Intel Issues Firmware Update for X-25M G2 SSDs

When Intel released their second-generation SSD’s last month, we saw drives with chips based on a 34nm process, faster overall speeds, and even lower latencies. But, sadly for Intel, a show-stopper issue surfaced only a few days later.

The issue affects only those who use a BIOS password. If you set a password with the drive using the launch firmware, the SSD would become inoperable on the next boot. What exactly a BIOS password has to do with a storage device, I have no idea, but the issue was severe enough to push Intel to immediately release the information. It took a few weeks for an updated firmware to become available, but it’s here now.

If you are using one of Intel’s latest G2 drives, it’s highly recommended that you go and update the firmware now. You can download it here, in the form of an ISO. You will need a blank CD-R for burning. If you are unsure of how properly burn an ISO, download and install CDBurnerXP. Once launched, use the “Burn ISO image”. The steps from that point are rather straight-forward.

After the image is burned, you can boot up your machine with it in the drive, and change the boot device to whichever disc drive it’s inserted into. The flashing process is simple, so don’t worry, you are not going to kill your drive. If you have more than one X25-M installed, they will be displays, but the latest version of the firmware will only update G2 drives. G1 drives will go ignored (as they don’t suffer from this issue).