2012 rMBP SSD upgrade

I have a 2012 rMBP 13" with 128 gb of storage and would like to upgrade to 500 SSD, is this possible and if so is any particular one recommended? I would also like to upgrade my RAM but read that it is not possible.

Ram is not possible. SSD is but it's not easy https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Late+2012+SSD+Re placement/12823
I would look to OWC for compatible SSD http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina/Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-2012- Drive-Internal-Flash

Similar Messages

MacBook Pro (summer 2012) non-retina display and SSD upgrade?

Looking to upgrade to a SSD in my MacBook Pro (summer 2012) non-retina display. Are there ones that work better in a MacBook Pro?

In theory at least, any SSD will work fine. There are some additional considerations to make, however. It mostly revolves around updating the drive's firmware. Many SSD companies do not offer Mac-friendly ways to perform this procedure. From the list Clinton provided, you can drop Corsair and Samsung immediately for this reason.
I would not consider OWC, Intel, or any SSD that uses a Sandforce chipset because of spotty reliability. Yes, improvements have been made, but I still do not trust them. Of the dozens of SSDs I've owned and deployed over the last 2-3 years, the only ones to need replacement were ones with Sandforce.
That leaves Crucial, Plextor, and OCZ. The former two basically use the same Marvell chipset. While I can't speak for Plextor, Crucial's firmware updates are OS agnostic. You simply down an .iso file, burn it to CD, boot from that disc, and perform the update. It works perfectly on a Mac. Doing a quick check of Plextor's support site, it seems the proedure is the same.
For OCZ, I'm only focusing on the Vector and Vertex 4. The former is brand new, having just hit the market within the last couple weeks. If you're looking to buy right now, I would stick with the Vertex 4 as it's a more proven commodity. OCZ has created a suite of tools that you copy to a USB flash drive. You can boot from it, and it takes you to what I think is a very heavily modified Linux distribution. From there, you can do a firmware update, check drive health, and perform a SATA secure erase to return the drive to its "out of the box" state. To get the most from the tools, you should have a USB mouse plugged in. Also, firmware updates require the use of a hard-wired Ethernet cable; you can't use wireless.
Bottom line - for an SSD upgrade, stick with Crucial, Plextor, or OCZ as they are the most Mac-friendly (aside from original Apple parts, of course).

Macbook Pro 2012 with 240GB SSD or Macbook Air 2012 240GB SSD or Macbook Pro Retina

Macbook Pro 13inch 2012 240GB SSD Specs:
2.5GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
4GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM — 2x2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
240BG Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Overall Price $1600+Tax
or
Macbook Air 2012 13inch with 240GB SSD SPECS:
1.8GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
240GB Auro Pro 6G Solid State Drive
Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Overall Price $1600+Tax
or
Macbook Pro Retina 15inch 2012 256SSD Specs:
2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
Overall Price $2199+Tax
orMacbook Pro Retina 13in 2012 256SSD Specs:
2.5GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
128GB Flash Storage or 256 Crucial m4 256GB 2.5 inch if possible to upgrade
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
Intel HD Graphics 4000
I'm looking for a laptop that will last me a couple of years which is why I'm upgrading to SSD without losing performance. I usually game on my Mac so I want a laptop to handle that, handle programs in the background and writing or reading without losing speed, I also need a laptop that has fast boot time.
I will be using the laptop mainly for school and running programs such as iWork and mircrosoft office as well as websurfing and video streaming thanks for any advice.

I hope others pipe in with their comments, but the first suggestion is to visit your local Apple Store and try out the units. Trying them out can make a difference in your decision.
This is how I'd try to make sense of this:
MBP 13 2012:
Solid all-purpose portable at a decent price, and even has a 240GB SSD. If you don't load it with tons to videos, this will more than fit your needs as a student and websurfer. A little heavier than the others here, but it's a solid package that's stable. Great if you need to use the CD/DVD.
MBA 13 2012:
Also good, similar specs, notably lighter. Notes are easy to take, and easier to carry on long campus treks. If you're not near a power source, the battery life may be a concern. If you need a CD/DVD, you can connect it when you need it - but it's extra. Servicing a MBA is more difficult.
MBR 15 2012:
Beautiful display, packed with performance. No DVD/CD drive, NVIDIA performance is unproven, kind of pricey, the first generation of a device; it's going to get better over time. Can't be serviced in any way by the user; the Apple Store is your only option. Now's not the best time to get the MBR.
MBR 13 2012:
Same comments.
I'd say the MBA is a good pick. Few moving parts, therefore more reliability. Low heat. You can always attach a CD/DVD drive via USB. Intel Graphics is solid; no problems there. Plenty of capacity for your needs. And the display is bright. MBA 13 or 11, IMO.

2014 Mac mini 2.5" SSD upgrade

Hi all.
A long time Mac Mini fan here - after spent almost 3K for Mac Pro (outdated in few years) that I have to "accept" Apple's product refreshing strategies - that upgrade my hardware periodically is the trend.
Since then, I have turned to Mac Mini - for the small fraction of cost, I can "update" my Mini more frequently.
2009 Mac Mini x 2 (mine and my spouse's) are currently at grand children's possession, still going strong.
Now, we have 2010 (TV at bedroom), 2011 (mine) and 2012 Mac Minis. They were all the top Spec models - at the time. 2012 i7 Quad core, 2011 i7 with 6630M AMD video etc.
Cut into the story - I also put SSDs in all of them ( 1T SSD in 2012, 256Gb x 2 dual drives in 2011 and 256Gb in 2010) plus used Terminal to enable "TRIM" - until 10.10. .. sigh
Along with iOS 8.1.1 - I start to notice the inadequacy of my 2011 Mac Mini - airdrop/hand off will not work natively without some modification.
After tossing around getting an 2012 i7 Quad-core Mini ( 800-1000 USD) or - jumping into the fixed memory, 2014 Mini?
I decided to order a base model of 2.6GHz i5, with stock 1T hard drive, 8G ram (639-699 USD). Because I have few 512Gb SSD sitting around - I was torn to order the higher end model with PCI-e Apple OEM SSD 512G. After all the price adding, I realize I can buy TWO base 2.6GHz i5 Mini than 1 customized high end Mini.
Through the web, I found the Fusion drive model (2014, oh, with USD 200 extra) has PCI-e 128Gb SSD and 1T HDD. I am hoping one day, iFixit will have the part for the PCI-e cable/setting to be placed in 2014 Mini - for some people want to play around. For now, I am settling with slower speed of SATA-3, third party SSD without TRIM.
According to UPS, the my new toy will be delivered Monday and I will post more details about this SATA SSD upgrade process.

After few days of testing.
I finally solved the problem of screen flickering ( when an app is opened, or few apps are opened), the screen will flicker on the app(s). This happened on Firefox, MS Word, Soundtrack (yes, I am still using it). iTunes, iPhoto, even "system preferences" etc etc.
First, my system was built via Time Machine restore - after SSD (Crucial 512Gb) on the SATA-3 port. ( theoretically would be slower compared to PCI-e SSD) on my 2014 Mac Mini 2.6Ghz, 8Gb memory. ( I chose the basic 2.6Ghz base model to save few $$, since I have two 512 Gb SSD laying around, instead of custom-build for 512 GB SSD PIC-e, with USD 1,299.00 price tag).
I tried numerous methods to avoid the flickering ie - PRAM reset, HDMI -> monitor, HDMI -> DVI cable, Thunderbolt -> DVI, Thunderbolt -> VGA on two different models of screen : no success.
The only time I could get a normal decent "flicker free" was when I booted into safe mode - after reboot - same issue.
I also used hardware check as Mini indicated "no issues" on the hardware.
I went to Apple Store and play with their set up - no issues (of course, Mac Mini was hooked on the Apple Display, wow!)
I started to wonder - either it would be OS X issues or "third party" software??
So, I took the 512 Gb SSD out (it is some sort of "pain" to open 2014 Mini), then used another SSD (120 Gb) for a clean install.
A fresh 10.10.1 on 2014 Mac Mini without other 3rd party software - worked great, no flickering at all.
I started to add the apps I normally have, one by one to test - UNTIL -- Microsoft Office 2011 (home and business version)
I have Outlook to synch with my Calendar, and typical Word, Excel, Powerpoint on my system.
As soon as I put Office 2011 on it - Voila! I found the culprit. It was running 14.4.6 version.
So, I put my 512Gb Crucial SSD back (another pain again) and booted up normally - same issues.
I have been check Apple to see if OS X 10.10.2 becomes general public release (hoping the problem would be accidentally fixed) - in the mean time, I was using my 2011 Mac Mini as the main system. 2014 Mac mini was on the disable list.
Until today, Office 2011 released 14.4.7 - I gave it a try and finally, Mac Mini 2014 with Iris GPU would not demonstrate "flickering" issues after the update!
Whew!!
Sam

Non-Apple SSD upgrade of MacBook Pro and trim enabling

Hello.
I have a question about non-Apple SSD upgrade of MacBook Pro. I was planning to go and buy an SSD in a couple of days but I have coincidentally come up with a web page mentioning trim enabling to extend SSD life on MacBook Pros. Actually the article suggested that if trim is not enabled, the SSD performance degradation will start very quickly due to a high number of writing and deletion of data to the same location on the SSD. Apple's original SSDs are really expensive, I checked that. Is there anyone who upgraded with a non-Apple SSD and did not enable trim and realize the SSD performance degradation? Is there anyone who could easily enable trim and is using his Mac efficiently with a non-Apple SSD? I will be glad if you could share your experiences. I really want to improve the speed of my Mid 2012 13 inch MBP but I have to be sure before doing that. I am also planning to buy a Samsung Evo 840 250 GB SSD.
Regards and thanks in advance,
Bugra

Yes you need to install and run TRIM Enabler after your OS X is installed or reverse cloned onto the GUID/OSX extended Journaled formatted SSD from a external boot clone drive of the previous internal drive.
Also you need to run it after some OS X updates and of course upgrades, you'll notice the immediate performance drop if you don't.
It's available over at MacUpdate.com, you'll have to right or control/alt key click to "Open" it to bypass OS X Gatekeeper.
Read these user tips, you can clone your present internal drive to the new SSD using a SATA to USB adapter/Carbon Copy Cloner (not Superduper) and then reboot and hold option/alt key down on a wired keyboard to boot from it and test before making hardware switch.
Make a bootable clone of your boot drive
Upgrading Your MacBook Pro with a Solid State Drive
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's
Of your going the fresh install or + TimeMachine restore route, then also read this
Reset your Mac

Satellite R630-155 - Fan is too noisy and SSD upgrade

I am the owner of a Toshiba Satellite R630-155 (Core i5-480). My problems are:
1. The fan is too noisy and never stops. In normal operation (browsing and general office work) there is a constant high pitch noise that is audible three to four meters away in an office environment - in high load you just can't stand it!!! The fan never stops... even when you are doing nothing...
2. Heat is a big problem. The bottom of the laptop is constantly overheating and i have to place it on my desk in a way that the bottom left corner is outside of the table so it can breath fresh air from below - if not, the temperature rises and the (loud) fan is unable to keep up. When i work with the laptop while sitting on a sofa, i have to place a thick book between the laptop and my legs. The book must be thick (more than an inch) with hard covers, otherwise the heat passes through the book!!!!
3. Last (but not least, i just mention the biggest problems here) it's the problem with SSD installation. I bought a used Corsair F80 (80Gb SSD) from a friend, but i was unable to use it with the Toshiba - the BIOS was not detecting the disk. I tried installing all latest firmware updates for both laptop and SSD but i had no success. Then i gave the disk back and i bought a brand new Zalman 128Gb SSD (SSD0128N1 Sandforce) but i had exactly the same problem. I contacted my local Toshiba support and after a lot of conversation the only answer i got is that the laptop is not compatible with those SSD's and this is acceptable by Toshiba and not their problem. They told me that if i need an SSD upgrade i can only go for the Toshiba SSD that is installed on the portege series, which is sold by Toshiba for a ridiculously expensive price - about $500 for 128Gb. I contacted the European support center and i got the exact same reply. I searched on the Internet and i found someone else with the exact same problem with a Corsair 128Gb SSD - he found that the laptop detects the SSD after ten to twenty reboots. I tried that and it was true - after a lot of reboots the laptop detected the Zalman disk and i was able to install Windows 7 successfully, but the process is unacceptable. Also the disk is benchmarked by official sites at the speed of an OCZ Vertex 2 128Gb (and slightly better), but when i ran a benchmark in the Toshiba, the results I got were below half of the advertised speed. Same benchmark in another machine for the same disk, resulted in the advertised speeds.
Shame for Toshiba... nice design and portability but everything else is a big flaw. Their support in non existent and they do not value their customers. I feel they stole my money and I'll never buy a Toshiba laptop again.
Sorry for the big message, but I need I have to warn potential customers. Can someone help me with any of the above problems? Do you have the same problems too?
To be continued...

Hi buddy,
Regarding the fan and heat issue: Did you make BIOS update? Friend of me has Satellite R630 too and he told me that fan activity with new BIOS version 2.10 is reduced. Furthermore the notebook is cooler than before so I would recommend installing this update. You can download the BIOS update here:
http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com > Support & Downloads > Download Drivers
But before you start the BIOS update you should consider the following tips:
-Run update as Administrator only
-Unzip all files from zip archive before you start the update file
-Close all running programs and also the antivirus and firewall
-Make sure that battery is fully charged
Regarding the SSDs its always a little bit complicated installing 3rd party products and nobody can guarantee that such parts would work. You are always on safely side with original Toshiba spare parts.
Everything what you can do is installing the newest firmware for SSD and hope that it works but who knows maybe the BIOS update will also help you in this case ;)

Any update on Mac Pro 2013 ssd upgrade?

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge on weather an SSD upgrade for the current 2013 Mac Pro will be available soon. I bought a new Mac Pro 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 12GB RAM for my music production for my studio, however I'm now finding the small SSD a limitation to working with software that needs a lot of space available on the hard drive to install. As far as space for files, I use a external hard drive so that doesn't really matter. I've been constantly checking the web ever so often to see if there is any updated news on pcie ssd upgrades for the new mac pro but can't find anything. OWC did make a prototype SSD for this machine and rumours were that in the 4th quarter on this year they would be available for the public, however that doesn't seem to be the case...
I really wish I went for the 500gb version now even if it was a bit more expensive.
If anyone has any information on when aftermarket pcie based ssds for this machine will be available it will be much appreciated.
Phil.

New TB2 product - OWC ThunderBay 4 Mini
http://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2014/20141117_0902-OWC-ThunderbayMini-announ ced.html
Key Features:
•    Four 2.5” drive bays, perfect for SSDs
•    Breathtaking Thunderbolt 2 performance with sustained speeds of up to 1,284MB/s
•    RAID-ready with up to 4TB of SSD storage (HDD up to 8TB)
•    Near-silent operation
•    SoftRAID 5 – first ever software RAID 5 for the Mac (available with ThunderBay 4 mini RAID 5 Edition)
•    Flexibility to combine multiple ThunderBays into a single massive RAID array
•    Regimented multi-hour drive “burn-in” for ultimate reliability

SCCM 2012 SP1 - R2 Upgrade Incl Windows ADK for Windows 8.1 Update

Hi All
I Need some advice
We are preparing for the upgrade SCCM 2012 SP1 -> SCCM 2012 R2
Quick steps:
1 Uninstall ADK 8.0
2 Install ADK 8.1
3 Upgrade SCCM 2012 SP1 -> SCCM 2012 R2
4 Install CU1 SCCM 2012 R2
5 Upgrade Clients to SCCM 2012 R2
6 Upgrade Clients to SCCM 2012 R2 CU1 with WSUS (SCUP)
But today I read the following article
http://blogs.technet.com/b/configmgrteam/archive/2014/04/03/understanding-the-adk-for-windows-8-1-update-and-configmgr-osd.aspx
How does this update fit in the upgrade process (add step 7 and install this update on the SCCM Server) , or is it better to leave this update because windows PE5.1 is not supported yet.
I hope someone can give me some good advice
regards and thx in advance
Johan

Hi All
So I can also use the ADK 8.1 Update with the installation , so my quick steps will be than for the upgrade SCCM 2012 SP1 -> SCCM 2012 R2
1 Uninstall ADK 8.0
2 Install the ADK 8.1 UPDATE
3 Upgrade SCCM 2012 SP1 -> SCCM 2012 R2
4 Install CU1 SCCM 2012 R2
5 Upgrade Clients to SCCM 2012 R2
6 Upgrade Clients to SCCM 2012 R2 CU1 with WSUS (SCUP)
Regards
Johan

SSD Upgrade to Late 2008 MBP, Plus Windows 8 Install

Hi guys,
I have a 15", late 2008 MBP that was a beast in it's time, but has started to show it's age, especially due to my aging hard drive. I've read great things about performance improvement through installing an SSD, and so I want to perform this upgrade. Also, while I do have my computer backed up through Time Machine, I'd rather just be proactive on replacing my hard drive before it fails on me (which will definitely happen at some point). Here's some more detailed specs for my computer:
CPU: 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
RAM: 4 GB of 1067 MHz DDR 3
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512 MB
Note about the GPU: This comp has the dual graphics chips, but I've been always using the "high-performance" one, which is what is listed above (the other one is a GeForce 9400M).
OS: Most current version of Mavericks (OSX 10.9.2)
In looking up SSD's, I've found that people that have had laptops with similar specs to mine have had success with the Crucial M500 SSDs.
After I get my drive all figured out, I want to use Boot Camp to install Windows 8 on the SSD. Currently, I do not have any Windows installations on my computer. My computer is not supported for Windows 8 installation through Boot Camp, despite the fact that hardware-wise, it is compatable with Windows 8. However, I have found discussions that are pretty standard on how to get Windows 8 installed on my computer.
-So, my first question is: Was my research good for this given SSD for my computer? It seems like Samsung makes the best SSDs, but I haven't found any evidence that it would be really compatable with my computer.
-My second question: Given that I will have just installed an SSD, will Windows 8 installation be doable? This is probably the most important question for me, because if it's not possible, then I'd rather just buy Windows 7 right off the bat and install that in boot camp instead.
-My third question: If I can get Windows up and running, how does my computer's double graphics chip configuration work in Windows? I'd want to make sure that Windows is using the more powerful of the chips and not the less powerful one.
-My fourth question: My computer has gone from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Mavericks, and I never performed a "clean install" for any of these OS upgrades. If I clone my HD to the SSD, would it be beneficial for me to run a Mavericks clean install, and then pull all my necessary data off my backup drive?
Sorry for the long-winded post, and I know much of it is demonstrated elsewhere. I have found many discussions involving SSD upgrades, and getting Windows 8 on a late 2008 MBP, but I haven't found anything that has shown both being done. Both seem easy to do, but I just don't know if doing both in tandem is going to cause a bunch of problems. Has anyone out there done this, and can anyone offer me any advice on how to make this process any smoother? I really like doing this upgrade now, because if I run into Windows issues, or other issues on the SSD, I could still just boot from my old hard drive and use my computer. Thanks everyone!

beestmode,
I have a Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, and I put a Samsung 840 PRO SSD into mine. Where did you find evidence that this model SSD would not work in your MacBook Pro? (The SSD which you’ve installed has a good reputation, so you should have no reason to regret your choice.)
Windows 8 via Boot Camp will not be possible with your model MacBook Pro. In Boot Camp, you could install up to Windows 7, either 32-bit or 64-bit. A virtualizer such as Parallels Desktop or VirtualBox could allow you to install Windows 8, but virtualizers have their own sets of positives and negatives.
Since I have a 13-inch model with only one GPU, I don’t know how your dual GPUs would be handled on the Windows side.
When I’d installed my SSD, I did a clean installation of Mavericks onto it, keeping Snow Leopard on my old internal disk, and putting it into an external enclosure.

Can't Install windows on Macbook Pro Early 2011 with SSD upgrade

Dear all,
A few months ago I had an SSD upgrade and I purchased a Caddy and installed my old HDD on it, and I also changed my Battery because the old one only lasted for 15 inutes after 40 cycles :O
Anyways when I insert a windows 7 or 8 x64 DVD in my USB Samsung DVD Drive, My mac book detects Windows (with the windows 7 DVD) and Detects Windows and EFI Boot (with Windows 8), I have tried every option of those doesn't work.
With EFI it just boots Mac
With Windows it boots to a screen with one blinking cursor top left and then it ejects the DVD ROM and that it :s
I do not know what is wrong :/
P.S. when i installed the SSD I had windows on the old drive it didn't work after the upgrade (this is what made me link both incidents).

I am willing to try this, but I was kinda trying to find a solution that doesn't need me to unscrew stuff ..etc

Hey. I want to install windows 8 32bit on my mac pro (mid 2012). I upgraded the windows 7 I already had, but now I dont have drivers at all... I searched drivers for the windows 8 32 bit but couldn't find any... Any solutions guys?

Hey everyone,
I want to install windows 8 32bit on my mac pro (mid 2012). I upgraded the windows 7 I already had, but now I dont have drivers at all...
I searched drivers for the windows 8 32 bit but couldn't find any...
Any solutions guys?
Thanks a lot.
Sincerely,
Chiponn

There's been an update for OSX ML which addresses the issue for installing Windows 8 on bootcamp.
It's NOT recommended that you Upgrade.. However, the way to get the drivers is:
You'll need an external USB drive formatted as FAT for this.
1) In OSX, start the Bootcamp Assistant
2) Press Next
3) UNTICK 'Remove WIndows 7 or Later Version'
4) TICK Download the Latest Windows Support Software from Apple
5) Insert USB drive
6) Press CONTINUE
The drivers should download, and copy a WIndowsSupport folder onto the USB drive.
I did notice that Windows 8 still requires beta drivers for some aspects such as VGA (the Radio HD Card), which you can get on the AMD website.
Futhermore, why are you using Windows 8 "32" bit when you blatently have a powerful 64bit?
Anyway, hope this post helps ;-)

Compatibility_level on SQL Server 2012 in-place upgrade

Hi all,
Based on BOL, master and user databases' compatibility_level will not be changed to 110 on SQL Server 2012 in-place upgrade.
Database Compatibility Level After Upgrade
The compatibility levels of the tempdb,
model, msdb and
Resource databases are set to 110 after upgrade. The
master system database retains the compatibility level it had before upgrade.
If the compatibility level of a user database was 90 or 100 before the upgrade, it remains the same after upgrade. If the compatibility level was 80 or less before upgrade, in the upgraded database, the compatibility level is set to 90, which is the
lowest supported compatibility level in SQL Server 2012.
I get the some result in our environment. So in-place upgrade SQL 2008 instance to SQL 2012 (both standalne and clustered), master/user databases' compatibility_level is 100. I also try to use SQL 2012 new function
OFFSET and FETCH, it works.
My concern is, whether we have to manually update the compatibility_level to 110? As SQL 2012 new features seem work even with compatibility_level <110, is there any problem if we leave it?
(I didn't find any document about this, and related change metioned as a step for SQL 2012 in-place upgrade.)
Any thoughts?
MCSE:Data Platform

So the idea is that if you have applications that are dependent on behaviour that changes, you can stay with the old compat level. I believe that there is some upgrade assistant to investigate whether this applies to you.
On the top of my head, I don't recall any differences between compat levels 100 and 110, but there surely are some. But there are no new reserved keywords as I recall. And some things break even with the old compat level. (COMPUTE BY and the old RAISERROR
syntax for instance.) So I don't think it is particularly brave to change the compatibility level. Change it back if something really breaks.
The risk if you don't change it now, is that you have code developed on a dev server with compat level 110, which breaks when you deploy in production. And this happens one year from now, and no one recalls that this server has compat level 100, so it
causes a lot of confusion and waste of time.
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, [email protected]

Lenovo Flex 10 SSD upgrade

Hi,
This is my first post. I have just brought a Lenovo Flex 10 with a celeron n 2807 chip. I asked in the shop if they could do an ssd upgrade and they said they wouldn't recommend it because the celeron n2807 chip is not good enough to run an SSD internal flash drive. Would anyone recomened upgrading the interneral storage from the 5400rpm hard drive to an SSD?

Pardon my lack of confidence in your shop, but that's a joke. SSDs will improve PC's right back to the beginning of the SATA offering. I have a NUC with the following Celeron:
http://ark.intel.com/products/79052/Intel-Celeron-Processor-N2820-1M-Cache-up-to-2_39-GHz
There is a huge performance gain from running an SSD on these. The only factor in whether or not to get an SSD should be if the size within your budget will hold all your data.
←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗
Tap that kudos button if I helped ^^
←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗←↑→↓↘↙↖↗

Results and a Procedure for SSD Upgrade on T410s

After finding that my T410s 1.8" hard drive was 35% - 60% slower than the variety of 2.5" SATA Hard Drives in my older Thinkpads, I selected a Kingston SSDNow V+180 128GB for $219 for the SSD upgrade from Amazon because this Kingston model had the best price for published performance.
If anyone else is thinking of this upgrade, here are the results using CrystalDiskMark to measure Read and Write speeds. (The Kingston has much better Write speeds than the Intel SSD used in some T410s models.)
System: T410s with 1.8" Toshiba 250G drive > upgraded to Kingston SSDNow V+180 128GB
                                                    HDD             SSD               Improvement
Sequential Read 1000MB           47 MB/s        190 MB/s       304%
Sequential Write 1000MB           46                 150                 226%
Random Read       512KB           21                 174                 728%
Random Write       512KB           22                 149                 577%
Random Read           4KB          0.30               14.0              4566%
Random Write           4KB          0.68               16.0              2253%
Upgrade Procedure
To complete the upgrade, I restored a Windows 7 Disk Image from the HDD to the SSD. Partition Alignment and TRIM were both correct after the transfer to the SSD. The Windows 7 image was on a USB drive where I maintain a Fresh Install image that has my full setup.
Notes: To restore a Windows 7 image from a larger drive to a smaller drive, you must create the disk image after shrinking drive C:\ to a size that permits it to fit on the new smaller drive . . so your larger source drive MUST HAVE unallocated space before creating the Windows 7 Disk Image. When shrinking drive C:\ on your source drive, shrink it enough so it will easily fit with room to spare on new smaller drive, otherwise Windows 7 image restore will not work.   You can expand drive C:\ to fill the entire new SSD drive after restoring the image to the SSD. (more notes about the source drive below)
- The Disk Imaging mentioned in this post is built into Windows 7 - Acronis is great but not needed for this SSD upgrade.
- Shrinking and Expanding drive C:\ is done in Windows 7 Disk Management
- Your larger source drive must be configured to have Unallocated Space before creating the disk image.  Its the total size of all partitions on your source drive that matters, even if you don't select extra partions to be in the image. Creating Unallocated Space on the source drive is the only thing that works for using Disk Imaging to move from a larger drive to a smaller drive.
Important:   Check out post installation Tweaks when using an SSD at this link.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1133897/windows-7-ssd-tweaking-guide
especially disable Hybernation and scheduled Defragmentation. Scheduled Defragementation may be set by default on all Windows 7 installations.
Other Results
Windows 7 boots to the login screen in 16 seconds now compared to 28 seconds before.
The T410s with the Toshiba HDD was a real drag compared to my older T500 and T61 with stock 5400rmp Hard Drives.
The T410s with the Kingston SSD is now my quickest system.
The measured results I get from the Kingston are a little slower than the results published in an independent review of this drive using the same free CrystalDiskMark utility. I know my Partition Alignment is good, so maybe the different results are caused by some difference in the computers.  To make sure the disk image transfer wasn't causing a performance hit, I also performed a from-scratch install of Windows 7 directly on the SSD. The performance tests results were the same with either method getting Win7 on the SSD.
The 1.8" Toshiba Hard Drive that came with the T410s was painfully slow, I am a little surprised Lenovo would put this drive in one of their business class systems.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Thank you for posting this. It was very helpful in my decision to move from the Toshiba 250G drive to the 256G Kingston. The performance of the drive is awesome. I thought I would share a few items on how I went through the upgrade.
I used the Lenovo Rescue and Recovery and performed a full BASE backup. It took about 12-14 hours to backup around 220 GB.
I then replaced the old drive with the new drive.
After replacing, I used the two recovery DVDs to restore to factory settings.
After back to factory, I went through all the basic setup so I could use the OS.
I then downloaded the critical update for Recuse and Recovery.
After that I ran rescue and recovery with the option to replace everything.
The restore of the data took 3-6 hours (didn't sit around to watch the whole thing).
Everything was restored perfectly. No issues at all.
I had read that you could boot off of the external backup on USB, but I couldn't validate that myself. Lenovo tech support also said it couldn't be done. I had reviewed my plan with Lenovo support a few times to be sure I was doing things right. The knowledge level on R&R is pretty inconsistent.
Also, a note that my original drive was encrypted with PGP Whole Disk Encryption. When R&R backs up the data it's no longer encrypted and I didn't have a password on the backup. I turned off disk defrag after the restore. I confirmed Windows 7 was set to use TRIM.
I highly recommend the drive. The 256GB wasn't cheap, but I needed that amount of space. The performance like I said, is excellent.
Good post, swbca. Thanks!

HDD to SSD upgrade for HP Pavilion 15 notebook PC

Hey there!
I own a HP pavilion 15 notebook PC, [Model number: F6C42PA#ACJ]. Currently it is equipped with a 1 TB SATA HDD. I was planning to upgrade it to SSD. Kindly guide me through steps and compatible products. Also is there a simple way to just walk into an authorised service centre and request thm to do the upgrade?
Thank you,
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Here is the Service Manual:
Manual
See page 59.
Not your exact model but very close and the videos will perhaps be more helpful.
http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=c04324972&DocLang=en&docLocale=en_US&jumpid=...
Any 2.5 inch SATA form factor SSD will work and I recommend a Samsung Evo 850.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147372&cm_re=Samsung_850_Evo-_-20-147-372-_...
There is a link to all the available sizes on the page. I would recommend at least a 256 and 500s are pretty affordable these days.
Where do you live? Country only, please. I have heard that HP Service Centers will perform memory and SSD upgrades on these "closed" systems but I am not sure where all of them are located or what they would charge. You should be able to find a competent local computer shop to do it. It does put the warranty in jeopardy but the warranty will not be revoked if the job is done properly, without damage to the laptop.
If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

2012 rMBP SSD upgrade

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for