So I had the BAD_CTX bug once again loosing all my data, good thing I remembered to back it all up this time before it happend
Le't's answer a few common questions
Q: Is my data lost for ever and ever?
> Yes. Well no, not unless you are prepared to pay a gazillion dollars to have it recovered which you most likely don't want to so still yes.
Q: Can I rescue my disk and make it reusable again?
> Yes. I've had this kind of errors twice by now and I have managed to fix the disk both times but with different methods.
Getting started
Most likely the error was caused by you
- not having updated the firmware
- ...in combination with a powerout or forced shutdown
There are a few threads sorting this out, first and foremost the advanced users will use Linux to solve this but if you haven't used Linux before it's a mess. And the Linux way of using MHDD or Ubuntu with partx, hdparm, and smartctl may be very powerful but will add some extra technological skills from you.
The Linux way
If you want to go the Linux way, here it is http://communities.intel.com/message/145676, worth noting is that this option didn't work for me the second time my disk bricked. I was repeatedly having errors like this when I tried to use the tools
-s: bad/missing powerup-in-standby value (0..1)
When testing with hdparm the disc looked like this
x@x:~$ sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda
/dev/sda:
ATA device, with non-removable media
Model Number: INTEL SSDSA2CW300G3
Serial Number: BAD_CTX 0000013F
Firmware Revision: 4PC10362
Transport: Serial, ATA8-AST, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6
Standards:
Used: unknown (minor revision code 0x0029)
Supported: 8 7 6 5
Likely used: 8
Configuration:
Logical max current
cylinders 16383 16
heads 16 16
sectors/track 63 63
--
CHS current addressable sectors: 16128
LBA user addressable sectors: 16384
LBA48 user addressable sectors: 16384
Logical Sector size: 512 bytes
Physical Sector size: 512 bytes
device size with M = 1024*1024: 8 MBytes
device size with M = 1000*1000: 8 MBytes
cache/buffer size = unknown
Nominal Media Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Capabilities:
LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, no device specific minimum
R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16 Current = 16
DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 udma5 *udma6
Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
Cycle time: no flow control=120ns IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
Enabled Supported:
Security Mode feature set
* Power Management feature set
* Write cache
* Look-ahead
* Host Protected Area feature set
* WRITE_BUFFER command
* READ_BUFFER command
* NOP cmd
* DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
SET_MAX security extension
* 48-bit Address feature set
* Device Configuration Overlay feature set
* Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
* FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
* General Purpose Logging feature set
* WRITE_{DMA|MULTIPLE}_FUA_EXT
* 64-bit World wide name
* IDLE_IMMEDIATE with UNLOAD
* WRITE_UNCORRECTABLE_EXT command
* {READ,WRITE}_DMA_EXT_GPL commands
* Segmented DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
* Gen1 signaling speed (1.5Gb/s)
* Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)
* Phy event counters
* Software settings preservation
* SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
* SCT Write Same (AC2)
* SCT Error Recovery Control (AC3)
* SCT Features Control (AC4)
* SCT Data Tables (AC5)
* Data Set Management TRIM supported (limit 8 blocks)
* Deterministic read ZEROs after TRIM
Security:
Master password revision code = 65534
supported
not enabled
not locked
frozen
not expired: security count
supported: enhanced erase
2min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 2min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 5001517959522a46
NAA : 5
IEEE OUI : 001517
Unique ID : 959522a46
Checksum: correct
In other words, your disk is here but not working very well. Lets fix it.
"My" recommended way of fixing the disk
Here it is, http://www.iishacks.com/2009/06/30/how-to-secure-erase-reset-an-intel-solid-state-drive-ssd/ It simply just works, ensure to update your firmware if possible. Enjoy
