad behavior. That's an unfortunate reversal from when Intel Sandforce-based SSDs had fewer issues than the rest of the bunch: https://www.anandtech.com/show/5508/intel-ssd-520-...An Intel Sandforce-based SSD came to the rescue for me way back when I was trying to put an SSD in a friend's Macbook with an Nvidia chipset. There was some firmware glitch that caused most Sandforce drives to only be able to negotiate a 1.5Gbps SATA connection with Nvidia SATA controllers. I think most motherboard vendors were able to fix the issue on their side, but not Apple -- the issue only occurred when you performed a 3rd party upgrade using non-certified hardware so why would they.
Anyhow, I tried swapping in a spare Vertex 3 I had at the time and ran into the issue. After scouring the internet and reading the Cherryville review I made a gamble and ordered an Intel 330. It negotiated a 3Gbps link and worked like a charm!
eva02langley - Friday, May 11, 2018 - link
Windows 10 was making my Asus G73jh-A1 crash after 15 seconds. Basically, my wired ethernet controller was incompatible with Windows 10... Guess what, to this day it is still incompatible. The only way to make it work is to disable to hardware.mother_65 - Friday, May 11, 2018 - link
This is BULL!!! I have an AMD 6Core, home built, with 3 ide drives. A Dell 1500 Series with 1 SATA drive. Four days ago, I received my tricked out XPS 15, with it's new pcie (card) drive. ALL....ALLL 3 of my Systems failed after these updates. Both Dells had to go through reformating to Factory. No prob for XPS. No biggie for 1500, though the USB drives would not recognize any restore points. I was able to save the AMD, by forcing it to Start in Safe Mode, to clean and revert stuff. So, it's not just one drive affected. The net is actually inundated with mentions of this problem on many systems.Ktracho - Friday, May 11, 2018 - link
This is unrelated to this article, but I tried over 10 times to install the Windows 1803 update on my computer at work to no avail - it hung every single time. I finally disabled VT-d through the BIOS, and then Windows 1803 installed without any issues. I enabled VT-d after installing the update, and my computer is still working fine.Arden144 - Friday, May 11, 2018 - link
So if this is the case, why did my system with a 600p 512gb do the update fine overnight without me even realizing until now?thecon - Saturday, May 12, 2018 - link
Reporting here... Windows 10 1803 (build 17134.1) working ok with an Intel X25-M (ssdsa2m160g2gc), however... May 2018 Cumulative update to bring build 17134.48 (via KB4103721, either by Windows update or manually) breaks the system. You have to revert to 17134.1 by safe mode. Could be something else, but initial testing shows Intel SSD could be incompatible with said update.thecon - Monday, May 14, 2018 - link
Update: Not an Intel X25-M problem after all. Just disabled some non-Microsoft Services and the updated installed ok. Re-enabled them afterwards. Some services may even need to be uninstalled, not just disabled.