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..........the first generation Vertex has a Mac firmware upgrade utility............
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I was intrigued by this remark, because I have a Vertex EX SLC SSD (first generation), which has v1.3 firmware (equivalent to v1.4 on other Vertex SSDs), and I contacted OCZ in February this year, because I wanted to upgrade to v1.5 firmware, and I got nowhere.
This was my last outgoing email in a series of interchanges:-
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I have received and installed the Vertex EX, and it is 1.3.
Can you please advise me how to update this to 1.5FW, which you recommend, because from what I have read on the Apple Discussions Forum threads, other OCZ SSD users have reported that it is not possible to update the firmware of their SSDs on a 2009 Nehalem Mac Pro. These are typical comments:
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like my 1st gen Intels, I haven't been able to update the firmware on my OCZ's. I thought it was my fault for doing something wrong but in one article I read it's simply not something one can do on their 09 MPs. The iso disk one downloads then burns to a disk to begin the update process simply won't boot on our Macs. And if we can't boot from it, we can't update it.
I'd think there was a good chance though that they are sending you an updated disk. Even if it's a 1.4 disk is better than 1.3 which is where I am.
Ok, too much I know. Check this out for why I'm leery about OCZ updates. Personally I've tried several times to use their updates, not just for 1.5. I simply can't boot from the disks I create. But I'd love to hear from someone who an 09 who has. Before I was told I needed Windows or just a PC to make the upgrade. I was told that from an OCZ rep. Right... I'm really going to do that. But then reading this I decided to forget it all together. Just not worth the headache for something that may not work or work poorly anyway.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/jan10/012810.html#S26528
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The guy who posted the above comments is a very experienced Mac user, and has 3 OCZ SSDs and 3 Intel SSDs in his set-up, and has no problem updating the Intel firmware. He also has exactly the same Mac as me - an 8 Core 2.93Ghz 2009 Nehalem Mac Pro.
So, is there, or is there not, a way for me to update the firmware of the Vertex EX to 1.5, because I have only the 2009 Nehalem Mac Pro, and I do not use Windows at all? Nor will I ever be using Windows or PCs.
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This was the last reply I received from OWC:
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1.3 on the EX drives = 1.4 revision on the other drives.
Have you tried to boot with one of the update CD's?
Let me see if I can find a solution, the problem being that the program that checks the SSD for the proper FW, has to be able to write the file somewhere. This is done through a ramdisk, which is part of the boot on the CD.
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In the absence of any further communication from OCZ, I had assumed that there was no solution.
So please can you tell me more about the first generation Vertex SSDs' Mac firmware upgrade facility?
And will it work with a 2009 Nehalem Mac Pro?
If it will, surely OCZ Tech Support should have known this!
Regards,
Bill
