Intel® Solid State Drive Toolbox
User Guide
August 2018
Tool Version 3.5.3
Document Number: 325912-005US
Intel® Solid State Drive Toolbox
Revision History
Revision |
Description |
Revision Date |
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001 |
Initial release for software version 3.0 |
September 2011 |
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002 |
Update for software version 3.3.0 |
May 2015 |
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003 |
Update for software version 3.4.0 |
October 2016 |
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004 |
Update for software version 3.5.2 |
April 2018 |
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005 |
Update for software version 3.5.3 |
August 2018 |
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Intel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice. Designers must not rely on the absence or characteristics of any features or instructions marked "reserved" or "undefined". Intel reserves these for future definition and shall have no responsibility whatsoever for conflicts or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them. The information here is subject to change without notice. Do not finalize a design with this information.
The products described in this document may contain design defects or errors known as errata which may cause the product to deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request.
Contact your local Intel sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications and before placing your product order.
For copies of this document, documents that are referenced within, or other Intel literature, please contact your Intel representative.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Copyright © 2018 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Contents
1 |
Introduction |
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5 |
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1.1 |
About .....................................................................................................................................Intel® Solid State Drive Toolbox |
5 |
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1.2 |
Using ....................................................................................................................................................................the Home Screen |
5 |
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1.3 |
Scanning .............................................................................................................................................................................for Drives |
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1.4 |
Identifying ...............................................................................................................................................................................a Drive |
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2 |
Viewing Basic .................................................................................................................................................................Drive Information |
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2.1 |
Model ..............................................................................................................................................................................Information |
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2.2 |
Firmware .................................................................................................................................................................................Version |
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2.3 |
Serial ........................................................................................................................................................................................Number |
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2.4 |
Drive Health............................................................................................................................................................................................ |
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2.5 |
Estimated ................................................................................................................................................................Life Remaining |
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2.6 |
Drive Capacity........................................................................................................................................................................................ |
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2.7 |
Identifying ....................................................................................................................NAND Lithography of an Intel SSD |
10 |
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2.8 |
Identifying ......................................................................................................................the Security State of an Intel SSD |
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3 |
Obtaining Drive, ..........................................................................................................................SMART, and System Information |
11 |
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3.1 |
Drive Details ......................................................................................................................................................................................... |
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3.2 |
Exporting ....................................................................................................................................................................Drive Details |
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3.3 |
SMART ..............................................................................................................................................................................Attributes |
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3.4 |
Exporting .........................................................................................................................................................SMART Attributes |
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3.5 |
System ..........................................................................................................................................................................Information |
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Optimizing your ...........................................................................................................................................................................Intel SSD |
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4.1 |
About ..................................................................................................................................................the Intel® SSD Optimizer |
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4.2 |
Intel® .........................................................................................................................................SSD Optimizer Requirements |
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4.3 |
Manually .........................................................................................................................Running the Intel® SSD Optimizer |
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4.4 |
Scheduling .......................................................................................................................................the Intel® SSD Optimizer |
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4.5 |
Removing .....................................................................................................a Scheduled Intel® SSD Optimizer Session |
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5 |
Running Diagnostic ...........................................................................................................................................................................Scans |
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5.1 |
Quick .....................................................................................................................................................................Diagnostic Scan |
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5.2 |
Full Diagnostic .........................................................................................................................................................................Scan |
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Updating Firmware ......................................................................................................................................................................................... |
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6.1 |
Checking .................................................................................................................................................for Firmware Updates |
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6.2 |
Using ..................................................................................................................................................................Firmware Update |
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Tuning Your .......................................................................................................................................................................................System |
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7.1 |
System ......................................................................................................................................................................................Tuner |
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7.2 |
Additional ........................................................................................................................Tips for Optimizing Performance |
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7.2.1 .......................................................................................................................................................... |
Dual - Drive Systems |
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7.2.2 ............................................................................................................................................................. |
SSD - only Systems |
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7.2.3 ..........................................................................................................................Mobile Systems with Shock Sensor |
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7.2.4 ............................Intel SSDs in RAID Configurations Using Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Driver |
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7.2.5Mobile Systems without Intel® Rapid Storage Technology or Intel® Matrix Storage
Manager................................................................................................................................................................................. |
30 |
7.3 Changing System Tuner Settings............................................................................................................................................... |
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Performing a Secure Erase.......................................................................................................................................................................... |
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8.1 |
About Secure Erase .......................................................................................................................................................................... |
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8.2 |
Secure Erase Requirements.......................................................................................................................................................... |
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8.3 |
Deleting a Partition ........................................................................................................................................................................... |
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8.4 |
Running Secure Erase...................................................................................................................................................................... |
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8.5 |
Creating a Partition ........................................................................................................................................................................... |
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9 |
LED Color Feature – Intel® Optane™ SSD 905P Only ...................................................................................................................... |
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9.1 |
Intel® Optane™ SSD 905P LED Color ........................................................................................................................................ |
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10 Performance Boost Feature – Intel® Solid State Drive 660p Series ......................................................................................... |
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10.1 |
Intel® Solid State Drive 660p Series.......................................................................................................................................... |
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Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................................................................................... |
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11.1 |
Troubleshooting - Drives ............................................................................................................................................................... |
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11.2 |
Troubleshooting - Firmware Update........................................................................................................................................ |
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11.3 |
Troubleshooting - Intel® SSD Optimizer................................................................................................................................. |
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12 |
Additional Information.................................................................................................................................................................................. |
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12.1 |
Related Publications......................................................................................................................................................................... |
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12.2 |
Reference Documents ..................................................................................................................................................................... |
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1 Introduction
1.1About Intel® Solid State Drive Toolbox
The Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox is drive management software that allows you to view current drive information for Intel® Solid State Drives, including:
Drive Health
Estimated Life Remaining
SMART attributes (also available for hard disk drives and non-Intel® SSDs)
Drive Details (also available for hard disk drives and non-Intel SSDs)
Optimize the performance of an Intel SSD using Trim functionality (a command that allows an operating system to inform an SSD which blocks of data are no longer considered in use and can be deleted)
Run Quick and Full diagnostic scans to test the read and write functionality of an Intel SSD
Check and tune your system settings for optimal Intel SSD performance, power efficiency, and endurance
View your system information and hardware configuration, such as central processing unit (CPU), chipset, controller name and driver versions
Update the firmware on an Intel SSD
Run Secure Erase on a secondary Intel SSD
1.2Using the Home Screen
The home screen shows an icon (containing a picture and the assigned drive letter and capacity) for each Intel® Solid State Drives (Intel® SSDs), as well as any other drives (hard disk drives and non-Intel SSDs) installed in your system.
Click on the icon of the drive you want to manage. If your system contains multiple drives, use the arrows to the left and right of the drive icons to scroll through and select a drive.
Note: If a drive contains a partition or is installed as a cache, it appears as a separate drive, with its own icon, on the home screen. See Identifying a Drive for more details.
Drive Summary information appears for the selected drive (Information varies depending on the type of drive selected).
Model
Firmware Version
Serial Number
Drive Details
Drive Capacity
Drive Health
Estimated Life Remaining
SMART Details
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Intel® Solid State Drive Toolbox
Click an option on the left side of the screen to run a task on the selected drive. (Available tasks vary depending on the type of drive selected.)
Intel SSD Optimizer
Quick Diagnostic Scan
Full Diagnostic Scan
Secure Erase
Firmware Update
System Tuner
System Information
Click Refresh to rescan for drives and refresh all information displayed in the Intel SSD Toolbox.
Click Export to export and save SMART attributes, drive details, and system information for the selected drive to a .csv file on your system.
Click For more information to access the Intel SSD website and view the latest information on Intel SSDs.
If updates or other actions are recommended on the selected Intel SSD, the following icon
appears next to an option on the home screen: 
Tip: you can move your mouse pointer over this icon wherever you see it in the Intel SSD Toolbox to view the recommended action.
Related Sections
Scanning for Drives Identifying a Drive
1.3Scanning for Drives
Upon startup, the Intel SSD Toolbox scans for all available drives installed in the system including Intel SSDs, non-Intel SSDs, and hard disk drives (HDDs). Icons for all located drives will appear on the home screen.
If your system contains multiple drives, use the arrows to the left and right of the drive icons to scroll through and select a drive.
To rescan the system for drives, click Refresh on the home screen or exit Intel SSD Toolbox and start the program again.
If a drive installed in the system is not appearing on the home screen, see Troubleshooting - Drives.
Related Sections
Identifying a Drive Viewing Drive Health
Viewing Estimated Drive Life Remaining
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1.4Identifying a Drive
An icon for each drive, labeled with the drive letter and capacity, appears on the home screen. If your system contains multiple drives, use the arrows to the left and right of the drive icons to scroll through and select a drive.
Information displayed for a drive may include:
Assigned drive letter (drive partitions and drives installed as a cache appear as separate drives and may contain assigned drive letters)
Usable capacity
Note: The total usable capacity of an Intel SSD may be less than the total physical capacity because a small portion of the capacity is used for NAND flash management and maintenance purposes.
Move and hold the mouse pointer over a drive icon or click on the drive for more information.
If a drive installed in the system does not appear on the home screen, see Troubleshooting - Drives.
Drives containing partitions
If a drive contains a partition, the partition appears as a separate drive on the home screen and may or may not be assigned a drive letter.
Drives installed as a cache using Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST)
If a drive is installed as a cache using Intel® RST, the drive appears as a separate drive on the home screen without an assigned drive letter. Intel SSD Toolbox identifies this type of drive as a RAID volume member (a specific drive in a RAID volume).
Drives part of a RAID array using Intel® RST
If a drive is installed as part of a RAID array using Intel® RST, the drive appears as a separate drive on the home screen. Move the mouse over the drive to identify if it is the RAID volume (all drives in the RAID array) or a RAID volume member (a specific drive in a RAID volume).
Note: RAID volumes and RAID volume members have limited functionality in Intel SSD Toolbox.
Drives part of dynamic partitions
If a drive is part of a dynamic partition, the drive appears as a separate drive on the home screen.
Note: You can run Intel SSD Optimizer on simple dynamic partitions only. See your system documentation for identifying partition types.
Related Section
Identifying Security State of an Intel SSD Identifying the NAND Lithography of an Intel SSD
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2 Viewing Basic Drive Information
2.1Model Information
On the home screen, model information, such as device type, bus architecture, controller mode, form factor, and capacity is available for each drive.
The Model Number, Firmware Version and the Serial Number are always displayed for the selected drive in the Drive Summary section.
More detailed information is available by moving and holding the mouse pointer over a drive icon. For Intel SSDs, this information includes a reference to the NAND lithography. For example:
If the number includes G1, the SSD is based on 50nm NAND lithography. Note: The Intel SSD Optimizer does not run on these SSDs. See Intel SSD Optimizer Requirements for more information.
If the number includes G2 or A2, the SSD is based on 34nm NAND.
If the number includes G3, the SSD is based on 25nm NAND.
If the number includes A3, the SSD is based on 20nm NAND.
2.2Firmware Version
On the home screen, the Drive Summary section shows the version of firmware currently installed on the selected Intel SSD.
If the selected Intel SSD contains an older version of firmware than what is included with this version of the Intel SSD Toolbox, the following icon appears next to the Firmware Update option:
To check if a newer firmware version is available for your Intel SSD, see Checking for Firmware Updates.
Note: To update firmware on an Intel® X25-E Solid State Drive or Intel® Solid State Drive 510 Series, use the Intel® SATA Solid State Drive Firmware Update Tool available at http://www.intel.com/go/ssdfirmware. The Intel SSD Toolbox Firmware Update option does not update firmware on these SSDs.
2.3Serial Number
On the home screen, the Drive Summary section shows the Serial Number of the selected drive. This information can be useful when contacting technical support.
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2.4Drive Health
On the home screen, The SMART Summary section displays the Drive Health information of the selected Intel SSD as measured by supported SMART attributes.
Good (green) - All SMART attributes are above their threshold levels.
Warning (red) - One or more SMART attributes has moved beyond the threshold level and reached the final value. It is recommended to back up all data and consider replacing the SSD.
Note: Drive Health is reported for Intel SSDs only with SMART enabled.
Related Section
Viewing Estimated Life Remaining
2.5Estimated Life Remaining
On the home screen, the SMART Summary section displays the Estimated Life Remaining of the selected Intel SSD.
Endurance calculations are estimated and may vary. The estimation shown is based on the applied workload and is not accurate if the workload changes. Estimates are based on your usage to date and will not extend or reduce the SSD warranty period.
Note: Estimated Life Remaining is reported for Intel SSDs only with SMART enabled.
Related Section
Viewing Drive Health
2.6Drive Capacity
On the home screen, the capacity pie chart reports the amount of used and free space available on the selected Intel SSD.
The pie chart appears for Intel SSDs with valid partitions only. The pie chart does not appear for SSDs without a valid partition or for SSDs installed as a cache.
Note: The total usable capacity may be less than the total physical capacity because a small portion of the capacity is used for NAND flash management and maintenance purposes.
Related Sections
Viewing Drive Health
Viewing Estimated Life Remaining
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2.7Identifying NAND Lithography of an Intel SSD
To identify the NAND lithography of an Intel SSD:
1.Select the Intel SSD on the home screen.
2.Click Drive Details.
3.Scroll down and view Model Number (Word 27-46):
If the number includes G1, the Intel SSD is based on 50nm NAND lithography. Note: The Intel SSD Optimizer does not run on these SSDs.
If the number includes G2 or A2, the SSD is based on 34nm NAND.
If the number includes G3, the SSD is based on 25nm NAND.
If the number includes A3, the SSD is based on 20nm NAND.
Note: You can also move the mouse pointer over the Intel SSD on the home screen to view this information, which is displayed as part of the model number.
Related Section
Identifying Security State of an Intel SSD
2.8Identifying the Security State of an Intel SSD
To identify the security state of an Intel SSD†:
1.Select the Intel SSD on the home screen.
2.Click Drive Details.
3.Scroll down and view Security Status (Word 128).
Bit 0 indicates the Security Mode feature set supported. If set to 1, security is supported.
Bit 1 indicates security enabled. If set to 1, the security is enabled.
Bit 2 indicates security locked. If set to 1, the security is locked.
Bit 3 indicates security frozen. If set to 1, the security is frozen.
See the ATA-7 Specification for more information.
†Not applicable for NVMe* drives.
Related Section
Identifying the NAND Lithography of an Intel SSD
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3Obtaining Drive, SMART, and System Information
3.1Drive Details
The Drive Details screen displays standard identification data for the selected drive. The information displayed is generated by an ATA IDENTIFY DEVICE or NVMe IDENTIFY command, depending on the attached drive.
Scroll down to view all values on the screen. Details shown for each value include:
Word: Identifies the word(s) assigned to a specific value.
Description: Provides the name and bit information (if needed) for each value.
Hex value: Reports the hexadecimal value for each piece of drive information.
The following are commonly referenced values. For complete descriptions of all values, see the ATA specifications.
Serial Number (Word 10-19): Identifies production information about the selected drive.
Firmware Version (Word 23-26): Version of firmware installed on the selected drive.
Model Number (Word 27-45): Model of the selected drive.
For Intel SSDs, the model number contains reference to the NAND lithography.
Security Status (Word 128): Security state of the selected drive.
Bit 0 indicates the Security Mode feature set supported. If set to one, security is supported.
Bit 1 indicates security enabled. If set to one, the security is enabled.
Bit 2 indicates security locked. If set to one, the security is locked.
Bit 3 indicates security frozen. If set to one, the security is frozen.
See the ATA-7 Specification for more information.
Note: To reissue the ATA IDENTIFY DEVICE or NVMe IDENTIFY command and display updated information for the selected drive, return to the home screen and click Refresh.
Related Sections
Exporting Drive Details
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3.2Exporting Drive Details
On the home screen, click Export to save SMART attributes, drive details, and system information for the selected drive to a .csv (comma-separated values) file, which can be opened in a program such as Microsoft Excel*.
Related Section
Viewing Drive Details
3.3SMART Attributes
The SMART Details screen shows Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) attributes and/or SMART Health Info attributes on the selected drive. Recommended actions (if any) appear next to each attribute.
Each drive operates under a predefined set of SMART attributes and corresponding threshold values, of which the drive should not pass during normal operation†. Each attribute has a raw value (defined by the manufacturer) and a normalized value†. See the ATA specifications and NVMe* specifications for a complete description of each SMART attribute.
Scroll down to view the SMART attributes supported by the selected ATA or NVMe drive.
Details shown for each SMART attribute include:
ID: The hexadecimal name of the SMART attribute.
Description: The name of the SMART attribute.
Raw: The raw value assigned to the SMART attribute by the drive manufacturer.
Normalized†: The value of an attribute adjusted to a scale spanning typical increments of 100 to 1, or 200 to 1.
Threshold†: The lowest acceptable normalized value for the drive.
Action: Identifies whether the system can use the drive for processing.
Descriptions of some SMART attributes are shown in the following table. These attributes vary depending on the Intel SSD or other drive selected. Your SSD or drive may not support some of these attributes. For more details on each attribute, see the ATA specifications and NVMe* specifications.
ID |
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Spin Up Time |
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03 |
For Intel SSDs, reports a fixed value of zero (0). |
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The average time it takes the spindle to spin up. (Since an SSD has no moving parts, this |
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attribute reports a fixed Raw value of zero (0) and a fixed Normalized value of 100.) |
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Start/Stop Count |
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04 |
For Intel SSDs, reports a fixed value of zero (0). |
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This type of event is not an issue for SSDs. However, hard disk drives can experience only a |
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finite number of these events, and therefore, must be tracked. |
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ID |
Attribute and Description |
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Re-allocated Sector Count |
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05 |
The raw value shows the number of retired blocks since leaving the factory (grown defect |
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count). |
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Power-On Hours Count |
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The raw value reports the cumulative number of power-on hours over the life of the device. |
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Note: The On/Off status of the Device Initiated Power Management (DIPM) feature affects the |
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number of hours reported. |
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If DIPM is turned on, the recorded value does not include the time that the device is in a |
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slumber state. |
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If DIPM is turned off, the recorded value should match the clock time, as all three device |
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states are counted: active, idle, and slumber. |
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Power Cycle Count |
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0C |
The raw value reports the cumulative number of power-cycle events (power on/off cycles) |
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over the life of the device. |
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Available Reserved Space |
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AA |
Reports the number of reserve blocks remaining. The normalized value begins at 100 (64h), |
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which corresponds to 100 percent availability of the reserved space. The threshold value for |
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this attribute is 10 percent availability. |
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Program Fail Count |
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AB |
The raw value shows total count of program fails. The normalized value, beginning at 100, |
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shows the percent remaining of allowable program fails. |
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Erase Fail Count |
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AC |
The raw value shows total count of erase fail. The normalized value, beginning at 100, shows |
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the percent remaining of allowable erase fails. |
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Unexpected Power Loss |
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Reports number of unclean shutdowns, cumulative over the life of the SSD. An “unclean |
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AE |
shutdown” is the removal of power without STANDBY IMMEDIATE as the last command |
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(regardless of PLI activity using capacitor power). Also known as “Power-off Retract Count” per |
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magnetic-drive terminology. |
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End-to-End Error Detection Count |
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B8 |
Reports number of errors encountered during Logical Block Address (LBA) tag checks within |
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the SSD data path. The normalized value begins at 100 and decrements by 1 for each LBA tag |
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mismatch detected. The threshold value is 90. |
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Uncorrectable Error Count |
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BB |
The raw value shows the count of errors that could not be recovered using Error Correction |
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Code (ECC). |
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Temperature - Airflow (Case) |
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Reports the SSD case temperature in degree Celsius. The raw value is as follows: |
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Byte 0 = Current case temperature (°C) |
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BE |
Byte 2 = Recent minimum case temperature (°C) |
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Byte 3 = Recent maximum case temperature (°C) |
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The normalized value is 100. Case temperature is calculated based on an offset from internal |
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temperature sensor. |
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