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Why a firmware upgrade that FU's 13" MBP

duggram

duggram

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 17, 2008
391
11
Two weeks ago I let Apple install a firmware upgrade for my new 13" MBP. Immediately it won't boot any more. Found out that putting the application disk in the optical allows a boot. Now if I repair permissions and disk on every boot I have no problems.

Called Apple Care last weekend they said the problem has to do with the firmware upgrade and the only resolution is to reinstall the OS. ?????????

What a pain. How much of my precious time off do I have to waste on my Mac? With Windows you reboot. With Mac you have to reinstall!!

OK, I had to rant a little. Does anyone have a more acceptable resolution to this problem?
 
Forgot to mention another noticed problem. Now in iTunes when I try to access Movies I get a spinning ball that won't quit. I have to do a force quit to kill iTunes then I can play music, but i can't access my videos.

Any suggestions on this problem?
 
altecXP said:
Sounds like a HDD failure will be happening soon.
Click to expand...

Now that's interesting. I didn't mention that I put a new Intel SSD in just after getting the laptop. The SSD was in my '08 MBP, used very little and was working just fine in the '08 and before the firmware upgrade in the '11 MBP. Do you still think it's the HD?
 
duggram said:
Forgot to mention another noticed problem. Now in iTunes when I try to access Movies I get a spinning ball that won't quit. I have to do a force quit to kill iTunes then I can play music, but i can't access my videos.

Any suggestions on this problem?
Click to expand...

that itunes thing happens to me too. when i try to import movies it freezes. i just bought a western digital scorpio black three months ago. it sounds more like an itunes bug than hard drive failure. are you running itunes 10.3 as i am.

EDIT: i just tried it again. what i was trying to do was add about 60 movies from an airport disk to the library. maybe it froze because there were so many movies it was processing because when i do a few at a time its ok.
 
Clearly you are set on believing the firmware update has something to do with it.

Unlikely.

You installed a 3rd party drive, ssd's are known unknowns, you presumably installed it from your old system without a reinstall

Choose a cause, any cause.

Stop being so certain, take the 10 minutes to reinstall your os.
 
h00ligan said:
Clearly you are set on believing the firmware update has something to do with it.

Unlikely.

You installed a 3rd party drive, ssd's are known unknowns, you presumably installed it from your old system without a reinstall

Choose a cause, any cause.

Stop being so certain, take the 10 minutes to reinstall your os.
Click to expand...

This; clean install the OS inside your new machine. 30 minutes later, problem solved. You've spent the same amount of time posting here as doing a clean install.
 
h00ligan said:
Clearly you are set on believing the firmware update has something to do with it.

Unlikely.
Click to expand...

Please go back and read my OP. It is Apple Care that says it is the firmware upgrade. I'm just relying on what I'm told by Apple Care.

Why do you say unlikely?

h00ligan said:
You installed a 3rd party drive, ssd's are known unknowns, you presumably installed it from your old system without a reinstall
Click to expand...

No, I did a fresh install.

h00ligan said:
Stop being so certain, take the 10 minutes to reinstall your os.
Click to expand...

10 or 30 min, I don't think so. I also would have to reinstall MS Office, VMWare, Win7, Visual Studio, SQL Server, Access, and all the other Windows apps I use. It takes quite a while.

And, because I work on the road I get one day off at home each week. I don't have everything with me while I'm traveling to do the reinstall. Although I'm thinking about putting everything possible on the original 500GB HDD which is now in an inclosure so that I can take it with me.

Like I said, my time off is precious. I'm just trying to not waste it on reinstalls.
 
duggram said:
No, I did a fresh install.
Click to expand...

Ok, so you did a clean install on your SSD in the new machine? If so, then I'm not sure what you want us to do since Apple themselves told you to do a clean install.

I understand time is precious, but what's more important, taking the time to do a clean install now or continuing to live with a machine that doesn't work properly? Seems like the latter is even worse, so you're still left with having to do a clean install.
 
jenzjen said:
Seems like the latter is even worse, so you're still left with having to do a clean install.
Click to expand...

You are right, I'm at that point. I hate it but it's time. Thanks for the help all of you.
 
Most likely, it is the SSD that isn't compatible. Can you check to see if there is a firmware update for the SSD itself?
 
diamond.g said:
Most likely, it is the SSD that isn't compatible. Can you check to see if there is a firmware update for the SSD itself?
Click to expand...

Really? Even though it worked perfectly in my '08 and in the '11 before the upgrade, you think the problem is the SSD? Even Apple Care said it was how the firmware affected the file system in place on the OS. BTW one of the first things I said to the AC tech was that I was using this SSD and where it had been, etc.

But I will look around for an Intel firmware upgrade for that drive. Good suggest that can't hurt.
 
duggram said:
Really? Even though it worked perfectly in my '08 and in the '11 before the upgrade, you think the problem is the SSD? Even Apple Care said it was how the firmware affected the file system in place on the OS. BTW one of the first things I said to the AC tech was that I was using this SSD and where it had been, etc.

But I will look around for an Intel firmware upgrade for that drive. Good suggest that can't hurt.
Click to expand...

duggram said:
The only firmware upgrade for that SSD is Windows.
Click to expand...

Interesting. It seems like something in Apples FW update screwed with the SSD. Too bad there is no way of going back.
 
h00ligan said:
You can reinstall just the os, just don't erase the drive. With an sad it will take next to no time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice but the complete rebuild is underway. I started it earlier then went to the garage to get some work done. Now I'm transferring the pre-firmware-upgrade Time Machine image. I won't have to think about whether the problem was replaced or not. It will get done today, just not all at one time.
 
duggram said:
Thanks for the advice but the complete rebuild is underway. I started it earlier then went to the garage to get some work done. Now I'm transferring the pre-firmware-upgrade Time Machine image. I won't have to think about whether the problem was replaced or not. It will get done today, just not all at one time.
Click to expand...

Probably a smart move to rebuild. At the end of it, you will have a lot more firm idea.
 
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