SSD TRIM (MacOSX)

A TRIM command allows an operating system to inform a solid-state drive (SSD) which blocks of data are no longer considered in use and can be wiped internally.
SSDs will often contain internal idle/background garbage collection mechanisms that work independently of TRIM; although this successfully maintains their performance even under operating systems that do not (yet) support TRIM, it has the associated drawbacks of increased write amplification and wear of the flash cells.
More: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIM

I had during a few weeks after the first tests a major dropping frames on certified SSD (Kingston SSDNOW V200+) after performing the TRIM operation, the SSD had the right write speed. The problem is that after a few shots, the SSD started to drop frames again

You can notice that you have missing frames when:
-Recording, the REC indicator begins to blink
-Opening the DNG folder in Ressolve and see that there are lots of mini-clips instead one clip.

Even you have a certified SSD, you usually must perform the TRIM operation (it comes with support but not enabled usually). Apple allow perform the TRIM operation in their SSD´s but if you have a third party SSD (and for the Blackmagic Camera, for sure you have it) you must perform the TRIM operation with a third party app.
For that, Mac users have TRIM ENABLER http://www.groths.org/trim-enabler/.

How can i perform the TRIM operation?
Via sATA cable component. TRIM is not supported via USB (1,2 neither 3).

I´m going to write how i performed in my macbook 15" (2012) the TRIM operation. If you have performed it in another mac or in another way, please share it and i will post it here, to make the user easier to find a way to solve his case.

What i have: Macbook 15" - SSD (already with MacOSX+ format) - HDD/SSD USB.3 Bay

1) Work in a clean surface, you must open your macbook, so protect the cover.
2) Know the screwdrivers (precision) that you need (B & D)



3) Open the macbook´s cover, it will look like this



4) You can remove the SSD or the DVD, i did it removing the HDD cos to remove the DVD you must unplug some fragile parts.
Remove the HDD and insert & connect the SSD in the bay. Fix the SSD with the same scews that come with the HDD.

5) Close the case
6) Connect your HDD (with your operating system) to the HDD/SSD USB bay (or reader). Plug the USB to the macbook.
7) Turn on your macbook. MacOSX will start the OS from the HDD conected to the USB. It´s automatic, but if you have any doubt, check this http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1948

8) Perform the TRIM operation to your SSD with TRIM ENABLER


9) It´s possible that you need to restart to see your changes done. Do it.

10) Once you have restarted and the TRIM operation was sucesfull, leave everything as at the beginning. (HDD screwed in his bay, screw the case...etc...)

Other questions

Can i perform the TRIM operation if i have my SSD formatted?
Yes, enable it, it doesen´t erase anything

Must i perform the TRIM operation everytime that i want to clean it?
No, you only need to do it once. Then you can clean when you want your SSD via USB/Thunderbolt

Should i perform a secure erase (allow Disk Utility to wirte 0´s in the SSD)?
No, just perform a simply erase, clean the SSD withot write anything. TRIM is in charge to manage the SSD.

Thanks to i am the one

Going forward, people should purchase the Crucial M4 or Intel DC3700 in order to avoid this issue.

Going forward, people should purchase the Crucial M4 or Intel DC3700 in order to avoid this issue.

Crucial M4 has a very low write speed... and Intel DC3700 is out of my pocket... im going to try with an Intel 520 180gb... that has 520 of writing speed...

Going forward, people should purchase the Crucial M4 or Intel DC3700 in order to avoid this issue.

Crucial M4 has a very low write speed... and Intel DC3700 is out of my pocket... im going to try with an Intel 520 180gb... that has 520 of writing speed...

A majority of these M4 drives have write speeds of 260 megabytes a second: Crucial M4 @ newegg

The intel 520 is going to have the same TRIM problem as your current drive.

The OCZ Vertex 3 240GB specifications stay it has "Native TRIM support"....wouldn't that mean the option is already set?

ideal would be to have the BMCC issue the trim along with the format.. I think the crucial will do something called Garbage collection if you leave the drive powered up over night after a format. This should be much the same as doing a trim

The OCZ Vertex 3 240GB specifications stay it has "Native TRIM support"....wouldn't that mean the option is already set?

Native TRIM support.... In Windows 7. Its deliberate marketing speak.

Going forward, people should purchase the Crucial M4 or Intel DC3700 in order to avoid this issue.

I dunno - I'm having some issues with my M4 now. Not sure if it is a TRIM issue or something else, but I'm getting lots of dropped frames when shooting in ProRes or DNxHD (not RAW strangely enough).

The OCZ Vertex 3 240GB specifications stay it has "Native TRIM support"....wouldn't that mean the option is already set?

Native TRIM support.... In Windows 7. Its deliberate marketing speak.

I'm on Windows 7...

The OCZ Vertex 3 240GB specifications stay it has "Native TRIM support"....wouldn't that mean the option is already set?

Native TRIM support.... In Windows 7. Its deliberate marketing speak.

I'm on Windows 7...

As am I, but quite a few people here, in fact maybe the majority, are on the Mac platform. Which is why the thread is "SSD TRIM (MacOSX)", which is a definitely problem for them.

Going forward, people should purchase the Crucial M4 or Intel DC3700 in order to avoid this issue.

I dunno - I'm having some issues with my M4 now. Not sure if it is a TRIM issue or something else, but I'm getting lots of dropped frames when shooting in ProRes or DNxHD (not RAW strangely enough).

Zack, the M4 has garbage collection built in. Just leave it powered on in the docking station over night or 6-8 hours and it will do the garbage collection on its own.

Couldn't all this be fixed by a firmware update allowing TRIM/Format on camera?
I don't wan't to disassemble my laptop every 30min (240GB SSD RAW)
Why do Blackmagic recommend certain SSD over others even if they not meet the specifications after a few recording cycles?

Going forward, people should purchase the Crucial M4 or Intel DC3700 in order to avoid this issue.

I dunno - I'm having some issues with my M4 now. Not sure if it is a TRIM issue or something else, but I'm getting lots of dropped frames when shooting in ProRes or DNxHD (not RAW strangely enough).

Zack, the M4 has garbage collection built in. Just leave it powered on in the docking station over night or 6-8 hours and it will do the garbage collection on its own.

I did that with one of my drives to compare the performance. It didn't make a difference, but it's tough to know if the M4 actually did the collection or not. I am having the issue only with ProRes/DNxHD and not RAW, so it might be an issue with the BMCC and not SSD. Tough to tell at the moment.

Angelbird has an SSD which has native Mac TRIM support. So no trim enabler needed!

I'm still waiting for a camera but I've been looking into the different SSDs for the day that it does arrive. Is there any more info about these Angelbird ones and how they work with the camera? The whole Trim thing has me a bit worried and an automatic function sounds pretty nice.

Angelbird has an SSD which has native Mac TRIM support. So no trim enabler needed!

I installed one of the Mac SSDs from Angelbird in my MacBook Pro about 3 months ago. As well upgraded my MacPro with their MacPro SSD. Everything worked as it was advertised, very fast, really good SSDs.

Angelbird has an SSD which has native Mac TRIM support. So no trim enabler needed!

I installed one of the Mac SSDs from Angelbird in my MacBook Pro about 3 months ago. As well upgraded my MacPro with their MacPro SSD. Everything worked as it was advertised, very fast, really good SSDs.

But that's only an endorsement on a Mac. Things could be quite different in the BMCC. Apparently several SSDs that have failed to be reliable in the BMCC, do work well when repurposed to be a system drive for example.

Rick Lang
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