Is there a firmware upgrade for the Macbook6,1 from MB61.00C8.B00 to B02?

Question

This question is directly relevant to my failing attempts to upgrade the RAM in a Late 2009 White Unibody MacBook (MacBook6,1) to 8GB, and the question may be better asked in that context.

It is widely referenced (most authoritatively on everymac.com) that this model can support 8GB (despite Apple saying the max is 4GB), but in the "System Information: Hardware Overview" screenshots of every successful upgrade, the Boot ROM Version is shown as MB61.00C8.B02 while mine is at MB61.00C8.B00. While it's possible that I got bad RAM, I'm wondering if the earlier firmware version doesn't support 8GB. I did find one other person on a forum with the B00 firmware having the same problem I am ("3 beeps and won't boot with the RAM installed"), but no resolution; he did RMA his RAM at least once.

Apple doesn't show any firmware updates at all for the MacBook6,1 model, so there's nothing official for me to try and re-flash.

Has anyone managed to get 8GB working under B00, or upgrade it to B02?

Answer 1

My 6,1 B02 has 8G RAM and works fine. It also runs in 64 bit mode, which I enabled some time ago with the help of a simple hack (can't remember all the details, just google macbook, 64-bit, boot.efi, boot64.efi).

You could try to manually upgrade your firmware with the fw-upgrade of the macbook pro 5,5. It has been done successfully by several people:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-release-notes/+bug/774089/comments/110

BTW: By doing this, you will probably also fix the MCP79 bug that makes MCP79 negotiate SATA1 with newer SATA3 drives (instead of SATA2).

System Profiler:

Note, that with 8G RAM, hibernation ("safe sleep"?) will make WindowServer crash if you're still running 10.6 (Snow Leopard).

Answer 2

How to install the firmware from a MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 13" onto a MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 13" (Uni/Late 09) [Action should correct SATA speed issues and maybe RAM issues]:

1. Do a clean install of Yosemite (this should be optional, but it never hurts to start clean)
2. Download http://support.apple.com/kb/DL853 (MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7)
3. Install Pacifist: https://www.charlessoft.com/ (or whatever software you like using to extract files)
4. Open Pacifist and then drag the MacBookProEFIUpdate.dmg into it
5. Expand: Contents of MacBookProEFIUpdate.pkg -> Contents of MacBookProEFIUpdate.pkg -> Applications -> Utilities -> MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update.app -> Contents -> Resources
6. Drag MBP55_00AC_03B_LOCKED.scap to the Desktop
7. Click the Extract button in Pacifist and enter your password if prompted and press OK (might need to enter your password twice)
8. Quit Pacifist
9. Click Go -> Utilities
10. Open Terminal
11. Type "cd Desktop" without the quotes and press Enter/Return
12. Type "mv MBP55_00AC_03B_LOCKED.scap MB61_00C8_B02_LOCKED.scap" without the quotes and press Enter/Return
13. Make sure your laptop is hooked up to a reliable power source
14. Type "sudo bless -mount / -firmware MB61_00C8_B02_LOCKED.scap --recovery --verbose" without the quotes and press Enter/Return
15. Type your password and press Enter/Return
16. Restart your Mac (you should hear an angry beep, then see a black screen like nothing is happening for a good while, then a gray screen with a progress bar, and finally the Mac will reboot again)
17. Once your Mac has booted, open your System Report and verify the update was successful (Should show the Model Identifier as a MacBookPro5,5)
18. Have a drink!