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OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD Problem

ZlatanSa said:
Hello,

Just replaced my stock HDD ( 250 GB ) with OWC SSD 40 GB one. Stock one, i placed in Data Doubler, also from OWC. Before placing stock hdd in data doubler, ofcourse, I installed from DVD , Mac OS X 10.6.3, formatted SSD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), after that, I turned my Mac off, and replaced DVD/CD Rom with Data Doubler, on which i put stock HDD ( 250 GB ). I turned on my PC, formatted second HDD ( stock one ) to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) too. After that, I have done upgrades, to 10.6.6.

My problem is that in normal work, surfing trough firefox, skype and so on, somehow Mac start to be unresponsive for at least 10-15 sec, and this is happening randomly, even durring I am writting this post.

While the Mac is un-responsive , i can see marble of doom (
Marble%20of%20Doom%20Icon.jpg
) which is spinning.

After 10-15 sec, Mac is responsive, and I can continue doing stuffs....

Also I attached to this post Info about Mac, and Info about S-ATA....

If anybody can help, I would appreciate it.

Many thanks to everybody.
Click to expand...

I already told you the problem in the other thread and if you would have read this thread you would know the problem is the firmware...which is heavily discussed in this thread. 343 = BAD, 310 = GOOD.
 
so after reading this post, this problem seem to be happening when the ssd is in the optical area correct? if its placed in the original hdd slot, would the problem still be there?
 
polobreaka said:
so after reading this post, this problem seem to be happening when the ssd is in the optical area correct? if its placed in the original hdd slot, would the problem still be there?
Click to expand...

It happens no matter where the drive is...its very simple 343 firmware is BAD, anything sandforce with 343 will have problems.
 
RaceTripper said:
Not true. Some, not all 343s have issues. Mine is rock solid. No problems at all.
Click to expand...

Ok...the drives that have problems are 99% 343 firmware and it does not matter where the drive is located in the computer. The other 1% is just a defective drive. Im guessing on the percentages of course.

And before you off about the pmset settings, I got a 120 OWC for christmas...343 of course and had tons of trouble with freezing, beachballing, etc...even after multiple installs and changing pmset settings as follows - SMS 0 - Hibernatemode 0. If it does have a problem, pmset wont fix it at least for me it did not. If you are having problems with an SSD with 343, call the company you bought it from and request a new drive with 310 or have yours returned to be flashed or I believe you can do it yourself. Also, DO NOT upgrade to the newest one that is expected to come out this spring until it has been out and tested...you have been warned.
 
tjb1 said:
Ok...the drives that have problems are 99% 343 firmware and it does not matter where the drive is located in the computer. The other 1% is just a defective drive. Im guessing on the percentages of course.
Click to expand...
It's very likely only a small percentage of the OWC 343 drives are problematic, even if the majority of problematic drives have that firmware. The point being is that if you buy the drive odds are it will be fine.
 
Just a follow up - I did get my 60gb OWC with firmware 343.

Installed SSD in main HD location and moved 500gb drive to optical using OWC data doubler. Completed a fresh install of SL on SSD (removed languages and printer package) and haven't had any issues. Granted it's only been a few days, but I've restarted several times, allowed my MBP to go to sleep, etc.

I'm also running dual Ext displays via displaylink and still no issues. SSD itself is FAST. No issues or slowness whatsoever. I tried the seagate XT prior to this and it's night and day. I'll be manually putting it to sleep after my full back up.

On a side note (and don't know if this is relevant to the HD) Ive had 'automatic graphics switching' disabled since day one. It's crucial when using displaylink.
 
ive been daydreaming about getting a 240 mercury extreme ssd, 2 days after i purchased my mac on the 1st jan 2011 (yes im a late bloomer - saw the light finally!)

So i heard rave reviews with the sandforce, and really felt drawn to owc-

I e-mailed sales team to enq. re the drives, and my apprehension on purchasing the drive, paying duty and shipping for uk delivery - only to incur further cost if i need to RMA

they advised me to speak to OWC tech support

i discussed with owc tech support on live chat client re the current firmware probs, the fact that one needs to install windows via bootcamp to update frimware. i explained - "5 weeks with my first mac, and i feel like a blind person (no offence to any1) seeing for the first time! i dont want to install windows just to update the firmware! that's insane, and how can you call yourself a mac friendly company when you don't support a mac firmware updater" grrrr

The tech rep said, and i quote: " we are currently working with apple to resolve the issue. We expect to release a mac firmware updater in next 2-4 weeks. I would recommend that you hold on for a month, and purchase the ssd then. The price might of dropped too! Don't worry it'll still be there waiting for you"

I was really impressed, firstly for his honestly, and not pressurising me into a purchase. I felt like a anxious, fidgeting child, on a long car journey - now calm, content and again, daydreaming of my ssd! :apple:

so word from owc - mac FW updater to be released 2wks, he recommended a month, in anticipation for early teething probs

Just thought i would share this with u all
If im just ranting, and all of you knew this - then sorry
<ducks under duvet to avoid awkward looks>

Johnny
:D
 
Installed the OWC 240 Extreme about a week ago but haven't noticed $470 worth of performance boost, not knocking the drive though, it is still faster than my previous 500gig. Haven't had a problem yet, have not installed any firmware updates through Windows either.

A little off topic but I just installed the data doubler sold by iFixIt today to house my 500gig and I am not too impressed with how it actually secures within the MBP. The original optical drive secures with 3 screws, the dd secures with only one screw. Seems like it's not so thought out. 2 cents.
 
skidmarc said:
Installed the OWC 240 Extreme about a week ago but haven't noticed $470 worth of performance boost, not knocking the drive though, it is still faster than my previous 500gig. Haven't had a problem yet, have not installed any firmware updates through Windows either.

A little off topic but I just installed the data doubler sold by iFixIt today to house my 500gig and I am not too impressed with how it actually secures within the MBP. The original optical drive secures with 3 screws, the dd secures with only one screw. Seems like it's not so thought out. 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I had a MaxUpgrades optibay and it was well built but it was pulling the mounting tabs down and bending the top of the unibody...the moron didnt consider the screws towards the outside arent flush with the whole thing so im back to my ebay one from smk312.
 
I just purchased a OWC ME Pro 120Gb and requested that it be flashed to 310 before delivery through chat. No problems whatsoever with the CSR.
 
Does this work for you?

I have the same lockup problem after sleep as everyone else here with a brand new 240GB running 343 firmware.

I think I found a way to negate the problem, at least for me :)

To disable safe sleep, run the two following commands in Terminal:
$ sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
$ sudo nvram "use-nvramrc?"=false

You can put the Mac to sleep quickly by holding down the option and command keys and then holding the eject for a few seconds.

I don't need to touch any of my energy settings either, so this 'may' be a fix for now.

Can someone please try this and post the result?

Cheers

ET
 
Nope, I left it overnight and in the morning it was unresponsive to mouse clicks in most GUI elements :(

I contacted OWC Tech Support and they sent me the 310 firmware to flash the drive, however I suspect that the drives cannot be flashed backwards, since after 5 attempts, the drive is still at 343.

Sorry OWC, this is unacceptable, I'm going to get a Crucial C300, which I've run without issue for over a year in my MacPro and which, incidentally, benchmarks faster than the OWC.

ET
 
EvilTeddie said:
Nope, I left it overnight and in the morning it was unresponsive to mouse clicks in most GUI elements :(

I contacted OWC Tech Support and they sent me the 310 firmware to flash the drive, however I suspect that the drives cannot be flashed backwards, since after 5 attempts, the drive is still at 343.

Sorry OWC, this is unacceptable, I'm going to get a Crucial C300, which I've run without issue for over a year in my MacPro and which, incidentally, benchmarks faster than the OWC.

ET
Click to expand...

This is not OWC, this is a Sandforce problem...they make the drive not the firmware.
 
As previously stated, I've been running the 343 firmware 240GB OWC drive now on a 2010 MBP 13" for over a week without any problems. The laptop sleeps, runs vm and performs its normal duties without a problem.

It could be a batch of drives that are the problem, or OHST.
 
On Jan 29, I filled out the online form for an RMA to downgrade to FW310. Today, Feb 11, the drive left OWC and should arrive here Feb 16 (Phoenix) according to FedEx. 17 days.

When I got the SSD, it worked for a few days with FW343, but then the situation deteriorated quickly.

The argument that this is a Sandforce problem holds no water with me.
 
TStokes said:
On Jan 29, I filled out the online form for an RMA to downgrade to FW310. Today, Feb 11, the drive left OWC and should arrive here Feb 16 (Phoenix) according to FedEx. 17 days.

When I got the SSD, it worked for a few days with FW343, but then the situation deteriorated quickly.

The argument that this is a Sandforce problem holds no water with me.
Click to expand...

It is a Sandforce - OS X problem, OWC has nothing to do with it...do you blame Chevy or Ford when a Bridgestone tire fails?
 
If I bought the Chevy new with defective Bridgestone tires on it....YES, it's Chevy's responsibility because the product warrenty comes from CHEVY. Chevy made the decision to use Bridgestone just as OWC chose Sandforce. OWC are now responsible to their customers.

I'm dealing with OWC on an iPod battery replacement, too. They are handling it very incompetently. It has taken weeks for what was supposed to be a one-day turnaround.

Lastly, besides being very friendly and making returns easy, I've not seen any real, accurate, useful information from OWC reported during this entire episode.
 
Last edited:
My OWC 240gb sitting in my optibay works perfectly. No sleep issues. Responsive when waking up. Fast. I am using an MCE Optibay caddy.

I don't know what my firmware is.. how does one find that out? I would be happy to share.
 
It appears that 343A13F0 is actually compatible with some MAC's.

Peapody, What MAC are you using?
 
TStokes said:
It appears that 343A13F0 is actually compatible with some MAC's.

Peapody, What MAC are you using?
Click to expand...
The problems most likely affect only a minority of Mac users, for whatever reason. 343 works fine for me too. I really doubt OWC would continue to ship 343 if it affected any significant percentage of Mac customers.
 
TStokes said:
If I bought the Chevy new with defective Bridgestone tires on it....YES, it's Chevy's responsibility because the product warrenty comes from CHEVY. Chevy made the decision to use Bridgestone just as OWC chose Sandforce. OWC are now responsible to their customers.

I'm dealing with OWC on an iPod battery replacement, too. They are handling it very incompetently. It has taken weeks for what was supposed to be a one-day turnaround.

Lastly, besides being very friendly and making returns easy, I've seen any real, accurate, useful information from OWC reported during this entire episode.
Click to expand...

Whatever say what you want, many here will use OWC before anyone. And Chevy did not make the tires so in turn they are going to go after Bridgestone.
 
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