HuntsMan75

Q: Replace Hard Drive with SSD

System Info: MacBook Pro running OS X 10.9, mid 2009, 13", PN MB991LL/A (2.53 GHz), 8GB RAM

 

I started having some problems with my system, mainly slow downs, especially when using Safari. I got a copy of Scannerz (http://scsc-online.com/Scannerz.html) and it confirmed drive platter damage. I know some of these units are supposed to have cable problems but Scannerz tested that too and found no problems with the cable, so this is a bonafide drive problem (it's 6 years old, you know).

 

I'd like to go ahead and replace it with an SSD and have some questions:

 

  1. Maybe I'm getting models mixed up but I seem to remember something about a drive thermal sensor on Apples not being compatible with generic drives. I know I read that somewhere I just don't remember where?
  2. I assume, if #1 above isn't a problem, that I can basically use any SATA SSD. Now I know I should get the fastest interface possible, but are there any caveats or incompatibilities that some brands of SSDs may present?
  3. What about stuff like trim and wear leveling. WIll this be in a driver for the SSD or does the OS take care of it automatically?
  4. Are there any brands/models to stay away from?
  5. Should I replace the cable too? I've heard they can get bad.

 

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Apr 4, 2015 12:06 PM

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Q: Replace Hard Drive with SSD

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  • by MrJavaDeveloper,

    MrJavaDeveloper MrJavaDeveloper May 11, 2015 11:39 AM in response to FatMac>MacPro
    Level 1 (64 points)
    May 11, 2015 11:39 AM in response to FatMac>MacPro

    Personally I'm going to take the link CSound1 provided and give feedback. The idea that third party SSDs can't be added to new OS releases without having to modify NVRAM settings to me means don't use new OS versions. My experience with Apple users is that most don't even know what "command line" even is, and asking them to modify NVRAM settings is probably a bit on the dangerous side. Then I have to question what could happen if the NVRAM settings associated with security became corrupt. Would the system become unbeatable in some circumstances? I don't know.

  • by FatMac>MacPro,

    FatMac>MacPro FatMac>MacPro May 11, 2015 6:01 PM in response to HuntsMan75
    Level 5 (4,866 points)
    May 11, 2015 6:01 PM in response to HuntsMan75

    HuntsMan75 wrote:

    ...My sister stumbled on some web site that informed her there was something wrong with her system (I think it suggested it had a virus) so she then proceeded to download MacKeeper...

    If she actually paid for MacKeeper, she might want to watch the progress of this counterattack.

  • by HuntsMan75,

    HuntsMan75 HuntsMan75 May 12, 2015 10:13 AM in response to FatMac>MacPro
    Level 1 (14 points)
    May 12, 2015 10:13 AM in response to FatMac>MacPro

    No, she never paid for it. She got their scare message and ran some type of initial sweep on it and then called me screaming that her system was about to explode and what should she do. I asked her what she had done and then got online and found instructions on how to uninstall it immediately and stepped her through it, followed by a lecture on blindly downloading stuff off the web.

     

    Who knows what adware they may have also installed in the process.

  • by FatMac>MacPro,

    FatMac>MacPro FatMac>MacPro May 12, 2015 11:42 AM in response to HuntsMan75
    Level 5 (4,866 points)
    May 12, 2015 11:42 AM in response to HuntsMan75

    Well, her system didn't explode but take a look at this. It's even worse than we've known all along.

  • by HuntsMan75,

    HuntsMan75 HuntsMan75 May 12, 2015 2:13 PM in response to FatMac>MacPro
    Level 1 (14 points)
    May 12, 2015 2:13 PM in response to FatMac>MacPro

    …but will MacKeeper successfully clean the viruses it induces into your system?     Hmmmmmmmmmm….

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 12, 2015 2:18 PM in response to HuntsMan75
    Level 9 (51,196 points)
    Desktops
    May 12, 2015 2:18 PM in response to HuntsMan75
  • by ThomasB2010,

    ThomasB2010 ThomasB2010 May 13, 2015 10:45 AM in response to HuntsMan75
    Level 1 (13 points)
    May 13, 2015 10:45 AM in response to HuntsMan75

    It never ceases to amaze me just how MacKeeper can end up basically hijacking a thread like this. It's proof of how bad it is. The fact that the distributors of MacKeeper have $20 million dollar slush fund set aside to compensate their victims just tells you how many people will fall for those website tricks telling people they have a virus or whatever and how much money they make.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 13, 2015 10:47 AM in response to ThomasB2010
    Level 9 (51,196 points)
    Desktops
    May 13, 2015 10:47 AM in response to ThomasB2010

    Screen Shot 2015-05-13 at 12.23.34.png

  • by ThomasB2010,

    ThomasB2010 ThomasB2010 May 13, 2015 2:33 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (13 points)
    May 13, 2015 2:33 PM in response to Csound1

    CSound1:

     

    You should really start another thread about MacKeeper. MacKeeper is not a hard drive or SSD testing tool and the only reason it got mentioned in this thread is because it was more or less  inadvertently mentioned. I don't know what the proper terminology for MacKeeper is (Scamware, perhaps?)

     

    In any case, getting back to the topic at hand, you can understand why Apple is putting security checks on kernel extensions. If people stumble across one of MacKeeper's pop up web ads warning them that if they don't download their product their system is in imminent danger and they proceed to do so, what would make anyone think that similar pop up ads with even more malicious code wouldn't be downloaded and installed by people in the same mindset?

     

    Maybe implementing part of the security checks in NVRAM isn't the best idea, I really don't know. I'm not a security expert. I'm just saying I can see why putting security on the kernel extensions is done.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 13, 2015 4:10 PM in response to ThomasB2010
    Level 9 (51,196 points)
    Desktops
    May 13, 2015 4:10 PM in response to ThomasB2010

    ThomasB2010 wrote:

     

    CSound1:

     

    You should really start another thread about MacKeeper.

    I reply as I choose, you do not get to choose for me, are we clear on that?

    Screen Shot 2015-05-13 at 18.08.40.png

    And that is why I replied.

  • by ThomasB2010,

    ThomasB2010 ThomasB2010 May 13, 2015 6:45 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (13 points)
    May 13, 2015 6:45 PM in response to Csound1

    I think you've read a little too much into my comment. It was not meant as a "you really shouldn't be posting that stuff here, you're ruining the thread" but more like "you (or anyone with some degree of authority…although I didn't say that) ought to make others aware of this because it's a problem."

     

    I assume that the 42,000+ points you have gives you at least some degree of authority, or at least more credibility than someone like me. I only typically visit this site a few times a month if even that.

     

    I don't make a habit of issuing dictums to strangers.

  • by ZV137,

    ZV137 ZV137 May 14, 2015 10:59 AM in response to HuntsMan75
    Level 1 (54 points)
    May 14, 2015 10:59 AM in response to HuntsMan75

    Does anyone know if similar problems exist with other types of device drivers?

     

    I would think that drive manufacturers like WD would be up in arms, after all they're writing device drivers for their external drives as well, and yet to the best of my knowledge there are no compatibility problems with Yosemite.

     

    Is this possibly just a problem with the way Cindori implemented their SSD TRIM program?

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 14, 2015 12:21 PM in response to ZV137
    Level 9 (51,196 points)
    Desktops
    May 14, 2015 12:21 PM in response to ZV137

    ZV137 wrote:

     

    Does anyone know if similar problems exist with other types of device drivers?

     

    I would think that drive manufacturers like WD would be up in arms, after all they're writing device drivers for their external drives as well, and yet to the best of my knowledge there are no compatibility problems with Yosemite.

     

     

    HDD's and SSD's do not require device drivers

  • by FatMac>MacPro,

    FatMac>MacPro FatMac>MacPro May 14, 2015 1:38 PM in response to ZV137
    Level 5 (4,866 points)
    May 14, 2015 1:38 PM in response to ZV137

    ZV137 wrote:

     

    Does anyone know if similar problems exist with other types of device drivers?

     

    I would think that drive manufacturers like WD would be up in arms, after all they're writing device drivers for their external drives as well...

     

    As mentioned previously and explained at length by Cindori, since "Apple is keeping the AHCI driver private, making it impossible for anyone, even these big companies, to create a driver for SSD’s," the solution has been to turn off the SSD brand check in the AHCI kext so that third party SSD's are supported too. It is that change which interferes with the kext's signing, and until Yosemite, that wasn't a functional problem. There are plenty of other kexts, including third party kexts, installed and signed in your system, just not for supporting TRIM for third party SSD's, and Cindori's explanation is the reason why. Moreover, TRIM is not supported on the most common external drive connection, USB, so there'd be nothing to be up in arms about.

  • by HuntsMan75,

    HuntsMan75 HuntsMan75 May 15, 2015 9:37 AM in response to FatMac>MacPro
    Level 1 (14 points)
    May 15, 2015 9:37 AM in response to FatMac>MacPro

    I guess the solution is to work without TRIM until something changes or stay away from Yosemite, and maybe even future OS X releases.

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