ACE Data Recovery First Fix Intel SSD "BAD_CTX" Issue

Data Recovery Services First to Fix Intel SSD "BAD_CTX" Issue

In March, 2011, Intel released the 320 series SSD's. The third generation of its mainstream SSD's they featured the previous generation Intel processor with the newer, faster and arguably more error prone 24nm flash memory chips. Soon after their release it became apparent that there was a common "BAD_CTX" firmware bug where drives were reduced to 8MB and their data made inaccessible. After a firmware "fix" was released by Intel, consumers were left with several options to restore their drives to functionality, but no way of retrieving their critical data.

In January 2012, ACE Data Recovery was the first in the industry to develop a reliable solution and successfully recover data from Intel SSD's with "BAD_CTX" failures. Since then the incidence of similar failures has not decreased significantly. Fortunately, industry leading R&D engineers at ACE Data Recovery have successfully completed the second generation of our failure analysis and recovery software for Intel SSD's.

Read more about our Intel SSD Data Recovey capabilities

In general terms, the relatively high rate of failure for the Intel 320 SSD's is the result of a bug in its wear leveling algorithm. Wear leveling is a technique that used to extend the life of an SSD by spreading out the physical wear and tear on the memory chip. The Flash Translation Layer (FTL) is part of the wear leveling algorithm. When the FTL tables become corrupted the result shown is a "BAD_CTX" error. When the FTL table is missing, "NO_CONTEXT" appears instead. Read more about SSD architecture...

With the exception of Secure Erase, there's no way to make an Intel 320 SSD usable after this failure. This means that only a specialized algorithm can recover data on these drives. ACE Data Recovery were the first to tackle recovery with the most common "Bad_CTX" bug, and since Intel's firmware update, ACE Data Recovery has been the only data recovery lab to date to independently develop an algorithm able to analyze and recover data among the broad range of "BAD_CTX" and "NO_CONTEXT" failures on Intel 320 SSD.

Like all ACE Data Recovery solutions this software is uniquely efficient at recovering the maximum data possible and the first truly comprehensive recovery solution of its kind in the industry.

This is just one among thousands of cases in ACE Data Recovery's 30+ years in business where we have been the first and sometimes only company able to find a unique solution. These kinds of proactive, leading edge solutions place ACE Data Recovery at the highest pinnacle of expertise among SSD data recovery service providers. We understand that our clients can't afford to rely solely on manufacturer solutions in the constantly evolving landscape of SSD technology. When drives fail due to technological bugs or human error and critical data is at stake, ACE Data Recovery will continue to be the most technologically advanced and reliable source for data recovery in the industry.