Apple has recently released a new EFI Firmware update for MacBook Pro users, namely version 1.7. According to the company, the update addresses some issues that have been experienced on MacBook Pro 13-inch, Mid 2009; MacBook Pro 15-inch, Mid 2009; and MacBook Pro 15-inch, 2.53GHz, Mid 2009.

The change log for the new MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 shows that it is meant to fix some problems that a small number of customers have reported and that surfaced while using drives based on the SATA 3Gbps specification on the June 2009 MacBook Pro devices. According to Apple, the update should allow those drives to use transfer rates greater than 1.5Gbps.

Even so, those who have such drives should also know that Apple has not qualified or offered these drives for Mac notebooks, and that the use of the drives is unsupported. At the same time, the manufacturer says that “all previous and current Apple portables with a SATA drive interface include a SATA 1.5Gbps hard drive.”

The MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 has been released for Intel-based computers, and users should check on the firmware currently installed on their devices before proceeding with the update process. In order to do so, they should select About This Mac from the Apple menu and then click on the More Info... button. After going to the Content header, they should select Hardware, and then the version information will be shown in the pane on the right.

The Software Update might not show some firmware updates available for Intel-based Macs, yet, in case one downloads a firmware update that the system does not need, the update installer will alert that the firmware is not needed or that it has been already installed. More details can be found here.

Download MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 (free).