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News Archive for Monday June 29, 2009 Goto Current News Page
Macs & Mods | CPU Upgrades | Video | Storage | Audio/HT | Tips/OS Updates/WiFi
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New 13in MacBook Pro w/EFI 1.7 Firmware update - no problems w/WD 500GB (5400rpm) HD upgrade |
From an email reply to previous post on problems many had seen with replacement HDs after the EFI firmware update that was released to address complaints over SATA 1.5Gbps interface reported on some new MBPs)
"Hello again, greetings from Poland :)
Just want to share my experience on the new (mid-2009) Macbook Pro 13" 2.26GHz equipped with the WD 500GB WD5000BEVT "Scorpio blue" drive. Some people have problems with the new macbooks after applying the 3Gbps SATA patch. I installed this update on the second day after migrating my data to the 13 incher. I have absolutely no problems, no slowdown, beach ball, freezes etc. Actually nothing changed after the update (other than reported Sata speed of course). The 2.26GHz 13" MBP boots faster than my previous 2.5GHz penryn "classic" mate MBP.
The new MacBook Pro is great - I love the unibody case, the screen, the new touchpad and SD card slot. And let's not forget my main reason for this switch - the new battery!
Along the new Nvidia based mini I think the new MBP 13" is just a perfect Mac, something we have been waiting for for a while.
Here you have the drive's info from System Profiler. The drive was bought from 3rd party, not Apple. The machine's ram was upped to 4GB at the same time.
Apple system profiler info:
NVidia MCP79 AHCI:
Vendor: NVidia
Product: MCP79 AHCI
Speed: 3 Gigabit (emphasis mine)
Description: AHCI Version 1.20 Supported
WDC WD5000BEVT-75ZAT0:
Capacity: 465.76 GB
Model: WDC WD5000BEVT-75ZAT0
Revision: 01.01A01 (drive firmware)
Serial Number: WD-WXN509L11379
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 32
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Macintosh HD:
Capacity: 465.44 GB
Available: 284.08 GB
File System: Journaled HFS+
Take care and keep up the good work.
-Grzegorz W."
If you've updated a new MacBook Pro using the EFI 1.7 firmware update, let me know if you've had any problems with an upgraded (non-OEM) hard drive (std or SSD). Include details on MBP and drive used, thanks. (Also adding these as a drive upgrade database report.) |
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More on MacBook Pro GPU repairs (motherboard replacements) |
A reminder from a tech for those that have repairs done:
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I've averaged an nVidia logicboard repair once a week since beginning of the year. The replacement boards show rework to the nVidia GPU area. (replaced 8600M GPU) I've only seen 2 replacement boards show up as dead on arrival, needing to await a replacement. (I test them twice before returning to the owner)
For owners going through this, note your hardware MAC address (onboard ethernet ID) will change as the ethernet is built-in to the board that is replaced (i.e. If your security is based on the MAC address) Your mac repair person should note the label now covering the old MAC address in the battery bay.
Airport card (unless defective) is not replaced.
(name withheld by request)
"
And a follow-up to a reader's failure post in Thursday's news.:
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A follow up on my Nvidia meltdown. Just taken my MacBook Pro to the Apple Store, they hooked up a test HD - labeled like 'Nvidia Macbook Pro test'
2mins later I'm told the good news, it qualifies under the repair extension programme - should take 5-7 days.
I was a tad worried about having the pink/ green squares and some people not being so lucky with a free repair.
I asked what gets 'done' - a new logic board. (required as the GPU is soldered to the mainboard)
Cheers, Phil
"
This weekend I added all of last week's reports to the original page on MacBook Pro (Nvidia 8600M) GPU/Video Failures. |
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