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The Samsung 840/840 Pro SSD thread
- Thread starter Hexley
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That stinks. Even SSD's are prone to having bad blocks and sectors just like HDD's. It should be repairable though.
On ML, the sleepimage file is recreated in some cases even if you use hibernatemode 0 and then delete that file.
Open a Terminal shell (in the /Applications/Utilities folder)
You can check which mode your Mac is in by running this command:
pmset -g
will list all the current power settings/device settings.
1. set hibernate mode to 0
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
hibernationmode 0 is normal sleep, kept in ram nothing written to hdd
hibernationmode 3 is safe sleep, kept and loaded from ram, written to hdd in case of power loss
hibernationmode 25 is full hibernation, memory is written to hdd and then ram is powered off
Manual says mode 1 (and 5) are "not recommended"
--------------------------------
2. delete the unnecessary sleep file to regain disk space equal to memory (saves the same amount of disk space as your RAM, eg. 8 GBs), since hibernate is disabled
if you want to reclaim the space the hibernate file takes up (valuable on an SSD), you can use the Go to folder menu for that. The file is found in the /var/vm/ folder, and is named sleepimage. Reboot and simply delete that file,. Or use this:
sudo rm /var/vm/sleepimage or sudo rm /private/var/vm/sleepimage
The sleep image file is actually in /Private/var/vm/ but /var/vm/ is a symbolic link to that location.
Optional: Create a blanked zero-byte file so the OS cannot rewrite the file:
sudo touch /private/var/vm/sleepimage
Make the file immutable:
sudo chflags uchg /private/var/vm/sleepimage
That should prevent the loss of the 8 or 16GB of storage space, since the file you just created is zero bytes.
Although I no longer do it, in the past I have disabled hibernation by simply creating an empty folder named "sleep_image" and putting it in /private/var/vm (after deleting the sleep image file). The operating system will not replace a folder with a file, so the sleep image file cannot be created. This worked perfectly and made it easy to reenable hibernation without looking up Terminal commands: just move or delete the folder.
You can also disable both hibernation and virtual memory by locking the folder /private/var/vm. I tried this too and it works fine. The Locked flag is disabled in Finder, so the Terminal-free way to do this is to delete /private/var/vm and replace it with a locked folder created on the desktop of the same name. Then reboot. I would recommend only doing this with a bootable backup, just in case
You can also disable both hibernation and virtual memory by locking the folder /private/var/vm. I tried this too and it works fine. The Locked flag is disabled in Finder, so the Terminal-free way to do this is to delete /private/var/vm and replace it with a locked folder created on the desktop of the same name. Then reboot. I would recommend only doing this with a bootable backup, just in case
In dukebound85's post, Disk Utility is not reporting bad blocks, but only corruption of a portion of the disk directory (orphaned blocks).
Nothing in the report you posted indicates anything definitely wrong with your SSD. Just let Disk Utility fix the problem by running it off another startup disk, as indicated in the Disk Utility report you posted, and you're probably golden. If the problem keeps reoccurring, then post back, and someone here will help you.
how to create iso to update firmware?
The Samsung firmware instructional pdf is corrupted on the Samsung site.
Can someone please list the steps to create a startup disk to update the firmware using an optical drive.
Here is what I did that did not work using Toast Titanium: I downloaded the Samsung image file, mounted it, then created an iso file from the FDOEM folder. When I went to Lion startup disks, the iso did not show up. I rebooted holding the CD key and it did not boot off the CD.
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/samsungssd/downloads.html
The Samsung firmware instructional pdf is corrupted on the Samsung site.
Can someone please list the steps to create a startup disk to update the firmware using an optical drive.
Here is what I did that did not work using Toast Titanium: I downloaded the Samsung image file, mounted it, then created an iso file from the FDOEM folder. When I went to Lion startup disks, the iso did not show up. I rebooted holding the CD key and it did not boot off the CD.
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/samsungssd/downloads.html
I was able to open the PDF just fine. Give it another try. Did you put the disc into the internal drive or an external one? To run this update, you must use an internal drive on the main SATA bus.
I was able to open the pdf in Firefox without issues. (For some reason it does not work in Safari.)
Yes, I used the internal Optical Drive.
I held the Alt key while booting but it did not show up. I'm guessing I need to create an ISO of this original file downloaded? (I assumed this iso needed to be opened, then iso the FDOEM folder but that is not working.)
Samsung_SSD_840_DXT07B0Q_Mac.iso
I'd prefer not to burn a bunch of disks guessing, so all more educated guesses are welcome.
Yes, I used the internal Optical Drive.
I held the Alt key while booting but it did not show up. I'm guessing I need to create an ISO of this original file downloaded? (I assumed this iso needed to be opened, then iso the FDOEM folder but that is not working.)
Samsung_SSD_840_DXT07B0Q_Mac.iso
I'd prefer not to burn a bunch of disks guessing, so all more educated guesses are welcome.
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Using Disk Utility, I burned this file exactly like you suggested: Samsung_SSD_840_DXT07B0Q_Mac.iso
It asked for a name so I called it "Samsung840". I rebooted and held the Alt key and it did not show up.
Did you drag the ISO into the left-hand pane of Disk Utility and click Burn in the top menu?
Thank you! That worked!
I made the mistake of right-clicking the iso and burning.
so quick noob questions, if you have to do all this extra work to update firmware on a user installed ssd, does the ssd that you buy on a macbook straight from apple need to do the same? Or it will have it in the updates when you check for updates? I just dont want the headache of issues that might happen if i try to install one my self later i also dont want to pay apple crazy prices!??!
Hi all,
I'm rather new to this.
I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro (15inch) 8gb ram
I bought the 840 pro 256GB.
I did a fresh install of 10.8.2. Replaced my original harddrive. However the speeds I get with trim enabler is 330-350++.
I have a sata 3 connection. The latest firmware from reading online was not necessary. So I simply installed the disk without updates.
I do not get to why it is slow. Please advise.
I'm rather new to this.
I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro (15inch) 8gb ram
I bought the 840 pro 256GB.
I did a fresh install of 10.8.2. Replaced my original harddrive. However the speeds I get with trim enabler is 330-350++.
I have a sata 3 connection. The latest firmware from reading online was not necessary. So I simply installed the disk without updates.
I do not get to why it is slow. Please advise.
I'm fairly certain that if you buy a computer with an SSD from Apple, that any subsequent firmware updates for it will be pushed out via Software Update.
Updating the SSD from third-party installations, speaking only of the Samsung drives of which I have experience in, is quite simple. It's a matter of downloading the update, burning it to disc, booting the computer to it and following the on screen instructions. The whole process took me about 5 to 7 minutes to complete.
As it is a fresh install, Spotlight is probably running as it indexes everything on the drive. It can consume your computer. How long did you wait after the installation to run the Benchmark?
You should get considerably higher speeds, so I speculate there is something else taking place in parallel?
chmod
I just installed my Samsung SSD and enabled trim but cannot find the tutorial on this site that gives a lot of nice suggestions setting everything up. Can someone link me to that? It began with the trim enabler app and then lists several terminal commands of other things that can be done. Thanks
Robin
Robin
I just installed my Samsung SSD and enabled trim but cannot find the tutorial on this site that gives a lot of nice suggestions setting everything up. Can someone link me to that? It began with the trim enabler app and then lists several terminal commands of other things that can be done. Thanks
Robin
SSD Buying Guide
SSD Tweaking Guide
Also some great information on SSD's in general from Anandtech.com
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2738
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2829
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6337/s...0-250gb-review
Hi guys. I'm going to buy a 840pro and add it to my iMac.
Just a question: due to budget, I'm going for the 128Gb one.
What I'd like to do is to install osx on the ssd, move my user folder on the stock hard disk, but keep the Application folder one on the ssd.
Is there a smart way to do this?
And...does it make sense? I'd like to take full advantages of ssd in booting the os and opening apps, but leaving all the other folders on the hdd (Music, Images, Videos, Desktop, Downloads..).
Thanks guys
Just a question: due to budget, I'm going for the 128Gb one.
What I'd like to do is to install osx on the ssd, move my user folder on the stock hard disk, but keep the Application folder one on the ssd.
Is there a smart way to do this?
And...does it make sense? I'd like to take full advantages of ssd in booting the os and opening apps, but leaving all the other folders on the hdd (Music, Images, Videos, Desktop, Downloads..).
Thanks guys
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Hi guys. I'm going to buy a 840pro and add it to my iMac.
Just a question: due to budget, I'm going for the 128Gb one.
What I'd like to do is to install osx on the ssd, move my user folder on the stock hard disk, but keep the Application folder one on the ssd.
Is there a smart way to do this?
And...does it make sense? I'd like to take full advantages of ssd in booting the os and opening apps, but leaving all the other folders on the hdd (Music, Images, Videos, Desktop, Downloads..).
Thanks guys
Unless you're writing massive amounts of data, (at least 10GiB per day) you really don't need the Pro version. I'd recommend getting the regular 840 at a higher capacity so that you can store all of your stuff on it and maybe only move your iTunes media over to the HDD.
Thing is that I always leave things here and there. And I'm used to place temporary in whatever dir I'm into.
Maybe I could buy the regular 840 and use some symlink, so that I don't have to change my bad habit of putting things (big files often) where it happens to place them?
Btw, my budget let me buy only the 250gb 840 version, wish I had money for the 500
One thing: in some forum ppl say that the 830 is better than the regular 840. True? Not true?
It would be my first ssd: I don't look for extreme performance. Just reliability and apps opening faster. Hate when it takes 5 seconds to open Word on my 2000€ imac
I've already gone for a Samsung 840 (just waiting for it to be delivered), but I'm curious about how much I data is written to my disk per day. I'm pretty sure that I don't do 10 GB per day on average, and can modify some habits and activities to utilize my external HDDs instead, but I'd love to know. Do you (or anyone else) know of a program that tracks and records information like that? iStat Menus records read and write speeds per disk in real-time and logs them, but doesn't compile it beyond the rates, and it doesn't give a day-by-day breakdown.
Based on the benchmarks that I've seen the 840 is a little bit better than the 830 in raw performance. The only area where the 830 is superior is in write endurance, where it is similar to the 840 Pro due to MLC usage (vs. TLC on the 840).