andyhan95

Q: Moving the SSD from one retina MacBook Pro to another (13" to 15")?

My sister has a 15" retina and I have a 13" retina. She wants a more portable computer and I want a more powerful one. So we decided to trade.

 

Would there be any issues if I simply swapped the SSDs between the two drives? I understand that this is usually not a huge issue, but given that the two models are different (13" 2012 vs. 15" 2013), I am not entirely sure if everything would work out without any problems. I have all of the tools necessary for the swap.

 

Thanks,

Andy

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 27, 2015 8:25 PM

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Q: Moving the SSD from one retina MacBook Pro to another (13" to 15")?

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  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jun 28, 2015 4:48 AM in response to andyhan95
    Level 9 (52,108 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 28, 2015 4:48 AM in response to andyhan95

    Early or late 15" 2013 MBP?

     

    If the 15" retina is a late  2013 model, be advised that there was a change in the flash storage technology used in that model from the prior generation.  I do not know what impact that may have if you swapped the SSDs.

     

    Ciao.

  • by spudnuty,

    spudnuty spudnuty Jun 28, 2015 6:10 AM in response to andyhan95
    Level 5 (7,097 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 28, 2015 6:10 AM in response to andyhan95

    In addition to the change in flash drive storage technologies from those two years as OGLETHORPE notes, the problem I would worry about would be the build numbers of the two OSs.

    I'm not sure but they could be different.

    From:

    OS X versions and builds included with Mac computers - Apple Support

    MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)Oct 201310.910.9.2, 10.9.413A3017, 13C64, 13E28
    MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013)Feb 201310.8.210.8.3

    12C3103, 12D78

    MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012)Oct 201210.8.110.8.2

    12B2100, ,12C2034, 12C3103

    MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)Jun 201210.7.310.7.4, 10.8, 10.9, 10.10.2

    11D2515, 11E2617, 12A269, 13A603, 14C109

    I would say the safest way would be to use your backups to clone your individual OSs to your respective new computers.

    No backups? Each of you buy an external HD to use as a backup (Should have one anyway.), clone your respective SSDs to those externals using CCC:

    https://bombich.com/

    or Super Duper:

    http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

    or Time Machine but I prefer these two.

    Boot your new machines from those new externals, erase your respective drives and clone your original OS to your new computer.

    I think this would be the only way to guarantee success and it's the way I would do it but then I have 15 spare drives laying around.