Problems replacing HD in 3 week old MacBook Pro

[gregjb]

Hello,

I purchased a new MacBook Pro about 3 weeks ago, the 15" 2.53GHz with a 250GB HD and 4GB RAM.

The stock HD is a Fujitsu.

I want to upgrade to a 500GB HD, so I purchased a WD Scorpio Blue since it essentially had rave reviews. I put the drive in, used the OS X install CD to reinstall Snow Leopard, and then transferred my settings by putting my stock HD into a USB enclosure and using Migration Assistant.

The computer did not act normally; it would slow down every few minutes and I would get the spinning beach ball, even when performing just ordinary tasks. Also, it was louder and the fan seemed to be working harder.

I returned it and bought a Hitachi 7pk500, the 7200rpm 500GB Travelstar. At first, this drive was even worse than the WD. It installed successfully, but there were then filesystem errors that I had to use DiskWarrior to correct. However, the drive was still not performing well; after a reboot, the computer hung on a blue screen. When booting and holding option, I noticed that the drive was called "EFI Boot" and not "Macintosh HD".

Lastly, I reformatted the drive and used Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the drive. This seemed to work (instead of EFI Boot, the drive was called Macintosh HD), but as soon as I started doing a Time Machine backup, I noticed the machine slowed down and essentially paused (beach ball and the backup would stop) every minute or so for about 20-30 seconds.

Finally, I put the stock HD back in, and I'm not experiencing any issues at all.

Sorry for the rant, I just wanted to make sure I provided as many details as possible.

Does anyone have any idea about what may be going wrong? I know that people are able to successfully use both WD and Hitachi drives without problems.

Thanks!

 

[davidlv]

I had a very similar experience with the same model Macbook Pro. In retrospect, I solved that issue using a Seagate 500GB drive ST9500420AS, ,the model without the onboard motion sensor. This drive is both stable and doesn't have the "pause" syndrome on this model. Other people with other Macbook Pro models, 13" other 15" models etc. have reported conflicting results. To make matter worse (more confusing actually) some report success rolling back to the prior firmware Ver. 1.6, or using a utility (sorry can't remember the name, but it was something like HDAPM?) to adjust the power controller or the like. Perhaps someone else can give the correct information on that if you are interested.
I wasn't, just wanted a drive that would work without any major software installs.
There are many threads here on this issue - do a search here with "firmware 1.6" for example.
Like this https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/601219/
Or this one
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/841718/

 

[gregjb]

Thanks, I'll check that out!

 

[Takashi]

I had no issue with my WD 500GB Blue drive. I did have to reset the PRAM for it to boot at the same speed. I used carbon copy cloner to duplicate all the information from old drive to new drive.

 

[gregjb]

I downgraded to the 1.6 firmware and I seem to be having no issues now. Strange, yeah?

Is EFI Firmware 1.8 supposed to be coming out soon?

 

[Bill Gates]

I downgraded to the 1.6 firmware and I seem to be having no issues now. Strange, yeah?

Is EFI Firmware 1.8 supposed to be coming out soon?

Firmware 1.8 is out already and has been out since December. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL975

 

[davidlv]

Firmware 1.8 is out already and has been out since December. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL975

Yes Firmware 1.8 has been released, but it is not a direct replacement for 1.6 or 1.7, as it addresses optical drive issues in a limited range of machines.
If your software update does not pop up that software, you cannot even install it, so don't be confused about this (hate the way Apple lists their updates).
As far as I know there is no solution to the 1.6 vs 1.7 issue and the way some drives will work only with one version or another, varying with Macbook Pro models or even individual machines within the same model. I actually suspect this is not a simple one factor issue. There may be other factors involved, such as drive cables or shielding.
If ver 1.6 works for you stay with that!

 

[gregjb]

Strangely, although 1.6 firmware is working for the drive, my battery does not seem to be charging fully. It does charge to 100% if I have the computer sleeping before it's fully charged, but if I plug the charger in at 99 or 98% while I'm using the computer, it claims it is fully charged.

Any ideas?

 

[snaky69]

Strangely, although 1.6 firmware is working for the drive, my battery does not seem to be charging fully. It does charge to 100% if I have the computer sleeping before it's fully charged, but if I plug the charger in at 99 or 98% while I'm using the computer, it claims it is fully charged.

Any ideas?

That's completely normal. The battery will slowly drain to 95% then charge back up to 100%. It is how Lithium batteries work to keep the electrons flowing and maintain batterly health. If it bothers you that much, run it off the battery until you reach 80% and let it charge, it'll charge back up to 100%

 

[gregjb]

Since the upgrade to the 7200RPM Hitachi drive, my battery life has definitely decreased quite a bit. I understand that the 7200RPM drive draws more power, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I tried calibrating the battery, and I rarely leave the computer plugged in past full charge.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[davidlv]

The higher rpm drives do need more "juice" so the battery will not last as long. It's a trade off, performance vs longer battery usage. Take your pick. You could consider using another 5,400 rpm drive, Toshiba makes a good one, and other vendors have them too. It really is a matter of personal preference. So no one can help you choose. The Seagate I am using gets about 85% as much time on the battery as the stock 250GB Toshiba did, but it is about 15% faster at most tasks. Other drives may vary a little. I would personally say "relax" and enjoy your updated MacBook Pro!

 

[Love I]

Since the upgrade to the 7200RPM Hitachi drive, my battery life has definitely decreased quite a bit. I understand that the 7200RPM drive draws more power, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I tried calibrating the battery, and I rarely leave the computer plugged in past full charge.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

I was told by a mac specialist that because the 7200 drive spin faster than the 5400 drive, they created more heat also more noise due to the vibration which will drain the battery faster. I was told to leave the stock 5400rpm drive and use and external 7200rpm drive.