Update on Runcore SSD

[MajorTCS]

I am curious. What are the reports from others who have switched to the Scottsdale Solution? My report is: What a difference! I am worried that it is too good to be true. What about the Revision B people?

[Abyssgh0st]

I will have one by years end for my Rev B. Hopefully it solves my system slowdown issues.

[rrmac1912]

My experience has been mixed. Runcore 128 in Rev B MBA. The install wasn't bad, performance continues to be excellent. My only disapointment has been that my original 120GB HD doesn't work with the included RunCore enclosure/USB adapter. It spins up, but isn't recognized by any of my computers. I had really hoped to use it as a portable external USB drive and this was one of the reasons that I purchased this upgrade. I contacted both Runcore support online and the reseller that I purchased it from. (My Digital Discount) and never got any response whatsoever from either regarding the enclosure, so I am concerned about the support if I have an issue with the drive in the future.

[MajorTCS]

I have had the same experience trying to have my Macs recognize the Samsung drive. I want to zero the drive prior to selling it. Neither my iMac or MBA recognizes the Samsung Drive. Also, an eBay customer wants to know if the Samsung Drive I am trying to sell is under warranty. I doubt Apple will warrant a removed drive.

[Jaap]

I had a lot of trouble putting the thick (white paper) ZIF "cable" into the old samsung but once i got it, it ran like a charm.

Did you get the ZIF cable all the way in (with the "pins" on the inside)?

[LinMac]

My experience with the RunCore SSD has been excellent. I love it.

The experience with other hardware from RunCore has been more interesting.

The USB enclosure is nearly impossible to assemble by yourself (it took two of us to get the screws in) and I never could get the system to mount the hard drive I removed from the Macbook Air.

Note: I removed the drive and ZIF cable with it still attached being very careful not to disturb it. It is still connected the same way it was working in the Macbook Air and the computer the enclosure is attached to still isn't mounting the drive. It spins up, but after that it doesn't show up in disk utility.

There also seems to be a problem with RunCore's support.

I emailed them regarding the problems in my other thread here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=817411) 6 days ago. There hasn't been any reply except the form script on their website sending me an alert that my email had been received. To be fair, Matt from RunCore provided the necessary information in the thread.

Posts over at their official support forums languish without updates. Examples here (http://forums.tweaktown.com/f78/support-somebody-help-36210/) and here (http://forums.tweaktown.com/f78/runcore-ssd-maintenance-garbage-collection-implementation-36230/).

It looks like RunCore is becoming very popular very fast as people find out about them and how fast their SSDs are to the point they're overwhelmed. I might be wrong about this, but I hope they improve things soon. The other computers I have are just begging to be updated with RunCore SSDs. :D

[Runcore]

We are looking into the Lif HDD/Rev B/C issue with the USB case now. I will get back to you guys by tomorrow.

Matt
Runcore

[rrmac1912]

No response?

[Scottsdale]

I have a v 2,1 MBA (rev b/c)... so we call it rev c but it's really still a B. I am having a great experience with the Runcore SSD. It's a wonderful improvement over the stock HDD or even SSD. It truly changes the entire computing experience of the MBA. I do wish for more drive space, and I hope a year from now we get more drive space in a Runcore. I wouldn't want to have a new MBA with a stock drive. I am spoiled with the speed of the Runcore SSD.

I don't know what to do if Apple releases a new MBA with a larger SSD if Runcore doesn't have a similar sized drive by then. I suppose I will use the Runcore from my current MBA as the speed is far more important to me than having every media file with me all the time. All of my biz files and personal stuff fits on the 128 GB SSD except my movies, tv shows, and high quality music/photos.

I thought about doing a video on how to do install the Runcore in the MBA since you asked me about instructions for it. However, I am dealing with Cancer right now and have other things on my mind. I guess I think Runcore should include a video of their own... or instructions. Seems like an obvious necessity, but it's truly simple with the right tools.

If Runcore's sales team want to sell upgraded drives to MBA users, they definitely need to show how simple it is to not overwhelm the average business "pro" who may not have ever opened a computer. To those who have never opened a laptop, it may seem like something fragile, but it's a breeze if you have the right tools. The right screwdrivers are a necessity. I would encourage people to buy a high precision small screwdriver kit.

Anyways, I am definitely happy with the Runcore. I cannot imagine having to go backwards to the stock SSD... and I really could never imagine an HDD. I guess for anyone considering a Runcore, or those disappointed with the speed of their MBA, upgrade to a Runcore SSD for a big time performance boost!

[MajorTCS]

Scottsdale Well said! Get better. We still have not heard from Runcore on the troublesome Sata/USB adapter. I have had two that are no good.

[Runcore]

Still waiting on the guys in China to get back to me but I tried it myself today and I also could not get it working with the stock MBA Rev C drive.

Hope to update you guys very very soon.

Matt

[Runcore]

Ok guys here is the news.

The bridge chip used the the SATA to USB transfer is not compatible with the stock drives from the MBA Rev C and B.

Good news is we will be sending everyone that bought a Lif drive a new PCB for the USB case ASAP. We will also inform our resellers to do the same.

I estimate it will be about 2 weeks time.

As to not delay orders any longer we are going to go ahead and ship more Lif drives with a note explaining that we will be sending a new PCB so people can use the old drive in the USB case.

Sorry about that guys and thank you for the great feedback. Now we can get this problem solved early.

Matt Dawson
Runcore

[coast1ja]

Well done!... it's nice to see this level of customer care from a small tech company... I've seen much worse from Samsung, Dell, and HP. Thanks!

[MajorTCS]

Ditto!!!!!!

[PreetinderBajwa]

I have a v 2,1 MBA (rev b/c)... so we call it rev c but it's really still a B. I am having a great experience with the Runcore SSD. It's a wonderful improvement over the stock HDD or even SSD. It truly changes the entire computing experience of the MBA. I do wish for more drive space, and I hope a year from now we get more drive space in a Runcore. I wouldn't want to have a new MBA with a stock drive. I am spoiled with the speed of the Runcore SSD.

I don't know what to do if Apple releases a new MBA with a larger SSD if Runcore doesn't have a similar sized drive by then. I suppose I will use the Runcore from my current MBA as the speed is far more important to me than having every media file with me all the time. All of my biz files and personal stuff fits on the 128 GB SSD except my movies, tv shows, and high quality music/photos.

I thought about doing a video on how to do install the Runcore in the MBA since you asked me about instructions for it. However, I am dealing with Cancer right now and have other things on my mind. I guess I think Runcore should include a video of their own... or instructions. Seems like an obvious necessity, but it's truly simple with the right tools.

If Runcore's sales team want to sell upgraded drives to MBA users, they definitely need to show how simple it is to not overwhelm the average business "pro" who may not have ever opened a computer. To those who have never opened a laptop, it may seem like something fragile, but it's a breeze if you have the right tools. The right screwdrivers are a necessity. I would encourage people to buy a high precision small screwdriver kit.

Anyways, I am definitely happy with the Runcore. I cannot imagine having to go backwards to the stock SSD... and I really could never imagine an HDD. I guess for anyone considering a Runcore, or those disappointed with the speed of their MBA, upgrade to a Runcore SSD for a big time performance boost!

Scottsdale,

I don't know but I think noticed you said you are dealing with cancer....:(

I wish you the very best and my prayers are with you for your treatment against cancer.

I have read your views, reviews and comments over many topics and would love to see many many more of them over the next few decades.

All the best :)

Preetinder

[Scottsdale]

Scottsdale,

I don't know but I think noticed you said you are dealing with cancer....:(

I wish you the very best and my prayers are with you for your treatment against cancer.

I have read your views, reviews and comments over many topics and would love to see many many more of them over the next few decades.

All the best :)

Preetinder

Thanks! I didn't realize I had posted that publicly myself, so I was surprised to read it in my email update of this thread... I think in my head I was replying to MajorTCS with a reply part about a video and posting in the thread to the info about my experience with Runcore. I must not have divided it as I intended to. Oops... too many pain pills.

It's unfortunate, but I am dealing with it. Missing my kids is the worst part of it, as I am in treatment away from home, in a different state & city from them.

Thanks again for the well wishes.

Cheers,
Dave

[tigres]

Thanks! I didn't realize I had posted that publicly myself, so I was surprised to read it in my email update of this thread... I think in my head I was replying to MajorTCS with a reply part about a video and posting in the thread to the info about my experience with Runcore. I must not have divided it as I intended to. Oops... too many pain pills.

It's unfortunate, but I am dealing with it. Missing my kids is the worst part of it, as I am in treatment away from home, in a different state & city from them.

Thanks again for the well wishes.

Cheers,
Dave

My sincerest blessing Scottsdale.

I personally wish you a speedy recovery and hope that you see your kids soon!!!

Please, be well and stay positive.

[kenmarered]

Based on Scottsdale's review on another thread, I ordered the runcore 128gb ssd for my mba rev C and I am so far very unhappy.

I opened the ssd pack to discover the following:

runcore 128gb ssd drive
two screwdrivers
10 tiny screws
small circuit board with ribbon cable attached
the top and bottom parts of an external drive case with two gaps for external cables
a transparent plastic thing
usb cable


Okay, so far so good. Time to follow the "Easy 3 step setup & installation" instruction promised on the website and on the pack:

1. Plug the RunCore SSD drive into an available USB port.
2. Run the included cloning software.
3. Install the SSD and enjoy.


WTF!!!

I paid hundreds of dollars for this thing and that's all the instructions they provide?? Listen I'm comfortable opening up a machine and tinkering with it with some guidance, but this is crazy.

I've spent an hour trying to figure out how to get this drive attached to my mba to clone it and have failed so far.

Based on which connections fit where, I can figure out that the ribbon cable goes into the ssd drive (which side goes up?) although it seems very loose to me. One end of the usb cable attaches to the circuit board and the other to the mba. All of this goes into the enclosure which is closed with the screws (haven't figured out what the transparent widget goes). Needless to say there is no sign of it appearing/being recognized by my mba.

I plan to follow the instructions on iFixit to change the drive in the mba when/if that time comes.

Anyone planning to buy a runcore ssd should be very aware that runcore deem your hundreds of dollars to be unworthy of any instructions whatsoever. There are videos on their website but all of the ssds that I can see there seem to have usb connections built-in so are irrelevant to the mba model.

I'm off to the runcore forums to try and get some help but I've been following the threads here and thought I'd post my feedback.

I really want this to work so any help would be appreciated. I'm guessing the problem is in my connection between the circuit board and ssd??

[pugxiwawa]

...
Based on which connections fit where, I can figure out that the ribbon cable goes into the ssd drive (which side goes up?) although it seems very loose to me. One end of the usb cable attaches to the circuit board and the other to the mba. All of this goes into the enclosure which is closed with the screws (haven't figured out what the transparent widget goes). Needless to say there is no sign of it appearing/being recognized by my mba.
...

I agree there is no way to tell which side of ribbon is up. But if the ribbon is connected correctly you will see the light turns green on the little circuit board (with the USB plugged in of course and connecting to the MBA). Your MBA should recognize the drive immediately. If you see the light turns on but don't see the drive in MBA I would suggest you exchange your drive. Same thing happened to me and I had to send the original drive back to the reseller. The replacement works flawlessly.

Another thing to note from my experience is that if you are going to follow the iFixit guide, you can bypass the part about removing battery. You do not need battery removed to access the hard drive. Hope this helps.

I also got frustrated the first time I did the upgrade, but it's really not that big of a deal once you get familiar with all the parts. Once you get everything up and running you can really feel the difference this SSD makes. Just think Microsoft Word opens in under 3 seconds and iPhoto opens instantly...

PM me if you need more instructions on how to do the upgrade. I'll be happy to share my experience.

[MajorTCS]

kenmarered, I share your pain. I wrote about this weeks ago. I skipped the 1st step (USB). After alot of frustration I paid to have it installed. It is a GEM!!!!! I was able to sell the Samsung on eBAY. However because of the USB/ribbon problem I am not sure I erased it before the sale. Oh well! Send a pm to RUNCORE(Matt) for help.

[Scottsdale]

kenmarered, I share your pain. I wrote about this weeks ago. I skipped the 1st step (USB). After alot of frustration I paid to have it installed. It is a GEM!!!!! I was able to sell the Samsung on eBAY. However because of the USB/ribbon problem I am not sure I erased it before the sale. Oh well! Send a pm to RUNCORE(Matt) for help.

I think I will write an instruction sheet and make a video for this. I hate recommending something only to find others are unhappy with something like this.

Also, anyone with questions can send me a PM and I will try to answer as soon as I can.

[Mini1000Mac]

I've not had the time to read every post, but as for the drive not being recognized by the enclosure, please try flipping it over.

The drive may be upside down, thus being plugged in backwards.

[kenmarered]

I agree there is no way to tell which side of ribbon is up. But if the ribbon is connected correctly you will see the light turns green on the little circuit board (with the USB plugged in of course and connecting to the MBA). Your MBA should recognize the drive immediately. If you see the light turns on but don't see the drive in MBA I would suggest you exchange your drive.

I definitely have not seen a green light.

I've tried to follow the instructions on the product page at mydigitaldiscount. Either I have a duff cable or I'm not inserting it properly. It seems very loose to the point that it detaches quite easily when I move it - doesn't seem quite right.

Another thing to note from my experience is that if you are going to follow the iFixit guide, you can bypass the part about removing battery. You do not need battery removed to access the hard drive. Hope this helps.

That's a good tip, thanks.

kenmarered, I share your pain. I wrote about this weeks ago. I skipped the 1st step (USB).

If I can't get it working in the morning I may just bite the bullet and install the SSD without carbon copying. Presumably in this case I attach a superdrive with snow leopard and boot (& install) from that?

Thanks so much for the advice. As soon as I get this working I will post my before/after experience.

[Mini1000Mac]

I definitely have not seen a green light.

I've tried to follow the instructions on the product page at mydigitaldiscount. Either I have a duff cable or I'm not inserting it properly. It seems very loose to the point that it detaches quite easily when I move it - doesn't seem quite right.



Some of those connections are ZIF and others are LIF

http://ziflif.info/ziflif/

They are different thickness, but same width and pin count

Hope that helps :)

[pugxiwawa]

I definitely have not seen a green light.

I've tried to follow the instructions on the product page at mydigitaldiscount. Either I have a duff cable or I'm not inserting it properly. It seems very loose to the point that it detaches quite easily when I move it - doesn't seem quite right.


After inserting the ribbon, did you flip down the black piece so it's clamped in place?

From my experience, the ZIF/LIF? cable that is connected to MBA's HDD does not fit RUNCORE ssd (the cable Apple uses is too wide). I have to use the ribbon cable included with the drive. So if you can't get the ribbon cable to work properly with the ssd and to see the green light on the circuit board, I wouldn't bother opening up the computer.

[applesupergeek]

Bol Dave in your efforts, you 'll come out of this much stronger.

I too have bought the runcore ssd on your suggestion. I am eagerly waiting for it.

[Runcore]

Great news on two fronts everyone.

#1 Due to a bridge chip issue the PCB in the USB case for the Lif Rev B/C drives was not working with the Stock SSD or HDD out of the Rev B/C.

The Runcore design team worked through he night to hand make enough new Lif to USB PCB's to cover everyone who has already ordered the Lif drive. We have already shipped them out to the resellers. They will be shipping them to you hopefully by Friday or next Monday.

Also, FYI the shipments of Lif drives out to resellers now have these PCB's in them.

#2 The pitch and quality of the included screw driver did not meet the pitch of the Airs screws making it a bit harder to open the case for some users.

From this point on and included in the newest batch hitting retail stores on Friday a brand new high carbon precision screw driver is now included. It its perfectly flush inside Airs screws. You could put it in one and hold the Air sideways and the screw driver would not come out.

This goes for the next batch of MBA Zif drives as well.

Matt Dawson
Runcore

[PsyD4Me]

sounds great

[PsyD4Me]

Great news on two fronts everyone.

#1 Due to a bridge chip issue the PCB in the USB case for the Lif Rev B/C drives was not working with the Stock SSD or HDD out of the Rev B/C.

The Runcore design team worked through he night to hand make enough new Lif to USB PCB's to cover everyone who has already ordered the Lif drive. We have already shipped them out to the resellers. They will be shipping them to you hopefully by Friday or next Monday.

Also, FYI the shipments of Lif drives out to resellers now have these PCB's in them.

#2 The pitch and quality of the included screw driver did not meet the pitch of the Airs screws making it a bit harder to open the case for some users.

From this point on and included in the newest batch hitting retail stores on Friday a brand new high carbon precision screw driver is now included. It its perfectly flush inside Airs screws. You could put it in one and hold the Air sideways and the screw driver would not come out.

This goes for the next batch of MBA Zif drives as well.

Matt Dawson
Runcore


Matt, how about the new batch that you just sent to mydigitaldiscount.com on Wed.
Will this one include the new materials?

[Runcore]

PsyD4Me, yes it will include the new screw driver and the new PCB.

Matt Dawson
Runcore

[kenmarered]

After inserting the ribbon, did you flip down the black piece so it's clamped in place?

Thank-you! The connection is so small I didn't spot the black flap - once I flicked that everything went to plan and my upgrade is now complete - thanks to everyone for the help!

My thoughts? The strange thing is that before 'upgrading' start-up time was 30 seconds. With the runcore ssd it's 69 seconds! That's not what I was expecting.

I used disk utility to verify the disk and everything is okay.

Has anyone else noticed this delay? Any ideas why boot-up is now so slow?

My xbench numbers are as impressive as others have reported:

Before:

Results 133.87
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.2 (10C540)
Physical RAM 2048 MB
Model MacBookAir2,1
Drive Type APPLE SSD SM128
Disk Test 80.95
Sequential 64.29
Uncached Write 53.80 33.03 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 58.04 32.84 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 47.69 13.96 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 184.07 92.51 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 109.29
Uncached Write 52.14 5.52 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 68.41 21.90 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 1432.48 10.15 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 474.51 88.05 MB/sec [256K blocks]


After:


Results 178.10
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.2 (10C540)
Physical RAM 2048 MB
Model MacBookAir2,1
Drive Type RunCore 128G-C SSD
Disk Test 191.04
Sequential 162.94
Uncached Write 230.78 141.70 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 206.04 116.58 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 80.28 23.49 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 344.17 172.98 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 230.86
Uncached Write 78.63 8.32 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 340.86 109.12 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2102.34 14.90 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 834.49 154.85 MB/sec [256K blocks]

[Runcore]

OOPs you probably have the drive partitioned incorrectly.

You are going to have to do it all over again. Hook it up via USB and use the disk utility to partition it with a GUID Partition Table.

Once you do that you will be all set.

Someone needs to do a thorough MacGuide on this upgrade there are so many people that have so many different questions.

Matt Dawson
Runcore

[kenmarered]

Thanks for the fast reply, Matt.

I just used the drive as-is. Backed up using Carbon Cloner.

I think it's just going to be easier if I re-format it & reinstall osx & my software.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

The strange thing is that before 'upgrading' start-up time was 30 seconds. With the runcore ssd it's 69 seconds! That's not what I was expecting.
I had the same problem after swapping my 80GB HDD in my MBA rev A for a 128GB RunCore SSD, where it seemed like there was a 30-40 second "pause" during booting before the Apple logo showed up. I reset PRAM (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379) and now it boots quickly again with the RunCode.

[kenmarered]

Thanks to everybody for the help. I finally completed the upgrade, having reinstalled the OS to get a GUID and reset the PRAM.

Boot up is now 28 seconds vs 30 seconds with the Apple SSD.

The XBench comparisons are still good:

runcore ssd vs apple ssd:
Overall = 153.13 vs 133.87
Disk Test = 195.62 vs 80.95


I'm no xbench expert, but the overall score does puzzle me. After I first installed the Runcore SSD but before I reformatted the disc to a GUID partition, the overall score was 178.10 but because start-up time was 90 seconds, I followed the advice provided above and resolved the start-up issue. But now the overall xbench score has reduced to 153.13 from the 178.1 score right after the initial upgrade.

The only other xbench score that has lowered is the UI Test (215.12 to 202.35 which is lower than with the Apple SSD).

I don't want to get too retentive over the xbench scores, but this puzzles me.

[UltraTux]

Great news on two fronts everyone.

#1 Due to a bridge chip issue the PCB in the USB case for the Lif Rev B/C drives was not working with the Stock SSD or HDD out of the Rev B/C.

The Runcore design team worked through he night to hand make enough new Lif to USB PCB's to cover everyone who has already ordered the Lif drive. We have already shipped them out to the resellers. They will be shipping them to you hopefully by Friday or next Monday.

Also, FYI the shipments of Lif drives out to resellers now have these PCB's in them.

#2 The pitch and quality of the included screw driver did not meet the pitch of the Airs screws making it a bit harder to open the case for some users.

From this point on and included in the newest batch hitting retail stores on Friday a brand new high carbon precision screw driver is now included. It its perfectly flush inside Airs screws. You could put it in one and hold the Air sideways and the screw driver would not come out.

This goes for the next batch of MBA Zif drives as well.

Matt Dawson
Runcore

Hi Matt,

How do I get the new USB PCB replacement? - 'cause mine is not working on my 120 GB stock HDD.

Thanks.

[petestein1]

Thanks to everybody for the help. I finally completed the upgrade, having reinstalled the OS to get a GUID and reset the PRAM.

All, a quick question. I have a Runcore 128 SSD for my Rev A on the way here (to replace a dead drive).

People keep talking about "partioning the drive" with "the disk utility" to a "GUID".

Are you talking about Apple's Disk Utility?

If so, I don't see GUID as a partitioning option.

Help?

[nj-mac-user]

All, a quick question. I have a Runcore 128 SSD for my Rev A on the way here (to replace a dead drive).

People keep talking about "partioning the drive" with "the disk utility" to a "GUID".

Are you talking about Apple's Disk Utility?

If so, I don't see GUID as a partitioning option.

Help?

Yes, Disk Utility as in Apple's Disk Utility. From Disk Utility:

Select the drive from left side > Click the "Partition" tab > Select "1 Partition" from drop down menu > Click "Options" > Select a partition scheme (ie. GUID), Click "OK" > Change the format to what you want (ie. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) > Click "Apply".

[petestein1]

...Select a partition scheme (ie. GUID), Click "OK" > Change the format to what you want (ie. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) > Click "Apply".

Any why do I need to partition the disk at all? I've never had one before. Or is this only required if indeed I want a partition? Possibly to run Windows or some such?

[KeithJM]

Pete,
If this is a brand new disk and you aren't using one of the disk-copying utilities to copy an existing disk, you will probably need to partition it. Partitioning just defines what part of the disk is going to be used by the operating system, even if you just want the whole disk to be used for one operating system. Once the disk has at least one partition on it, the operating system (whichever one it is) can format that part of the drive to use for its file system.

You've never had to do this before because when you buy a computer with the operating system pre-installed, they've already partitioned and formatted the drive before they installed the operating system.