Firmware update and SATA II hard drive

hum nice informations bruor !

In deed, my IOAHCIBlockStorage shows 1.6, even if system profiler shows this drive as operating at 3Gb/sec.

So, if I understand you correctly, a simple SMC and PRAM reset solve the problem ??

bruor wrote:
I just got off the phone with a 2nd level support after doing the "schedule a callback"

They told me that all apple patches should be inclusive, meaning that my system only showing update 10.6.2 for snow leopard means that EFI update 1.7 and performance update 1.0 should both be installed (though they aren't in the list). As well as Hard Drive firmware update 2.0 (0007APM2 for seagate drives)

... he confirmed that Performance update 1.0 is in fact an EFI rollback patch to re-limit the system to sata I speeds..

I will note however that system profiler shows this drive as operating at 3Gb/sec and I have not had any issues with freezes since yesterday.

These claims are false.

First, Performance Update 1.0 may or may not be included in the 10.6.2 update; I don't know. But I do know that firmware updates are not included in OS point release updates. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that your laptop came with EFI 1.7 pre-loaded, or at the very least, EFI 1.7 was applied before your current OS was installed.

Second, Performance Update 1.0 is not an EFI firmware rollback patch. Performance Update 1.0 applies to something like 14 different hardware releases, from iMac and Mac Mini, to MacBook Air and MacBook Pros. These devices do not share the same EFI firmware. Also, when you install PU 1.0, no firmware flashing takes place (you'd know it if it did).

crappy pants wrote:
Fishbert, do you work for Apple? Honestly, please answer that question.

The good thing about the length of this post is that it is attracting attention, which may be the only thing that actually gets Apple to fix the issue. People should continue posting their issues here. Just keep it relevant.

No, I work in the aerospace industry.

What I was complaining about earlier was that people were getting into a lengthy back-and-forth with one particular person and trying to explain what various hard drive specifications mean, though this one person was not really getting it and would just post again saying much the same thing. It's been going on for about 2 weeks (making up much of the last 6 pages), and was adding nothing to the discussion.

Apart from that, I completely agree that more people coming here and posting their experience is a good thing, and the length of this thread is a testament to the prevalence of this issue.

bruor wrote:

I asked the tech how to check my system to see if performance update 1.0 is actually installed and how to check my current EFI revision to see if I need a rollback. He walked me to:

System Profiler -> Software -> Extensions -> IOAHCIBlockStorage

Since it said 1.6 I asked and he confirmed that Performance update 1.0 is in fact an EFI rollback patch to re-limit the system to sata I speeds..

To check what EFI you have, look in System Profiler -> Hardware -> SMC Version . Do you see 1.47f2? If so, you have 1.7. I'd be willing to bet on this, since you're still seeing 3Gb/s in "System Profiler -> Serial ATA".

guys:



Now this is an interesting commentary and thread!



I can only say here is the information from the site to which I was directed by Apple Tech Support as reported below:



I checked the firmware info site which showed which version should be used with my MB Pro:



*MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.53GHz, Mid 2009) MBP53.00AC.B03 (EFI 1.7)*



When I did that "Pushed Upgrade" it completely locked up my MB Pro 3 times.



The current information however from my system profiler info now indicates:



MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,4

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 3 MB

Memory: 4 GB

Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz

Boot ROM Version: MBP53.00AC.B02

SMC Version (system): 1.49f2



*Notice the* ".B02" suffix on the Boot ROM version.



It is not ".BO3"



Well--that is the issue--the firmware was indeed back rolled to EFI 1.6 by the Genius at the Apple Store.



The previous " .B03" version locked up my computer--and I assume it locked it up 3 times.





Now the version which I have works very well--and I see no downside to the 1.5 GBS speed which is reported here.





Vendor: NVidia

Product: MCP79 AHCI

Speed: *1.5 Gigabit*

Description: AHCI Version 1.20 Supported



I hope this clears the issue for all of you who have questioned some of the posted information previously.



Amen!



bobg

After I read a lot, it seem the Seagate 500GB 7200rpm had a lot of problem, if I use WD 320GB 7200rpm on my coming mbp 13" 2.53, is it safe ?

I upgraded my original 15" Unibody MacBook Pro to 500 GB with the Samsung Spinpoint (8 MB cache, 5400 RPM.) When I upgraded to the 15" Unibody MacBook Pro (Mid 2009) with SD card and better battery, I simply swapped the 500 GB drive into the new machine. I am running OS X 10.6.2 and have applied all Apple updates as they're released... have never had to downgrade any firmware... and most importantly, this drive has worked fine for me (in both machines.) I use it heavily every day, shuttle lots of data back and forth, and haven't had any issues.

And System Profiler reports the supported speed at 3 Gigabit.

Just wondering if I'm some fringe case, if this drive is one of the few that's not exhibiting issues, or what.

Josh R,
is your samsung spinpoint SATA I or II? (I'm assuming EFI 1.7 firmware will say 3.0Gb even if you're using a SATA I drive).

The only way I could get my SATA II drive to work internally was to roll back to 1.6. Tried pretty much everything before rolling back. At one point I installed OS X on the hard drive while it was in a FW enclosure and it worked fine through FW but when swapped it internally I got beachballs and sometimes wouldn't even boot. So once I rolled back to EFI 1.6 everything has been working fine (1.5Gb but for my purposes it's ok for now).

I am pretty sure it's this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152114

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Samsung/HM500JIMF8U2/

and the "SATA 3.0Gb/s" I thought, means it's SATA II? Could be wrong though.

Hello together,

I added a SuperTalent 64GB SSD to my MBP 5.5.

I could not install 10.6 at all, the installation would stop in the middle after a long time. The kernel buffer revealed I/O errors on disk0.

Downgrading the firmware to 1.6 resulted in not even being able to partition the harddrive.

I then installed 10.6 via external USB-enclosure, installed all available updates including EFI update 1.7, then put the drive back in.

This was about 2 weeks ago, the MBP has been running with no beachballing whatsoever since then. The interface is running at 3Gbps, read speed is somewhere around 180MB/s.

Just to add a little more to the confusion about this problem.

Well, there really is no need for confusion.
The confusion we have is only caused by people who would not care to read the whole thread and what it actually is about.

Beachballing can be caused by a number of problems.
The one this thread is about concerns Mid 2009 (June or later) MacBook Pro 13" and 15" ONLY.
It is about an incompatibility these models expose when running under EFI 1.7, using 3rd party SATA II (aka 3 Gbit) capable drives.

The problem I have experienced with my MBP 13", using the factory supplied drive, leading to beachballing every once in a while with Quicktime movies, has apparently been FIXED with the performance update, which has apparently been also incorporated into 10.6.2.

Those among you who are experiencing a similar sort of problem with either older versions of the smaller MBPs or with the 17" model can consider themselves lucky, as their worries will be addressed by warranty respectively Apple Care.
It has NOTHING to do with what we are discussing here.

What we are discussing here is LIMITED to the MID 2009 versions of the 13" and 15" MBPs, using 3rd party SATA2 capable drives under the EFI1.7 firmware, which has been released in order to support SATA2 speeds despite of the fact that the hardware seems to be incapable of handling it (which has no doubt caused Apple to release these models WITHOUT SATA2 capability, originally, in the first place).

Now, please, give Fishbert a break. It is extremely frustrating to see this thread being blown up by people who don't seem to know what we are talking about here, and without actually adding anything worth reading.

I doubt that this sort of posts will attract Apple's attention, either. Quite on the contrary, it puts off those among us who really might have to add anything worthwile.

Peace,
Stephan

Tozzi wrote:
Well, there really is no need for confusion.
The confusion we have is only caused by people who would not care to read the whole thread and what it actually is about.

Well i beg to differ. As you can see, i have a MBP that should be and is affected by this problem, but not anymore after a certain patchlevel is reached. I read someone reporting something similar with an Intel SSD on a supposedly affected, read mid 2009 13/15" MBP. Others reported that patching their (supposedly affected) systems did not do anything to improve the situation. This is what i meant by confusion.

In my opinion, this could be a hint to either a firmware problem, a combination of firmware problems or different hardware revisions in the same line.

Greetings...

I have potentially good news.

Today, I replaced the hard drive cable in my MacBook Pro with the EFI 1.7 issue, and now I can't get the machine to screw up again. I don't want to shoot my mouth off and say this is an absolute fix, but it looks good so far (at least with this small sample of 1).

Previously, I posted two videos showing the issue on my machine; one from way back in late July ( http://vimeo.com/5854152), and another just after Performance Update 1.0 was released in mid October ( http://vimeo.com/7078172). In both of those cases, I used AJA System Test to stress the hard drive while playing a video, causing frequent and reliable displays of the EFI 1.7 issue. Using the same test method, I ran through 15-20 passes of AJA System Test and have not gotten a single failure. I'm going to live with this for a while before calling it good, but this is the first time I've not felt compelled to roll back the firmware immediately after (re)installing the EFI 1.7 firmware.

Though I don't want to claim an absolute solution yet, I would highly suggest anyone experiencing this issue go in to your local Apple Store and see if you can get them to replace your hard drive cable. Barring that, you can do it yourself (if you're comfortable with such things) if you buy the part online (Apple Part #: 922-9034). The best instructions I could find online are for the 13" MacBook Pro (link below). It's a little different on the 15" MBP, but not so much that you'll have any trouble — though definitely have Apple do it for you if you can.

Instructions: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-13-Inch-Unibody-Hard-D rive-IR-Sensor-Cable/1340/1

Be REALLY careful with that ribbon. It's sturdy except where it makes the L-bend, and it can rip in half. And be careful with all those itsy bitsy screws; if you lose or strip them they are expensive to replace.

I haven't had problems with my MBP 13", but I can't say it's the cable, since I replaced it very early on, before I saw this thread and had a chance to see if I could induce the problem.

Guys:

I just updated my Leopard OS X (Mac OS 10.5.8) to Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6.2)

Previously I back rolled EFI 1.7 to EFI 1.6.

I have seen no changes in the operation of the Mac Book Pro since the 3rd time Back Roll.

All data seems to be the same from what I can see.

I do ot know where I can confirm if he Performance Update 1.0 is still in effect.

bobg

Fishbert, don't forget follow-ups about your cable modifications. Keep us informed as soon as you'll notice beachballs' returns (or not). To date, your post seems the most promising.