My 120GB SSD is constantly on the brink of being full! Please help!

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apollak8 Author

Level 1

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My 120GB SSD is constantly on the brink of being full! Please help!

Hi there. I greatly appreciate any and all help that can be given to me.

I have an early 2011 17" MacbookPro:

Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 M

Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 (11C74)

I made a poor choice when I bought my mbp not to get a larger capacity ssd--mine is only 120GB. I'm paying for it now. What can I do to fix my lack of drive space?

Can I buy a larger capacity ssd to replace my existing one? Is that the best solution?

I'm don't really have any technological knowledge, but I am a quick learner.

Again, I'd really appreciate any help!

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Apr 17, 2012 8:10 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Apr 17, 2012 8:14 PM in response to apollak8

You may wish to consider OWC's DiskDoubler that let's you replace your optical drive with a hard drive. You could then install a large capacity hard drive to store your entire Home folder thus releasing all the space it occupies on the SSD. I use just such a configuration on two of my MBPs.

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Answer 2

apollak8 Author

Level 1

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Apr 17, 2012 8:29 PM in response to Kappy

Are links to outside sites allowed on this forum? If so, could you please link an example of the DiskDoubler and a compatible hard drive? I know I'm asking you to hold my hand-- thank you so much for your help!

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Apr 17, 2012 8:34 PM in response to apollak8

Yes. OWC. Sorry, the correct name is Data Doubler. Pick the one for your model. Disk drives can be found here. Pick the correct Data Doubler here.

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Answer 4

apollak8 Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 17, 2012 8:42 PM in response to Kappy

Thank you Kappy. Is there any disadvantage to say, putting in a 1 TB hard drive? Doesn't it somewhat defeat the portability purpose of the ssd (aka no moving parts)?

Is putting in a second ssd (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DDMBS6X240/) viable?

I've read that the second drive may cause the battery life to severly deteriorate--have you found this to be the case with your mbp's?

I would prefer NOT to be the one to actually do the installation...are there services which do it for you? I'm scared of causing irreversible damage since I am not an expert by any means.

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