Intel 330 SSD 180GB - can't change MacBook Pro from 1.5 to 3.0 negotiated link speed

[idata]

Hey everyone,

I have a mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro. I recently replaced the factory 160GB HDD with the Intel 330 SSD (180GB). For the life of me, I can't figure out how to get the negotiated link speed from 1.5 Gigabit to 3.0 Gigabit, even though this version of the MacBook Pro is new enough to support 3.0.

I've been doing some research and it seems as if this is a recurring problem with the Intel 330 SSD and the MacBook Pro. Has anyone found a solution to this problem?

Thanks!

Jay

[idata]

First of all, thanks for the help! I really appreciate it.

However, I just went through all your steps in order and it's still listed as 3.0 with a 1.5 negotiated link speed. (I even verified as I went through the steps to make sure the EFI had been downgraded and then subsequently upgraded.)

I'm wondering if I missed some small thing along the way? For example, when you say you ran "Software Upgrade," do you mean you just went on Apple's site and downloaded the EFI 1.7 after downgrading to 1.6, or was the old version automatically detected so that Software Update just downloaded and installed the new one without you having to go to the Apple web site manually? (I had to get it manually. Software Update didn't detect that I'd downgraded to the old EFI version.)

Thanks again!

Jay

[idata]

I get the feeling that your downgrade didn't happen. When I did it, I used Software Update and it instantly pulled in the 1.7 EFI. I didn't have to manually update.

The first time I tried downgrading, I didn't have the power plugged in, and it seemed to downgrade, but didn't actually do anything. Maybe that's what you did?

Might be worth downgrading again and verifying that your Boot ROM Version ends in B00. B03 is the 1.7 EFI.

Boot ROM version is at System Information -> Hardware

[idata]

Thanks again for the help! To be completely sure, I just went through the whole process again -- in order: resetting SMC --> resetting NVRAM --> downgrading to EFI 1.6 --> upgrading to EFI 1.7. Same result. I even double-checked System Info again just to be 100% sure that the downgrade had gone through (see two screenshots below).

The only difference from my last attempt is that, this time, the Software Update feature (in the App Store) discovered that I needed an upgrade to EFI 1.7. But then, even once I'd clicked on the Update button, it downloaded it and said it was installed (see screenshot below) but nothing else happened. So I switched to another tab in the App Store and switched back to the Updates tab, where it told me to update again. This happened once or twice, with me pushing Update, then it saying it had been installed.

Finally I just went to my computer's Applications --> Utilities folder, loaded the EFI 1.7 installer, and followed the instructions (letting the computer shut down, then turning it back on, waiting for the gray progress bar under the Apple icon as it updates, etc. The whole works.

Still nothing. I'm back on 1.7 but with a negotiated link speed of 1.5 (see screenshots below).

Is anything about this process different from what you did? The only part that seemed off to me was the way the Software Update worked; I wasn't sure if the installer should have just come up automatically or if I was actually supposed to go to the Applications --> Utilities folder and manually launch it (which is what I did).

Thanks again for all the help! Really appreciate it.

Jay

[idata]

I did exactly this, with one last step.

Shut down the laptop. Wait 30 seconds. Turn it on.

I did that based on what I'd read on some forum.. apparently just doing a warm reboot doesn't kick the SSD into 3 Gbps mode. The guy who tried it said he had to do the whole shut down-wait-restart three times before it kicked in for him; for me, it worked on the first try.

If that doesn't work.. well, I'm out of ideas

[idata]

Also, is your Intel firmware version 300i (for the SSD)? If not, you may need to upgrade the firmware first.