2 years, 9 months ago-
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I have a Dell XPS desktop PC that has an Intel NVMe SSD used for fast hard boot acceleration. This NVMe SSD shows a BIOS diagnostic SMART failure. According to independent information I found the NVMe does not support SMART. I need to find a technical contact in Dell above the manual readers at the help desk who can work with me to confirm or deny my suspicions to determine whether or not the NVMe SSD is actually bad and how to move forward.
Thanks in advance for any recommendations,
don -
Hello dfhjr,
You can use a piece of software called crystal disk to read the S.M.A.R.T data of your NVME SSD. You can click here to download the standard edition of crystal disk.
To test the read/write speed of the disk I recommend AJA System Test, which can be downloaded here.
To run a benchmark on said NVME, you can use the free trial of HD Tune Pro, which can be acquired here.
Happy testing, hope you find what you are looking for.
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John,
Thanks for getting back to me.
The Dell BIOS F12 diagnostics flags a SMART error on the SSD as does CrystalDiskInfo (been using it for years). I will look into the other software you mentioned.
My dilemma stems out of a Belarc report which shows the SSD is not SMART capable: “NVMe INTEL MEMPEK1W01 [Hard drive] — drive 1, s/n PHBT726400J0016D, Not SMART”. It is an older machine and I haven’t been able to find definitively whether the age NVMe I have supports SMART.
I did a number of Windows 10 upgrades around the first of the month (apparently including a number of Intel updates), and about that time turned on the Power Option “speed up cold boot” which apparently uses the SSD as a part of its boot up process. Shortly after that, I received a fatal boot error that my SATA drive had failed. It was replaced and I am in the process of rebuilding the system from back ups (use of a back up image didn’t work because the HDD brand changed the drivers so I’m reloading files and reinstalling software). When I placed the old drive into a USB carriage, I discovered it can be accessed, no problems.
Subsequently, I discovered the BIOS F12 diagnostics flagging the SMART failure (other diagnostic tests pass) and verified it with CrystalDiskInfo. I wonder whether or not the SSD is SMART capable, and if not whether the Intel updates may have marked it as SMART capable resulting in the diagnostics reading random junk.
Again, thanks.
Take care, stay well,
don -
Possible resolution:
Symptoms: System failed to boot. Diagnostic pointed to disk failure. Service request auto-generated by Dell Support Assist Software.
System has 1 TB SATA hard disk and 1 16 GB Intel SSD to speed up cold boots.
Diagnostic from Dell was SATA hard drive failure. Replace hard drive.
Hard drive replaced, system rebuilt from backups. ‘Failed’ hard drive placed in USB carriage for examination. All of hard drive appeared to be good and accessible.
Worked with Dell support personnel to replace hard drive and get the new system up and running. Support personnel depth of system understanding was ‘read the manual’ level with NO ability to communicate directly with more knowledgeable help personnel. All communications of this type were pass through the customer support.
After a few days, boot diagnostics flagged a disk failure. Upon further boot diagnostics, discovered the failure was not the hard disk, but the SSD. Looked back at previous messages and determined the original failure was SSD failure which was misdiagnosed by Dell as a hard drive failure.
Was accidentally able to contact a more knowledgeable Dell representative through FB messenger who examined the case file and helped verify the root cause of the system problem. Repair is scheduled to replace the SSD.
Dell customer support personnel via email / phone support paths don’t have sufficient knowledge to handle other than rudimentary problems and are neither willing nor able to put the customer in contact with more knowledgeable Dell tech personnel. Previously there was the ability to elevate the problem level to be handled by more knowledgeable tech support. That capability apparently on longer exists.
The current Dell help desk process is broken for non-elementary problems, costing Dell and their customers wasted time and effort. Had the problem been diagnosed correctly in the first place, significant time and effort would have been saved. When it was clear the problem was beyond the knowledge level of the help personnel, had the problem been elevated to more capable tech support, significant time and effort would have been saved.
Dell should fix their help desk system.
The saga continues.
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