Hdd in optical bay

Hello, I'm installing an SSD on a used macbook pro and I want to put the HDD in the optical drive. When I do this, when all the memory still be there already loaded in the computer, such as OSX, and Microsoft office. I do not have original CD's and I dont want to lose microsoft word when i install my new SSD.

In your case you need to clone the internal to the TARGET (your SSD as temp. hooked up via USB). Using carbon copy cloner or SuperDuper.
You wont lose anything in a clone, all is duplicated from internal to external, then your install the SSD in the internal bay, and the older conventional HD to the optibay.
grab carbon copy cloner or (my fave) superDuper CLONE app.
attach target clone drive via USB in an enclosure or HD dock. Firstly format the target (external new) HD in disk utility in “Mac OS extended journaled”
clone internal HD to target HD (external) [takes about 40 mins depending on size]
Boot ONCE from external (go to sys. preference to boot from external) to TEST the new Clone
open bottom (see videos on ifixit or youtube on same) and remove old, install new.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+ Drive/10378/1
* perfect Macbook HD upgrade: 1TB Toshiba (same as used by Apple in Macs)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-1TB-MQ01ABD100-HDKBB96A1A01-2-5-5400RPM-Laptop-N otebook-9-5mm-HDD-/171120091488?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item27d78d 6 160
Done
(FIRST TIME after installing, boot will be SLOW,...normal and ignore that).
Clone APPS
Superduper does not clone the recovery partition, but that is NOT necessary if you keep the original HD as a “backup clone”. Most don’t bother with the recovery partition in a clone, however that is your prerogative.
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
(Free superduper APP above)
CCC App
http://www.bombich.com/

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How do I install 5'th internal HDD in optical bay?

Hi,
I am planning to purchase a new Mac Pro. I would like to use the standard 4 HDD bays for a RAID 5 set for data, and then ideally a 5'th internal drive for system/applications/boot.
Is it still straight forward with the early 2009 model to mount a HDD in the second optical bay slot? Do I need any special kit to do it?
Thanks
Thomas
Message was edited by: Host <to clarify Subject>

Not sure if this helps, but I asked the same Q on another forum and this was the reply:
+"I'm not sure on the mounting yet in the new pros, but if you have a braket kit for a 3.5 to 5.25 mounting, it would probably work. i have some brackets like that, so they are available.+
+the power & data cables would be the same, but may need to buy longer ones or different orientations for the plugs. not sure if the cables are there if you buy only 1 dvd drive, but they should be, everything is SATA now from what I've seen.+
+check out newegg.com, great site for this stuff. cooldrives.com has some stuff too."+

Running boot camp from a HDD in optical bay and OS X from an SSD in hard drive

Hi, I was wondering if it is possible to boot windows from the optical bay location on a macbook pro as I am looking in to moving my current 500GB hard drive to the optical bay and installing a 256GB SSD to where the current HDD is and using this to boot Mac OS X.
Regards,
nicholls1507

yes.

Setting up OSX after installing a new SSD and moving HDD to optical bay

Hey all,
I know there are a tonne of other posts similar to this one in here, but I couldn't find the specific answers I was looking for.
Soon I'm going to remove my optical bay and put my current HDD in it's place, and install a brand new SSD where the original HDD once was. I'm comfortable with the hardware installation but am wary about what to expect on first power up afterwards.
I would like to ideally run OSX Mavericks and all of my apps (everything from Notepad to Premiere Pro) from the SSD, and leave all of my data on the HDD. I have an early 2011 13" Macbook Pro, model number A1278.
- When I first turn the computer on after the hardware switcheroo, what can I expect to see? How do I re-install OSX Mavericks onto the new drive? Am I right in thinking that Mavericks is merely an upgrade rather than a whole new OSX and that I will need to install Lion and then upgrade to Mavericks rather than just reboot immediately to Mavericks?
- How can I then remove Mavericks from the original HDD?
- Exactly which files do I need to move to completely relocate the apps to the new drive? Is it as simple as moving the entire applications folder over, or are there hidden files dotted all over the place that I need to consider also?
Thanks in advance,
Adam

Adam,
if your current HDD is a SATA III (6.0 Gb/s maximum throughput) drive, then you might find that you’ll have problems with it in the Optibay position. If this is the case, you’d probably be better off putting your SATA III drive into an external enclosure, and purchasing a SATA II (3.0 Gb/s maximum) drive to install in the Optibay.
If you have a SATA-to-USB or SATA-to-FireWire adapter, you can connect your SSD externally and format it with Disk Utility. After that, you could use a cloning utility to copy the contents of your internal HDD to your SSD (presuming that the SSD is at least as large as the amount of space currently used on your internal HDD), and then boot from the external SSD using Startup Manager to make sure that everything works well on it; that will save you from having to make sure that all of the scattered hidden files have been migrated. Once you’ve confirmed that your apps run well from the SSD, you can then install the SSD and move the HDD to wherever it’s going. An advantage of keeping Mavericks on your HDD is that you can boot from it if needed, e.g. should your SSD develop a problem.

Which HDD in Optical Bay of 15" Mid-2009 MBP?

Hi all,
I'm wondering if anyone can help me decide the best drive to install in the opti bay of my mid 2009 15" macbook pro (2.8 intel core 2 duo).
I recently upgraded to 8gb ram and switched out the original drive to a Samsund SDD and the results have been AWESOME (**see below if considering)! I'd now like to install a 1TB hard drive into the opti bay.
Does anyone have an opinion on the following:
1) What's the best drive for this?
2) Will I get the 3.0gb transfer rate if I get a SATA II drive? (I currently get 3.0gb rate with the SSD in the main bay.)
3) Will the sound be unbearable?
4) Will it overheat or make the fans perpetually run? (I had fan issues previously that were mostly solved with the upgrade, though they do still run often...any suggestions to solve this are also welcome.)
5) Any suggestions on an optical bay adapter? I've seen quite the gamut on Amazon.
I plan on using the 1TB opti-bay drive for storing all of my music, movies, documents, photos, etc. All apps/programs will be on the SDD.
Thanks in advance for any help!
**Side note for anyone considering a SDD+RAM update, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's truly like using a new machine! I use a 2012 retina MBP (2.3 intel core i7, SSD, 8g RAM) at work and the difference in speeds are marginal (though I do wish I got the same battery life). Highly recommend the upgrade for anyone interested! Parts below:
SSD - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3W19MO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&p sc=1
RAM - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008LTBJFM/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&p sc=1

Yes, your MacBook will run hotter and the fans will kick in more often. Only you can decide if it is acceptable.
I suggest you can start by using the drive that you removed from your MBP and see if the heat & noise are within tolerable limits.
Mechanical hard drives will not max out the sata interface. You can expect 80-100 MB/s with a mechanical hard drive.
Most users recommend the OWC Datadoubler caddy for the optical bay available here.
Good luck.

MBP m2009 optical bay hdd no longer recognized in mavericks. Anyone know why? It worked fine before the upgrade.

Hi, I recently upgraded my MBP (m2009) to Mavericks and now my 2nd HDD (internal optical bay) is no longer recognized. It was fine before upgrade and works fine when I hook up externally. Very strange. HDD cable appears fine. It does not show up in Disk Utility either. Appreciate any ideas. Thanks.

Hi, I'm back home. Here's the info:
#:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *120.0 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Mavericks SSD           119.7 GB   disk0s2
Does this help?
Thanks.

Should I put the new SSD drive in main HDD bay or the Superdrive/Optical bay for a Mid-2010 Macbook Pro?

Hello All,
I'm considering getting a new SSD drive to add on to my Mid-2010 Macbook Pro (13 inches, unibody), and wondering which one of the following two options I should really adapt:
(1) Replace the original OEM hard drive in the main bay with the new SSD drive, and then remove the Superdrive (or the optical CD drive) and to be fitted into an external enclosure for using it externally in the future, and then relocate the original OEM hard drive into the Superdrive position, so both the new SSD (preferably for running the OS and system files) and the old OEM hard drive (for storing media and documents for example) could be used; and
(2) Keep the original OEM hard drive in place in the main drive, and buy a superdrive/optical drive caddy to goes with the new SSD drive, and together place the new SSD drive fitted inside the caddy into the position of the Superdrive/Optical CD drive, and configure the boot preference to be booting from the Superdrive/Optical Drive (which is now the SSD drive with OS and system files);
I've done some researches and some suggested that option (2) is better approach for at least two reason: (a) the MBP main drive come with some sort of shock proof sensor, so placing the original optical hard drive in the main is better than placing it in the super/optical drive where there is NO shock sensing feature provided, and placing SSD in the super/optical drive, one doesn't really have to worry so much about shocks; and (b) as during the process of shutting down the MBP, for optical hard drive, some power will sometimes needed to finally spin down the drive, but if such optical hard drive is place in the superdrive, the power maybe cut off right away when MBP shut down, which may cause issue to the optical hard drive in a long run as it never properly spin it down.
Then the main concern is that, if I adapt option (2) above, placing SSD in the super/optical drive bay and install and running the OS from there, will it decrease the performance (i.e. speed, latency, and etc.) as if i was to put the new SSD in the main drive?
Also, any suggestions with respect to Samsung 840 EVO vs. Samsung 850 EVO (250GB)? any well-rated HD caddy aside from OWC for moving the main HDD to optical CD bay? and perhaps an external enclosure for the Superdrive? Thanks in advance for any comment and/or suggestion.
- Jack

Could you provide some rationale(s) behind it? As far as I know, the mid 2010 Macbook Pro, the HDD is running via the SATA interface at running at 3.0 Gb/s, which is SATA II, and the Super-drive and/or the Optical drive, which is also running via SATA II interface, so I would assume the performance (i.e. primarily in speed) would be similar if not the same by placing the SSD drive in either one of the two places.
Also, wouldn't it be better by placing the SSD in the optical so the OEM HDD could be kept in the original main bay since it has the shock-sensing feature there?

NEW 2011 15" Macbook Pro SDD or HDD in place of the Optical Bay.

I am going to purchase the new 15' 2.2GHz MBP. I am just unsure right now about which Data drive to get. I currently have a 500GB 7200rpm HDD that I would like to put in my NEW Macbook Pro with the OWC Data Doubler( http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/DDAMBS0GB/ )by taking out the Optical bay and replacing it with a second data drive. If I do this I would like to get the 128GB SDD with my new MBP and then install the second drive as the 500GB HDD I already have. I could always get the 500GB 7200rpm and then install my other 500GB 7200rpm, but would this cause too much heat and battery lose running both? I know how to install them and everything but I do not know how to set them up through the Disk Utility application. I have 4 options I could do......
Creating an individual volume with its own desktop icon.
(With this option my OS and all the applications would be installed on my SDD and everything would be ran quicker. I would then use my HDD for data. Can someone give me examples of this?)
Combining a new drive with the existing internal drive for one larger volume (SPAN).
(This would defeat the purpose of getting a SDD)
Combining a new matching drive with existing internal for high-performance RAID-0 Stripe volume.
(I would love to use this for the gain in performance but I don't know if I can if the drives are different size/make/technology)
Configuring a new drive as a Time Machine™ backup drive.
(dont want this)
Formatting one drive for the Mac OS and the other dedicated for Windows.
(Would like to format the SDD for Mac OS and applications, and my HDD for data. But having only 128GB as the main disk with the OS, I dont want random things to get on it.)
I will be using my new MBP for HD video editing, photo editing, web searching, maybe games, and music and movie downloading from itunes)
HOW WOULD I SET UP THESE DRIVES TO WORK WITH EACH OTHER. ANY HELP WOULD BE GRATEFULLY APPRECIATED.
Message was edited by: Pinn

the answer marked as correct is incorrect
check exactly yours MBP - cos part of 2011 MBP's have 6/3 Gbps link to HD/Opti and part - 6/6
modern SSD's can utilise this so you can get ~500 MBps in HD bay and only ~260 in optibay.
MacRS4, C300 is good drive, but to see difference you need some M4 or intel510 or Vertex3 or OWC 6G class drive - they are of new, 500 MB/s delivering generation
Even on C300 you can get 350-360 MBps on reading over SATA 6G and only ~260-270 MBps on SATA3G

Advice needed - optical bay caddy and HDD for T530

Since I rarely use my optical drive and frequently back up files to an external hard drive, I'd like to put a HDD in the optical bay and just swap it out for the DVD player whenever that is needed.
My T530 (i5-3210M Win7HP) has a 256GB Crucial mSSD for the boot drive and programs; the original 500GB/7200 rpm in the drive bay has data files, Outlook and Quicken files, music, photos and documents.
For the optical bay HDD 500 GB would be plenty, but the 750 GB is only about $10 more, so why not? (I'd probably put the 750 in the drive bay and make it the data drive, with the 500 in the optical bay for a back up drive... and this is about convenience more than need.)
Best I can tell the optical drive supports SATA 6GB/sec but most of the 2.5" 750GBx7200 rpm drives are SATA 3GB/sec. (On the other hand, the Hitachi MK5061GSY 500GBx7200 that came in my T530 appears to be 'only' SATA II, and most forum posters suggest there's not a noticable difference.)
Of the 750 GB drives it seems the Seagate Momentus ($82) and Western Digital Scorpio Black ($78) would be the top two choices. I think they're both 9.5mm and would fit. Some reviews indicate the Western Digital is quieter.
The caddy is more problematic, as there are so many choices, and many appear to be poorly-fitting Chinese knockoffs. I'm not inclined to pay $70 for the Lenovo, when the others are in the $10-15 range, but I do want one that fits well and works well and lasts. (And is at least SATA 3GB/sec.) I can't tell much from the prices or pictures, and there's contradicting information in the 'product reviews.'
So I need a 12.7mm optical bay (Ultrabay) caddy for a 9.5mm HDD that fits well without gaps, matches the T530 case, and supports at least SATA 3GB/sec.
Will I need the rubber 'bumpers' or is that just for SSD drives? If I need them, do they come with the caddy or drive? If not, what do I get and where?
Does either the Seagate or Western Digital offer an advantage in function or reliability?
Please correct anything that I've mistated or misunderstood. Thank you for your advice and recommendations.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

How the four screws work.
HD's and SSD's usually have four threaded holes on the bottom and also two threaded holes on each long side. The video you may have seen with the screws going through holes in the bottom of the caddy into the threaded bottom holes of the HD is a video of the $45 Newmodus caddy. That's how they affix the drive to the caddy.
The Chinese caddy I linked uses the screws in a different way, and it is actually pictured in the top right illustration on the caddy.
While the drive is out of the caddy, you just thread the screws (through nothing) into the side holes on the drives. So, the drive now has two little protruding screw heads on each side. The only purpose is to create those four slight protrusions - two on each side.
Then you insert the drive into the caddy by sliding from one end. The thing on the bottom of the caddy picture is like a little door that folds up and down. You lift up the door and slide the drive into the other end. The protruding screw heads slide under little rail protuberances that are molded inside the sides of the caddy. When you have slid the drive all the way forward into the electrical connectors, you then snap down the door behind it. The door prevents the drive from moving forward or back. The screw heads wedged under the rails prevent the drive from moving up or down. You can do the entire operation in 5 seconds.
Ny-compu-tek seems to have the same caddy listed under various titles and prices, including one that specifically says T530. I think that's just a marketing gimmick, as the T530 takes the same caddy as the T520. Anyway the one I linked is the least expensive from that source and fits perfectly.
It was also shipped out in one day with a tracking number.

G4 MDD optical bay drive, What else can I add besides additional Hdds?

Hi Mac lovers
I have a nice G4 MDD with an empty optical bottom front bay drive. I have a superdrive on top. What can I add on the bottom besides an additioanl hard drive?
Thanks
web dude

Hi again
I meant to say I have an empty optical bay tray.
Thanks
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Using 2nd optical bay for 5th system HDD?

Is it possible in the newly released Mac Pro to use the 2nd optical bay to house the system drive?
I want to stripe 4 x SATAs in the main enclosures on a RAID-5 for HD capture/playout with a CalDigit Hardware RAID card and have OS + apps on the 5th drive.
Is this possible? Has anyone done it with success?

I have two drives in the lower optical drive bay on a 2006 model.
MaxUpgrades has a kit for the older design, check and see if it is compatible. Sort of expensive kit. One drive should be easier.
http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm

Mid 2007 iMac SSD in optical bay - cannot write to last block of device

Hi All,
I've just replaced my optical drive in my 20" mid 2007 iMac (Dual core, 2.4 Ghz, 2 Gb RAM running Mavericks) with a solid state drive (Crucial MX100). The plan is to transfer my boot disk to this drive while keeping my 1 Tb HDD for media and such.
I followed the ifixit guide and it all went smoothly, however when I try to partition or erase the new SSD using Disk Utility, it tells me "Operation failed - cannot write to last block of the device". After googling, I found some answers here that suggested the optical bay cable may be faulty, so I bought a replacement and swapped it in, but no such luck, same problem. I also saw some threads suggesting that the boot disk should be in the original hard drive spot, but since this isn't the boot disk (yet) this shouldn't be the issue.
My computer recognizes the new SSD but won't allow me to partition it. Any suggestions on how to proceed?
Thanks!

ds store wrote:
3. The new disk is just bad.
OK. If that's the case, I'll just get another disk.
Lots of problems with that hybrid drives on Mac's on these forums, get another one that's 7,200 RPM and from Western Digital, not Seagate.
With a 7,200 RPM you get more performance across the entire drive, not just what's cached in the small flash portion of the hybrid.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents#/
1. Hybrid drives: I'm on number 8 in 6 different machines, no problems at all, what happens when you try?
2. The OP is not using a Hybrid.
3. Lot's of problems with WD drives not booting on these forums though.

Optical bay hard drive ide to sata for tecra a2-s336

hello guys, i have a question, i buy a optical bay hard drive for mi laptop but in the screen i got a error "ide1=error" but my computer does not recognize the disk you buy 160GB sata in windows if it recognizes the adapter but not the hard drive any suggestions

http://forum.notebookreview.com/toshiba/589654-guide-replacing-optical-drive-bay-portege-r835-p56x-h...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/toshiba/591240-another-guide-install-ssd-replace-odd-hdd-portege-r83...

Best system and file set up for SSD + HDD in optical drive

I have finally pulled the trigger and purchased a Samsung 512GB 840 pro SSD for the main bay in my late 2011 Macbook Pro and a iTB SATA 2 HDD with Data Doubler from OWC to replace my optical drive. My question is what is the best way to set these up after I have installed them?I am an audio engineer and I do a lot of multi channel audio editing with large files and want the SSD for the speed for my editing. Do I set these up as separate drives or do I RAID ( if that is possible)? Do I have my System software and programs on the SSD and use the HDD as my scratch drive? I don't have access to a Mac Mini, so can't create a fusion drive. Appreciate the advise.

Put the SSD in the main drive bay and the rotating HDD in the Optical bay. Use either Disk Utility or one of the Cloning software programs to Restore or Clone your current install from the HDD to the SSD.
Or Make a Time Machine Backup of the current install and then use the Recovery HD system to Restore that TM backup to the SSD.
Or you can do a Clean install of OS X on the SSD then reinstall all your programs and then copy over all your files from the HDD to the SSD.
Many ways to do what you want. You just have to pick the one you want to use.
Yes all files on every drive connected to your Mac in any way, internally or by an external port, will be seens by Finder.

Better to use optical bay or drive bay for SSD?

Just bought a mid-2012 MacPro. Also purchased a Crucial 512GB SSD drive, which I intend to use for a boot drive. I know that I can install the drive in one of the four slide out drive bays. From what I can gather, it doesn't matter which bay I use, Mac will boot equally well from any of them. My question is: What about the second optical bay? Is there any advantage to putting the SSD there? (other than keeping another slot open for HDD?) Have tried to research this a bit, but the model is brand-new, not a lot of info out there.. Mucho thanks!

The model is not "new" it is just a tiny change in processor options, everything else is unchanged.
To use in standard bays you need to use an adapter to fit. If you put it in the optical bay if you are like me, it will get moved, put on its side, so again, might want to 'tie it down."
But it doesn't matter which location.
With 512GB you probably are going to use it for much more than just the boot drive. Maybe Aperture or other libraries.
As for research, there are products and reviews and Mac centric sites such as
http://www.macperformanceguide.com - click on Articles & Topics

Hdd in optical bay

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