990 Pro SSD Firmware update

[PurSpyk]

Hi,

I have 2 990Pro NVME ssds in my computer, both have firmware 4B2QJXD7 installed. I cannot update to the new firmware version 6B2QJXD7. I have tried both the iso boot image and Magician. Magician doesn't even show a new firmware is available.

[Valhalla1]

Well boys, ChatGPT gave me the best and fastest method of installing the firmware.

Safe Way to Flip It Without Losing Data

A — “Registry Flip” Method (Most Common)

1. Boot into Windows normally.

2. Open a command prompt as admin.

3. Run this:

   bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal

   (That tells Windows to start in Safe Mode next boot.)

4. Reboot, hop into BIOS, switch RST/RAID → AHCI.

5. Boot into Windows (it’ll boot Safe Mode just fine because Safe Mode loads generic storage drivers).

6. Once in Safe Mode, open cmd again and run:

   bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

7. Reboot again — Windows loads normally, now using AHCI.

 At this point, your firmware updater and Samsung Magician will see the drive directly.

This worked for me.

[Rafik1241]

I have Dell Latitude 5500 with 990 Pro 2TB on 5B2QJXD7 firmware and new version 7B2QJXD7 is not detected. No Intel VMD storage controller, Samsung Magician ver. 8.3.2 says NVME Driver: Microsoft.

In BIOS (UEFI) AHCI mode selected.

In Safe Boot (with network) Magician doesn't even start. Just generate "Magician has encountered an error and cannot continue"

What I tried also: prepared using Rufus an USB drive from 7B2QJXD7 ISO. Reboot to BIOS - unselected Secure Boot, reboot again and with F12 selected to start from USB drive but it doesn't start at all - empty screen for 5 minutes only.

I tried with Rufus 4.11 selecting: 

 -> OK

which is OK, as I'm going to disable Secure Boot before booting from that ISO, then:

 -> OK

 -> Yes 

 -> Yes

 -> OK

So now I'm stuck.

[EDIT] Update to Magician 9.0 done, then firmware had been detected and flashed successfully.

[Members_tV4aj9r]

Hello,

I would like to share information about a successful firmware update for the Samsung 990 Pro (2TB/4TB) drive, which solves the problem of degradation in service life (from the old version 4B2QJXD7 to 7B2QJXD7).

My configuration is a laptop with the Intel VMD (Volume Management Device) controller enabled, which prevented updating via the Samsung Magician programme.

Why does Samsung Magician not work?

The problem is the Intel VMD controller, which acts as an intermediary layer (RAID) and blocks direct access by diagnostic tools (such as Samsung Magician) to the drive's NVMe controller.

As a result, Magician does not see that the drive needs to be updated, even if the firmware is available.

✅ SOLUTION: Update from a bootable USB (Goal achieved)

The only effective and safe way to update the firmware is to use a bootable USB stick with Linux provided by Samsung.

Key information: This procedure is independent of the VMD setting in BIOS/UEFI. You do not need to disable VMD in BIOS or interfere with Windows drivers.

Procedure:

1. Download ISO: Download the latest Samsung firmware ISO file.
2. Create a bootable USB stick: Use Rufus or a similar tool to create a bootable USB stick from the downloaded ISO file.
3. Boot from USB: Restart your laptop. Enter the Boot Menu ( Del ,F11 or F12 key) and select your USB flash drive to be first bootable .
4. Update: A minimalist Linux environment will start. It will detect the drive (or drives, if you have two) and allow you to update the firmware.
5. Finish: After a successful update, shut down your computer, remove the USB stick and start Windows.

The system will start normally in VMD mode and the drives will have stable firmware.

⚠️ Warning: Risk of Permanent Transition from VMD to AHCI

There is a procedure circulating on the internet that aims to permanently switch to AHCI (disabling VMD in BIOS + msconfig in Windows).

WARNING: On my MSI laptop, this procedure resulted in a BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) with an INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE error, even though it was performed correctly.

• Windows installed in VMD mode has a problem with safely switching to AHCI.
• If you do not have an urgent need to disable VMD (e.g. RAID installation), do not take any risks and stay in VMD mode.

I hope this helps other Samsung 990 Pro users.

Best regards!

[Happy Shopper]

That doesn't work with the latest MS boot keys.