Samsung SM961 NVMe M.2 post-restart detection issue (in an HPE ProLiant TM200 (EC200a))

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logan893

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Aug 12, 2016
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Having an issue with my recent toys, a Samsung SM961 1TB M.2 SSD and the HPE ProLiant TM200, related to booting from this drive.

I can install on and boot from the M.2 when mounted in the TM200. It works, but only partially. And it's the bad kind of partially.

It only boots from, and even only shows up as present, after a power-on or "hard" reset (including "saving UEFI changes and restart" type restarts). After a regular "warm" restart (software reboot from within OS, ctrl+alt+del from boot menu, etc), however, the M.2 is missing completely in the UEFI.

I've updated to the most recent UEFI available to me without an active HPE support subscription (2.60_05-21-2018A, a.k.a. U26_0521.18).

I have reset UEFI settings. I have only the M.2 unit installed together with 2x32GB RDIMMs.

What leads me to believe it's the SSD and not the HPE TM200 is that I've tried also with a Seagate Firecuda 520 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD, and this drive works and is bootable so far with any kind of reboot.

I haven't tested the SM961 drive and its behavior in any other system yet.

I've found a similar issue related to the SM961 firmware.

Samsung SM961 PCIe SSD disappears after cold boot - ThinkStation P510, P710, P910 - Lenovo Support SE

support.lenovo.com support.lenovo.com

Anyone else had experience with this and the Samsung SM961, or other NVMe M.2 drives?
 
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logan893

Member
Aug 12, 2016
68
12
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44
Pulled out some more details about my drive.

Model: MZ-VKW1T00
Product number: MZVKW1T0HMLH-00000
Firmware: CXA7200Q

Not sure which OEM should provide firmware for this one. There's no indication of OEM on the label. Maybe it's an early production unit, it says "Rev 0" and seems to have a manufacturing date in August 2016.

It doesn't have the 000L7 or 000H1 towards the end of the model number (just five zeros) to clearly signify the OEM e.g. Lenovo or HP, although the firmware seems to be named similar to HPs.

Found a SM951 (prior model) issue that sounds similar.

Advisory: Zbook G3s and Z Workstations - Systems with NVME SSDs; Boot Device Not Found, Lock Up or Restart | HP® Customer Support

You might notice drives not being recognized in Workstations with specific models of NVME M.2 SSDs.
support.hp.com support.hp.com

Can't seem to find anything like this for the SM961, nor which HP devices use this type of drive so I can at least try to find their firmware.
 
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