MBP SSD Upgrade

Lorddalron

Lorddalron

Lorddalron

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So im going to go for the 13" Macbook pro rather than the 15" Retina as ive nearly all the cash saved. Rather than spending a lot more on an SSD upgrade from Apple, im going to get at least a 120gb SSD (possible the Kingston's from OCUK if there still available) and see if the guys at the genius bar can do it or just do it myself. Ive watched a few videos on youtube and it seems pretty straight forward with all the correct tools.

Im going to go for the 8GB/750GB i-7 model and would like to use the 750hdd for storage and install the SSD for the operating system/programs, but before doing any of the swapping about, what is the best way of backing everything up so i can then transfer it on to the SSD once installed?

I'll be upgrading to mountain lion out of the box so would it best just to download this to my bootable USB and forget about backing things up as I'll be looking to do it straight out of the box so i wont have any files on the MB and just boot this to the SSD once installed.

Its hard to say how many programs I will be looking to install in the future but again, out of the box im going to be installing Office for mac as well as the Mountain lion OS. Would 120gb see me right or would I be best to go for at least 256gb??

Whats the best caddy to use to put the 750hdd in to once the superdrive is removed?

All help much appreciated!!
 
OS X and Macs have been a bit funny about some SSD's so do your research. I believe the Samsung 830's are good bet.
It would be easiest to download Mountain Lion and create a USB disk with disk utility. Then boot from that, wipe, install ML.
Unless you have a lot of audio software or similar with large libraries an SSD of that size will happily fit any applications.

You'd be better off with the SSD in a caddy as it produces no heat or vibrations.
 
AbsenceJam said:
You'd be better off with the SSD in a caddy as it produces no heat or vibrations.
Click to expand...

So replace the superdrive with the SSD in the caddy and keep the HDD where it is??

If i was to do that and go ahead and download mountain lion on to the HDD, could i then do a backup to the SSD once installed then make the SSD the primary drive??
 
The Crucial m4 and Samsung 830 are known to be reliable and work well, though to be honest there are few drives that truly "don't work well" with OS X - the drives that have had issues, such as some SF-2281 drives in the past, have had problems across the board due to their firmware, on any OS.

These two drives typically offer the best balance of performance, reliability and value, so there is little reason to consider anything else. The m4 has full Mac compatibility, so you can easily perform firmware updates, however this is rare, and the latest firmware (0309) as had some issues. If you stick with 0009, you will be fine, and probably won't need to update at all.

As for the optibay installations, there have been issues regarding stability, system sleeping, etc. Having the SSD in the optibay is the best solution as you keep the SMS for the standard hard drive, so if the machine gets the dropped or knocked, at least the drive has a better chance of survival.

It's worth doing a bit of reading to see how the 2012 MBPs fair with this setup.

Either way, I would install the SSD first, then use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the HD install to the SSD. Means that you won't have to download ML again from scratch.
 
Ive got the crucial m4 here, i did have stuttering with it but ive updated to the latest firmware and its all fine now. Its a great ssd..
 
I see OCUK still have stock of Samsungs MZ-7PC256N working out @ £135 after cashback which seems pretty fair.

I jumped over to samsungs website to the SSD section and it showed away of using Norton Ghost which im not familiar with seems that you can connect the SSD to the laptop before opening it up and transfer everything. It didnt however show the type of cable. Is it a USB to Sata or what.

Im liking the look of that Norton Ghost. Seems to simplify things (bit more research to do i think).

Anybody done it like that?

EDIT: I see the cable is included in the kit.

Think i might just go for the 128gb and i dont wont to dip too much into my MBP pot. 128 is only £80ish compared to £135 for the 256 but i just dont have it.
 
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I got a 2012 MBP ( non-retina ) a couple of months back.
I already had a 128mb M4 SSD and tried putting it in the DVD bay but my system became SUPER slow and unresponsive. Seems others have this trouble as well with the M4 in the bay. I switched the SSD with the HDD and all is well. I think it would be better for piece of mind to have the SSD in the bay though, so the HDD gets the shock protection.

I noticed there was a newer version of the firmware available, and that would possibly sort it, but there seemed to be some mac users mentioning trouble with it, so decided best to leave it be.

Since adding the SSD in this configuration I've had no problems what-so-ever. Everything is working perfectly.
Boots in less than 5 seconds which is nice.
 
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ok so i phoned my local apple store and they told me the genius bar would not install a 3rd party SSD and replace the superdrive with the original HDD.

Now although doing this will void the warranty, what are MBP reliability like. If anything did happen, im sure it wouldnt be too hard to replace everything the way it was.

When using Norton ghost to transfer files from HDD to SSD, does the HDD retain the files until selected to delete. If so, i would just keep it should anything happen and its just a matter changing them.

I wouldnt mind going for the 128ssd through apple but i like the option of having the 750hdd for storage with programs running off of the SSD for speed.

An external drive is a no no.
 
I installed an SDD in my 13" MBP this week. Very easy to do - there's plenty of instructional videos on YouTube if you don't feel confident. Be aware of which screwdrivers you need though.

I created a USB stick with Mountain Lion on, installed ML from it and then restored from a Time Machine backup. Again, very easy to do and took about 2 hours to complete.

I've now ordered a caddy to replace my DVD-drive with the old mechanical HDD. It was about £12 off eBay. The procedure looks more difficult than installing the SSD but I'll give it a go. :)
 
Tunney said:
I installed an SDD in my 13" MBP this week. Very easy to do - there's plenty of instructional videos on YouTube if you don't feel confident. Be aware of which screwdrivers you need though.

I created a USB stick with Mountain Lion on, installed ML from it and then restored from a Time Machine backup. Again, very easy to do and took about 2 hours to complete.

I've now ordered a caddy to replace my DVD-drive with the old mechanical HDD. It was about £12 off eBay. The procedure looks more difficult than installing the SSD but I'll give it a go. :)
Click to expand...

Hey tunney. Thanks for that.

I have no problem doing the install but im worried that if i mess up at the very beginning and splice the delicate screws then if something done the line did happen they will know the case has been tampered with thus, possible 3rd part upgrade.

Im thinking of just getting the 128ssd fitted from Apple and then buy a terabyte external hdd. Id rather not have to plug in an external drive when it comes to music, files etc but its the legit option.

Im not sure :(
 
There are no seals or tamper-proof screws involved in removing the bottom. Or for that matter changing RAM or disk. If it were a Windows Laptop, which are virtually impossible to open up without breaking at least one of the plastic clips, its easy for ACER, Samsung, et all to say its been opened - warranty void. The documentation states that the battery must only be replaced by an authorized repairer but I've yet to see anything about RAM or SSD's. It is a good Idea to keep the replaced components in there orignal state to fit back if it has to be swapped out. But you wouldn't want to give apple your SSD or 16GB RAM upgrade, or would you? Also if it does fail, e.g. no display, you would just refit the original stuff and simply not tell them more than 'no display'.
 
BarKeep said:
There are no seals or tamper-proof screws involved in removing the bottom. Or for that matter changing RAM or disk. If it were a Windows Laptop, which are virtually impossible to open up without breaking at least one of the plastic clips, its easy for ACER, Samsung, et all to say its been opened - warranty void. The documentation states that the battery must only be replaced by an authorized repairer but I've yet to see anything about RAM or SSD's. It is a good Idea to keep the replaced components in there orignal state to fit back if it has to be swapped out. But you wouldn't want to give apple your SSD or 16GB RAM upgrade, or would you? Also if it does fail, e.g. no display, you would just refit the original stuff and simply not tell them more than 'no display'.
Click to expand...

My biggest worry really is removing the screws. It seems a simple procedure but if one or more was to be spliced, their virtually impossible to get again and in certain places, very dear. If left and sent in for repair, its an automatic give away.

Im basically not looking to fcuk it up after paying over a grand. Im suer Apples reliability is second to none but i dont get much luck. The SSD is a must though for performance. Im probably just going to go ahead and let it come with the 750gb hDD and do the swaps as orinally planned :D
 
Tunney said:
I've now ordered a caddy to replace my DVD-drive with the old mechanical HDD. It was about £12 off eBay. The procedure looks more difficult than installing the SSD but I'll give it a go. :)
Click to expand...

Have you recieved your caddy yet. Is it a good one.

Any chance of the item number!!
 
With regards to the screws, ensure you have exactly the right screwdriver, go slowly and press down firmly when screwing and unscrewing. It is very unlikely that you will go wrong. And with Apple allowing you to swap out the hard drive and memory, you won't have any warranty issues.
 
I have small torex screwdrivers here, both T5 & 6 but there cheap ****. Might buy a better make for around a tenner to save a life of pain....
 
Lorddalron said:
Have you recieved your caddy yet. Is it a good one.

Any chance of the item number!!
Click to expand...

Yes, installed it this evening and it's all working perfectly. :) It was very fiddly though - a magnetic tipped screwdriver is a must. The good news is that it only took about 15 minutes to install though.

I bought this one and also an enclosure for my now homeless superdrive. The enclosure hasn't turned up yet. I followed this video on YouTube to find all the screws that I needed to remove.
 
Going to purchase a decent Stanley fatmax Torex T6 screw driver and Philips screw driver from ebay here but not sure if i need ph1 or ph2. Whats the difference and mainly, what Philips is on the macbook.

Like i said before, i already have a Torex set but its cheap Chinese set so for the sake of £4 each it will save a lot of hassle.
 
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