So did they fix the 1.7 SATA-II firmware issue on the 13/15" mbp?

[jjahshik32]

So did they fix the issues now? If you buy a 13" or a 15" mbp right now do you still need to apply the 1.7 firmware update?

 

[PeterKG]

Yes they fixed it.

 

[dan5.5]

thanks a lot...i am getting a 2.66 as a replacement for 2.4

 

[Mazda 3s]

Huh? The issue is not fixed. In fact, AnandTech just did a story on it.

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3672&p=5

The thread is still going over at the Apple Discussion boards:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2054387&tstart=0

 

[GoCubsGo]

Huh? The issue is not fixed. In fact, AnandTech just did a story on it.

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3672&p=5

The thread is still going over at the Apple Discussion boards:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2054387&tstart=0

You misread. Apple released a firmware update that enabled the 3.0gbps transfer long ago. I think you need to go back and read your own post. However, in case you're confused this is the quote ... first page, first few lines.

About MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7

MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 addresses an issue reported by a small number of customers using drives based on the SATA 3Gbps specification with the June 2009 MacBook Pro. While this update allows drives to use transfer rates greater than 1.5Gbps, Apple has not qualified or offered these drives for Mac notebooks and their use is unsupported

 

[Mazda 3s]

You misread. Apple released a firmware update that enabled the 3.0gbps transfer long ago. I think you need to go back and read your own post. However, in case you're confused this is the quote ... first page, first few lines.

The firmware upgrade supposedly "fixed" the SATA 3.0Gbps issue, but third party HDDs and SSDs are still having problems with the 1.7 firmware (and even the 1.6 firmware).

In addition, people using stock Apple HDDs are reporting beachballing with firmware 1.7.

SATA II is still wonky on mid-09 MacBook Pros. If you read the actual Apple thread I linked to, you would see the countless posts regarding the issues.

 

[PeterKG]

I guess I am wrong. What I meant to say is that 10.6.2 removed the need to install the update, if updated as a clean install. Ihave never had any issues on my late 2009 15" 2.66GHz MBP.

 

[Mazda 3s]

It was fixed in the 10.6.2 update released yesterday.

Apple makes no mention of it being fixed with the 10.6.2 update and I can confirm that I still get beachballs with my stock 160GB HDD in my 13" MacBook Pro and others are still having issues.

A software/OS update cannot fix a hardware problem -- and it seems to be an underlying hardware issue which is why SATA II was never enabled from the start on the mid-09 MacBook Pros.

 

[Smoothie]

The EFI 1.7 firmware problem has not been fixed. While EFI firmware version 1.7 set the SATA bus speed to 3 Gbps (SATA 2), many people have reported unreliable data transfer when using some hard drives and SSDs from reputable manufacturers. Some people have downgraded the firmware to version 1.6 to obtain slower, but reliable, data transfer. This "solution" can negate much of the benefit of an SSD.

This problem does not seem correctable by an operating system update. It seems to be at the hardware level. I assume Apple engineers know what's going on. But five months have passed since the problem was identified -- and it's the subject of a mega-post on the Apple forum. It's looking less and less likely that Apple will correct it.