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Which SSDs can update firmware on Mac?
- Thread starter Doc69
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Samsung requires Windows to access firmware downloads through Samsung Magician, but you can put the firmware on a flash drive and install it from there.
Actually you can upgrade the Samsung firmware with an ISO disc (just boot it into).
its on the global samsung website>
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/samsungssd/downloads.html
Um no. From your link: Samsung SSD Firmware Updates for Windows Users
Samsung drives require booting in Windows and the drive must be internal. So you need bootcamp at a minimum. Crucial's easy.
EVER heard of booting from an ISO disk? Its how I updated my Crucial M4 and its how I can update my Samsung 840.
Sure, to do it from within an OS, you need windows but its very very easy to boot from .ISO DVD and update. Literally no Windows needed.
**EDIT** I just tried it and it actually didn't work, at least on the first try but this is typically not the case. Usually an .ISO file will let you update the firmware on any machine for SSD's.
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I know the Crucial M4 can be updated from a Mac, but I've only ever tried it from a CD.
No, you can't update the SSD from a virtual machine.
I'm not really sure what you're asking. The non Windows based firmware installer for the M4 booted from a CD running a variant of Linux.
I do know what an ISO is, had a 128 GB Samsung 830, tried to update it and could not. I returned it and got a Crucial M4. Updates like a champ from an ISO image on a CD.
It seems Samsung's answer to this exact question is you need a Windows Computer to make a bootable USB and "may" be able to boot from said USB. Many have friends using Windows. A CD would probably work too.
From searching MacRumors you can see many have had this question and end up using a) booting into a Bootcamp version of Windows on your machine, or b) installing the SSD inside another Windows machine. That's right, inside, not in an external USB drive because the firmware utility see's the USB controller not the SSD.
Also, shortcut3d said this about other drives:
"...it seems I've had no problems with OWC or OCZ current Linux boot disk methods to update the firmware. I can confirm that you can update the firmware over Thunderbolt as well which is good news because you can put any Thunderbolt Mac in target disk mode and update from another Mac with bootcamp. No need to have bootcamp on each machine.
I would not try running a firmware update through a VM. The complete path through to the SATA controller is virtualized. This will most likely result in bricking your SSD, if the tool even starts. Good tools will recognize this and prevent the user from updating the firmware. "
The Intel series of SSDs can be updated, using an ISO image file downloaded from the Intel web site, burned to a CD, and booted on the Mac. I did this on my MBP 2011 so I know it works.
http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/CS-031299.htm
The link for the 335 SSD is:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...g=eng&OSVersion=Mac OS*&DownloadType=Firmware
http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/CS-031299.htm
The link for the 335 SSD is:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...g=eng&OSVersion=Mac OS*&DownloadType=Firmware
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Sandisk has a native OSX firmware updater for their Extreme SSD; I've successfully update both drives in two separate machines.
Is this still true of the Samsung 840 Pro, that you need to install it in a windows machine in order to update the firmware? If so, thats a MAJOR point against as I do not own windows or bootcamp. Does that mean its impossible for me to update the firmware on a Samsung 840 Pro installed in a 2012 macbook pro?
If so, looks like I'll be going Sandisk extreme!
If so, looks like I'll be going Sandisk extreme!
That's not true. You can update the firmware on the Samsung 840/840 Pro via OS X. Follow this link to download the ISO for use on OS X. Scroll all the way to the bottom.
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/samsungssd/downloads.html
I'm not sure what my issue is, but when I try to boot the Samsung ISO to verify I have the latest firmware on my 840 Pro my MBP gets to the "FreeDOS" prompt and then hangs. That was with a CD. I assumed it was because I have 16GB of memory and FreeDOS doesn't know how to deal with it, but I don't know.
Has anyone else been able to boot the Samsung ISO with 16GB and have it work?
Has anyone else been able to boot the Samsung ISO with 16GB and have it work?
Are you using an external optical drive? If so this will not work as it needs to be an optical drive on the main SATA bus.
OCZ firmware can be updated on a Mac, and you don't need an ISO to do it. They released their bootable toolbox in Mac-friendly form. Put the software on a flash drive and boot from it. A couple caveats, though: 1) You need to use a USB mouse to navigate the toolbox GUI, as the MBP's trackpad is not supported. 2) Firmware updates are downloaded from OCZ's website via the tool, and WiFi is not supported. You must use a wired/Ethernet connection.
Nope. It has to be on an optical drive connected to the SATA bus. Several of us a month or two ago tried many different ways to get this to work on OS X, but that is the only way.
The other option is to install Windows into BootCamp and then you can upgrade the SSD from the Samsung Magician software and then delete the BootCamp partition if you no longer need it.
Samsung is rumored to be coming out with the Magician software for OS X, but I haven't seen it materialize yet.
Gotcha, thanks for the info. Guess I'll be waiting for the Mac software, seems silly to install Bootcamp just for that.
Gotcha, thanks for the info. Guess I'll be waiting for the Mac software, seems silly to install Bootcamp just for that.
Which version of firmware do you have?
I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for Samsung to release the Mac version of Magician.
Yup, unless my eyes deceive me.
Like I said, not a big deal right now but something I'd like to have a solution for in case there's a future update that should be installed.