User profile for user: BenJL21
BenJL21 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Upgrading MacBook Pro Mid 2012 HDD to SSD

I got a free 240 gb SSD and decided I wanted to upgrade my 500 gb HDD to an SSD. I bought a usb to Sata 3.0 cable and followed several tutorials. I held command + R and put the computer into recovery mode, wiped the new SSD just in case and partitioned it to match my current HDD which was APFS I believe. Upon trying to clone my HDD over to my SSD, it gives me the error that there isn’t enough storage in mine SSD, even tho my computer is only using 148 gb of storage on my HDD. I tried copying over just the MacOS system that also appears as a drive but I get stuck in the computer booting up (white screen with an Apple logo in the center and a loading bar, gets all the way to one side and then just freezes). Because my computer is so old, I don’t want to use internet recovery because if I’m correct, that loads the version of MacOS that originally came with the computer and I don’t want to get stuck on that. I’m running MacOS Mojave 10.14.6.

Thanks I’m advance!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Sep 11, 2021 10:50 AM

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User profile for user: Allan Jones
Allan Jones
User level: Level 10
81,104 points

Sep 11, 2021 11:16 AM in response to BenJL21

Something is not clear to me. Are you wanting the SSD to be an internal boot volume, an external boot volume, or ether internal or external non-bootable storage? Those options can make a different in how we recommend you proceed.


You do not need a USB cable for internal installation, but should replace the internal hard drive cable when changing the internal boot drive. If setting up an external boot volume, the USB enclosure must be USB3 and the SSD inside must be rated SATA 6GB/sec to see maximum benefit.


If the SSD is to be either an internal of external boot volume, you do not copy the old drive to the new one, you clone it. I used Carbon Copy Cloner (https://bombich.com) to clone my 2012 MBP's HD to a new SSD. CCC insures all needed boot files plus the important recovery and diagnostic functions are properly created on the new volume.


What make and model is the SSD? The only SSDs that seem fully Mac-friendly are the Crucial MX series (skip the BX series) or Other World Computing SSDs. Mine is an OWC.

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User profile for user: BDAqua
BDAqua
User level: Level 10
251,131 points

Sep 11, 2021 11:01 AM in response to BenJL21

Start up from macOS Recovery

To start up from macOS Recovery, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold one of the following combinations on your keyboard. Command-R is generally recommended, especially if you never installed macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later… https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904#notupdated

Command (⌘)-R

Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.


Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.


Shift-Option-⌘-R

Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

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User profile for user: steve626
steve626
User level: Level 6
15,809 points

Sep 11, 2021 10:20 PM in response to Allan Jones

Allan Jones wrote:

What make and model is the SSD? The only SSDs that seem fully Mac-friendly are the Crucial MX series (skip the BX series) or Other World Computing SSDs. Mine is an OWC.

I have made bootable external drives for multiple Catalina MacBook Pros 2019 16-inch laptops with the following:


Samsung T7 SSD

Samsung T5 SSD

WD My Passport SSD

plus other WD SSDs

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Upgrading MacBook Pro Mid 2012 HDD to SSD

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