probook 6560b does not recognize my SSD

[probook6560b]

thank your for your response switched2hp, could you tell me the exact model number of the kingston ssd that  does work with this notebook? thanks in advance.

[Slym]

I tried to install a Crucial M4 128GB REV02 as well as an OCZ Vertex 3 128GB and bot did not work in my 6560b

Crucial released a new firmware revision for the M4 and it looks like it COULD solve the issue but I can't try it since I don't have it anymore.

They all worked just fine in my older HP NC8430 ...

I gave up trying to put a SSD in this {Content Removed} computer.

:manmad: :manmad:  :manmad: :manmad: 

[Switched2HP]

Hi probook6560b,

It was a Kingston SSDNow V+ 100

 Model: SVP100S2B

@Slym

Oh no - the Crucial M4 (256GB) was my next choice given the new Samsung SSD drives are super hard to get at the mo'. However, by chance I have a 64GB Crucial M4 arriving tommorow for another application so I will update its firmware and try it in a 6560b. Stay tuned...

Cheers

[sverre_andersen]

I have the same problem with my 'HP ProBook 6560b 15.6" HD+ LED'

Corsair SSD Force Series? 3, 120GB - does not work

but

my old Intel X25-M SSD 80GB 2,5", Retail works

[Switched2HP]

Hey Slym,

The following drive works: 

64GB Crucial 2.5" m4 SSD Part #: CT064M4SSD2 Firmware: 0009 

I would expect larger capacity Crucial drives to work too.

[Slym]

Ok good to know so every M4 models with REV 9 should work.

Could you confirm what chipset you have because the 6560b exists in two configs. (You can use CPU-Z, Mainboard tab). Mine is a Sandy Bridge QM67 and Bios is F.05.

I forgot to say that my 32 GB OCZ Onyx also worked.

Thank you.

[Switched2HP]

Hi,

We may have a mix as we have a lot of these machines but the one that has been tested with the drives is a Sandy Bridge HM65. BIOS rev is F.08

Stepping is B2 but both HDD and optical drive are supposedly connected to 6GBs ports to avoid the 3GBs controller issue.

Cheers 🙂

[Slym]

I have a bad news for some of us.

I tried a Crucial M4 128 GB with firmware 09 and it's not working as it should be. Windows installer does not detect it even with drivers.

We were able to install Fedora 16 from a Live USB but it did not boot after completing the installation.

(BIOS F20 - Chipset QM67)

[6560b_owner]

###########################################################

# Update from January / 2012

# to everyone reading this and having the same issue:

# There is a BIOS update F.22 available that fixes the recognition problem!

#

# Sata-III speeds are still not usable, but it is a big step forward. See page5 and onwards.

###########################################################

Hello fellow 6560b owners,

I decided to enter this support forum to inform you of an important correlation concerning the SSD-Problem I observed:

Every non-recognizable SSD-drive mentioned here had a native SATA-III (6Gb/s) Interface. 

Every working SSD* had a native Sata-II or Sata-I interface.

(*exception: the Crucial M4 mentioned by Slym, which seems to be recognized, but fails on system-level none the less. That does not count as 'working'.)

The correlation to recognizion/Sata-II dawned on me after my 6560b did not recognize a brand new Kingston Hyper-X 120GB (Sata-III), but did correctly recognize an OCZ 180GB Agility 2 (Sata-II), which is almost identical to the OCZ Vertex 2/LE.

The OCZ drive worked without problems until this week, when it suddently failed without warning. Totally bricked, all data lost. OCZ is aware of that problem, the forums are full of it, but they obviously don't want to start a recall. (Corsair did that with their failed Force3-Series, as well as Intel should do with their 310-Series repeatedly reverting to 8M size.)

Which means, I'm back to zero and have to find a new drive that is reliable and recognized in the 6560b.

For any SSD-user out there: backups will save you a ton of frustration. Most mayor manufacturers had serious problems with their SSDs dying, so be warned.

Some details about my machine: new 6560b, 3 months old (as was the OCZ drive), HW 65 B3 stepping.

(->no Intel Sata-chipset failure possible.)

Search for explanation / reasons to the 6560b's SSD-problem

HWinfo reports 2 Sata-III Ports, which I suppose are those on the main drive slot and the optical drive.

The HW 65 as well as the QB67 (which both seem to be very identical according to wikipedia) both reportedly support 2 SATA-III-Ports, which were not affected in the B2-stepping-Sata-II-failure-thing that hit Intel in Jan/Feb 2011.

So why should a Sata-III-link from a Sata-III-capable mainboard to a Sata-III-capable drive not work, but a sata-II does?

And why can't the Sata-III drives just revert to Sata-II capabilities and work slower, but recogizable?

general issues that I can think of:

1) hardware/software-based problem concerning the chipset

improbable after that sata-II-issue. I assume they checked everything, and as most Sata-III drives are SSDs, they must have tested our models as well. Oh, and other Sandy-Bridge-notebooks accept Sata-III just fine, don't they?

remaining possibility: the B2-bug-aftermath produced this Sata-III-bug in the 6560b's configuration. That may be a hint to why the Sata-III Corsair M4 worked for the user Switched2HP and his B2-stepping-board, but similar M4-Corsair-SSDs did not work in B3-stepping-6560b notebooks.

I'm not convinced of this explanation, though, as Switched2HP had also had problems with the Kingston-HyperX Sata-III drives. Important question @Switched2HP: did you test the Kingston Hyper-X in the same B2-stepping laptop the M4 runs fine in?

2) hardware/software-problem on the SSD side

With us trying almost every Sata-III drive out there? Which work fine on other Chipsets & notebooks? Almost impossible..

not improbable cause no. 3:

- hardware-problem on the electrical link side [eg. bad connectors/cables which prevent Sata-III from working, while not allowing downwards compatibility to Sata-II to jump in]

this problem would IMHO only be fixable with complete replacement of the mainboard

probable cause no. 4:

- bios/HP-hardware-software-based problem concerning the chipset 

eg. it's HPs fault because they deactivated/bricked something. See point 1) for B2-stepping-aftermath-scenario.

IMHO quite possible. HP would earn a ton of respect if they manage to solve that problem with a firmware update. 

As the 6560b was built to be upgraded in a few minutes, an issue prohibiting modern SSDs and HDDs to work is a complete deal-breaker.

As we, the users, have no access to the deeper configuration options, hardware-level-logs or even just knowledge about the inner workings of our chipsets, this would be the perfect time of some expert from HP to join in this thread, which is running for over 3 months now.

I'm sorry guys from HP, but this is a serious problem, as soon there will only be Sata-III drives left, so I'm not doing this for fun.  The HP Probook is not just any cheap throwaway-laptop.

[6560b_owner]

there are different reports of our problem elsewhere:

Intel support forum (user jonasschultz is active in this thread, too)

Corsair support forum case 1 and case 2.

Crucial support forum.

Even in this forum, different threads exist: German HP-support forum

SSDs working with the 6560b

OCZ  Vertex 2 - Sata-II  (German HP support thread, user tsargent) - be careful, frequent failures reported

OCZ Agility 2 180GB - Sata-II  (user 6560b_owner) - be careful, frequent failures reported, mine bricked after 3 mo.

OCZ Onyx 32GB - Sata-II (user Slym)

"Kingston 32GB" - Sata-II (??)  (Corsair support forum, briefly mentioned )

Kingston SSDNow V+ - Sata-II (user SwitchedHP)

Intel X-25 80GB - Sata-II (user sverre_andersen)

SSDs not working with the 6560b

Kingston HyperX 120GB - Sata-III (user 6560b_owner, user SwitchedHP) 

Corsair Force3 120GB - Sata-III  (Corsair support forum, user sverre_andersen) 

Corsair Force GT 120GB - Sata-III (user probook6560b)

Intel 510 - Sata-III (Intel support forum, user Skullius) 

OCZ Vertex 3 - Sata-III (German HP support thread, user Slym)

OCZ Agility 3 - Sata-III (user Dusano)

mixed reports/ severe issues with the 6560b

Crucial M4 64GB - Sata-III - working!? (user Switched2HP)

Crucial M4 128 GB - Sata-III (user: Slym) - issues / not working

Crucial M4 - Sata-III - (German HP thread) - not working

 [Update] The M4 drive is unique because of its special Marvell 88SS9174-BLD2 controller, while the non-workings ssds are driven by variants of the sandforce SF-2281 controller. This could be a clue to what causes the problem. 

There are reports of SSD drives not working correctly after cold-booting for various Pro- and Elitebooks in this thread for about 18 months. I don't know if these problems, which began 18 mo. ago, are related to our problems.

---------

Linux reports the hard drive on the 6560b as 'port 1', which should be sata-III (6gb/s) according to my research.

By the way: the optical drive is reported as 'port 5'.

my specs: B3 stepping HW65 mainboard in my 6560b, about 3 months old.

-------

Any ideas to explain the cause of our problem?

Could our problem be voltage-related?

SSD drives need no strong currents or a strong power supply, therefore the power consumption itself does not explain working / not working SSDs.

Chipset incompatibility of Sandforce-based SSDs? Not plausible, as the Intel 510 series uses mavell-chipsets and fails as well to be recognized by the bios..