Update SSD firmware (OCZ Vertex 2)

discosoap · Sep 19, 2010

Hi guys,

just jumped on the SSD bandwagon, and have a question. I bought a 2.5" Vertex 2 60GB, which seems to be doing very well in all the benchmarks. I know OSX has no TRIMM support yet, and there is a lot of rumbling about using the right firmware in order to increase the SSD's lifespan. I read I'll probably have to use Windows in order to update the firmware in OCZ SSD's.

Can anyone tell me, how I can check the firmware version of the SSD using OSX ? Can it be done, or do you need Windows for this as well ?? I have no idea what firmware it runs, so there is no way to know if it needs updating.

Moreover, which firmware version do you guys use on the Vertex 2 in Mac OSX ? Are there any advantages you noticed ? Is there no other way than to use Windows for updating ??

Thanks in advance

Sankersizzle · Sep 19, 2010

hey! i'm not really an expert at this sort of thing, so if someone knows better feel free to correct.

but i think you can tell the firmware you're running by going to about this mac > more info > Serial ATA > Vertex 2 and then look at your revision number. the most recent update is 1.11 and that's what mine says so i assume this is the version of the firmware you're running.

Velin · Sep 19, 2010

I had a question about this as well. Is there any easy way in OSX to update the OCZ Vert. 2 firmware. Or do I have to use Wincrap to do an update.

discosoap · Sep 19, 2010

Sankersizzle said:
hey! i'm not really an expert at this sort of thing, so if someone knows better feel free to correct.

but i think you can tell the firmware you're running by going to about this mac > more info > Serial ATA > Vertex 2 and then look at your revision number. the most recent update is 1.11 and that's what mine says so i assume this is the version of the firmware you're running.

That seems straightforward enough

I'll try it once I have it installed (i am waiting for the torxscrewdriver to arrive). Did you need to update yours or did it come with 1.11 out-of-the-box ? And if not, did you have to use Windows, or were you able to load a DOS boot cd on your Mac ? Does the SSD's own garbage collection work, I thought that was only supported in some Mac compatible firmware ?

davidcmc · Sep 19, 2010

In System Profiler you can get every information that you need for the SSD.

Notice that it says "No" for TRIM support, but that's a known bug in Snow Leopard 10.6.4.
This SSD (OCZ Vertex Turbo) actually supports TRIM (according to this site: http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/solid_state_drives/ocz_vertex_turbo_series_sata_ii_2_5-ssd), but Snow Leopard still doesn't support that feature of SSDs.

discosoap · Sep 19, 2010

davidcmc said:
In System Profiler you can get every information that you need for the SSD.

Notice that it says "No" for TRIM support, but that's a known bug in Snow Leopard 10.6.4.
This SSD (OCZ Vertex Turbo) actually supports TRIM (according to this site: http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/solid_state_drives/ocz_vertex_turbo_series_sata_ii_2_5-ssd), but Snow Leopard still doesn't support that feature of SSDs.

Thanks for the pic

Have you ever upgraded your firmware, if yes how ? And how do you do your garbage collection, if any ?

davidcmc · Sep 19, 2010

Recently I've read an article from AnandTech that OS X doesn't seem to accumulate garbage in SSDs data. They've told that by some way OS X partition table (HFS+ Journaled) works better than Windows NTFS with SSDs.

In short, the article says that Mac OS X, with it's HFS+ Journaled partition, probably doesn't need TRIM support so much as Windows does.

So, I just don't use any garbage collection software in Mac OS X.
To be honest, I didn't even benchmark my SSD in OS X yet.

As for the firmware upgrade, the last time that I've done it was with a PC.
Some days ago I've read in OCZ forums that Macs can upgrade SSD's firmware just the way PCs do: rebooting with a pendrive connected to the MacBook and booting it's ISO image (the image with the new firmware and the upgrade utility). I can't confirm that.
A good advise is to take a look at OCZ's official forum: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?237-OCZ-SSD-Support-for-Linux-and-Apple-OSX

Edit: According to this topic http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?76052-Something-new-for-the-Mac-crowd, you just need to burn the .ISO image with new firmware and update utility (that you download from OCZ site) to a CD/DVD, insert it in the SuperDrive and reboot the Mac. It should boot the media normally.
If it doesn't boot, you can hold ALT/OPTION key when you turn the MacBook on to see boot options (Mac OS X, BootCamp Windows, OCZ update utility etc.).

Sankersizzle · Sep 19, 2010

discosoap said:
That seems straightforward enough I'll try it once I have it installed (i am waiting for the torxscrewdriver to arrive). Did you need to update yours or did it come with 1.11 out-of-the-box ? And if not, did you have to use Windows, or were you able to load a DOS boot cd on your Mac ? Does the SSD's own garbage collection work, I thought that was only supported in some Mac compatible firmware ?

Mine came with 1.11 right out of the box, so I've never had to update it -which means I don't know whether or not you have to update with a mac or pc

.

Also, from what I've read, the garbage collection on our Vertex 2's works great. I've noticed no slow down, in real usage or benchmarks!

pandamonia · Sep 20, 2010

davidcmc said:
Recently I've read an article from AnandTech that OS X doesn't seem to accumulate garbage in SSDs data. They've told that by some way OS X partition table (HFS+ Journaled) works better than Windows NTFS with SSDs.

In short, the article says that Mac OS X, with it's HFS+ Journaled partition, probably doesn't need TRIM support so much as Windows does.

So, I just don't use any garbage collection software in Mac OS X.
To be honest, I didn't even benchmark my SSD in OS X yet.

As for the firmware upgrade, the last time that I've done it was with a PC.
Some days ago I've read in OCZ forums that Macs can upgrade SSD's firmware just the way PCs do: rebooting with a pendrive connected to the MacBook and booting it's ISO image (the image with the new firmware and the upgrade utility). I can't confirm that.
A good advise is to take a look at OCZ's official forum: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?237-OCZ-SSD-Support-for-Linux-and-Apple-OSX

Edit: According to this topic http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?76052-Something-new-for-the-Mac-crowd, you just need to burn the .ISO image with new firmware and update utility (that you download from OCZ site) to a CD/DVD, insert it in the SuperDrive and reboot the Mac. It should boot the media normally.
If it doesn't boot, you can hold ALT/OPTION key when you turn the MacBook on to see boot options (Mac OS X, BootCamp Windows, OCZ update utility etc.).

That first bit isnt true.
Its got nothing to do with the OS its more to do with the READ WRITE MODIFY commands on the NAND.

Garbage collection works automatically. its best to leave your laptop or pc logged off over night to let it work

discosoap · Sep 21, 2010

pandamonia said:
Garbage collection works automatically. its best to leave your laptop or pc logged off over night to let it work

Would one have to log out before automated garbage collection starts to work, or do i misunderstand ?

mr0c · Sep 21, 2010

davidcmc said:
Edit: According to this topic http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?76052-Something-new-for-the-Mac-crowd, you just need to burn the .ISO image with new firmware and update utility (that you download from OCZ site) to a CD/DVD, insert it in the SuperDrive and reboot the Mac. It should boot the media normally.
If it doesn't boot, you can hold ALT/OPTION key when you turn the MacBook on to see boot options (Mac OS X, BootCamp Windows, OCZ update utility etc.).

This works exactly as quoted above, I've done this twice this way.

dyn · Sep 21, 2010

pandamonia said:
That first bit isnt true.
Its got nothing to do with the OS its more to do with the READ WRITE MODIFY commands on the NAND.

The first bit is about Anandtech's article which is absolutely correct. You probably mean the second bit, the part about garbage collection. You're correct about that part: garbage collection is something that is done at NAND level.

Garbage collection works automatically. its best to leave your laptop or pc logged off over night to let it work

In Linux and Windows there is a way to trigger this manually by using some tool (see OCZ forums). Unfortunately there isn't one for OS X but I think you could use the Linux or Windows tool in something like boot camp.

discosoap said:
Would one have to log out before automated garbage collection starts to work, or do i misunderstand ?

No, the computer simply has to remain idle for a certain time. Many people have asked on the OCZ forum but it's unclear whether this will also work when the computer is sleeping.

rckstwrz · Oct 26, 2010

I installed a Vertex 2 into my MacBook Pro, and cloned over a copy of Snow Leopard, but I can't get the Mac to boot from it. I can read and write to it, but not boot. According to system profiler, I'm on "Revision 1.22."

It's been reformatted via disk utility, and I can read and write from it when I've booted from another disk, so it appears to only not work when booting.

Have you guys run into this? Any tips?

b0rg · Nov 7, 2010

rckstwrz said:
I installed a Vertex 2 into my MacBook Pro, and cloned over a copy of Snow Leopard, but I can't get the Mac to boot from it. I can read and write to it, but not boot. According to system profiler, I'm on "Revision 1.22."

It's been reformatted via disk utility, and I can read and write from it when I've booted from another disk, so it appears to only not work when booting.

Have you guys run into this? Any tips?

Look here: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?80011-Vertex-2-in-MacBook-Pro-i7

Post #2

rckstwrz · Nov 8, 2010

b0rg said:
Look here: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?80011-Vertex-2-in-MacBook-Pro-i7

Post #2

Hah, yeah, that's me. I'm dosjon. Ended up that current gen i7 MacBook pros need 10.6.4 to boot. Go figure.

stylinexpat · Nov 8, 2010

rckstwrz said:
I installed a Vertex 2 into my MacBook Pro, and cloned over a copy of Snow Leopard, but I can't get the Mac to boot from it. I can read and write to it, but not boot. According to system profiler, I'm on "Revision 1.22."

It's been reformatted via disk utility, and I can read and write from it when I've booted from another disk, so it appears to only not work when booting.

Have you guys run into this? Any tips?

Best to always do a clean install. I have a clean install on mine with no problems. Running 2 of the Vertex 2 SSD's running raid in my 13" MBP.

gabicava83 · Dec 15, 2010

stylinexpat said:
Best to always do a clean install. I have a clean install on mine with no problems. Running 2 of the Vertex 2 SSD's running raid in my 13" MBP.

Did you guys use windows to do the updates?

I have one with 1.23 and cannot get it to update with Windows 7, will stick it on the MBP when I get home.

G.

Orlandoech · Jun 8, 2011

two of these in a raid0?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227708

madflava54 · Mar 3, 2013

Sorry for the revive of an old thread but I still use this drive. I'm running mountain lion and was wondering if enabling trim is ok with mountain lion. I noticed a little slowing down of the Ssd so I enabled trim and curious of it's okay to do so.

Ifti · Mar 3, 2013

The vertex 2 has a SandForce controller that utilises its own garbage collection, so you don't really need to enable TRIM with that drive.
If you want to go ahead, there is a small app called TRIM Enabler. I use it with my Samsung 830 and it seems to work great.

Update SSD firmware (OCZ Vertex 2)

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