The Samsung 840/840 Pro SSD thread

VanTastic said:

Hi,

I am going to swap my HDD (which is going into the superdrive slot) with the new 840 Pro I just received but I have a question. If I want to do a clean install of my OS on my SSD, what do I need to do beforehand ? Just stick the SSD in the HDD slot and OS X will download automatically or there's an extra step(s) ?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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If you have a recent MBPro and a fast internet connection, you could use the Recovery method. Press and hold "option" at startup and select the recovery disk icon if it is there. Otherwise, press and hold "command r" (or possibly "option r") for internet recovery or full-internet recovery.

Yes that's what I ended up doing but thanks anyway and my MBP is so fast now. I always thought that people were exaggerating when it comes to SSDs and how much it increases the overall speed of the laptop but now that I've seen it with my own eyes I am never going to go back to a standard HD in the future.

Having said that I've read the last few pages of the thread and I saw that it is possible to burn an ISO image of the firmware to update the SSD firmware via booting from the superdrive, but given the fact that I removed the superdrive and placed it in a USB case, would it be still possible to boot on the superdrive ?

Second question, I have read that it is advisable to activate trim but what does it actually do ? As I'm more than satisfied with the incredible speed boost that I already have and I don't want to mess around by installing some software if it's not actually necessary.

VanTastic said:

Yes that's what I ended up doing but thanks anyway and my MBP is so fast now. I always thought that people were exaggerating when it comes to SSDs and how much it increases the overall speed of the laptop but now that I've seen it with my own eyes I am never going to go back to a standard HD in the future.

Having said that I've read the last few pages of the thread and I saw that it is possible to burn an ISO image of the firmware to update the SSD firmware via booting from the superdrive, but given the fact that I removed the superdrive and placed it in a USB case, would it be still possible to boot on the superdrive ?

Second question, I have read that it is advisable to activate trim but what does it actually do ? As I'm more than satisfied with the incredible speed boost that I already have and I don't want to mess around by installing some software if it's not actually necessary.

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I have had troubles with Windows installs and Crucial M4 .iso boots from an external SuperDrive on the Macbook Pro. When I did the Samsung update, my SuperDrive was installed internally, so I don't know if it will have the same issues of booting externally. It won't hurt to download the Mac version of the .iso file from the link posted a few back and try it. It will either come up in the update program, or will fail loading.

All SSDs have their own form of "garbage collection" to reset erased cells, however enabling trim coordinates that with the operating system for better efficiency. There are several discussions on here which go into great detail about Trim if you are really interested. I have Trim enabled on my systems which didn't come with Apple sanctioned SSDs and have seen no downside problems so far.

If you try the update ... please post your experience here.

-howard

I think I'll just sit tight and wait (pray?) for Samsung to release the Mac version of their Magician as I don't think it's worth the trouble. And thanks again for your help

Just picked up a 500GB 840 (non pro) for $289 for my early 2011 MacBook Pro. I have a 7200 RPM WD 750GB drive in there now, but looking forward to more speed!!

TailsToo said:

Just picked up a 500GB 840 (non pro) for $289 for my early 2011 MacBook Pro. I have a 7200 RPM WD 750GB drive in there now, but looking forward to more speed!!

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You're going to love it. I just installed an 840 in my iMac yesterday and took out the HDD. Instead of waiting about 3 minutes for it to fully load and be ready to use, I only have to wait 23 seconds!

I was hoping someone could help me out.

I installed a 250gb 840 non-pro in my 2009 13 inch Macbook Pro two days ago. Everything is perfect with BlackMagic speeds of 210mb/s Writes, 260mb/s Reads.

However, when I try to enable trim using Trim Enabler, I have the following error: "The patch is active, but trim is not working. Perhaps your SSD does not support Trim, or you need to reboot."

Someone suggested it may actually just be Trim Enabler and to check the system info instead. But under the Serial-ATA section, it says Trim is not supported either.

Could someone provide me with some insight?

Statusquick said:

However, when I try to enable trim using Trim Enabler, I have the following error: "The patch is active, but trim is not working. Perhaps your SSD does not support Trim, or you need to reboot."

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Ah, you did reboot, right?

Also, you need OSX 10.6.8 or higher to have TRIM support.

Statusquick said:

However, when I try to enable trim using Trim Enabler, I have the following error: "The patch is active, but trim is not working. Perhaps your SSD does not support Trim, or you need to reboot."

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Make sure you reboot, I had the same thing when I installed trim enabler, and after a reboot it says "The patch is active and trim is active. Everything looks super."

Do you recommend this for my Spring 2010 13.3" MBP? I just ordered a RAM upgrade too...

rpearlberg said:

Do you recommend this for my Spring 2010 13.3" MBP? I just ordered a RAM upgrade too...

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Absolutely!

I did the SSD upgrade on my brand new MBP 13", but I also did it on my ageing 2008 iMac, and the difference was night and day! Give it a go - your 2010 MBP will feel like a new machine.

frankieboy said:

Ah, you did reboot, right?

Also, you need OSX 10.6.8 or higher to have TRIM support.

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VanTastic said:

Make sure you reboot, I had the same thing when I installed trim enabler, and after a reboot it says "The patch is active and trim is active. Everything looks super."

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Thanks for your responses.

I am on Mountain Lion and I have rebooted quite a few times. Not really sure what seems to be the problem

SandboxGeneral said:

You're going to love it. I just installed an 840 in my iMac yesterday and took out the HDD. Instead of waiting about 3 minutes for it to fully load and be ready to use, I only have to wait 23 seconds!

Click to expand...

I was thinking of doing the same to my iMac now that I'm so spoiled with my laptop's SSD. Do you have any recommended videos/tutorials for reference? I saw a few on youtube but they look fairly involved - compared to just unscrewing the back of my MBP and swapping out the old hd. I'm nervous about the glass screen I have to pop off with those suction cups.

As a heads-up, Newegg has the 840 in today's specials email. 840 (non-pro) with their coupon code is $280 for 500 GB and $160 for 250 GB. I don't believe I can post the codes from the email.

hallux said:

As a heads-up, Newegg has the 840 in today's specials email. 840 (non-pro) with their coupon code is $280 for 500 GB and $160 for 250 GB. I don't believe I can post the codes from the email.

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B&H has the 840 for $150 and $280, for the 250GB and 500GB versions, respectively, and do not require a coupon. I just picked up 4 of the 250GB SSDs yesterday.

CarreraGuy said:

I was thinking of doing the same to my iMac now that I'm so spoiled with my laptop's SSD. Do you have any recommended videos/tutorials for reference? I saw a few on youtube but they look fairly involved - compared to just unscrewing the back of my MBP and swapping out the old hd. I'm nervous about the glass screen I have to pop off with those suction cups.

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Go to http://www.ifixit.com and search for your model computer under repair guides. They have fantastic step-by-step guides you can use with pictures and everything.

Taking the iMac apart is much easier than one might think. The glass panel pops off so easy you'd be surprised. You just want to be careful after that when you have the LCD display exposed. Be gentle when disconnecting the cables and your home free.

I took some photos of my project from last Friday and posted them here.

Hi guys,
i don't speak english very well, i try to explain me

I bought an Samsung SSD 840 120gb for my Macbook Pro 2009 (5,3) and works very well with Mountain Lion.
Only two question:

1. i don't know why negotiated link speed is still 1.5 and not 3.
it has been mounted in place of the DVD, but should be SATA 2, i'snt it?

2.i would update the firmware, is possible to burn a .iso firmware file on a USB key and use it to update? I could not do it with Mountain Lion!

Thank you

Mac Pro 3.2GHz & Samsung 840 Pro 256GB

This Samsung 840 Pro is the best SSD I have ever test in SATA II with my Mac Pro 3.2GHz 2010.

Statusquick said:

I was hoping someone could help me out.

I installed a 250gb 840 non-pro in my 2009 13 inch Macbook Pro two days ago. Everything is perfect with BlackMagic speeds of 210mb/s Writes, 260mb/s Reads.

However, when I try to enable trim using Trim Enabler, I have the following error: "The patch is active, but trim is not working. Perhaps your SSD does not support Trim, or you need to reboot."

Someone suggested it may actually just be Trim Enabler and to check the system info instead. But under the Serial-ATA section, it says Trim is not supported either.

Could someone provide me with some insight?

Click to expand...

could not get it to work on my 2009 mbp with the same ssd and Trimenabler
HOWEVER: It worked like a dream using this app here:

http://chameleon.alessandroboschini.it/index.php

It is a whole lot better than trimenabler and offers quite nice tweaks as well!

Hello all,

I'm new to Mac and SSD, just bought a Mid 2012 MBP 15" 2.3ghz i7 (4gb ram, 500gh HDD) 4 weeks ago. I will mainly use my MBP for photo processing, checking emails and some web surfing, plan to install CS6, Lightroom 3 and maybe Aperture. I had CS6 and Lightroom 3 on my old window pc...my pet turtle runs faster, so I want to try out SSD. Always have problem with my window base pc/laptop after like a year or so, mostly virus/malware problems, my current laptop is less than a year old and I already run into the blue screen of death! Did lots of research before decided to go with a mbp, this is a big investment for me, and I want it to last as long as it can and work as best as it can.

I don't know much about computer updrages, so I would like to get some help to configure my MBP to its best performance. What I have done so far,

1. My MPB is still pretty clean since I am still getting use to the mac interface, but I had Carbon Copy Cloner install because, per google search it can clone my current hd to another, including the OSX, system settings, applications, documents etc. Does it copy software license keys and registration as well?

2. Upgraded my ram from 4gb to 16gb (Crucial), got them on sale from newegg for ~$75.

3. SSD is my next upgrade. Ordered/paid for a Crucial M4 256gb last Thursday from Amazon.com ($199), it was suppose to arrive in 2 days (I have Amazon prime) still haven't received it, even though amazon said it was delivered on saturday, I'm still trying to straighten that out. But I got an email from Newegg today about the sale on Samsung 840, bought the 500gb non-pro an hour ago, $279 including S&H, I can't help myself. I wanted Samsung from the start but they are not in my price range, so I go with Crucial, but with the sale...i can't say no. >.> I am crossing my fingers that it will arrived by Friday, Newegg haven't fail me yet, so I am pretty sure it will. Ok, I am done rambling.

Now to configure my new drive once it arrived. I am suppose to,
1. format it using disk utility (I have an external closure from OWC)
2. Clone my current HD to the SSD - How do I test it to make sure it's bootable before installing it in my MBP?
3. Enable trim support - How to?
4. Firmware update for the SSD - Is this a must? Seems like lots of ppl having issue with updating the FW from Samsung.

Any help will be much appreciated! And if I am in the wrong threat, please let me know, I am new to the forum.

Thank you!

Jo Chen said:

1. My MPB is still pretty clean since I am still getting use to the mac interface, but I had Carbon Copy Cloner install because, per google search it can clone my current hd to another, including the OSX, system settings, applications, documents etc. Does it copy software license keys and registration as well?

Click to expand...

Carbon Copy Cloner makes an exact duplicate of one drive and places it on another. Everything is preserved.

2. Clone my current HD to the SSD - How do I test it to make sure it's bootable before installing it in my MBP?

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You can hold down the Option key while booting and if the external SSD is connected you should be able to see an option to choose to boot to it.

3. Enable trim support - How to?

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Simple. Once you get booted into OS X, go to Groth's and download the TRIM Enbaler. Turn it on and restart the computer, you're all done.

4. Firmware update for the SSD - Is this a must? Seems like lots of ppl having issue with updating the FW from Samsung.

Click to expand...

Updating firmware is usually a wise thing to do as they're intended to fix problems and improve functionality. I just updated my Samsung 840 a few days ago and had no issues - that's not to say that others haven't though. Here is the link to the firmware for OS X.

Mac Pro 3.2GHz 2010 & Samsung 840 Pro 256GB

Speed ​​reading and writing small files, SATA II, via the application QuickBench:

I have firmware DXT06B0Q. Should I keep this or is an update necessary?

UBS28 said:

I have firmware DXT06B0Q. Should I keep this or is an update necessary?

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I updated mine to the latest just a few days ago and all is well, no problems.

FW update from Windows

I want to pull the trigger on a Samsung 840 Pro but need to clear up how i will be able to install the FW from a windows machine.

So what's the procedure for a windows machine? i.e. format drive, install windows,install magician software and update and then reformat it back to Mac and go from there?

How should i go about this?

Cheers Paul