You don't need any connector to directly connect it to the SATA backplane and let it hang there (plugged in). The pins are the same on a 3.5 or 2.5 drive. An adapter is just to secure it physically in place semi-permanently when moving the computer. Just find a windows PC or Mac Pro, plug it directly into a SATA bay and run the Samsung boot CD-ROM from the optical drive.
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The tool to fix 840 Evo for Mac user is released
- Thread starter h9826790
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FWIW, on my Mac Pro 5,1 once I pulled out all of the PCIe cards (Sonnet Temp, eSATA, and USB 3.0) the dreaded "hang" when booting from the CD I made from the Samsung iso file went away and I was able to proceed to the update.
Thanks to all here for sharing their experiences so the rest of us could figure out what to do.
Thanks to all here for sharing their experiences so the rest of us could figure out what to do.
Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a 1TB 840 EVO for my late 2008 MBP, which I plan to use for both Windows/MacOS. 840 EVO will arrive soon.
I have a few questions.
1. Does the 840 EVO have to be formatted to run the tool ? (My idea is to run the tool on the 840 EVO to update the FW before partioning/formatting/installing MacOS, bootcamp, windows etc.)
2. In the download area on the Samsung site, there is a separate FW (EXT0BB6Q) with a release date of March 14 -- am I right in assuming this is old FW, so I should just run the performance restoration tool to have the latest FW with the performance fix ?
EDIT : ok, I noticed on the Samsung site that the tool provides EXT0CB6Q.
3. Once the performance restoration tool is run, what's the new FW version ?
EDIT : as above, EXT0CB6Q.
4. Can I put my new (when it arrives) 840 EVO in a USD HDD enclosure, connect it (without formatting it) and read the current FW version (not to run the tool, but just to see if I'm lucky enough to have an 840 EVO already with the latest FW) ?
I recently purchased a 1TB 840 EVO for my late 2008 MBP, which I plan to use for both Windows/MacOS. 840 EVO will arrive soon.
I have a few questions.
1. Does the 840 EVO have to be formatted to run the tool ? (My idea is to run the tool on the 840 EVO to update the FW before partioning/formatting/installing MacOS, bootcamp, windows etc.)
2. In the download area on the Samsung site, there is a separate FW (EXT0BB6Q) with a release date of March 14 -- am I right in assuming this is old FW, so I should just run the performance restoration tool to have the latest FW with the performance fix ?
EDIT : ok, I noticed on the Samsung site that the tool provides EXT0CB6Q.
3. Once the performance restoration tool is run, what's the new FW version ?
EDIT : as above, EXT0CB6Q.
4. Can I put my new (when it arrives) 840 EVO in a USD HDD enclosure, connect it (without formatting it) and read the current FW version (not to run the tool, but just to see if I'm lucky enough to have an 840 EVO already with the latest FW) ?
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If you use a windows box you must connect it directly to the sata controller with a sata cable, and you must boot off the boot cd version to upload the firmware and rewrite the old data.
The windows restoration software does not support hfs+, it is NTFS only. The boot cd supports all formats.
The windows restoration software does not support hfs+, it is NTFS only. The boot cd supports all formats.
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If you have a working optical drive for your MBP the boot cd should work with the evo in your main drive bay, will upgrade your firmware to EXT0CB6Q and as you have no data will not bother rewriting anything. If you use an optibay and don't have a windows box refit your SuperDrive for the utility.
I have been doing this to prep every new evo I have had, I've had 4/5 so far to install but I have a spare windows chassis that does this work, not a Mac.
Just check the firmware
The tool fixes a problem where old data reads are slow - it rewrites the data which was written using the old firmware so that the firmware fix applies to the (now new) data.
Since your drive is unused, there is no "old data" to fix. You don't need the tool.
Just be sure to upgrade the firmware (if needed) before you start to use the drive. Don't worry if some small amount of data is written (mkfs ...) before the firmware upgrade. Most likely it will be active filesystem metadata that will soon be overwritten (fixing the problem).
If you're really paranoid - do a hard reformat after the firmware upgrade (if needed - a new drive might come with the latest firmware already installed).
The tool fixes a problem where old data reads are slow - it rewrites the data which was written using the old firmware so that the firmware fix applies to the (now new) data.
Since your drive is unused, there is no "old data" to fix. You don't need the tool.
Just be sure to upgrade the firmware (if needed) before you start to use the drive. Don't worry if some small amount of data is written (mkfs ...) before the firmware upgrade. Most likely it will be active filesystem metadata that will soon be overwritten (fixing the problem).
If you're really paranoid - do a hard reformat after the firmware upgrade (if needed - a new drive might come with the latest firmware already installed).
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Evo 840 Firmware Update
I updated an Evo 840 500G drive with the firmware. I have 4 spinning disks in the MacPro drive bays, the Samsung in the upper optical slot and an optical superdrive. And a PCI card for an eSATA interface. I left everything in the Macpro, and the firmware updater saw the Samsung drive immediately.
Made a huge difference. Cloning the 500G drive (45G used) to an external drive via a PCI - eSATA card when from 31:35 to 16:06 min:sec. It's the boot drive, and has something like 800K files.
My thanks to the original poster!
I updated an Evo 840 500G drive with the firmware. I have 4 spinning disks in the MacPro drive bays, the Samsung in the upper optical slot and an optical superdrive. And a PCI card for an eSATA interface. I left everything in the Macpro, and the firmware updater saw the Samsung drive immediately.
Made a huge difference. Cloning the 500G drive (45G used) to an external drive via a PCI - eSATA card when from 31:35 to 16:06 min:sec. It's the boot drive, and has something like 800K files.
My thanks to the original poster!
I was able to update my 2012 Mac Mini with 2 840 EVO 1 TB drives in an Apple software RAID setup.
The "restoration" update took 1 hour 28 minutes on one of the drives, and 2 hours 22 minutes on the other after making a USB boot drive.
The UNetbootin software did not work for me.
What worked:
1. I followed the instructions under "Updated procedure now includes SYSLINUX & rEFIt" on the http://www.io101.org/blog/howto/how-to-make-a-bootable-usb-flash-drive-memory-stick-for-intel-macbook-pro/ page.
2.Then I mounted the ISO CD image from Samsung's page, and copied the ISOLINUX folder to my desktop.
3. In the copied folder, I renamed the ISOLINUX.CFG to syslinux.cfg (needs to be lowercase).
]
4. I then copied all the files in the ISOLINUX folder on my desktop to the SYSLINUX partition of the USB drive.
5. I rebooted, holding down the option key. I selected the reFIt option, then the other OS option.
6. The updater quit after updating the first 840 EVO, so I had to reopen it by typing "perf" and hitting return.
The "restoration" update took 1 hour 28 minutes on one of the drives, and 2 hours 22 minutes on the other after making a USB boot drive.
The UNetbootin software did not work for me.
What worked:
1. I followed the instructions under "Updated procedure now includes SYSLINUX & rEFIt" on the http://www.io101.org/blog/howto/how-to-make-a-bootable-usb-flash-drive-memory-stick-for-intel-macbook-pro/ page.
2.Then I mounted the ISO CD image from Samsung's page, and copied the ISOLINUX folder to my desktop.
3. In the copied folder, I renamed the ISOLINUX.CFG to syslinux.cfg (needs to be lowercase).
]
4. I then copied all the files in the ISOLINUX folder on my desktop to the SYSLINUX partition of the USB drive.
5. I rebooted, holding down the option key. I selected the reFIt option, then the other OS option.
6. The updater quit after updating the first 840 EVO, so I had to reopen it by typing "perf" and hitting return.
Thank you AidenShaw. That cleared up a few things. I am planning on buying 840s and was thinking I needed to go through the whole procedure. However, if I find that my firmware is out of date, is plugging it into a Windows machine the best route? Also, I assume that the drives hold one firmware for Windows and another one for Mac and depending what machine its in it activates that firmware? Or do I need to prep the drives with the correct firmware?
JD
AFAIK no. The drives have one latest firmware regardless of use in a Mac or PC. But there is different Samsung performance restoration boot software depending on which platform you update the firmware in (Mac or PC). Also, after updating firmware Mac requires different formatting than PC (if you update in a platform different than the one you're going to use it in).
^^^^The Firmware is not different, but the software to install that Firmware is different due to the differing computer hardware and OS.
Now, I haven't updated my EVO, because Samsung recommended I not do it, if I didn't have the issue. They recommended that I wait until the final Firmware update is issued. With that being said, I have updated the firmware on my other SSD, a Samsung series 840. When I updated that, I lost no formatting or data.
Lou
Now, I haven't updated my EVO, because Samsung recommended I not do it, if I didn't have the issue. They recommended that I wait until the final Firmware update is issued. With that being said, I have updated the firmware on my other SSD, a Samsung series 840. When I updated that, I lost no formatting or data.
Lou
Hello, I've replaced the superdrive in my iMac with an 840 Evo SSD. Now I have to update the firmware but using an external superdrive does not work. I couldn't find out a way to create a bootable usb with the update. Can someone please help me?
Do you know anyone with a classic Mac Pro or a Windows PC you can put the 840 Evo in for updating?
Question about how to END this update procedure.
i have never used a PC, so all this Command-Line code during the update was greek to me. I followed the Samsung PDF Instructions and everything went just as they outlined, but once I got to the last step of the process (Step 6) it said "Restoration Completed" and just sits there?
So what is the proper key-command to enter after doing the update? I tried everything I could think of "Done", "End", "Reboot"... nothing would cause the computer to reboot that I tried?
What is the secret?
i have never used a PC, so all this Command-Line code during the update was greek to me. I followed the Samsung PDF Instructions and everything went just as they outlined, but once I got to the last step of the process (Step 6) it said "Restoration Completed" and just sits there?
So what is the proper key-command to enter after doing the update? I tried everything I could think of "Done", "End", "Reboot"... nothing would cause the computer to reboot that I tried?
What is the secret?
YEs, but I don't want to remove the ssd from my mac. I'm looking for a solution. I just would like to update the ssd without a superdrive
Nobody has an answer for my Post #118?
I have another 840EVO 500 on the way and will need to do the same procedure on it when it arrives. How do I escape this Restoration Code screen once it has completed the update without having to press the power button on the front of the computer to "force" a shutdown?
I have another 840EVO 500 on the way and will need to do the same procedure on it when it arrives. How do I escape this Restoration Code screen once it has completed the update without having to press the power button on the front of the computer to "force" a shutdown?
just power down the system (press and hold the power button). AFAIK there's no other way.
I took the Evo SSD out of my MB Pro and used the USB/Sata adapter to connect it to a Windows Laptop and I could see the external Evo SSD.
However, when I opened the Samsung EVO Fix, it would not see any SSD available, yet alone my SSD that I wanted to update/fix...
This is turning out to be a real PITA...
IAN.
I am having the exact same issue with my iMac and window 7 machine... Would like to have some help too...
Usb != sata
The USB mass storage protocol does not pass all native SATA commands (like TRIM...).
You'll need to connect the drive via a native SATA port.
The USB mass storage protocol does not pass all native SATA commands (like TRIM...).
You'll need to connect the drive via a native SATA port.
Just turn off your computer.
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You need to connect it directly to a SATA connector. It won't work through a USB or PCIe connection.
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Thanks!
I end up unplugged one of the HDD in my sister's window machine and update thru it's sata connector, it was a success!