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MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 Problems
- Thread starter jlamarp
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I'm just happy that my stock 500gb doesnt exhibit any issues but I'm just worried about the future. What if I want to upgrade to an SSD drive or move up to a 7200rpm hdd? Especially if my stock hdd dies on me, I'd be SCREWED.
Hey buddy,
Thanks for sharing.
I'll give it a shot.
Will post updates here after my school ends.
Cheers,
p3ncil
I've run the AJA Disk Read/Write test. Would you run this test so we can compare results? I have Firmware 1.7 installed and the access to the HD is terrible slow. I got an MBP with the stock HDD 250gb.
You can download the application from http://www.aja.com/ajashare/AJA_System_Test_v601.zip
Use these settings:
Test: Disk Read/Write
File Size: 1.0GB
Video Frame Size: 720x486 8-bit
Disable file system cache: checked
My results were,
Write 76.4MB/s
Read 4.7MB/s
I've noticed that the write speed is constant through the whole test, while the read speed is up to 80MB/s for 125 frames and then goes down to 1-2MB/s for another 125 frames and then goes back to 80MB/s.
It would be great if someone with Firmware pre-1.7 can run this test too so we can see the difference.
thanks
You can download the application from http://www.aja.com/ajashare/AJA_System_Test_v601.zip
Use these settings:
Test: Disk Read/Write
File Size: 1.0GB
Video Frame Size: 720x486 8-bit
Disable file system cache: checked
My results were,
Write 76.4MB/s
Read 4.7MB/s
I've noticed that the write speed is constant through the whole test, while the read speed is up to 80MB/s for 125 frames and then goes down to 1-2MB/s for another 125 frames and then goes back to 80MB/s.
It would be great if someone with Firmware pre-1.7 can run this test too so we can see the difference.
thanks
Below is an advice from OliverF at Apple Support Discussions The utility mentioned just checks the drive you have now. You could still be having difficulties with other drives. A speed test does not say much regarding the state of the drive.
"The most objective way (to test drives) is to download SMART utilities:
http://www.volitans-software.com/
Then click on "Attributes" "Show all".
Line "ID 199: UDMA CRC Error Count should be 0, if you see other or increasing numbers there you are experiencing the issue.
Basicaly what happens is that if there is a critical frequency of CRC errors, the beachball will start popping up as the operating system is trying to recover from the SATA bus errors."
"The most objective way (to test drives) is to download SMART utilities:
http://www.volitans-software.com/
Then click on "Attributes" "Show all".
Line "ID 199: UDMA CRC Error Count should be 0, if you see other or increasing numbers there you are experiencing the issue.
Basicaly what happens is that if there is a critical frequency of CRC errors, the beachball will start popping up as the operating system is trying to recover from the SATA bus errors."
I'm having this issue as well, but my case is a bit different as I am using a stock Apple SSD.
I had a 2.4GHz Unibody Macbook (the "non-pro" gen previous to the current 13" UMBP) that I bought stock straight from Apple with their 128GB SSD drive.
It worked great and was super fast, I never had a problem with it.
Giving in to my urge to have "the latest and greatest" I bought a new 2.26GHz 13" Macbook Pro. I wanted to keep the 128GB Apple SSD so I bought a new Seagate 500GB 5400RPM HDD and stuck that into the 2.4GHz UMB and gave that to my GF, and took out the original Apple 128GB SSD from that and put that in my new 2.26GHz 13" UMBP.
Now I never had a problem with the 128GB Apple SSD in my uMB 2.4GHz but I notice in my new 2.26GHz MBP it "stutters" for 2-3 seconds when I watch any videos (movies etc.). Oddly, I find that it does it more regularly when I have torrents running in Transmission at the same time. When I pause them, it doesn't occur as often.
I'm sure on my old 2.4Ghz uMB I had the same usage patterns (running torrents in Transmission while watching a video) as its quite a common practice and I feel not "over-stressing" the computer at all. I'm quite unhappy with this situation and feel that it has to do with the new 13" MBPs and/or the 1.7 firmware update. The 1.7 firmware does not apply to the unibody Macbooks and my 2.4GHz is still working fine. Why Apple did not leave the firmware (the unibody Macbook and 13" MBP should have very similar motherboards) and leave it at SATA2-3.0Gb is beyond me. Hopefully Apple comes out with a fix soon.
I had a 2.4GHz Unibody Macbook (the "non-pro" gen previous to the current 13" UMBP) that I bought stock straight from Apple with their 128GB SSD drive.
It worked great and was super fast, I never had a problem with it.
Giving in to my urge to have "the latest and greatest" I bought a new 2.26GHz 13" Macbook Pro. I wanted to keep the 128GB Apple SSD so I bought a new Seagate 500GB 5400RPM HDD and stuck that into the 2.4GHz UMB and gave that to my GF, and took out the original Apple 128GB SSD from that and put that in my new 2.26GHz 13" UMBP.
Now I never had a problem with the 128GB Apple SSD in my uMB 2.4GHz but I notice in my new 2.26GHz MBP it "stutters" for 2-3 seconds when I watch any videos (movies etc.). Oddly, I find that it does it more regularly when I have torrents running in Transmission at the same time. When I pause them, it doesn't occur as often.
I'm sure on my old 2.4Ghz uMB I had the same usage patterns (running torrents in Transmission while watching a video) as its quite a common practice and I feel not "over-stressing" the computer at all. I'm quite unhappy with this situation and feel that it has to do with the new 13" MBPs and/or the 1.7 firmware update. The 1.7 firmware does not apply to the unibody Macbooks and my 2.4GHz is still working fine. Why Apple did not leave the firmware (the unibody Macbook and 13" MBP should have very similar motherboards) and leave it at SATA2-3.0Gb is beyond me. Hopefully Apple comes out with a fix soon.
I just returned my 2.8GHz mbp. No matter what 3rd party hdd I swap it keeps getting color wheel of death, freezes, sometimes doesnt even boot.
Apparently the genius had other complaints so I was warranted a free refund (restock fee free).
Apparently the genius had other complaints so I was warranted a free refund (restock fee free).
Hmmm I'm getting random beach balls and I'm not getting any errors in that program.
I've tried other methods in this thread as well and still nothing can fix it. I still have the stock drive BTW
Adding to p3ncil, it appears to only be affecting (mid 2009) 13" and 15" as those are the machines the update was pushed to.
And it appears that it can affect any (nid 2009) 13" or 15" MBP that has this EFI 1.7 update installed, regardless (irregardless for some) if it is SATA-I (1.5) or SATA-II (3.0).
I have a 13" MBP 2.53 Ghz EFI 1.7 with a Corsair P256 SSD and I am happy to report it is running without errors.
Luckily I haven't experienced any beach balls or stutters.
Used SMART utlity to check for CRC errors as suggested previously; ID#199 UDMA CRC Error Count = 0
Either I got lucky with my MBP or maybe the 13" MBP & P256 SSD are not susceptible to this particular issue.
Just my two cents.
Luckily I haven't experienced any beach balls or stutters.
Used SMART utlity to check for CRC errors as suggested previously; ID#199 UDMA CRC Error Count = 0
Either I got lucky with my MBP or maybe the 13" MBP & P256 SSD are not susceptible to this particular issue.
Just my two cents.
Ah ok, I just wanted to make sure since I have seen some posts on different forums that suggested their issue went away when they switched to a SATA-I drive. But based on your feedback it doesn't seem like it would work for all.
This is true some have reported fixing the problem by going back to the stock SATA-I drive, some with a 3rd party SATA-I drive or/and some have fixed the problem by setting their SATA-II (3.0) drives down to the SATA-I (1.5) speed, by jumpers or command line entries to the drives firmware. Many of the people who have done one of the three above had their machines working for a couple hours/days until it started with problem again.
Yea the 13" and 15" june 09 mbp's all have 1.5 Gb/s sata controllers but Apple is trying to mask that with a firmware update 1.7 version to change what it saids on the "about this mac" to make it look like it supports SATA-II 3.0 Gb/s.
This really is a backwards downgrade, maybe Apple will fix it in their newer manufactured models with replacing the SATA-I for SATA-II controllers.
This is also bad for future upgrades because you cant add a SATA-II SSD drive.
This really is a backwards downgrade, maybe Apple will fix it in their newer manufactured models with replacing the SATA-I for SATA-II controllers.
This is also bad for future upgrades because you cant add a SATA-II SSD drive.
For anyone who has been experiencing video lock ups (particularly in front row):
I unchecked "put the hard disk to sleep when possible" in my energy saver pane and it hasn't locked up since. This is a new issue for me, as I had it checked on my previous 15" MBP and never had a problem. I wonder if the HD may be going narcoleptic at other inappropriate times besides frontrow...
I unchecked "put the hard disk to sleep when possible" in my energy saver pane and it hasn't locked up since. This is a new issue for me, as I had it checked on my previous 15" MBP and never had a problem. I wonder if the HD may be going narcoleptic at other inappropriate times besides frontrow...
Ok I updated my software today to get the new iTunes update and forgot to uncheck the Firmware 1.7 update when I hit install. But... I have to say that on my MacBook Pro everything is running fine. No beachballs and slow-downs. My Seagate drive is the 320gb Momentus 7200.3 without the g-force protection. So I can confirm that with this drive the 1.7 update works fine.
i wanted to add my experience--
13" MBP, ran fine w/o pinwheels before the 1.7 update, but after the update, had several per day, including, but not limited to, the completions of each time machine backup. The machine would be unresponsive for about 20-30 sec. Ran a SMART utility program and it reported thousands of CRC errors.
Just recently I upgraded my HD, and did a clean erase and install, and since then I've had no pinwheels, even during/after time machine backups.
Now what I find a little odd is that in my experience, this isn't limited to the June 2009 MBPs and the 1.7 update-- I had the same problem with a unibody 13" MacBook (not Pro) that I bought in April-- several instances of pinwheels and unresponsiveness per day, unrelated to any intensive CPU process.
So in summary, for me--
13" MB (April 2009, with "upgraded" screen), SATA 2, Western Dig HD: affected
13" MBP before 1.7 EFI, SATA 1, same Western Dig HD: unaffected
13" MBP after 1.7 EFI, SATA 2, same Western Dig HD: affected
13" MBP after 1.7 EFI, SATA 2 with new HD and clean install: unaffected
can't make any sense of it.
13" MBP, ran fine w/o pinwheels before the 1.7 update, but after the update, had several per day, including, but not limited to, the completions of each time machine backup. The machine would be unresponsive for about 20-30 sec. Ran a SMART utility program and it reported thousands of CRC errors.
Just recently I upgraded my HD, and did a clean erase and install, and since then I've had no pinwheels, even during/after time machine backups.
Now what I find a little odd is that in my experience, this isn't limited to the June 2009 MBPs and the 1.7 update-- I had the same problem with a unibody 13" MacBook (not Pro) that I bought in April-- several instances of pinwheels and unresponsiveness per day, unrelated to any intensive CPU process.
So in summary, for me--
13" MB (April 2009, with "upgraded" screen), SATA 2, Western Dig HD: affected
13" MBP before 1.7 EFI, SATA 1, same Western Dig HD: unaffected
13" MBP after 1.7 EFI, SATA 2, same Western Dig HD: affected
13" MBP after 1.7 EFI, SATA 2 with new HD and clean install: unaffected
can't make any sense of it.