Samsung PRO SDD 850 Mac mini 2012 High Sierra problem

[koenver]

Because of an old Kingston SSD 120GB on a mac mini 2012 with high siërra (most recent update) and Photoshop CC 2018
(the old kingston was long in use and had only 40Gb left..so photoshop CC 2018 worked slower and slower)

I replaced this SSD with an Samsung 850 PRO 512GB. This didn't work....

But when I made a mistake with backing up the SSD , I placed by accident the contents of my windows 10 SSD on it.

The Mac Mini 2012 worked perfect with it. (no Bootcamp !!) So I tried for fun an Linux at this mac mini 2012. It worked also.


Later I replaced the SSD with a crucial 512GB and the Mac mini 2012 with High Sierra and Photoshop CC 2018 worked perfect (fast performance).


Can somebody explain to me , why High Sierra is incompatible with the Samsung 850 PRO series...
These are the Rolls-Royce of the SDD...

It must be the operating system (High Sierra) and not the hardware (mac mini 2012).


greetings

Koen Verstappen

 

[lclev]

You do not give any details as to how the Samsung did not work so here is my best effort to explain any issues.

Over the years I have read of others having problems with Samsung 850 drives. I am not sure I have ever read a reason why. I have used a Samsung 850 on my MP as the main drive but I use it for storage now. Originally it was my main drive but I did not run High Sierra on it. Since it is a 512GB and I needed a larger SSD I moved my install to a 1TB Crucial drive.

Unfortunately some systems will not work with the Samsung drives. I am not sure if it is a drive inconsistency issue or some problem in the mac. Also High Sierra introduced the new file system APFS and when HS was installed it automatically converted any main SSD drive to the new file system. This could be an issue with Samsung.

Lisa

 

[harryb2448]

I avoid anything Samsung like the plague.

Cameras, SSD's, fridges, TV's.

 

[chscag]

Also High Sierra introduced the new file system APFS and when HS was installed it automatically converted any main SSD drive to the new file system. This could be an issue with Samsung.

Lisa is right on target (as usual). ;D The Samsung does not like APFS and with High Sierra you have no choice as it will automatically try to convert HFS+ to APFS. And of course if your Samsung was formatted with Windows (NTFS), that likewise would not work. Install Sierra on your Mini and the Samsung should work OK.

 

[chscag]

I avoid anything Samsung like the plague.

Cameras, SSD's, fridges, TV's.

Hey Harry, Samsung makes some pretty good Air Conditioner units. Looks like you could use some cool air down where you are right about this time of year.

 

[MacInWin]

I'm with Harry. Nothing from Samsung in my house. I tried one Samsung tv a long time ago, it died two days after the warranty expired. Never again.

 

[harryb2448]

Fujitsu fills the bill nicely Charlie.

You may try a firmware update Koen to see if that will improve things. They seem to release that many updates. Remember do nothing if your are running APFS.


http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

 

[Csmac]

Hmmm...

I'm surprised by all the negative comments on the Samsung 850pro. I have one on my 2012 MBP running High Sierra. No known problems so far. It converted it to APFS on install.

 

[chscag]

Like I said above, the drive may have been formatted to NTFS.

 

[lclev]

And as far as Samsung SSD's - some have absolutely no issues and others can't get them to work. I have no idea. As I said I have one that use to be my main drive and is doing duty as a data drive now with no issues. It just depends on what works for you.

As for my preference, I like Crucial or OWC. I have had no issues with either.

Lisa

 

[MacInWin]

The challenge with Samsung drives is, as I see it, that if they work, they work, but if they don't work the very first try, they cannot be made to work, ever. It's all or none. Crucial and OWC drives don't seem to have the "don't work" issue very much, if at all.