If you had actually read the post, or looked at the first screen shot, you'd see that I did:
- attempt to update the firmware using that latest Intel software. However, since the firmware was up-to-date, the Intel utility provided no option to (redundantly) replace the current firmware with a duplicate instance of current firmware . Intel's software gave me no choice to do so;
- power-cycle AND isolate the disk from power -- it was taken out of one laptop and attached by SATA cable to another.
There's plenty I don't know, and I can overlook something, but try and give me credit for the basics. I've built HeathKit, done ASIC design, written OS and driver software, delivered product from a large company, and led developments in startups. I have used hardware test gear in labs and written low-level diagnostics as part of achieving that.
And I still think that a proactive consumer recall was called for, given what is indicated on the web. Between retail price declines and tiers of margins, the hardware cost of (newer) substitutions would have been covered by the original defective product sales and by the general allowances for warranty that are applied as part of pricing strategies by corporations. It would have preserved good will (colloquial and balance-sheet) and corporate reputation.
