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Apple Addresses Optical Drive Issues with New Firmware Updates

Software Update

Dec 9, 2009 07:57 GMT  ·  By
An Apple SuperDrive (optical drive) employed by the company's range of iMac desktop computers
   An Apple SuperDrive (optical drive) employed by the company's range of iMac desktop computers

The newest firmware updates issued by Apple for MacBook and MacBook Pro computers are said to eliminate a mechanical issue resulting in noise coming from the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep. MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4 and MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8 are freely available for download from Apple’s servers, via the built-in Software Update mechanism in Mac OS X, as well as from Softpedia itself.

“This update eliminates the noise made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on MacBook Pro computers,” Apple says on the Downloads area of its website, appealing both to MacBook and MacBook Pro owners. The company reveals that, as soon as this firmware update is installed, an additional download needs to be performed, followed by the installation of a different firmware update.

“When installation is complete, please run Software Update again, and install SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0,” the instructions continue. “To complete the firmware update process, please follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the installation is complete,” Apple’s message ends.

According to the description for Apple’s SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0, the installation of this additional update will further attempt to address noise issues made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on your Mac. Apple makes a note for all Mac owners out there, saying that this particular update works with the following EFI updates.

- iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.4; - Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2; - MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4; - MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8.

As usual, the Mac maker offers all the support it can via additional documentation, like the “About EFI firmware updates” tech note detailing how to identify if your Intel-based Macintosh computer needs an EFI firmware update and how to apply it, or the “About SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0” support document.

Download MacBook EFI Firmware Update (Free)

Download MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update (Free) Download SuperDrive Firmware Update (Free)