SanDisk Extreme SSD Firmware R211m download for for MacBook and MacBook Pros based on NVidia MCP79 chipset

My MBP optical drive is dead. No surprise here. So I can I pull the SSD and put it on my PC and do the upgrade there?

yes you can

@drlucky wrote:

try burning a CD instead of using a bootable USB. please note that while the firmware can be updated on any machine you should only use it on a computer that has an Nvidia MCP79 SATA chipset. 

Thanks, this worked!

I’m trying to use this 211m firmware on an Asus laptop (K50-ID) with Nvidia MCP79/7A chipset. When using the standard firmware (201 or 211) the SSD is not recognized by Windows installer at all, and system logs when booting from Ubuntu Linux CD indicate many errors.

With 211m I can see the drive in both Windows installer and when booting from Ubuntu Linux CD, and I can create and format partitions. However, Windows refuses to install to any of the partitions with the following error:

“Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu.”

Does anyone know how to fix this?

Should I use the R211m or R211 firmware for my MacBook Pro, 13-inch, Mid 2010 with chipset  NVidia MCP89 AHCI?

use the regular firmware R211

I have an early 2008 Macbook Pro with an Intel ICH8-M AHCI SATA controller. It shows link speed as  1.5 Gb. Would I need to install this firmware?

Thanks.

you can try it. the firmware will pin the ssd as a SATA II device. Once this is done it will only work at SATA II no matter what computer you put it in. You can always reflash the firmware with the regular version to set it back to normal. 

I guess there would be no harm in trying. Thanks for confirming. I’ll report back if there are any undesired results.

Thank you. This is great and works perfectyly for me on my MacBook Pro 17" medio 2009.

The FW was quite hard to find though - I have looked at many forums - and on SanDiss homepage - but found it my 1001st forum I looked at.

That doesn’t matter now - it works! 

I have the same Macbook, a 13’, Mid 2010, the R211 doesn’t work for me, so I use this one, the R211m version and now it works!, take a look: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s44/sh/31605464-ac3d-42c5-99e4-d615bc24b773/f1ca751ec228ace70ef224a0c492577e

Hi,

Im using a Macbook Unibody Late 2009 and recently this year I upgraded from an HDD to a Sandisk Extreme SSD240G. The speeds are extremely fast with the standard firmware on the drive.

Next, I decided to do a fimware update to get 3gb negociated link speeds using the R211m firmware. Originally, with the nVidia chipset before the new firmware, the link speed was only 1.5gb yet it was still fast and showed no lagg so I wanted to see if it would get faster with 3gb link speeds.

Since the update, BlackMagic benchmark apps shows that  my read and write speeds have doubled. 

However from use and my owm comparison, I feel like there is a little lagg when I open my applicatioons. The updated SSD actually seems slower than what it was with the old firmware.

Even though the negociated link speeds went from 1.5gb to 3gb, there is a bit of lag and delay with the new update. 

Is there a reason for this? Will there be new updates? Thanks   

see anwer in other thread. there is no need to double post. basically if your link speed is not 3Gb and the benchmark doubled there is no reason you should feel lag. 

wonderful.

@zincsulfate wrote:

I am zincsulfate from Rech Chemical Co.Ltd.

The herbicide or the dietary supplement?

:confounded:

hi all, 

i’m running a mid-2009 17" MBP. have purchased my extreme SSD 240GB - ready for installation now.

first of all, i understand the firmware upgrade is best done before installing or cloning the OS - has anyone had issues doing it afterwards? (either way, i will of course have a backup.)

i also understand the firmware upgrade will not work if connected externally - as in, the SSD needs to be connected directly to the motherboard through the SATA in order to upgrade.

please correct me if i’m wrong on those points.

must the update be done with a CD/DVD of the saved image file or is there another safe way of doing this? perhaps a USB flash drive?

also, if the CD/DVD option is the only reliable one, what does it mean by ‘burn the saved image file to a CD/DVD’ - is the saved image file simply the enzo-r211m-240gb.iso file I downloaded? or do I need to extract something in particular from that file?

many thanks!

@phased wrote:

hi all, 

 

I’m running a mid-2009 17" MBP. Have purchased my extreme SSD 240GB - ready for installation now.

 

first of all, I understand the firmware upgrade is best done before installing or cloning the OS - has anyone had issues doing it afterwards? (either way, I will of course have a backup.)

 

It does not really matter when you do it. It can be before or after install of OS. If you clone make sure your cloning software supports 4k disk alignment. If you have not installed the OS yet it would be easiest to do the FW upgrade first. 

 

I also understand the firmware upgrade will not work if connected externally - as in, the SSD needs to be connected directly to the motherboard through the SATA in order to upgrade.

 

Correct it will need to be connected internally. 

 

please correct me if I’m wrong on those points.

 

must the update be done with a CD/DVD of the saved image file or is there another safe way of doing this? Perhaps a USB flash drive?

 

You can put it on a USB drive but since the SSD toolkit is not supported on MAC you will need a third party program like Power ISO (not sure if there is a MAC version of Power ISO either but that is the type of app you would need)

 

also, if the CD/DVD option is the only reliable one, what does it mean by ‘burn the saved image file to a CD/DVD’ - is the saved image file simply the enzo-r211m-240gb.iso file I downloaded? or do I need to extract something in particular from that file?

 

The ISO is all you need do not extract anything. Just burn the ISO as a disk image. Instructions can be found at the link below for MAC. 

 

Burning disk image in mac

 

 

many thanks!

 

 

Make sure you have one of the MAC with Nvidia MCP79 Chipset before using this firmware. This firmware is only for computers running that SATA chipset. It will lock the SSD to SATA 2 speed and currently this can’t be reversed. 

 

Check SATA chipset MAC (this is for checking firmware of SSD but SATA chipset info is at the top above SATA link speed)

 

If you do not have Nvidia MCP79 chipset use the regular manual firmware upgrade instructions and ISO posted at the top of this board.  

Hi everyone,

I purchased and installed an SD extreme SSD 240gb for my MacbookPro late 2008, and like many others I experience lagging…

The firmware update seems the solution for my problem, but unfortunately my optical disk is dead, and it does make the update more complicated…

I manage to mount the ISO on a pendrive on another machine, but impossible to boot from it on the MacBook

Anyone knows a solution for FW update from a pendrive?

Thanks in advance

probably be easiest to move the SSD to a different PC that has a CDROM or can boot from the USB drive. 

Finally, I decided to order a new optical drive for 49$ to make the update of the firmware from my MBP…

The firmware update was easy, i just followed the instructions given on that forum…and my  MBP works flawlessly now! No freezing anymore!!! :smiley:

However be aware if you change your optical drive that you could experience a problem with the wireless afterwards…

Indeed, after 30 minutes of normal internet use, my wireless went off, and i recieved the message “No hardware installed”…

I solved the problem by unplugging and replugging the cable of the Camera/Wirless that goes on the top of the optical drive. It can be a bit tricky to reconnect to the motherboard (you can not really make sure that it’s plugged in correctly)…

My optical drive on my MBP is dead. I’ve tried to convert the iso to a dmg and mount it on a USB drive, but Mac Os can’t find when booting with Alt pressed. I’m not going to buy an optical drive and burn a CD just for a (much needed) firmware update. What can I do ?