intel 520 ssd negotiated link speed 1.5 Gbps help

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MarkVis Author

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intel 520 ssd negotiated link speed 1.5 Gbps help

hi guys,

got an ssd for my mid 2009 15" macbook pro which is the intel 520 240gb.

i also have the latest version of mountain lion 10.8.4 from what i remember.

so, the problem is im always getting a 1.5Gbps (or SATA I) speed instead of a 3.0Gbps no matter what fix i tried.

i've spent quite some time searching how to fix the negotiated link speed but to no avail.

i've tried reseting the nvram, shutdown instead of restart, updating to the latest firmware for both the ssd and the sata controller(latest EFI).

im just wondering if anybody here with the same setup was able to get the 3.0Gbps.

thanks in advance

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jun 6, 2013 8:03 PM

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Answer 1

MarkVis Author

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Jun 7, 2013 11:30 AM in response to MarkVis

bump

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Answer 2

Jun 7, 2013 11:44 AM in response to MarkVis

Have you tried a firmware update?

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18363

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Answer 3

keg55

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Jun 7, 2013 12:00 PM in response to MarkVis

What bay did you put this SSD in? The HDD bay or the optical drive bay?

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Answer 4

MarkVis Author

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Jun 7, 2013 12:03 PM in response to Johnathan Burger

thanks for the response, i have updated both the ssd and the mac's firmware to the latest available. i even connected the ssd to my windows desktop to use the intel toolbox to update the firmware. it said i have the latest firmware for the ssd.

edit: i installed the ssd in actual hdd bay. not in the optical drive bay.

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Answer 5

JoeyR

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Jun 7, 2013 12:04 PM in response to MarkVis

Those machines had specific issues with SATA II (3GB). Apple locked them in to 1.5GB speeds. They released a firmware update to enable SATA II speeds (as lots of customers were complaining about it)... but they clearly stated they would not support issues related to SATA II devices. When you say you got the latest EFI update... is this what you were referring to:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3561

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Answer 6

MarkVis Author

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Jun 7, 2013 12:19 PM in response to JoeyR

thanks for responding joeyr, the efi is what i meant when i said i updated the firmware on the mac. i've also been reading on how the nvidia sata controller has issues with detecting sata 3 ssds. from what ive read if the ssd was sata 2 native then the controller will able to tell that its sata 2. but it doesnt know what sata 3 is so it will run it as sata 1. OCZ another ssd manufacturer was able to patch their sata 3 ssds to work with the controller simply by just updating the firmware. i wish intel had done this as well.

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Answer 7

Apr 6, 2014 11:02 PM in response to MarkVis

Hi MarkVis,

were you ever able to solve this issue?

i'm encountering the same negotiation speed problem on intel 520 ssd

Thanks,

Daniel.

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