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Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


Sorry to hear it. It's a lot of effort, tbqh.

Is your iMac a 10,1?

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Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

Binary Badger posted:

Sorry to hear it. It's a lot of effort, tbqh.

Is your iMac a 10,1?

One right before that. 24"

remove glass, remove aluminum front, remove lcd.

It wouldn't be as big of a deal if my kit wasn't allen wrenches and was actual screwdrivers.

Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


Reposting for new page since this is a pretty serious issue for older Macs and people who want to upgrade them to SSDs:

Apple used the nVidia MCP79 SATA controller chipset in all of their iMacs, MacBooks and MacBook Pros, from roughly 2008 to late 2009 models.

Evidently there is a long-standing negotiation issue between SandForce SF-22xx series and nVidia MCP79 controllers. SSDs that use the SF-2281 with default firmware will often default to a negotiated link speed of SATA I (1.5 Gb/sec) when connected to an MCP79 SATA controller.

This means if you have an older Mac in the aforementioned model range, you're getting cheated on some of that speed you'd normally be getting if the drive connected at SATA II (3 Gbps / sec).

To find out what chipset you have, go to About This Mac > More Info > System Report, then click on the words "Serial-ATA" in the left hand column. If you see the words "NVIDIA MCP79" anywhere in the right hand column after this, you have the chipset in question.

At the moment, OCZ (of all people), SanDisk, and OWC offer a Mac-centric fix for this, which is a custom firmware that locks the negotiation to SATA II speed only.

Note: the OCZ fix ONLY applies to "3" series Vertex, Agility, and Solid drives.

Intel probably won't issue a fix for their SandForce controlled SSDs, especially given all the fighting they've done with nVidia.

Samsung 840 Pro and Standard drives, even though they use their own proprietary MDX controller, are reported to not work right with nVidia MCP79 chipsets either.

I can personally confirm the Samsung 830 doesn't have this problem as I have one currently hooked into a Late 2009 MacBook which has the MCP79 chipset and it has a negotiated link speed of 3 Gbps.

The 'bad' drives will still work, but only at the 1.5 Gbps speed. This may or may not be agreeable to you since you essentially paid for a device that should at least connect at 3.0 Gbps but doesn't.


So what SSDs will be bad for these older Macs?

Definitely Intel 330, 335 and 520 series SSDs as they use the SF-2281 and their forums have many posts asking Intel to do something about it already.

Patriot and Corsair, as they're still supposed to be working on it according to their forums.


What SSDs should work in these older Macs?

Most of OWC's SSD line, as in the ones designated to work for these models, should work, despite being mostly SF-2281 based as they have already issued updated firmware.

Samsung 830's if you can find them.

Shipping SanDisk Extreme models as they have a firmware patch to force SATA II negotiation only.

Crucial M4s with the SHSC recommended firmware, 000F, should be fine. They use a Marvell controller.

Binary Badger fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Dec 28, 2012

movax
Aug 30, 2008

Hmm, I wonder what part of the SATA specification nvidia took a shortcut on. I'll add your blurb to the OP, thanks Badger / Don Lapre.

computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

iceslice posted:

My setup is OSX on the SSD (and is my primary OS), with Windows on the Apple 500gb hard drive that came with the computer placed in the Opti bay. I've had it this way since the early Intel SSD days and its been great. I don't know why you'd want to keep OSX on your non-SSD as you wouldn't really see the benefits of it, unless you using a different OS installed to the SSD as your primary. Either way its quick to swap the two drives, and you can use CarbonCopy to clone the old drive onto the SSD in a few minutes.

My plan is to have Windows on the SSD and OS X on the original hard drive. I'm doing it this way because I have more data than can fit on the SSD, and I don't really notice the lag on OS X (but it's terrible on Windows).

I'm actually 90% done right now, I just need to somehow install Windows 7 now since apparently it's not able to do a disc install from an external DVD drive and my USB drives aren't being recognized.

Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


The OP nobody reads posted:


USB 3.0
Known:
- Intel is delivering a USB 3.0 controller on their 7-series chipsets that will accompany the release of Ivy Bridge.
- Ivy Bridge CPUs will be equally happy with a 6 or 7-series chipset. Apple may upgrade CPUs but not the chipset.

Not Known: If Apple will adopt USB 3.0 or not. Nobody knows. Don't believe rumors.


Man, is this terribly wrong and out of date. If it were me, I would update it to this:


USB 3.0

Apple has been shipping laptops and desktops with USB 3.0 installed as an integral feature since June 2012. The models that ship with USB 3.0 include the following:

iMac 21.5-inch and iMac 27 inch (Late 2012, iMac13,1 and iMac13,2)

Mac Mini, Mac Mini Server (Late 2012, Macmini6,1 and Macmini6,2)

MacBook Air 11-inch and 13-inch (Mid 2012, MacBookair5,1 and MacBookair5,2)

MacBook Pro 13-inch and 15-inch (Mid 2012, Macbookpro9,2 and MacBookpro9,1)

MacBook Pro Retina (Mid 2012, Macbookpro10,1)

MacBook Pro, Retina 13-inch (Late 2012, MacBookpro10,2)

Note: a possible Mac Pro revision in 2013 hinted at by Tim Cook in an email reply to a disgruntled Mac enthusiast may include USB 3.0 built in as well.


Regarding USB 3.0 on Mac Pros (and possibly Hackintoshes)

Note 2: Several vendors including CalDigit, LaCie, and Sonnet currently offer USB 3.0 via a PCI-e board based solution, but all of their drivers are hacks of the Apple driver and offer limited compatibility and speed. One hack solution involves taking a generic NEC-Renesas chipset based board, flashing its firmware to a new revision, and then installing a modded LaCie driver on top of it. (The LaCie driver is normally engineered to work only with LaCie devices on a LaCie card, which is a NEC-Renesas based card.)

Note 3: Several reports across the Internet claim that Apple has OOTB support in Mountain Lion v.10.8.2 for a little known card called the Orico PFU3-2P. The PFU3-4P (4 port version) requires you plug in a 5V molex power source into the card, or hook up the card to a powered USB 3.0 hub, or devices don't receive any power. Regardless, this solution has issues with sleep and cold/warm booting with a USB device already plugged into the card.

Note 4: There currently exists no problem-free, non-hacky turnkey solution for USB 3.0 on a Mac Pro. Maybe after the fabled 2013 Mac Pro ships..

Binary Badger fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Dec 28, 2012

RedneckwithGuns
Mar 28, 2007

Up Next:
Fifteen Inches of
SHEER DYNAMITE

Posting from my new 13" MBP. It's my first non-iPhone piece of Apple hardware so it's taking some getting used to coming from using PC's my entire life, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Off-topic from the discussion of actual hardware, I'm trying to find a nice hardshell case for the thing that can match my rosewood case for my iPhone 4, but I cannot find a wood case for the thing to save my life. Quite a few options for decals but no actual cases. If anyone knows where I could find something like this I'd be eternally grateful.

etalian
Mar 20, 2006

RedneckwithGuns posted:

Posting from my new 13" MBP. It's my first non-iPhone piece of Apple hardware so it's taking some getting used to coming from using PC's my entire life, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Luckily many of the basic shortcuts are the same and it's really not hard to learn the basic functionality for things such as changing system settings.

Still has massive amounts of tricks to learn such as the terminal window commands.

Ozmodiar
Sep 25, 2003

Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
Just got the Time Capsule I've been wanting as a Christmas/Birthday present...! I won't be home to set it up for a couple of days, so I thought I'd ask in advance:

Anything in particular I need to do to set it up?

I'll be transferring my iOS music&movies over to it so I can AirPlay on the Apple TV, but I thought I'd ask if there are any specific nuances I need to know about.

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.
Appletv can't stream from a time capsule.

Ozmodiar
Sep 25, 2003

Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
Really? I thought it could, but you had to do it through a computer (for example, iTunes running on my desktop and the library stored on the Time Capsule)

RusteJuxx
Jul 14, 2001

College Slice
Yeah, that way will work (it's how my stuff is setup). The Apple TV just cannot play directly from storage.

Choadmaster
Oct 7, 2004

I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!
:choco: Sudden glut of cheap Mac Minis on the refurb store.

I already snapped one up. Get them while they're hot!

Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


You're right, all of a sudden there are a bunch of previous generation Minis available for a good price!

This one in particular is a good deal, it's the last Mini to have a discrete graphics chip with 256 MB of dedicated VRAM, great for speedups:

Apple posted:

Refurbished Mac mini 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 $549 !
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program

Originally released July 2011
4GB memory

500GB hard drive

Thunderbolt port with support for up to 2560-by-1600 resolution
HDMI port with support for up to 1920-by-1200 resolution
AMD Radeon HD 6630M

kuskus
Oct 20, 2007

RedneckwithGuns posted:

I'm trying to find a nice hardshell case for the thing that can match my rosewood case for my iPhone 4, but I cannot find a wood case for the thing to save my life.

Parts of your computer are going to heat up to nearly a couple hundred degrees on the reg, and require exhaust. Wood is an insulator. If you find a wooden case, please do not purchase it.

etalian
Mar 20, 2006

kuskus posted:

Parts of your computer are going to heat up to nearly a couple hundred degrees on the reg, and require exhaust. Wood is an insulator. If you find a wooden case, please do not purchase it.

But it's mainly the air vents/cutouts that do the cooling, it's why the plastic cases also work well even though plastic is not a excellent conductor.

Choadmaster
Oct 7, 2004

I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!

Binary Badger posted:

You're right, all of a sudden there are a bunch of previous generation Minis available for a good price!

This one in particular is a good deal, it's the last Mini to have a discrete graphics chip with 256 MB of dedicated VRAM, great for speedups:

I snatched the 2.7 Ghz i7 version of that for just $40 more :D. I'm amazed to see the rest of the minis are still up there this morning. Come on, goons!

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.
Changed the ssd out in my homegrown fusion drive, disk utility in the 10.8.2 installer was able to rebuild the drive with my new ssd, no data saved but I didn't have to mess with terminal.

RedneckwithGuns
Mar 28, 2007

Up Next:
Fifteen Inches of
SHEER DYNAMITE

kuskus posted:

Parts of your computer are going to heat up to nearly a couple hundred degrees on the reg, and require exhaust. Wood is an insulator. If you find a wooden case, please do not purchase it.

Okay, I won't cook my MBP in an attempt to look snazzy :negative:

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber

RedneckwithGuns posted:

Okay, I won't cook my MBP in an attempt to look snazzy :negative:

The Incase See Thru cases are pretty nice. I like the satin black.

Sorry it doesn't make your your computer look like an ironic tree.

eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Dec 29, 2012

etalian
Mar 20, 2006

eddiewalker posted:

The Incase See Thru cases are pretty nice. I like the satin black.

Sorry it doesn't make your your computer look like an ironic tree.

Or the Moshi iGlaze is another compact, minimilist style case with a transparent color if you want to stick to the classic aluminum finish of the mac.

Really great material too that easily passes the key scratch test and only takes 30 seconds to install.

aca
Dec 19, 2004
heh
I have a broken ~2009 17" MBP and a 2006 MB that I'm trying to sell. One guy on craigslist offered me $250 for both. I'm not selling them with the hard drives battery or power cords. Anyone have any thoughts on if this a good deal?

I think apple store said the 17" had a bad "logic board" (whatever that is) and wanted $1400 to repair it. I'm not sure whats wrong with the MB but I think its the same thing it starts up and doesn't have any display. I'd prefer to fix one of these as I like using OSX but don't want to pay for a new and am pretty good with computers but have no idea to start.

Bob Morales
Aug 18, 2006


Just wear the fucking mask, Bob

I don't care how many people I probably infected with COVID-19 while refusing to wear a mask, my comfort is far more important than the health and safety of everyone around me!

Try to fix the 17" if you can - the 06 is going to be dog slow and can't run the latest OS X

aca
Dec 19, 2004
heh
where can I find info on fixing it if they said it was a bad logic board? I'm assuming thats macfag code for the motherboard. Is there any good sites that go about explaining how to fix them? And how can it cost $1400 for a 4 year old computer when you can buy brand new one for that price :rolleyes:?

Ok I found some logic boards on iFixIt, but there ~500. Any way I can find a cheaper price?


EDIT:

I've been searching around and read something about nvidia 8600 gfx card having a recall on MBPs. Mine has this card and when I went into Apple they basically said this wasn't the cause of the problem. But this recalled ended earlier this month.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

etalian
Mar 20, 2006

And old Mac heartaches is why it makes sense to sell them every 2-3 generations, that way you get the best resale value and can just upgrade to the next improved version. Also it's pretty hard find reasonably priced proprietary parts for older models.

And the migration tools are really awesome for moving things over.

etalian fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Dec 30, 2012

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E
I assume that fusion drive config files are stored on the fusion drive volume on a factory apple. If so, won't deleting/formatting the volume break fusion drive? How are end users supposed to recreate the FD volume if broken like this? For instance if OS X is reinstalled and the drive is repartitioned/formatted?

aca
Dec 19, 2004
heh
I have no problem using older hardware but I can't seem to find a reason to justify buying a new laptop every 2-3 years especially a Mac. I usually go for 4. These are the only Macs I owned and are probably the last seeing as how much trouble I've had with them and how much trouble dealing with the Apple Store trying to get a repair done is.

1997
Jan 20, 2008

calmer than you are

aca posted:

where can I find info on fixing it if they said it was a bad logic board? I'm assuming thats macfag code for the motherboard. Is there any good sites that go about explaining how to fix them? And how can it cost $1400 for a 4 year old computer when you can buy brand new one for that price :rolleyes:?

Ok I found some logic boards on iFixIt, but there ~500. Any way I can find a cheaper price?


EDIT:

I've been searching around and read something about nvidia 8600 gfx card having a recall on MBPs. Mine has this card and when I went into Apple they basically said this wasn't the cause of the problem. But this recalled ended earlier this month.

There's no way either of those machines have the 8600M in them unless you got the models wrong. Those were only in the Early 2008 MacBook Pros.

Also Apple offers a $310 flat rate repair option for the 09 MacBook Pro where anything will get fixed as long as there is no accidental / liquid damage. Not sure why they didn't offer you that unless that is what they found. The 06 Macbook is probably vintage and not worth messing with.

aca
Dec 19, 2004
heh
It's a 2008. It definately has a 8600. The flat rate sounds good I guess it just comes down to if I want to get it repaired.

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

Shaocaholica posted:

I assume that fusion drive config files are stored on the fusion drive volume on a factory apple. If so, won't deleting/formatting the volume break fusion drive? How are end users supposed to recreate the FD volume if broken like this? For instance if OS X is reinstalled and the drive is repartitioned/formatted?

The osx installer sees the fusion drive as one drive. It doesn't act like its 2 drives. If you format it then you have an empty fusion drive. If one of the drives fails the installer will rebuild a blank fusion volume when a new drive is inserted. Both drives have hidden partitions it appears with the necessary information.

aca
Dec 19, 2004
heh
Is there a warrenty on the flat rate repair? I can't find any information through google. And do I just call apple care and say I want that option?

1997
Jan 20, 2008

calmer than you are

aca posted:

Is there a warrenty on the flat rate repair? I can't find any information through google. And do I just call apple care and say I want that option?

90 days. You can take it to an Apple Store if there's one near you and they'll handle all shipping.

Choadmaster
Oct 7, 2004

I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!
So now that I've impulse-bought a Mac Mini and we're on the subject of fusion drives, what hardware do I need to install an a second drive (SSD obviously) into the Mini? Where's the best (cheapest!) place to get said hardware? (I haven't looked but I have no doubt OWC has a kit of some kind, and I also have no doubt it's 500% of the price of the individual components and includes all sorts of tools I don't need.) Thanks thread.

Edit: The OWC kit was only $25 when purchased with an SSD ($40 otherwise). Still a bit pricey for a cable and some screws but gently caress it, it's now past my no-longer-worth-it-to-shop-around threshold.

Choadmaster fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Dec 30, 2012

FlashBangBob
Jul 5, 2007

BLAM! Internet Found!
It takes 10 minutes for you to pass that threshold?

Choadmaster
Oct 7, 2004

I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!
No, it takes 15 or so bucks to pass that threshold. I'm sure someone could have pointed me to some eBay seller or Chinese electronics site that would have sold me the requisite parts for $8 plus $5 shipping; $25 from OWC was close enough that it was worth it to me to just have it included in my SSD purchase rather than deal with finding and trusting another seller. When I initially posted I'd just assumed it would cost around $69 from OWC (I swear that's the price I saw a few months back but maybe it was for something else). Obviously I should have checked first.

brap
Aug 23, 2004

Grimey Drawer

aca posted:

where can I find info on fixing it if they said it was a bad logic board? I'm assuming thats macfag code for the motherboard.

It's you. You are the fag.

aca
Dec 19, 2004
heh
So the 17" model is A1229.Which apparently came out in 2007, almost 6 years ago. I'm wondering if it's worth it to get it repaired for the $300. Can someone tell me how good it will run snow leopard and ML.

kuskus
Oct 20, 2007

aca posted:

So the 17" model is A1229.Which apparently came out in 2007, almost 6 years ago. I'm wondering if it's worth it to get it repaired for the $300. Can someone tell me how good it will run snow leopard and ML.

I ran Lion on a Santa Rosa MacBook of similar vintage. You've got the advantage of dedicated graphics, so my guess is you should be fine for ML. With an SSD, you should be able to pull off quite a bit. I wouldn't encode your Blu-rays with it, but for the pedestrian, really you should be golden.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

aca posted:

where can I find info on fixing it if they said it was a bad logic board? I'm assuming thats macfag code for the motherboard. Is there any good sites that go about explaining how to fix them? And how can it cost $1400 for a 4 year old computer when you can buy brand new one for that price :rolleyes:?

Ok I found some logic boards on iFixIt, but there ~500. Any way I can find a cheaper price?


EDIT:

I've been searching around and read something about nvidia 8600 gfx card having a recall on MBPs. Mine has this card and when I went into Apple they basically said this wasn't the cause of the problem. But this recalled ended earlier this month.


aca posted:

So the 17" model is A1229.Which apparently came out in 2007, almost 6 years ago. I'm wondering if it's worth it to get it repaired for the $300. Can someone tell me how good it will run snow leopard and ML.

I considered giving you some advice- but since you came in here guns blazing with a major bee in your bonnet, didn't take the time to follow basic grammar- and since we're all apparently fags here anyway- I'm just gonna tell you to follow your heart. :allears:

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Pug Rodeo
Feb 20, 2007

BRING IT ON BRING IT ON YEAH


I'm thinking of getting a Mac Mini to use as a basic HTPC and file server. Maybe some Steam Big Picture stuff. (I really only play indie games). I want to get the most basic model and change out the drive and RAM myself, but in this setup would I really want the quad i7? I get a pretty good discount, but for the limited use I don't really want to drop a lot on it.

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