BL SSD discussion thread

Temetka · 2015-12-27 10:52:15

My primary machine is my Thinkpad T410 with a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO (latest firmware applied).

It's running BL just fine.

redcollective · 2015-12-28 01:16:01

Temetka wrote:

My primary machine is my Thinkpad T410 with a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO (latest firmware applied).
It's running BL just fine.

Hey Temetka, how do you do your SSD firmware updates on linux?

Red

KrunchTime · 2015-12-28 04:55:20

@redcollective: I can't speak for Samsung SSDs, but Crucial offers their firmware updates using a specialized Linux distro. Reference the second page of the firmware guide for the M550 SSD here. And...oh no, I need to update the firmware for my SSD!

Last edited by KrunchTime (2015-12-28 05:00:23)

redcollective · 2015-12-28 09:49:33

@KrunchTime - Sounds like Crucial are more progressive than Samsung (mine), I've been googling - looks like I can use my Mac to make a bootable USB.

Red

brontosaurusrex · 2015-12-28 10:11:17

Which one for mid 2010 mac-pro, do I need some 3.5 enclosure or are there models that come with that? Should I go sata or some sort of pci?

C#Coder4ever · 2016-01-23 04:49:45

aaand resurrect! Can't go wrong with either a SATA 2.5" SSD ( trust me, you ONLY want 2.5", existing 3.5" SSDs are... eons behind ), or a PCI.

Anyhow, after roughly a month with this 512GB monolith, it's everything I wanted and more. Although I must say an M.2 port on my motherboard would be useful right about now.

ratcheer · 2016-01-23 13:53:30

I hardly even think about my SSD, anymore. Except one of my HDD's died and I need to pull the system out and switch the SSD to the dead HDD's SATA-III port. People tell me that that will make it even faster.

Tim

deleted0 · 2021-05-07 19:35:24

Forgive me for bumping this old thread.

PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD.

M.2 NVMe SSD for the mother board without a dedicated slot. There is a lot of used NVMe to PCIe adaptors on the market. A good one is made by HP. Here's one for $30

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363383603231

NEW Samsung PM981a MZ-VLB256B 256GB $40

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313259774536

But they have locked it to HP machines. However, one can modify it to work on any motherboard with a PCIe X4 slot.

Remove the transistor in the red square (Q1). Large toe nail clippers will work, if you have no other way.
One can get a modified version on fleabay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164722621319

Here's one with a 256GB SSD for $50

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373522714711

If your motherboard won't boot from PCIe, use any regular hdrive, or SSD for the ESP partition/boot partition (and also swap) with root & home on the NVMe SSD. Used, small SSD can be had for $10

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373307364909

Nice way to keep a usable setup running for a while longer for $50 with a very nice speed bump.

~ sudo fdisk -l
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 238.47 GiB, 256060514304 bytes, 500118192 sectors
Disk model: SAMSUNG MZVLB256HBHQ-000L7              
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 1668772C-AF04-4669-958A-5FC502686F94

Device         Start       End   Sectors   Size Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1  2048 500117503 500115456 238.5G Linux filesystem


Disk /dev/sda: 29.82 GiB, 32017047552 bytes, 62533296 sectors
Disk model: TS32GSSD370S    
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 5B74E850-5812-5246-8657-C5BE011F485C

Device       Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1     2048  1503231  1501184  733M EFI System
/dev/sda2  1503232 19079166 17575935  8.4G Linux swap
~

8bit

deleted0 · 2021-05-07 21:14:28

^ Yeah, but if you're just using it so the BIOS/OS can find the PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD, very little bytes are written.

Of course each to their own, and I don't care. I consider this is the last time this (or any) hardware I'm using is going to boot up. I keep good backups, and a comprehensive script for reinstalling, so it's almost painless. I can only afford cheap, used hardware, so I'm always ready for it to die, and it occasionally does. I can have a new system up and running before the coffee pot is finished brewing. YMMV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjbjPS4vY24

8bit

ratcheer · 2021-05-08 13:07:23

I'm taking the plunge, too. I have ordered a 1 TB Western Digital Black m.2 nvme for my X570 PC. I'm trying to wait patiently for it to arrive.

Temetka · 2021-05-09 09:21:00

redcollective wrote:

Temetka wrote:
My primary machine is my Thinkpad T410 with a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO (latest firmware applied).
It's running BL just fine.
Hey Temetka, how do you do your SSD firmware updates on linux?
Red

Reeeally late reply mainly in case anyone wonders how I did that.

I installed Windows, then used the Samsung software to update the firmware. Then I wiped the SSD and installed BL.

I no longer have that machine or SSD, but I did check with the friend of mine I gave them to and they are both working just fine to this day.

deleted0 · 2021-05-09 15:02:42

I bought one of these from this vendor a while back.

"Card removed from NEW HP Z640 due to deployment image incompatibility. Minimum usage (if any)"

And it had one hour on it, just as stated.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265084123678

8bit

deleted0 · 2021-05-14 17:21:35

ratcheer wrote:

I'm taking the plunge, too. I have ordered a 1 TB Western Digital Black m.2 nvme for my X570 PC. I'm trying to wait patiently for it to arrive.

Any update on this? Have you setup the new machine yet? TIA.

8bit

ratcheer · 2021-05-15 13:54:05

eight.bit.al wrote:

ratcheer wrote:
I'm taking the plunge, too. I have ordered a 1 TB Western Digital Black m.2 nvme for my X570 PC. I'm trying to wait patiently for it to arrive.
Any update on this? Have you setup the new machine yet? TIA.
8bit

Yes, I am just about settled in.

It was a PITA to install, physically. The SSD itself wasn't bad, but I had to remove the video adapter to get clear access. I almost broke the video card trying to remove it. I learned that there is a catch at the front of the card that must be released. (I am not a hardware guy.)

Also, the new SSD didn't come with a tiny m.2 screw and motherboard standoff, so I had to wait two extra days to get another order via Amazon. All for a measly $1 worth of parts, which they could have included.

Then, the new SSD was locked in some way. The nvme-cli commands to format it and such would run, but always returned LBA errors.

Then, I had a devil of a time trying to restore my Linux system. I finally got it to boot, but it gave me a black screen after systemd started. I got pissed off and did a fresh install of Arch Linux. I'm still working to recover all of my functionality. I'm getting there.

The good news is that the new SSD is as fast as advertised. A 36 GB btrfs filesystem scrub ran at 3.1 GB/sec, far outpacing what my SATA III SSD will do. In everyday use, it is easy to tell that my system is much snappier.

So, for first world problems, I now have to decide how to re-deploy my old SATA SSD (500 GB) and HDD (2 TB). I think I will put my bulk user data (photos, documents, etc) onto the old SSD. Then, I might change the HDD to be my backup drive. Then, I would have a spare 4 TB external USB 3 drive, unused. Oh, well.

Last edited by ratcheer (2021-05-15 13:54:34)

deleted0 · 2021-05-15 16:19:30

ratcheer wrote:

Yes, I am just about settled in.
Also, the new SSD didn't come with a tiny m.2 screw and motherboard standoff, so I had to wait two extra days to get another order via Amazon. All for a measly $1 worth of parts, which they could have included.

That usually comes with the MB, as far as I know. I've seen the screw size and/or thread pitch differ from different MB manufacturers; the screw from my HP Turbo drive won't fit the Dell 3036 MB, for example.

The good news is that the new SSD is as fast as advertised. A 36 GB btrfs filesystem scrub ran at 3.1 GB/sec, far outpacing what my SATA III SSD will do. In everyday use, it is easy to tell that my system is much snappier.

Nice. Glad you're getting it sorted out. Pics?

8bit

Last edited by deleted0 (2021-05-15 16:45:26)

ratcheer · 2021-05-16 12:55:39

eight.bit.al wrote:

Nice. Glad you're getting it sorted out. Pics?
8bit

Pics of what? The SSD is just a little card on my motherboard, deep inside my PC. I guess I could take the case cover off and make a picture of it, but it doesn't really look like anything but another chip.

hhh · 2021-05-16 22:33:39

He's looking for cat and dog pics, I think.

deleted0 · 2021-05-16 23:36:23

^ Your two week hiatus still has a few days left on it.

8bit

deleted0 · 2021-05-16 23:41:01

ratcheer wrote:

eight.bit.al wrote:
Nice. Glad you're getting it sorted out. Pics?
8bit
Pics of what? The SSD is just a little card on my motherboard, deep inside my PC. I guess I could take the case cover off and make a picture of it, but it doesn't really look like anything but another chip.

I guess you aren't a hardware man. And that's okay.
Pics of the whole machine and the boxes the parts came in too!
Just happened to be testing a nvme ssd this morning.

8bit

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264937161249?var=564786005586

Last edited by deleted0 (2021-05-16 23:49:29)

hhh · 2021-05-16 23:49:39

eight.bit.al wrote:

^ Your two week hiatus still has a few days left on it.
8bit

That, sir, was not a moderation post, so nyeah!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/478859372871364782/

Maybe the funniest thing I have ever posted. Yay me!

How does dog and cat search results lead to anime so quickly? Everybody, we're doomed. The fetishists are the meek, and the meek shall inherit the earth.

Kitties and puppies, save me!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/east-urba … 888947810/

#21 2015-12-27 10:52:15

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#22 2015-12-28 01:16:01

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#23 2015-12-28 04:55:20

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#24 2015-12-28 09:49:33

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#25 2015-12-28 10:11:17

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#26 2016-01-23 04:49:45

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#27 2016-01-23 13:53:30

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#28 2021-05-07 19:35:24

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#29 2021-05-07 21:14:28

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#30 2021-05-08 13:07:23

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#31 2021-05-09 09:21:00

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#32 2021-05-09 15:02:42

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#33 2021-05-14 17:21:35

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#34 2021-05-15 13:54:05

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#35 2021-05-15 16:19:30

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#36 2021-05-16 12:55:39

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#37 2021-05-16 22:33:39

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#38 2021-05-16 23:36:23

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#39 2021-05-16 23:41:01

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

#40 2021-05-16 23:49:39

Re: BL SSD discussion thread

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