Firmware update and SATA II hard drive (continued)

Yes, you are already on EFI 1.7. The following code in your screen shot is what confirms this (see below);

Opstart-ROM-versie: MBP55.00AC.B03

I also wanted to mention that I was able to follow the instructions on the samsung support site to upgrade the firmware on the 840 SSD. I don't know if you've done this or not, but it's very easy and consists of:

-downloading the firmware (an ISO file) from the Samsung site

-burning the ISO file onto a disk (I used a DVD - RW disk)

-shutting the MBP down with the DVD still in the slot.

-Restarting while holding down the "Option" key until you see the various selectable boot drives appear (one of the options will be the DVD containing the ISO file....it will be labled "Windows").

-Choose the DVD to boot up (ie the one labeled "Windows")

-Follow the on screen instructions (just responding yes to a couple of questions). The whole process takes about 1 minute and the SSD firmware is updated to version 1.0

You can google to see if your SSD already has the latest firmware....if not, it's simple to update it. I can't recall the exact way that I was able to confirm that my SSD did not already have the latest firmware....but, it was very easy to find the answer (google search).

Thanks i have the pro version and the firmware was from 2012 mine i bought

Last friday so i think i have the last firmware

I believe I have a resolution for people having issues with Seagate drives and EFI 1.7 / ML 10.8.3. It involves setting a "factory" jumper to limit SATA speed to 1.5. It works on my machine, which didn't previously work with EFI 1.7 / 10.8.3 the combination.

This may also contain a clue for people having trouble with non-Seagate disks.

Please see my posting here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4921455?answerId=21706245022#21706245022

Hope this helps someone.

I just ordered the WD7500BPKT 750 for my late 2008 MBP, I've included the overview page showing which versions I'm running.

Will I be able to run the WD with EFI 2.8?

Or would I be better off using a Seagate hybrid and jumpering it to SATA1?

I have another datapoint to add to this discussion as it relates to drive firmware.

I have a mid-2010 15" MBP (MacBook Pro 6,2) which came with a Hitachi Travelstar 7K500 (500GB, 7200 RPM) drive. Purchased new in January 2011, the MBP only negotiated a link speed of 1.5Gbps with the 7K500. When the factory drive failed in July 2011, I was in a hurry and replaced the drive myself with a boxed retail 7K500 drive, which happily negotiated 3Gbps. When I finally got around to having the factory drive replaced under AppleCare, the Apple-supplied replacement 7K500 matched the original factory drive, and went back to 1.5Gbps. The difference is the Apple firmware: the Apple-supplied drives have F/W PC4ACB1E, while the retail drive has F/W PC4OC70E.

After Apple replaced the MBP's 7K500, I installed my retail 7K500 into an early 2009 Mac Mini (MacMini3,1), where it also works fine at 3Gbps. The Mini has an Nvidia MCP79 chipset vs. the Intel chipset in the MBP, making me think it's less to do with the system and more to do with the drives.

So I feel drive firmware may be the most important factor in the SATA-II dilemma for some systems. And frankly I'm a bit irritated that 2010 MBP owners aren't getting full performance from their hardware; there should've been a firmware update from Apple for this issue. With the proper EFI and drive firmware, systems that don't have cable issues should easily get SATA-II speeds.

The combo I mentioned above works.

just to post up a huge THANX to ALL that have taken part in these hundreds of posts, in these threads.

fitted a WD 500GB Scoprio Blue a few days back in a Mid 2009 15" MacBook Pro and got the spinning beach ball of hate, issue.

DOWNGRADING the EFI from 1.7 to 1.6 worked a treat!!!

(it dropped the 3Gig trans rate to 1.5)

I couldnt figure out the pins to physically jumper, let alone get a jumper to fit...

one key fact: was i had to build the bootable EFI downgrade usb ON the effected laptop and not on my 2012 Mavericks MBP (it wouldnt boot the effected machine i found! just turned it off).

Simply pulled the drive and connected it externally, booted the effected machine, built the EFI downgrade usb, restarted and applied.... grey bar and a reboot later and the problem was solved!!

BIG THANX 🙂

Hi All,

I have a mid 2009 MBP 13". My laptop doesn't turn on anymore so I took it to apple. They suggested that the hard disk has gone. Now this is the second time that this happened to me.

I wanted to change the internal disk myself but not sure which one to go for. After reading this link I found that samsung 840 works best for MBP 200 13". I am not sure which EFI i have and tbh I am not a techy person either.

Would it also work if I just get a HItachi travelstart 7200rpm, 500GB?

I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

JS28 wrote:

Hi All,

I have a mid 2009 MBP 13". My laptop doesn't turn on anymore so I took it to apple. They suggested that the hard disk has gone. Now this is the second time that this happened to me.

I wanted to change the internal disk myself but not sure which one to go for. After reading this link I found that samsung 840 works best for MBP 200 13". I am not sure which EFI i have and tbh I am not a techy person either.

Would it also work if I just get a HItachi travelstart 7200rpm, 500GB?

I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

I have a mid-2009 13-inch MBP and I installed a 256 GB Samsung 830 awhile ago. The drive is great and works very well. My MBP has EFI version 1.7 and has the original SATA cable. I would imagine that the Samsung 840 should work. Changing to a solid state drive really made a difference in responsiveness of the computer (even if it's transferring data only at SATA 2 speeds). Good luck.