If you don't mind, you may try turn off TRIM for testing purpose and see if the boot time will be back to normal.
For some reason, using APFS and TRIM together in HS seems cause slow boot (and few more issues).
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SATA Express meets the '09 Mac Pro - Bootable NGFF PCIE SSD
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If you don't mind, you may try turn off TRIM for testing purpose and see if the boot time will be back to normal.
For some reason, using APFS and TRIM together in HS seems cause slow boot (and few more issues).
I will try it when im back at home, will post the results.
Ive tested it but it seems like i don't see any change in the booting time.
It seems like they are working on a solution though:
https://cindori.org/apple-file-system-slow-boot-high-sierra/
Thanks for the report. In my case, switch OFF TRIM keep me away from few little trouble, including boot time (the boot time is about 3x longer when TRIM is enabled).
that is a SATA drive =/= AHCI. it will work (with a sata/pcie compatible interface) but will be no better than a traditional 2.5" SATA III drive.
there is a relatively small variety of compatible PCIe SSD drives that are currently compatible with A1186 and A1289. these are all AHCI drives:
SHPM2280P2/[...]G "HyperX Predator" [240/480/960]
MZ-HPU[...]HCGL "XP941" [128/256/512]
MZ-JPU[...]T "SSUAX" [128/256/512]
MZ-KPV1T0T "SSUAX"
CX1-GB[...]-D11 "Dell oem Lite-On" [128/256/512]
MZ-HPV[...]HDG(L/M) "SM951" [128/256/512]
SD6PQ4M-[..] "SSUBX" [128/256]
MZ-JP(V/U)[...](0/R/S) "SSUBX" [128/256/512]
MZ-KPV1T0(0/R/S) "SSUBX"
and finally there have been some developments with NVMe drives, although in its current state nothing very user friendly: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/boot-osx-on-a-nvme-card.1967790/MZ-HPU[...]HCGL "XP941" [128/256/512]
MZ-JPU[...]T "SSUAX" [128/256/512]
MZ-KPV1T0T "SSUAX"
CX1-GB[...]-D11 "Dell oem Lite-On" [128/256/512]
MZ-HPV[...]HDG(L/M) "SM951" [128/256/512]
SD6PQ4M-[..] "SSUBX" [128/256]
MZ-JP(V/U)[...](0/R/S) "SSUBX" [128/256/512]
MZ-KPV1T0(0/R/S) "SSUBX"
May I correct some entries in your list:
MZ-KPV1T0T "SSUBX"
MZ-JPV... "SSUBX"
MZ-JPU... "SSUAX"
I learned so much from this thread, its priceless!
Hi, today I installed a Sintech PCIe adapter: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAQRNU7
and installed an ssd from a 2013 MacBook Air (SD6PQ4M-128G). It works but I am having some issues.
Mac Pro 4,1 flashed to 5,1, 10.13.3 HS installed. No special drivers installed.
While the drive is mounted, I am getting a runaway kernel_task. If I unmount the drive that task goes away. If I take the card out the task does not show up. It seems to be a driver issue. Anyone else have an issue like this with the Sintech card and 10.13.3?
Also it only links at x2 in any slot. Should be x4...?
Thanks!
and installed an ssd from a 2013 MacBook Air (SD6PQ4M-128G). It works but I am having some issues.
Mac Pro 4,1 flashed to 5,1, 10.13.3 HS installed. No special drivers installed.
While the drive is mounted, I am getting a runaway kernel_task. If I unmount the drive that task goes away. If I take the card out the task does not show up. It seems to be a driver issue. Anyone else have an issue like this with the Sintech card and 10.13.3?
Also it only links at x2 in any slot. Should be x4...?
Thanks!
Don’t suppose you have either an extra PCIe adapter or access to an extra Mac Pro Tower you could test for comparison? Or a different SSD, for that matter? I think the Mac Pro and the SSD should just work, so I’d suspect the adapter first...ALTHOUGH the adapters don’t really do a whole lot that might malfunction. They mainly are just an electrical connection between the SSD and slot.
The x2 connection is right for that SSD. Until around the 2015 models (SSUBX blades), anything less than the 1TB SSD was connecting at x2. Someone correct me if I don’t have those specifics exact please...
Fred
No, I don't have another way to test with hardware but with a clean install of 10.13.3 onto that actual SSD and booting up with it there is no kernel_task. Somehow starting with my other ssd is causing it. I re-installed 10.13.3 on my other startup drive but it didn't help. I'll try another drive. Thanks for the reply.
Not sure if it has been mentioned yet but the Angelbird MX2 is probably the only option these days if buying new.
Thanks to @h9826790 for making me aware of it!
That's an 850 EVO which is slower than the 960 EVO ( 250gb) which I got here in Japan for US$123.
I boot from Sierra 10.12.6 through a Fusion drive setup with a USB 3.0 memory stick.
holy sh*t the french guy did it! flashed modified boot ROM and now it boots native from an NVMe SSD!
-> #1287
https://twitter.com/gillesaurejac/status/997893176135385089?s=20
-> #1287
https://twitter.com/gillesaurejac/status/997893176135385089?s=20
Great news !
Let's hope he posts the technique soon and if this works on any NVMe M.2 SSD now THAT will be a game changer indeed.
I want to banish all internal spinner HDDs from my 4,1>5,1 cMP ( except for backups of course. )
In Gilles's Twitter post pics notice that ALL of the SATA II bays are empty.
He appears to have booted into Sierra, I wonder if a High Sierra install would affect anything
Let's hope he posts the technique soon and if this works on any NVMe M.2 SSD now THAT will be a game changer indeed.
I want to banish all internal spinner HDDs from my 4,1>5,1 cMP ( except for backups of course. )
In Gilles's Twitter post pics notice that ALL of the SATA II bays are empty.
He appears to have booted into Sierra, I wonder if a High Sierra install would affect anything
Very interesting to say the least... The EFI rom clearly has a fresh solder job. IMO, if the ROM boots in 10.12.x, it should work without issue in 10.13.x
There are such easier methods for updating the EFI without having to physically remove the chip.
So glad I finally found this post! I just got a "new" Mac Pro 5,1 and have been researching the fastest boot drive options. Since the crowd favorite SM951, Kingston HyperX Predator, and similar AHCI M.2 SSDs are so hard to find these days, I reached the conclusion that Apple-connector 12+16 SSD blades are probably the fastest readily available AHCI SSDs for a Mac Pro tower boot drive in 2018. Finding this thread confirms it!
Other than buying an SSUBX pulled from an Apple machine, I'm curious if anyone has experience booting a Mac Pro 5,1 from other brands of 12+16 SSDs that can be bought off the shelf, like:
Transcend Jetdrive 820
MCE Tech PCIe x4 SSD
Trans Intl Super Blade
OWC Aura
My temporary solution of a Samsung 850 EVO in an onboard SATA II port definitely needs an upgrade soon...
Other than buying an SSUBX pulled from an Apple machine, I'm curious if anyone has experience booting a Mac Pro 5,1 from other brands of 12+16 SSDs that can be bought off the shelf, like:
Transcend Jetdrive 820
MCE Tech PCIe x4 SSD
Trans Intl Super Blade
OWC Aura
My temporary solution of a Samsung 850 EVO in an onboard SATA II port definitely needs an upgrade soon...
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I’ve never purchased MCE branded SSDs, but I’ve purchased other products and never been disappointed. I’d give them a go...
I have a Transcend drive in my MBA. Has been working fine for about 5 years now.
I would stay away from anything OWC.
Lou
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Congrats on your 5,1, it's a great platform. None of the drives you mentioned can hold up to the Samsung 970pro, which is probably cheaper as well. Have you considered skipping AHCI and jumping to NVMe?
Although NVMe boot support is not 'out-of-the-box' Adding the necessary files to the Mac Pro's EFI firmware is not that difficult, if you can follow a step-by-step guide.
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Congrats on your 5,1, it's a great platform. None of the drives you mentioned can hold up to the Samsung 970pro, which is probably cheaper as well. Have you considered skipping AHCI and jumping to NVMe?
Although NVMe boot support is not 'out-of-the-box' Adding the necessary files to the Mac Pro's EFI firmware is not that difficult, if you can follow a step-by-step guide.
Thanks! Good point, I am considering just going with a faster/cheaper NVMe SSD and figuring out a clever way to boot from it, this thread suggests making a tiny bootloader partition on any AHCI drive that the EFI can handle, and then from there loading the OS off the NVMe drive, or creating a Fusion Drive with an NVMe drive and an AHCI/SATA drive.
But I had not seen this idea of patching the EFI with NVMe drivers! Yikes, that seems a bit scary, but your guide looks easy to follow. Are you able to enable SIP after flashing the custom firmware? How would you recover from a failure? If a new firmware was to be released (say for Mojave) would you have to revert to the stock firmware?
Are you able to enable SIP after flashing the custom firmware?
Yes, sip can be re-enabled after the flash.
How would you recover from a failure?
First off, I believe those who have failed followed a different set of instructions. I've attempted to write an easy to follow doc. If it's complex, let me know where and I'll be happy to expand the doc.
Regarding failure recovery, I'd recommend copying the backup of your original un-modified EFI ROM to a USB flash drive. If you stray from the directions and bork your mac pro, the easiest way to recover is to check your local craigslist for someone who can unlock macbook EFI. They should have the tools & expertise to re-flash your orignal EFI-ROM for well under $100. They can also flash your original ROM to a plug-in board that overrides the onboard EFI when attached.
If a new firmware was to be released (say for Mojave) would you have to revert to the stock firmware?
This is an unknown. I would avoid the flashing of any new firmware from Apple until you double check the macrumors MacPro forum. Personally, I'm running on firmware 0085 and will stay there until it's necessary to upgrade.
On more thing... Considering you are booting from a SATAII SSD, I would encourage you to keep a SATAII bootable copy of macOS in the machine containing your EFI roms and tools.