installing ssd hard drive into Macbook mid 2012

brendanxx wrote:

Firstly let me thanks all of you for helping so fast and apologies for not thanking you sooner!

OK, so I'm using the SSD disc I installed in my old macbook late 2011 and installing it in my wife's macbook 2012 (non-retina).

(1) I attach the SSD to my wif'es computer and reformat it using disc utility (please refresh my memory - what do I format it to?).

It depends on the OS you are using. For macOS 10.13+ you erase the drive as GUID partition and APFS (top option). If you are installing/using macOS 10.12 or earlier, then erase the drive as GUID partition and MacOS Extended (Journaled).

(2) using carbon copy clone I clone my wife's HD to the ssd.

(3) I exchange old HD for SSD (it's 1TB).

Am I then good to go with everything on my wife's HD now on the SSD it should just work - shouldn't it?

I've lost the video for inserting an SSD into a macbook 2011/2 - can anyone point me to a good one?

Many thanks! Keep safe!

Test boot the SSD externally to make sure it works and the clone is good. Then you can replace the hard drive with the SSD.

If you have the 13" model, then you may need to replace the hard drive SATA cable which has an extremely high rate of failure on that particular model especially when using an SSD.

If you have the non-Retina model, then yes you can easily swap the hard drive for an SSD. If you have the 13" model, then it is recommended to also replace the hard drive SATA cable since this cable has an extremely high rate of failure on the 13" model especially when used with an SSD. OWC sells these cables.

If you want to clone the original drive, then I recommend you use Carbon Copy Cloner as it is easy to use and just works plus it recreates the hidden recovery partition.

You should always have frequent & regular backups. It is impossible to recover accidentally deleted data from an SSD plus an SSD can fail at any time without any warning signs.

Edit: If you are cloning the drive then you will need a USB to SATA Adapter, drive dock, or enclosure. Also it is best to clone the hard drive to the SSD first and test to make sure the SSD is able to boot externally before you even open up the laptop.

+1 on Carbon Copy Cloner. Worked great.

I did the same upgrade three years ago and my 2012 MBP went from being a slow pain to use to a joy. The best SSDs from Macs today are OWC and Crucial. I used the "kit" from OWC and it included tools and, best yet, a simple external USB3 drive enclosure. The enclosure is the key to an easy transfer.

Are you on macOS 10.13 or higher/ You need that for best SSD results.

Safest transfer (after backing up).

• I put the new SSD in the enclosure, attached it to the MBP, then used Disk Utility to partition map the SSD as AFPS and format as Macintosh Extended (Journaled).
• Only then did I use Carbon Copy Cloner to CLONE (not copy) the old drive, still in the MacBook Pro, to the SSD in the external enclosure.
• Once cloned, I opened System Preferences > Startup Disk to verify if the SSD showed as bootable.
• Then I removed the old hard drive from the Mac and installed a new drive cable and the new SSD. Booted first try.

The first boot will be slower that subsequent ones as the computer sorts out who this stranger is.

This is the "kit" I used with no regrets:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/Y3SSD6E500/

brendanxx wrote:

I want to change my wife's ailing hard drive with an ssd drive. Can I simply take out the old drive and insert new ssd drive then transfer by cable all her settings and OS from the old drive? Or do I have to clone her old drive on another ext drive and install from that?

More or less— all new drives need to be formatted first.

You can read more here: boot clone https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-10081

brendanxx wrote:

Thanks that's all very clear and helpful.

How do you test the external ssd?When you boot the mac up with ssd attached does it give you the option of which drive to boot from?

You need to hold down the Option key immediately after the startup chime to access the Apple boot picker menu. The external boot drive will have an orange icon.

I think I got a new cable when I installed the ssd into my mac 2011 - so I'll just use that cable.

The cables are different between the 2011 & 2012 models. OWC sells the hard drive SATA cable if you find you need one.

Great advice above. There is very little I can add except:

Buy at least ≥500 GB size, because the smaller ones tend to be slow and not much cheaper.