Did some one try Crucial M500 with MacBook Pro A1286, late 2008?

Hi,


I'd like to replace the old HDD of my MacBook Pro A1286, late 2008 (NVidia MCP79 AHCI) with a SSD.


Did some one try this one:

Crucial M500 120GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT120M500SSD1?


Thanks for yours advices,



Prusten

from Vietnam

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 4, 2013 1:01 AM

Reply
12 replies

Nov 4, 2013 1:07 AM in response to Prusten

The M500 would certainly fit in your machine but you're not going to get SATA III (6.0 Gbps) speeds from it as your MacBook Pro model only supports SATA II (3.0 Gbps). No big thing - SATA III is backward compatible with SATA II.


You will notice, of course, a tremendous speed increase. I didn't know that everything could be so fast until I bought my Crucial SSD in April of 2012!


Good luck,


Clinton

Nov 4, 2013 1:16 AM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

Thanks, I don't dream about SATA III, of course, SATA II will certainly already make a big difference with my existing 5400(!) HDD.


Did your SSD have problem with Mavericks upgrade? It seems that Mavericks don't like Crucial SSD:


http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD/Apple-Maverick-and-Crucial-SS Ds/td-p/136033


(Btw, I realt like that: "I didn't know that everything could be so fast until I bought my Crucial SSD in April of 2012!" 🙂.)

Nov 15, 2013 10:11 AM in response to Prusten

Prusten,


Do you need help with actual installation or with transferring your data once you get the SSD?

For installation, see the videos at -> http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/.


For moving your data, I prefer the Carbon Copy Cloner method if your SSD is 'big enough' to handle the data on your existing hard drive.


Call back should you need help!


Clinton

Nov 15, 2013 2:50 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

Thanks clintonfrombirmingham,


Your link is really heplful. Thanks.


About moving data, I will keep them on my actual HDD and put only the OSs (OS X and Windows by Bootcamp) on the coming SSD, as I think keeping the two disks.


By the way, what do you think better to do: installing the SSD on the CDbay or in the HDD place and move the HDD to CDbay?

I read that Mac boot preperentially from the default HDD bay => So: SSD in HDD place and HDD in CD place

But I also read that SSD is fitter, than HDD, to be installed on the Optical by, as SSD is more shock resistant. => So: SSD in CD bay and HDD keep its default place.


Hope you can understand my very poor english 🙂.

Nov 15, 2013 3:12 PM in response to Prusten

I used this guide


http://forums.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD-Knowledge/How-to-clone-your- old-hard-drive-to-your-SSD-Mac/ta-p/112072


I also watched this video even though its for the M4.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShUAGwtVMHg


As I metnioned, I could not process the comand to clone the disk using disk utility so I used the carbon copy clone free version.


Also, after I booted from the SSD extenrally and confirmed that the clone worked, I booted one more time from the internal hardrive and then swaped the drives.


I also did most of the tweaks recomended in the first link.


Good luck!

Dec 10, 2013 11:24 PM in response to socratesfromhaverhill

Hi guys, sorry to bump this but it's quite pertinent to my question about Crucial drives: pretty sure the HDD in my late 2008 MBP 15" has just died so it's time to look into SSDs and I wondered: how does one install Mavericks onto a new SSD without access to the original HDD it's replacing?


I've known the HDD was dying for a while but it's really a dummy terminal with anything important in Dropbox (and therefore synced to my iMac) so I have no problem dumping the HDD and it's contents. It's just getting a fresh install of Mav onto a brand new SSD I don't know anything about.


Thanks in advance all!


(PS is installing an ssd myself fairly easy? I'm no klutz and I've seen the iFixit instructions but still... Bit scared.)

Dec 10, 2013 11:37 PM in response to owen-b

owen-b,


Installing an SSD is very simple - just like installing a hard drive - all you need is a Phillips #00 screwdrive and a Torx T6 screwdriver. See the video here -> http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_15_unibody_hd/.


I prefer Crucial SSDs (probably because that's what I have!) and you can go to their website and look at the available drives. You can usually get a few bucks knowcked off if you purchase from Amazon.


Before you install the SSD, download Mavericks, quit before it tries to update and you'll have a file named "Install OS Mavericks.app". Get a 8GB+ USB thumb drive and use DiskMaker X to create a bootable installation drive. Hold down the option key with the USB thumb drive in place and elect to boot from it. Then use Disk Utility to format the SSD ("Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a single GUID partition. Quit Disk Utility and then install Mavericks.


That'll do it!


Clinton

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Did some one try Crucial M500 with MacBook Pro A1286, late 2008?

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