FW 1.4 Series VERTEX and AGILITY FW UPDATERS

[Tony]

Do not use this updater if you are already on 1.5 FW

Drives have been shipping for a while now with 1.4 pre installed, before you consider flashing have a look what is already the default FW on your drive.

Read the whole of this 1st post...that means all of this post before you download anything. Info on Agility files and Vertex EX files is towards the end of this post.

ALSO NO JUMPER IS REQUIRED FOR THIS FIRMWARE UPDATE

Regular Vertex and Vertex EX also AGILITY and Agility EX updater ISO's...Turbo will come a little later be patient.

Just so you all are aware:


If you don't want to read the whole thread and get your answers, start here. More questions will be added, but these are the most popular so far: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...ad.php?t=63543

The Flasher is a little different, this time 1 file does all Regular Vertex including EX drives. (NOT TURBO) although more info on Vertex EX ISO's and flashing issues is covered later in this post.

Praz has generously captured the setup screens for us, nice and clear so you won't make mistakes

Simple rules are this works in IDE mode only (you can't be in AHCI), on Macs detection is slow...so be patient.

Boot to the ISO...the first screen you will see is this:



This first screen is the drive detection screen, you need to input the drive number...this then tells the detector to call the correct FW flasher for your drive.
I input 1 and hit enter, then the following screen pops up:



So now you have to hit Y for the flasher to detect the drive...do NOT hit enter...the Y is all you need, i obviously have to enter 1 to flash the drive then hit enter there after.



Lastly, once flashed you should see the following. From the picture you can see the update for Vertex is to 1.4/1.41, for Vertex EX the update is 1.3 or 1.31...don't get confused by this.




If you have a Mac, I do suggest before you boot to the ISO to flash your drive that you clear (zap) PRAM 3 times...then boot to the ISO and follow the instructions you see here...then once flashed reboot and zap PRAM again at least 3 times.

On a PC make sure you flash with no overclock on the machine, the SSD is in IDE mode and the first SATA port. Flash one drive at a time and make sure you clear cmos thoroughly and reset timings etc before you boot back to windows if you see issues after the flash.

The best way to clear CMOS is to remove all power to the motherboard and remove the CMOS battery...then short the battery terminals with the edge of the battery or a coin for 2 minutes. I do this in preference to using the CMOS jumper as quite often the CMOS jumper is not thorough enough.

The download is not password protected, there are 2 ISO files, 1.4 and 1.41.

1.4 has TRIM and will suit win7 and any OS with TRIM support.

1.41 has GC and will suit any OS with no TRIM support or raid arrays.

OS with TRIM support = windows 7

All others do not have TRIM although MacOSX and Linux will have it soon.

This update still supports Wiper.exe and sanitary erase.

UPDATE December 10 2009

VERTEX FILES

1 small note: EX drives will show 1.3 and 1.31, just a numbering error. FW is still exactly the same.

GRAB 1.4/1.41 FOR VERTEX and VERTEX EX HERE

AGILITY FILES.

All Agility and Agility EX drives should be covered now in this 1 updater. Both 1.4 and 1.41 ISO's are in the ZIP.
1 Small note: EX drives will show 1.3 or 1.31 not 1.4 and 1.41, just a numbering error, the FW is still exactly the same.

Grab Agility and Agility EX files here

If you want to flash using USB look at the next post in this thread for how to.

Lastly, make sure you also read this thread, especially the first post if you are going to use windows 7:http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...ad.php?t=63895

UPDATE 28/10/09

[Tony]

If you want to flash from USB here is how:

The Ultimate forum built USB uniflasher is here!!

The following will be needed to flash the drive:

1. An OCZ Vertex or Agility series SSD

2. A USB stick 64MB - 2GB in size

3. The firmware flashing utility from this thread (uniflasher version 1C, Updated 11/08/2009)

4. The HP USB Format Tool utility {Link removed - site was confusing - they made changes} There is a link in this article: http://tech.icrontic.com/article/ins...ng-windows-xp/

Install the HP USB Format Tool utility and unzip the firmware flashing utility folder. The file structure of the unzipped firmware flashing utility should appear as shown in the following screenshot.




Launch the HP utility and select your USB stick from the drop-down list.




FAT should be selected as the file system as shown in the screenshot below. FAT32 and NTFS will not work. If using a USB stick larger then 2GB it will need to be formatted as FAT32. This can be done by pointing the HP USB Format Tool utility to a Win98 boot disk. Because of licensing agreements you will have to already have this disk or acquire it elsewhere. This method will require using the original firmware update files located in the AGILTY and VERTEX FW update 1.4/1.41... VERTEX EX and AGILITY EX FW 1.3/1.31 EX thread. This utility has not been tested with any version of DOS other then FreeDos.

Click the option "Create a DOS startup disk" and the box shown to navigate to where the firmware files were unzipped.




Click on the kernel folder then click OK.




Click "Start" and when the warning box appears click "Yes"




When the formatting tool is finished click "OK" and close the program.




On some systems the USB stick may need to be removed and reinserted for Windows to recognize the stick after formatting. Open the previously unzipped firmware flashing folder. Select all of the contents of the folder except the kernel folder and copy them to the USB stick. The files to be copied to the USB stick are:

choice.exe
NANSI.SYS
readme.txt
autoexec.bat
menu.bat
altmenu.bat
kernel.sys
command.com
and the folder "flash"

Command.com and kernel.sys should already be on the USB stick. If they are there is no need to copy them again.




Restart the system and boot from the USB stick. Normally the USB stick is seen by the BIOS as a hard drive. Go into the BIOS and select the USB stick as the first boot device in the hard drive selection menu. Do not select USB floppy, removable device or any other item as the first boot device.. An easier way for a one-time boot is to select the USB stick during Post. Some common keys that allows accessing the Post boot menu are the Escape, F2 or F11 key. Consult your motherboard manual for the correct key.

Once booted the Main Menu should be the first screen that appears. Option #6 should not be needed by most users. It allows access to alternative firmware for users that are having difficulty flashing the drives. The Agility SSD was used for these screenshots. Depending on the drive selected the number of screens or the content of them may be slightly different. At this screen press the number corresponding to the drive you wish to update. There is no need to press the "Enter" key. To select the the firmware for the Agility SSD I will press "2"




The Agility I am flashing does not have a hyphen in the name so I need to press "1"




Since I want Garbage Collection I press "2". This starts the actual firmware flashing utility.




The firmware flashing utility consists of several screens. What is displayed will depend on the number of drives connected to the system The first screen requires pressing a number key corresponding to your choice and then pressing the "Enter" key.




The second screen presents a Yes or No option. Press the "Y" or "N" key depending on your choice. Do not press the "Enter" key.




The third screen require that a number key be pressed followed by pressing the "Enter" key.




After the firmware update is done the following screen appears.

[techspec6]

WOOHOO!

Jason

[apinunw]

NOW we have it!!!

[m.oreilly]

NOW we have it!!!

[Flash3d]

As i understand with my setup:
Windows 7 + SB750 + default MS drivers + single vertex

I should use the 1.4 version, is there any necessity of using the wiper tool after this update (will TRIM keep my SSD nice and tidy)? Or should use wiper before this update?

[eva2000]

thanks tony seems to be same flash as fwupdate for v1.1 to v1.3 from the screens

[m.oreilly]

As i understand with my setup:
Windows 7 + SB750 + default MS drivers + single vertex

I should use the 1.4 version, is there any necessity of using the wiper tool after this update (will TRIM keep my SSD nice and tidy)? Or should use wiper before this update?

if you are updating from 1.3, and using teh trim FW, yes. trim will not take care of previous deleted data, though just a single run w/wiper should be enough to get you set for trim use.

[Halk]

As i understand with my setup:
Windows 7 + SB750 + default MS drivers + single vertex

I should use the 1.4 version, is there any necessity of using the wiper tool after this update (will TRIM keep my SSD nice and tidy)? Or should use wiper before this update?

That is the correct firmware to use. And you should use wiper, but only once a month at most.

[me&er]

Well done Tony.. weekend coming, take that tinny bit of a renault out for a spin!!

If I see you comin round Brands way.. I'll let you watch the back of me in my mate's caterham .

[Rego]

One little question, if i update do 1.4 and install the new intel 9.5 drivers will the TRIM work?

[RyderOCZ]

Rego.. only if the new 9.5 pass Trim.. which nobody knows yet

Be the first to try

[spajdr]

If i have three SSD, two Vertex and one Vertex Turbo, did i still need to have only one ssd at time active and other have disabled? (unplug them?)

[Flash3d]

if you are updating from 1.3, and using teh trim FW, yes. trim will not take care of previous deleted data, though just a single run w/wiper should be enough to get you set for trim use.

Thanks,

When on 1.4 (TRIM variant) it will be no longer required to use the wiper tool?
Cause TRIM will take care of the SSD?

Is there any test to see if TRIM is indeed working?
For example: If on 1.3 and using the system for a few weeks, WIPER will take a while to complete.

With the 1.4 (could i still run WIPER?): WIPER will always finish in a breeze? cause the SSD is already being maintained by TRIM?

[Tony]

Pics ok now?