Technical Bulletin: Synectics Pro/Ultra Hardware

It has come to our attention that a number of units from the Synectics Pro and Ultra hardware range have been fitted with an SSD that is prone to read/write failures, affecting operation of the unit.

Unfortunately, the faulty SSDs cannot be identified to individual units, but units from the following serial number range may have been affected:

Typical symptoms include:

• Windows OS failing to boot correctly
• Disk checks upon boot
• Missing files or file corruption
• Windows BSODs (Blue Screen of Death)

In order to verify that the SSD is at fault, you will need to view the SSD physically. This will involve opening the hardware and removing the MSATA SSD from the motherboard.

The SSD can be found in the following location on the motherboard:

Once it is removed, you can identify a faulty SSD by the number of chips on the rear side. Faulty SSDs have a smaller number of chips than non-faulty units. Please see the below diagram:

Alternatively, if physical access to the unit is impractical, the Transcend SSD Scope tool can be used to identify typical statistics of a faulty SSD.

• Install the Transcend SSD Scope tool onto the hardware, which is available here. This will require you to unlock the client using the Security tool on the desktop. Please ensure that “Create a Desktop icon” is deselected in the installation wizard.

• Once the installation is complete, open the Transcend SSD Scope tool. Click the “S.M.A.R.T” button under “Drive Information” , highlighted below:

• Locate the entry listed “Unreadable sectors count when read/write” – if the listed value is higher than 0, such as in the example below, this identifies the SSD as likely to be faulty.

If you have identified a faulty SSD, replacement pre-imaged units are available. These will need to be installed either on site by a Synectics engineer, or as part of the RMA process.

To request replacement SSDs, or for any further information, please contact stcproducts@synx.com

Please provide the following information if you do require replacement SSDs:

• Hardware type
• Serial number of each affected unit

Thank you in advance for your co-operation.

Products Team