MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 Problems

Ok then i was just lucky when i decided after the SL upgrade to install the EFI 1.7 update (WD Blue 500GB). A short warning to others: After i upgraded Leopard to Snow Leo EFI upgrade 1.7 was no longer marked as "exclude forever", so if you do not check on your next Software update the 1.7 EFI firmware probably will be installed.

 

That is very good news!

Could I ask please, if your english is good enough, would you mind writing down the steps you took to downgrade the firmware to 1.6? and which files you copied etc?

Thanks

 

svaldus this i! i lost my password (((
i russian my english very bad

 

1) need usb flesh drive
2) download img file
3) open disk utility
4) дальше пишу tab restore
5) source img file
6) target usb flash
7) нажать press estore img on usb
8) usb need GUID formating MAC OS X file sistem
9) reboot
10) press key Comand
11) the end

picture http://vadim.com.ua/2009/09/ustanov...ard-s-usb-fleshkikartyi-pamyativneshnego-hdd/

 

Alright, here is my take on the russian instructions, tested and worked thank the lord.

Idiot proof version coming soon.

1337 version ( those who know their way around in mac)

1) Download the linked .dmg file.

http://rapidshare.com/files/275188610/Aluminum_MacBook_Pro_Recovery.dmg

2) do not mount file

3) plug in a usb drive any size

4) REformat this USB drive in Mac OSX HFS+ Journaled in disk utility.

5) Click on the newly formatted drive Volume, then click on the tab restore (same row as erase).

6) in this panel you will see two white input boxes, in source you will browse and select the .dmg downloaded in step 1, you can either brose it or drag and drop it in the source bow.

7) in the Destination box, drag and drop the newly formatted Volume from step 4/5

* no need to have the erase destination box checked/ticked.

8) hit the restore button/

9) once this is done, unplug and replug the usb drive, shut down the machine

10) boot up the machine while its booting up, before the apple icon pops up, press and hold the OPTION button until your drives/partitions pop up.

11) in my case i had three pop up, my bootcamp partition my main mac harddrive, and the BOOTABLE USB drive i just made, select the bootable USB drive (yellow orangish color) Use Arrows to navigate and Enter button to select

12) once this is selected the apple logo will come up and a dark gray bar will start to move right under it. Sit relax and wait for the process to be done.

END: you have now downgraded to EFI firmware 1.6

If you get this error

"Image Error:

Could not find any scan information. The source image needs to be imagescanned before it can be restored."

Click on the image file in the list on the left and then click on Image in the menu and then on Scan Image for Restore. After that, everything should go smoothly.

Thanks to SmAcDuff for pointing out the solution to the Image scan error.

 

Panzo
спасибо именно это я и хотел написать !

 

Great stuff! Thanks!

Should this work on any of the new macbook pro range (eg 13"/15"/17")?

I'm also assuming we can still undo the process by updating back to 1.7 or 1.8 if that comes along soon?

 

i have macbook pro 15: mc118LL it works
i upgrade to 1.7 again. it works

 

serg1no, Пожалуйста друг, большое спасибо за вашу помощь.

 

Any chance this would work on the 17"? I know the 17" never had the 1.7 update but could work....

Any more success stories?

 

Great that there now seems to be a kind of band-aid solution for you guys that are affected by this problem!

Shouldn't it be Macrumors' turn to report on this problem ? Maybe build up up some pressure ? At least 9to5mac.com just did. Assuming Apple plans to do something about this, they sure are taking their sweet time...

EDIT: Has it really been almost 3 months already ???

 

If enough people submit the story to macrumors maybe they'll carry it. http://www.macrumors.com/site.php?mode=submit

Be sure to include the link:
http://9to5mac.com/macbookunibody

 

Well it does in fact boot and does in fact put a grey status bar across the bottom of the screen.

Now I have to reinstall Snow Leopard and I will report my testings. Should only be around 30 minutes or so. I am installing from the disc not a hard drive.

 

Insane, ain't it?

 

No offense to trevgit or anyone else but someone has to say it. You guys are very brave taking a file from someone who joined on Sep 1 and installing it. You might just be installing a new Mac trojan on your machine.

 

Well got to try I guess. It did downgrade the firmware though.

 

The file is not trojaned, i have had my hands on ti for a good few weeks now, just never had the guts to put it on a usb drive to boot off.

Burning it to cd has proved itself inconclusive since my first visit to the apple store.

Both files reported here are the same size.

Also you cannot install a trojan through a firmware update. unless the firmware update was faked and we all got punked, which is highly unlikely a the system profiler shows the interface back at 1.5 gbps, people are worried enough already with actually undergoing the procedure no need to spread propaganda without cold hard evidence mr gestapo.

 

Anyone who uses this downgrade method please do the following

1) Post your results
2) Post your Macbook type, model etc, for example I have a 13" Macbook Pro 5,5

Thank you people! Once we have a list of models we know this works on we can call this business history!

 

I booted from a FLASH drive and it downgraded in less than a minute for me. When I reinstalled Snow Leopard it was the first update it asked me to perform and i ignored it.

EDIT:
I have a 2.26GHz MacBook and everything is stock. I was having hang up issues and stalling at the grey boot screen. Since doing this so far it seems to be working fine. I do recall before I could not run the hard drive test on xBench, it would freeze. Now it runs through just fine.

 

Then they could both be the same trojan. Your logic is flawed. Just because a file sits for a few weeks doesn't mean its safe. If you downloaded both files off the internet, and not from Apple or a reputable source, then they both have the same risk.

Are you sure about that? If you boot from a disk, that disk can do what it wants. You are at its mercy. Here maybe this will help convince you.

Social Engineering Using USB Drives

The nastiest trojans do exactly what you want them to do. They go undetected until someone steals information. Its not going to flash up and say, "I'm in your computer stealing your credit cards."

Look, I hope this is legit and it works for all of you, but you have to be cognizant of the risks. This is similar to how the other trojans are installed on a mac, through people being naive and installing.

 

Thanks for helping out!
Awesome!

Спасибо!

 

It's up to you to believe if he has tampered with the files or not. I choose to believe he has not

 

Let me help you add the pics.

 

ура

I was glad to help, I thank you! glad that happened ))))

 

Fair enough, look, im going o the apple store tomorrow, i will take the .dmg from their disk and host it myself, should clear up the issue.

I just have a hard time believing that some one who would want to spread a trojan would do so through a firmware update which only a few people need and which out of those people even less will actually go through with it.

I second your social engineering link, but on my side of the field lil snitch hasnt reported anything out of the norm and neither has my firewall/router, so the grass is green and im out to play.