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OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD Problem

fdeldongo said:
Hi,

I did a fresh install on my OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 240 (360 firmware), and had no trouble installing Snow Leopard to it on my Mac Pro.
But, what I can confirm, is the fresh install didn't solved the wake from auto sleep stall / beachball I had :-(
-> never sleep in Energy Settings + putting my Mac to sleep manually.
Click to expand...
I'm also still having issues with my new MacBook Pro after installing the latest firmware 360. One of two things happens when I let my computer go to sleep on its own (either while on battery or while plugged). In both cases, the screen turns off and the computer starts to go to sleep but the sleep indicator never flashes on the front. After the screen is blank, when I move the mouse, either the computer hard freezes and the screen never comes back on, or the screen comes back on but the computer becomes unresponsive seconds later and hard freezes. In either case I have to hold down the power key to restart the computer. I'm going to try to boot from an external drive and see if the issue persists.
 
Success in a Mac Pro with a new OWC SSD (3.60)

Just wanted to follow-up on this thread:

I ordered a new OWC 115 GB SSD on Monday. It arrived last night with the latest firmware already in place, and I installed it as a OS X boot drive in my Mac Pro (Quad core Nehalem). I've had less than a day with it so far, but I've not yet noticed any issues with sleep. I've tested it by either triggering it from the menu, or triggering it automatically via the 1 minute Energy Saver timer. My configuration is a fresh install of Snow Leopard, updated to the latest version. I made no changes to any default settings (ie, no changes to Energy Saver other than setting the sleep time to 1 minute, and no changes to pmset). I haven't tested hibernation since this is my Mac Pro.

Re: the hibernation question, am also awaiting arrival another OWC SSD drive to test in my Macbook Pro, hopefully in the next day or two. Will be happy to follow-up when it gets here.


Here are details of my configuration (serial numbers omitted):

Hardware Overview:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro4,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Memory: 8 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MP41.0081.B07
SMC Version (system): 1.39f5
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f5


OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD:

Capacity: 115.03 GB (115,033,153,536 bytes)
Model: OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD
Revision: 360A13F0
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 32
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Medium Type: Solid State
TRIM Support: No
Bay Name: Bay 3
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Capacity: 209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
Writable: Yes
BSD Name: disk0s1
Peregrine:
Capacity: 114.69 GB (114,689,179,648 bytes)
Available: 66.07 GB (66,070,011,904 bytes)
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s2
Mount Point: /

pmset-g:

Active Profiles:
AC Power -1*
Currently in use:
hibernatemode 0
womp 0
sleep 1
powerbutton 1
disksleep 10
hibernatefile /var/vm/sleepimage
autorestart 0
ttyskeepawake 1
displaysleep 1


Somewhat off-topic, subjectively the performance is great, I'm very happy. Here were my Xbench scores. Glancing at db.xbench.com, my disk test score was essentially comparable (+/- 5%) to a similar system with an Intel SSD X25-M installed.


Results 293.67
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.7 (10J869)
Physical RAM 8192 MB
Model MacPro4,1
Drive Type OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD
Disk Test 293.67
Sequential 182.65
Uncached Write 188.38 115.66 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 192.29 108.80 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 113.04 33.08 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 393.12 197.58 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 748.76
Uncached Write 899.13 95.18 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 347.10 111.12 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 3110.68 22.04 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 973.25 180.59 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
johnnyturbouk said:
I thought there was a newer f/w than 3.60
Can't believe there is still sleep/freeze probs
ocz has addressed this ages ago - just waiting for mbp2011
So hope I don't get these probs.
Click to expand...

There was talk earlier in the thread about a supposed 4.0 release but that seemed to me all in the realm of rumor/hearsay, and conflicted with OWc's posted announcements from the last week.
 
luchazo said:
Hi all,
I also want to mention that this 360 firmware is actually supposed to fix the hibernation issue only, that is rather complex to test, since we need to dry the batteries out, and let the laptop automatically save all the RAM to the SSD Disk (this is actually the hibernation).
Click to expand...


Actually you can force the machine to hibernate on sleep all the time by chaning hibernatemode to 1, instead of 3.

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 1
 
Achiever said:
While the shortcoming originates with Sandforce, which makes the controller, this is still a very fair critique. OWC, a Mac-centric company, sells the product so they deserve some share of criticism for distributing a product with this sort of handicap. As I don't have a Windows partition on my Macs - and have no desire to ever get one - I do need to give pause before buying an SSD from them which will not allow me to install any future firmware upgrade.
Click to expand...

"OWC, a Mac-centric company, sells the product so they deserve some share of criticism for distributing a product with this sort of handicap."

I agree with the above statement, I have returned two SSD's to OWC with sleep issues and it wasn't until I started searching the forums that I was aware of these problems. OWC did not mention the problems until I pressed them. I will also give pause to any future purchases from them until they can be more transparent with their customers.
 
hbstu said:
"OWC, a Mac-centric company, sells the product so they deserve some share of criticism for distributing a product with this sort of handicap."

I agree with the above statement, I have returned two SSD's to OWC with sleep issues and it wasn't until I started searching the forums that I was aware of these problems. OWC did not mention the problems until I pressed them. I will also give pause to any future purchases from them until they can be more transparent with their customers.
Click to expand...

I also agree. Aside from the hassle of installing Windows under Bootcamp, which I do not want to do, everybody kind of overlooks the part about where you are supposed to get a copy of Windows to install on Bootcamp to begin with? The cheapest route I see is to buy an OEM version from Newegg for $99. So I need to spend $99 on Windows software to update firmware on a SSD marketing as being for the Mac and from a company specializing in Mac products. No thanks.
 
hbstu said:
"OWC, a Mac-centric company, sells the product so they deserve some share of criticism for distributing a product with this sort of handicap."

I agree with the above statement, I have returned two SSD's to OWC with sleep issues and it wasn't until I started searching the forums that I was aware of these problems. OWC did not mention the problems until I pressed them. I will also give pause to any future purchases from them until they can be more transparent with their customers.
Click to expand...

I agree as well. While I'm overall happy with my SSD, the fact that OWC throws their hands up and points the finger at Sandforce for these issues is unacceptable. They position themselves as a Mac-focused company and they sold these drives, so they're culpable for problems.

As it stands now I've had to revert to FW version 310 to keep my computer form locking when going to sleep...and it still doesn't "really" go to sleep since the sleep light on the front stays illuminated. I have a 2011 MacBook Pro, and I think this particular issue is unique to that configuration, but I'm not the only one with the issue, and the onus is on OWC to provide a fix.
 
RaceTripper said:
Deleting the hibernate image only makes sense for hibernatemode 0 (i.e. hibernate disabled)
Click to expand...

There is no hibernatemode 1 so I assume he/she is talking about 0.

To the others, stop blaming OWC. Thats like blaming HP because there is something wrong with Windows...HP didnt make Windows nor do they update/work on Windows, they simply provide the hardware for it.
 
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tjb1 said:
There is no hibernatemode 1 so I assume he/she is talking about 0.

And really, stop blaming OWC. Thats like blaming HP because there is something wrong with Windows...HP didnt make Windows nor do they update/work on Windows, they simply provide the hardware for it.
Click to expand...
WTF? I wasn't blaming OWC for anything. I'm happy with what I have.
 
tjb1 said:
That wasnt directed to you :) That was for all the others blaming OWC because of Sandforce and I just included it in that post as to not post again.
Click to expand...
If you make a post quoting someone, most people will assume your post is directed that way. Why not make a new post if you are changing the subject?
 
Does this problem still exist in the newer versions of the OWC firmware?

While my SSD is not an OWC, I've been having this issue with my OCZ Vertex 2, also based on the Sandforce chip.

OCZ's most recent firmware (1.32) has fixed the issues related to hibernation (i.e. "safe-sleep") but the drive still has issues waking from timed inactivity sleep.

I wrote about it on their support forums in this thread.

One of their support staff (who has been very helpful in ironing out the hibernation problems) replied with:

I can tell you this new FW build has been fully validated by Apple at their labs, it may be possible your machine while fine with hdd may have an issue with newer ssd...or the line of macbooks with this issue are looking now for an efi update.

I will pass this back to SF but I suggest you also contact Apple and ask if a new EFI update is coming.
Click to expand...

What "fully validated" means is beyond me.

Does this problem still exist for you OWC owners?
 
Just like iphone/ipod firmware updates WAIT before updating. If you read many posts here you will see 360 has problems also. JUST STAY ON 310. THERE IS NOTHING IN 343 OR 360 WORTH UPGRADING FOR.
 
tjb1 said:
There is no hibernatemode 1 so I assume he/she is talking about 0.

To the others, stop blaming OWC. Thats like blaming HP because there is something wrong with Windows...HP didnt make Windows nor do they update/work on Windows, they simply provide the hardware for it.
Click to expand...

Apples and oranges, my friend. HP provides the hardware, Microsoft provides the software. That's different than what we're talking about here. A better comparison would be buying a video card from a third-party (like EVGA) that's based on an Nvidia GPU. You'd better believe that EVGA provides support (hardware, software, and firmware) for the video cards they sell even though Nvidia builds them. FWIW they provide GREAT support.

Come to think of it, the same thing goes for Apple. We all know that Apple puts AMD/ATI GPUs in their computers, but none of us tries to (or expects to) contact, deal with, or wait on ATI if there's a problem with the video card.

Besides (referring back to your example), Microsoft is consumer-facing, so it's possible to contact someone at MS if you're having a problem. Who are you going to call at Sandforce?

I understand the position that OWC is in, I really do. As a small third-party vendor, they probably have very little pull with OEMs like Sandforce. But this particular issue (and the lack of an OSX updater) has been going on for many months. My point was that if you're going to stand up and claim you're an Apple specialist, then your consumer base expects more responsive solutions when your hardware doesn't work like it's supposed to.

I do agree with your statement about being prudent and waiting a while to upgrade firmware. I only upgraded from 343 (my shipping firmware) to 360 because I thought I read somewhere that the sleep issue was fixed. Fortunately since I had Win7 and Boot Camp installed, it was trivial to revert to 310 (once I was able to track down that firmware version).

Fortunately this sleep issue is far from a show-stopper since manually sleeping the computer or closing the lid still works fine. As before, I just have sleep and hibernation turned completely off and all is well.
 
Last edited:
davecheng said:
Does this problem still exist in the newer versions of the OWC firmware?

While my SSD is not an OWC, I've been having this issue with my OCZ Vertex 2, also based on the Sandforce chip.

OCZ's most recent firmware (1.32) has fixed the issues related to hibernation (i.e. "safe-sleep") but the drive still has issues waking from timed inactivity sleep.

I wrote about it on their support forums in this thread.

One of their support staff (who has been very helpful in ironing out the hibernation problems) replied with:



What "fully validated" means is beyond me.

Does this problem still exist for you OWC owners?
Click to expand...

Yes, the problem still exists with the latest firmware for OWC SSDs.
 
kfscoll said:
snipped
Click to expand...

Believe what you want. OWC isnt developing the firmware for the drive. I would be upset with them if there was a working firmware out from Sandforce and they hadnt yet had the Mac Updater they have been talking about for 5 months now out and ready. Were damn near to the 2nd quarter of the year and still no updater...but I dont care because there isnt a firmware that works yet. Maybe they got there hands on Lion and had problems with the updater under Lion and since its release is coming shortly they want the updater to work on both Lion and Snow Leopard? Simple thing is, OWC isnt making the firmware. OWC isnt the one to blame because the computer does not sleep correctly. This happens on ALL drives running Sandforce. Just because they are a Mac oriented company does not mean they can snap there fingers and fix the sleep problem.
 
tjb1 said:
Believe what you want. OWC isnt developing the firmware for the drive. I would be upset with them if there was a working firmware out from Sandforce and they hadnt yet had the Mac Updater they have been talking about for 5 months now out and ready. Were damn near to the 2nd quarter of the year and still no updater...but I dont care because there isnt a firmware that works yet. Maybe they got there hands on Lion and had problems with the updater under Lion and since its release is coming shortly they want the updater to work on both Lion and Snow Leopard? Simple thing is, OWC isnt making the firmware. OWC isnt the one to blame because the computer does not sleep correctly. This happens on ALL drives running Sandforce. Just because they are a Mac oriented company does not mean they can snap there fingers and fix the sleep problem.
Click to expand...

I completely understand what you're saying and I know OWC doesn't make the Sandforce firmware. It's just that, in a perfect world, one would expect the vendor whose name is on the product to be able to provide timely support. Given the reality of the situation, there's no sense in blaming OWC since they don't write the firmware, but there's an expectation that their product will be fully compatible with Apple systems, or if it isn't, that a fix will be provided in a timely manner. That just hasn't isn't the case.
 
tjb1 said:
Believe what you want.
Click to expand...

I believe it is a good thing to make people aware of OWC not being the premium source of SSDs for the Mac, though .

And again, OWC claimed to be working on an FW updater for the Mac, but now they say it's up to Sandforce to develop it.
Then they say OCZ is selling rubbish, which even Diglloyd has distanced himself from.

No big deal, just goes to show OWC isn't above spreading marketing BS. ;)
 
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