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New Intel SSD - Advice on Snow Leopard Installation from UTD Disk

A

aminadab

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 3, 2005
132
1
Portland, Oregon
Here's the deal: I have the most recent 17" UMBP, purchased last August, 2009 and got the Snow Leopard Up To Date Disk, did an install on my stock Hard Drive and have been VERY happy with everything for the past few months.

But... All these threads championing the latest Intel SSD G2 have finally gotten to me and, I just purchased the 80GB model from Newegg. It should be here tomorrow.

Now, I ask that you confirm, please, a specific question about installation from my UTD disk and then advise.

Please note that I've searched a ton about this subject. It's been answered in so many conflicting ways, I'm running it by you guys once again.

So then, it seems that I can NOT install Snow Leopard from my UTD disk onto the new, fresh Intel SSD installed into my 17" UMBP. This is the case, yes?

A workaround, I figure, would be to install Leopard 10.5 onto the new SSD and then to a clean and erase and then instal of 10.6 on top. I assume the UTD will read 10.5 and let the upgrade proceed.

So, finally, a question: Should I be worried about installing a total of two OSs given that I (cheaply!) opted for the smaller 80GB SSD and that 10.6 doesn't support TRIM?

Should I bite the bullet and buy the retail version of the upgrade disc and skip the double installation? I prefer to save the money, but I'm also concerned about putting so much data on the SSD before I even use it. I figure since I've already spent so much money on the Intel SSD, I should maximize performance.

Thanks very kindly!
 
I'll be as brief as possible so don't think i'm being rude :p

A) I honestly don't know about the UTD disks. From what I've seen you'll need to install 10.5 first, then do a erase/install.

B) Don't worry about hurting the SSD. The performance may degrade over time and you'll need a to run the secure erase command in order to get it back up to speed (still looking on some information about this) but there will be plenty of free blocks after you install SL.
 
you can install using that disk. I did a fresh install using it on an intel ssd g2.

Also upgrade your g2 firmware to latest(1.5) if it isn't already. I just did this, and it gave me a boost in xbench.
 
You can install SL on a fresh Intel X-25 SSD (or any HDD for that matter) using the "upgrade" disk. You dont need to install Leopard first.

+1 for updating the firmware to 1.5

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the helpful comments. I'm really glad the UTD disk can perform an install on a new drive.

I had ordered the drive yesterday and opted for overnight via FED EX, but forgot that overnight = next business day... So I'll have to wait till Monday. Bummer.

Is there anyway to check the drive's firmware? Or should I just download 1.5 from intel and see if it needs it?
 
...

not sure about the disk but you could just buy an external usb enclosure and use carbon copy cloner to clone your current drive to the new one and then you will be all good and everything will be there (data, apps etc)
 
I would vote for a fresh install instead of cloning. On the Windows side of the world, Windows 7 turns off certain functions if it detects that it is being installed on to an SSD. AFAIK OS X doesn't do some of the things, but you never know. I would start with a fresh install of the OS and programs, and restore personal data from a Time Machine backup.

Look around for more tips on how to "maintain" your SSD under OS X, since only Windows 7 users enjoy the benefit of TRIM at the moment (at least I am covered on the desktop).

Good luck!
 
Qucik update to let everyone know that the drive installed easily, as did Snow Leopard from the Up to Date disc -- very happy about that.

Disabled Sudden Motion Sensor and the Put Disk to Sleep option.

Thanks again everyone!
 
aminadab said:
I'm not able to determine the drive's current firmware. I checked in the System Profiler but couldn't locate it.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

You need to download the latest firmware updater, burn it to disc and boot from the disc. Then it runs automatically and tells if the firmware doesn't match the latest one.
 
aminadab said:
I'm not able to determine the drive's current firmware. I checked in the System Profiler but couldn't locate it.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but as a potential owner, I have some questions and perhaps answers.

To answer your question, the firmware version of the drive is written right on the drive near the intel logo.

Second question, did you end up updating the drive after installing it in your uMBP? Also, how long did your SL installation take? I am using the OS Drop-In Disk to fresh install SL, and the timer says its going to take about 30 mins.
 
Aboo said:
Sorry for digging up an old thread, but as a potential owner, I have some questions and perhaps answers.

To answer your question, the firmware version of the drive is written right on the drive near the intel logo.

Second question, did you end up updating the drive after installing it in your uMBP? Also, how long did your SL installation take? I am using the OS Drop-In Disk to fresh install SL, and the timer says its going to take about 30 mins.
Click to expand...

I am going to do this today on my new MB Pro 15". The 500 GB drive in it is fast, but I had a 160 GB Intel X-25 G2 in my old HP... Just gotta put it in. It's the hardware guy in me.

I'm going to do a clean install, since I really don't have any useful data on the drive. I've mostly been installing things and learning as I am new to OS X. I do like the Parallels integration of my Windows 7 Apps (Office 2010) and a music scheduling app I run for work (Radio Station Stuff).

Funny, but my MacBook is the best PC I have ever had. It is fast running Windows. I got it, as I am about to jump into iPhone development with XCode.

Another poster questioned firmware. What is written on the drive is what it shipped with. If you bought it used or updated at any point, it is different. Download the Intel firmware update iso. It will create a FreeDos boot disk and tell you what firmware is installed and offer to do the new one. The new one is particularly important to 160 GB G2 drives like mine. It increased the write speed, which is the ONLY weak point on an Intel SSD.

I am new to the forums. Hopefully, I can learn and be some help. I am an IT manager, so I can help you with Windows all day... For the Mac, I need you guys :) At least for a while.
 
Limiting VM swap files size: Possible?

Sorry, posted in wrong place, cannot find a way to delete post.
 
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