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Intel 330 freezes on MacBook/Mac OS X Lion

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

Hi all,

I installed an Intel 330 SSD (120GB) in my MacBook (4,1) a few weeks ago. I reinstalled a fresh Mac OS X Lion (10.7.4) to make sure there are no issues with the new drive. However, since then I encounter random and pretty frequent freezes (~10, daily).

The entire OS freezes for 10-30 seconds, the cursor (the infamous beach ball) still moves but no application responds to input.

I don't know whether the drive is malfunctioning or the problem is with the OS. I see other people having this issue and I'm wondering if anyone has any clues as to where to start investigating. If I am to return the drive, I need some proof that it's malfunctioning. Or, if the OS has incompatibility issues with Intel drives/SandForce controllers, I might buy a second different drive.

At the moment I'm trying to use fs_usage (as I'm writing this message), hoping to find a clue about what's causing the freezes.

Any input on this issue would be appreciated.

13 REPLIES 13

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

I have also experienced this issue with a 120GB 330-series Intel SSD on a late-2008 aluminum MacBook. I see the beachball appear randomly for about 30-60 seconds. It occurs in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and 10.8 Mountain Lion. Both OS's are fresh installations on the Intel SSD. I never experienced this behavior with fresh OS installations on my old Western Digital 500 GB HDD. Any suggestions? Thank you!

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

I get exactly the same symptoms with a 120GB 330-series Intel SSD on a mid-2009 Macbook Pro, periodic freezing (beachballing usually.) The stock Seagate drive that was in before did not exhibit any of these issues and I have these issues in both 10.7 and 10.8.

This seems to be a fairly widely reported issue on various other community sites.

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

I'm having the same problem. Can't find a way to solve it 😞

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

I contacted Intel support and I was suggested to test the drive using another operating system. I was also suggested to contact Apple regarding this issue: "we strongly recommend to contact Apple first to see if the SSD is fully compatible and validated for your system and its firmware, it is possible then Apple can provide advise on solving the issue without having to cross test the SSD or to re-partition the drive".