Verbatim Express card SSD woes

My 2 year old Macbook pro is still a very capable laptop.  I don’t have the affection for it that I do for my blackbook but it churns away all the time, being my only computer for daily use.

Multiple VMs running Active Directory, SQL2005, Domino do hurt performance though.  For a short term fix, I ordered a Verbatim 32MBGB SSD Express Card, taking advantage of the express slot on the side for the first time.  Plan is to run a vm on it and leave the local disk for other things.

Here are the steps taken:

  1. Open package
  2. Read instructions
  3. Download drive from Verbatim site
  4. Install driver and reboot
  5. Insert card

Easy eh?  Well no.  Errors copying to the card and so far 4 total system freezes.  So, go into disk utility and try to re-partition the drive in every format, and get these type of errors:


So I go to their support page, click here and click on “your questions answered”.   And get a big fat emptiness.  Nice.  Call support line.  eMail support at lunch.  No response.  Call support this evening.  They are closed from 4pm CET.

Not a good start Verbatim.  A cursory google search shows I am not alone.

September 3, 2010 · Filed under Gadget Centre

5 Comments »

  1. John Head Said,

    September 3, 2010 @ 8:32 pm

    I think you mean 32 gig Sir … 32 MB is a bit small ;)

  2. pmooneynet Said,

    September 3, 2010 @ 9:35 pm

    Fixed ta

  3. Lyn Rees Said,

    September 6, 2010 @ 8:46 am

    Photographers/Videographers, who use cards a lot, tend to buy Sandisk or Lexar.

    I have a fleet of Sandisk myself – they’re meant to have good support as well.

  4. Verbatim SSD Express card update Said,

    September 6, 2010 @ 12:07 pm

    [...] purchase is now winging it’s little way back to Amazon for a refund after a very short and honest call [...]

  5. Rob Novak Said,

    September 8, 2010 @ 5:11 am

    I have had no luck with any brand of Express for eSATA, so haven’t looked into this but do need the multiple VMs on my 3 yr old MBP (4 Gb RAM, new 500GB 7200 HD, but still…). Are there other brands of SSDs for Express you looked at?

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