Very simple step-by-step guide for Optical Drive to SSD swap?

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Level 1

29 points

Very simple step-by-step guide for Optical Drive to SSD swap?

When my MacBook Pro comes out of warranty I'd like to remove the optical drive and put in an SSD, to hold my apps and OS. I have a 13" MBP, early 2011, with a 500GB SATA HDD (5400 RPM).

I'm generally handy with tech stuff, but having looked into this, am a bit uncertain on the best way forward, so am hoping to get advice from more experienced types on this forum. Issues and questions so far are...

1) Stage 1 - determining specs and approach

The first issue for me is to determine...

- Whether it's better to house the SSD in the HDD bay and move the latter into the optical drive bay, or whether I should leave the HDD where it is and put the SSD in the optical bay. Given my MBP model, which is best?

- What SSD is best? I’m currently looking at this, which includes a data transfer kit. Crucial's M4s seem to be pretty good for this sort of thing:

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=B9BCBF75A5CA7304

- What cables, adapters, bays, software etc are appropriate for my model? I’m based in Australia and will likely order much of the kit from abroad, so if I miss anything, it’s likely to be a (frustrating!) wait.

- I’m also keen to put a case around the formerly-internal optical drive so need to figure out cables and cases for that.

-

2) Stage 2 - Doing the swap

Seems that the best thing is to find a super-simple how-to video.

As there are quite a few out there, any opinions on ones that are great (and ones that are to be avoided!) would be welcome.

3) Advice for use once installed.

Assuming I’ve gone through the process correctly, I'll put my OS and apps on the SSD. Then...

- Can I simply delete the OS residing on the HDD? Understandably I want to avoid any bad-or-irreversible-without-great-pain mojo.

- Ditto for apps. Is there anything required to ensure any settings and preferences don’t get lost?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 13" MBP, early 2011, with a 500GB S

Posted on Dec 20, 2012 2:05 AM

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Answer 1

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clintonfrombirmingham

Level 7

30,094 points

Dec 20, 2012 2:18 AM in response to ggfromcp

I would put the SSD in the hard drive bay and install the old HD in the optical bay. You can get a "Data Doubler" kit from OWC that will allow you to do just that. They also have online instructions on how to remove the optical drive and install the HD in the optical bay.

If you buy the Crucial SSD with the data transfer kit (I didn't - I used the method described here) I'm assuming that you'd just leave the hard drive in place, transfer the data (although I would use Carbon Copy Cloner), install the SSD and then install the hard drive in the optical bay.

It's not a very detailed procedure - a lot of folks around here have done it. If I didn't use my optical drive frequently, I'd even consider it.

Then just select your SSD as the Startup Drive under System Preferences, erase your old hard drive and you can use it to store whatever you wish.

Good luck,

Clinton

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Answer 2

Dec 20, 2012 3:20 AM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

As a side note, the OWC Data Doubler also includes the necessary screwdrivers and a small plastic "pry tool" to help remove the battery connector, disconnect the SATA cables, and lift the SuperDrive out of the optical bay. If you have a smartphone, OWC has posted its installation videos on YouTube so you can follow along. If you don't, the kit has a printed instruction guide with pictures.

The procedure to swap the SuperDrive isn't terribly difficult. It is a bit time consuming, even if you know what you're doing. You need to be especially careful when working with the various cables so that nothing gets damaged.

As far as which SSD you should buy, the Crucial M4 is a great choice. It's not the absolute fastest out there, but it's comparative inexpensive and has a proven track record for stability. It also is still receiving firmware upgrades, and the process for doing so is Mac-friendly, which is not something you can say for a lot of SSDs.

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Answer 3

ggfromcp Author

Level 1

29 points

Dec 20, 2012 4:17 AM in response to ggfromcp

Thanks for the tips! Very helpful. The OWC looks like a great option, as it'd mean a one stop shop. I'm assuming that if I get the Data Doubler then getting an OWC SSD would be best value.

I've sent them a note to find out whether they ship to Australia. Might even consider a larger HDD, while I'm at it.

Saturnotaku - you mention using the OWC Data Doubler, but sound like you lean toward the Crucial SSD. Just curious about your thoughts on the OWC SSD.

Clinton - Was hoping to keep the HDD in the original bay. Would leaving there degrade performance/speed? I assume that's the reason for shifting it.

Thanks!

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Answer 4

Dec 20, 2012 4:37 AM in response to ggfromcp

I know that I lean toward Crucial - primarily (and I'm sure you'll find this to be true of any SSD owner) because that's what I have and I've had no problems with it. There are a lot of us around here with Crucial SSDs but I don't hear much from folks who have OWC SSDs - they're a bit overpriced compared to other brands. The Crucial m4 series is, to me, a great balance between price and performance.

A few people here have reported problems getting the full 6Gbps negotiated speed when putting an SSD in the optical bay. On newer models of MacBook Pros that's not supposed to be a problem - both bays are rated at 6Gbps. But it's been a problem for some (it seems to be a bigger problem with OCZ drives than others, from what I've read here) so I would just put the boot drive where the boot drive is supposed to go!

Call back with any questions...

Clinton

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Answer 5

ggfromcp Author

Level 1

29 points

Dec 27, 2012 6:26 AM in response to ggfromcp

Okay - I'm getting closer to doing this.

I'm leaning toward getting this bay for the HDD and this enclosure for the optical drive, to make it an external. Fortunately it's available from an Aussie retailer. For me it's a little hard to figure out from the description whether this only works to shift the HDD to the optical drive bay and whether that means I'd need a separate bay/adapter to mount the SSD in the boot drive location, so any advice would be wonderful.

This is the SSD I'm looking to get: 256GB Crucial m4 2.5" SSD with Data Transfer Kit.

And I'd get CCC. Is there anything else I'd need (cables, bays)?

And a last question: I have a number of apps that are registered/authorised to my current machine - Kindle, iTunes and Final Draft. Do I need to de-authorise them, before loading them on my SSD, or will the applications see them as still being part of the current machine?

Thanks again for any help!

GG

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Answer 6

ggfromcp Author

Level 1

29 points

Dec 29, 2012 8:38 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

clintonfrombirmingham wrote:

...Then just select your SSD as the Startup Drive under System Preferences, erase your old hard drive and you can use it to store whatever you wish.

Clinton - could I just check: you mention erasing the old HDD, but I was considering doing a clean ML install on the SSD, assigning that as the boot drive, putting the HDD in the optical drive bay and then simply deleting the OS files from it (while leaving all the data and original Home Folder). As the SSD will be much smaller than the SSD, I wasn't planning on erasing it.

Can you advise on whether that's a good -- or flawed --- strategy? Thanks for your advise so far. It's been hugely helpful!

GG

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Answer 7

ggfromcp Author

Level 1

29 points

Jan 3, 2013 6:13 PM in response to ggfromcp

I've taken the plunge, ordering a Crucial M4 256Gb SSD, an OWC Data Doubler and enclosure for the SuperDrive. I even decided to upgrade my existing 500Gb HDD and got a Seagate Momentus 1Tb drive.

The parts are coming from 3 different sources, so will take a bit of time to get them. Thanks, Clinton and saturnotaku for your help. I'll post details of how I get along.

GG

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Answer 8

Jan 3, 2013 6:16 PM in response to ggfromcp

Looks as if you've covered everything - call back and let us know how everything's working when you get all the "parts'!

Clinton

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