Replacing optical drive with SSD and HD with new HD

Hi folks, recently my macbook pro unibody's (2011) hard drive started encountering some fatal errors. I've gone through all possible fixes, and it looks like the only option left is to replace the HDD. As much as this initially bummed me out, I'm a little excited about the prospect now. I think I would like to go ahead and replace the optical drive with a SSD while I have the computer open to replace the HDD. This will breathe some serious new life into my macbook pro.
My question is, which SSD's and HDD's are compatible with the macbook and which brands do you guys (the community) recommend? Should I upgrade my ram while I'm in there? How difficult of a job is this? I am mechanically inclined but I have much more experience working on tractors than electronics. Thanks for any advice or input you can offer!

Go to OWC to get the Data Doubler bracket for your model. You can also find HDDs and SSDs there. Be sure to put the SSD where the HDD is located and put the HDD in the optical drive bay. Upgrading RAM is always a good idea. I've done all these in my 2011 MBP. OWC also provides tools needed and online video tutorials.
For optimum use of this combo only install OS X on the SSD. Install everything else on the HDD. Then follow these instructions for setting it up to have the computer boot from the SSD but use your Home folder that is on the HDD:
How to use an SSD with your HDD
If you are going to use an SSD as a boot drive together with your existing HDD as the "data" drive, here's what you can do.
After installing the SSD you will need to partition and format the SSD using Disk Utility. Then, install OS X on the SSD. After OS X has been installed boot from the SSD. Use Startup Disk preferences to set the SSD as the startup volume.
Open Users & Groups preferences. Click on the lock icon and authenticate. CTRL- or RIGHT-click on your user account listing in the sidebar and select Advanced Options from the context menu. You will see a field labeled "Home dir:" At the right end you will see a Change button. Click on it. In the file dialog locate the Home folder now located on the HDD (HDD/Users/account_name/.) Select the folder, click on Open button. Restart the computer as directed.
When the computer boots up it will now be using the Home folder located on the HDD.
Another more technical method involving the Terminal and aliases is discussed in depth here: Using OS X with an SSD plus HDD setup - Matt Gemmell. This is my preferred approach because I can select which of the Home's folders I want on the HDD and which I don't want. For example, I like to keep the Documents and Library folders on the SSD because I access their content frequently.
Be sure you retain the fully bootable system on your HDD in case you ever need it.
Be sure to use Trim Enabler 3.3 to activate TRIM on the SSD.

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It would be helpful if you indicated the EXACT model/year MBP that you have.
What 'hinge ' are you referring to? I am unaware of any hinges on an optical drive.
Look at the iFixit.com website for pictorial instructions that may assist you with your problem.
Ciao.

Replacing optical drive with HDD/SSD - tips please

Hi, sorry if this question is posted a lot but I am seeing conflicting information across different sites and I was wondering if anyone could help.
I have a mid-2012 13 inch MBP and I would like to install an SSD as my boot disk, yet keep the internal 750GB HHD in the computer too. To do this I know I must remove the optical drive and I am capable enought to do this, but I have a few questions on the matter:
1)     Should I place the SSD in the optical drive slot or is the HDD better in there?
2)     With that in mind, is the optical drive area adequately cooled, i.e. would a HDD at 5400rpm be cooled enough not to fail if it were in the opitcal disk space?
3)     I know the SSD needs an adaptor like 'Optibay', but will the HDD fit easily in the optical drive space, or will this need an adaptor?
3)     Is the optical drive capable of getting the most out of the SSD? i.e. how can I check SATA 2/3 connections in my Mac?
4)     After having removed the optical drive, am I correct in assuming all I will need to have a working external disk drive is to use a USB to 13 pin SATA                 adaptor cable to connect to the laptop?
Thank you in advance! Looking forward to joining the SSD revolution...

Thanks for the advice.
I have ordered my SSD, tools, and optibay
Finally, one last question:
Is this the best way of setting up my computer, with the new components?:
1) fully backup HDD,
2) creating a bootable USB of OS X Mavericks,
3) install SSD,
4) boot into USB,
5) format SSD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
6) install a new copy of OS X onto the SSD
7) copy across files/applications from backup/HDD
8) format HDD
9) do something similar to: http://mattgemmell.com/using-os-x-with-an-ssd-plus-hdd-setup/ i.e. put some folders on HDD
10) partition HDD and setup backups of SSD onto HDD
Do I need to do anything for over-provisioning on the SSD, i.e. partition it? Not entirely sure if its worthwhile?
Any other tips?
Kind regards, thank you !

Early 2008 MBP, replaced optical drive with SSD, now computer won't sleep.

So pretty much you know everything already, installed the operating system on the SSD everything works fine except the computer wont sleep.
Any help wouldbe great
thanks

I am about to do the same upgrade on MBP 13". Reading around the topic I think this problem is caused when the OS is running from the drive in the optical bay.
See extract from following link:
http://lifehacker.com/5541774/how-to-install-a-solid+state-drive-in-your-macbook
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Replacing optical drive with a hard drive in a MBP

Hello... Just ordered a new 15" MBP 2.2GHz with the 128GB SSD to replace my 13" MBP. I was thinking about just using a cheap external HD until one that can take advantage of the Thunderbolt port comes out and then I heard about the MCE OptiBay Hard Drive kit. If you haven't heard about it, the kit is basically a bracket that allows you to mount a HD where the optical drive is installed. You can then install the optical drive in an external enclosure and connect via USB on an as needed basis.
Has anyone had any experience with this? And, more importantly, does it void the Apple warranty? If it's allowable, any reco's on an internal drive?
If installing does void the warranty, any suggestions on a reliable (but inexpensive) external drive? Been trying to find one that utilizes the Firewire 800 port but not a whole lot to choose from... will FW800 make enough of a difference to justify the extra cost?
Thanks, Kevin

Hello again!
Will boot natively into Win from time to time but noticed you used Parallels and were able to access the Win 7 VM very quickly! Must say I was pretty excited to see that (as it is painfully slow on my current MBP). You're running 8GB of RAM, correct?
Plan on using Win VM often and primarily because of one program... MS OneNote. Use it often and am annoyed that it is not available in Office for the Mac!
Re Audi... Have you heard about or seen spy photos of the new RS4 Avante? Gorgeous car but it will never come to the US. You guys get all the nice cars. BTW, did Euro delivery on my 540 and can't bare to part with it as I still have less than 100k miles on it... Well and then I'd have to change my email alias. Though pkh-m5 has a nice ring to it!
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Best HDD for replacing optical drive? (+SSD)

Hello!
Ill be buying a regular macbook pro and replacing the optical drive for an HDD.
Now, I know that when you have only one drive, you should go for a 7200 rpm one. But in my case, since the OS wil be stored in the SSD, should I go with a 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm HDD?
Obviously Ill be storing data there, but even though, wouldnt I benefit in any way from going with a faster drive?
Ive also heard that 7200 rpm generates more heat, but would that happen if it's not the main drive?
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So I'm going to resurrect this thread because of an issue I am having with my current setup that is exactly like what the OP was lookign to use:
I currently have a HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5-Inch 1TB 7200 RPM SATA III HDD in the HDD bay of my late 2011 15-inch Macbook Pro, and a Crucial M4 128GB SSD in the Optical drive bay inside an Optibay. Since upgrading to this setup, my machine has been extremely glitchy, and I have had pinwheels popping up like crazy.
My previous setup however still had the same SSD, but the SSD was in the HDD bay, and I had the stock 500GB 5400 RPM drive in the optical bay. That worked just fine, with no glitches or anything. When I tried just putting the larger HDD drive where the previous one was (in the optical bay) it would not even get recognized by my Mac. It would show up in Disk Utility, but not initialize, not erase, not partition, or anything. But once I swapped the SSD and new HDD, it recognized just fine.
SSD is the System Drive, HDD is the storage drive.
Any thoughts? Thanks!

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Yes look at the System Requirement at > Apple USB SuperDrive - Apple Store (U.S.)
Although personally I'd go for a Tray Loading External Optical Drive over any USB SuperDrive, because they are faster and more reliable.
I'm happily using an > GE24LU20 with my old and new Mac's.
Other good choice's include the > OWC Optical Drive Solutions and the > LaCie - LightScribe
Note: Most after market Optical Drives will work with the Mac's, but for full compatibility it's a good idea to check the spec's and make sure that it is MAC OS X compatible.

??? about optical drive, installation discs and display in "new" refurb MB

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I'm at work now, so if anyone has ideas or specific additional questions, I'll be able to address them tomorrow.
Please keep in mind, I'm no computer wiz and have some experience with a Mac only since January.
Thanks for any suggestions you might have.
Message was edited by: tutlek

tutlek wrote:
3. this is bothering me the most: the display of the MB is horrible, the colors are faded and the whole screen is bluish. The best and closest (but still not normal) appearance the display has when the MB lid is open as wide as possible and I look at it almost from below (a view 45 degrees from below makes the text of web pages legible, though the gray brushed metal-appearance of Safari, for example, still looks light blue rather than gray). I did check postings on this forum and found that the color settings can be changed in display preferences, and that something called "color LCD" is probably the preferred setting for a MB. Interestingly, my MBP is set to this setting and has a total of 6-7 different settings to choose from. However, the MB does not have this setting ("color LCD") and has only 3 different settings, though both MBP and MB are now 10.4.10. Needless to say, my glossy MBP display looks fantastic. How do I get the MB to look that way too? Can I download this "color LCD" setting from somewhere? (BTW, I did notice on in-store MBs, particularly in non-Apple stores such as CompUSA, in the past this issue with faded colors and a bluish discoloration, some of them even worse then this "new" refurbished MB. I was in the local Apple store yesterday evening for an unrelated issue and looked briefly at the newest black MBs, their colors are somewhat more faded and bluish than my MBP, but not like our new MB).
Have you tried calibrating the monitor in System Preferences>Display>Color?
I had a similar problem to this when I bought my MacBook (too blue) and I calibrated it (using the "Expert Mode").
After that, it was fine.

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Sharon Chard-Yaron...
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(2011 13" Macbook Pro Model 8,1) I want to replace my 320GB HDD and replace it with a 6gb/s 120GB SSD. I also want to replace the optical drive with a 7200RPM HDD 750GB.

I want to use:
The SSD and enclosure to replace the optical drive with the new HDD
So basically, I want to use the SSD in the link above. I want to set this up as either preferrably a fusion drive. If not the smoothest most stable configuration. I have a Macbook Pro Early 2011 13" with 8 GB of ram, 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5, 320GB HDD.
I want to install the SSD directly to the SATA port where the 320 GB HDD is currently. I then want to install the new HDD, preferrably a name brand 750 GB 7200RPM hard drive where the optical drive is now. I want the storage to work in a way in which the OS, and my most used programs and files get stored on the SSD, and everything else gets stored on the larger hard drive. My most preferred method would be Fusion drive, or a SPAN drive.
I would like to use a Seagate Momentus XT, but I learned that there might be issues with compatability with this. I dont mind using the 3 gb/s 500GB option, but would like to know if it would even be smart to do it. I also have no problem settling for a regular 7200 RPM hard drive.
I have read a bunch of stuff online but I still am not sure if this is even possible. I want my machine to run as fluid as possible so any info would be appreciated.

bump

Replaced my iMac optical drive with ssd - now I can't create a bootcamp partition

I have a late 2009 imac 27". Recently my imac hard drive crashed so I used this opportunity to replace the broken hard drive and also replacethe iMac optical drive with a SSD drive. The idea was to use the ssd drive as my bootcamp partition and boost things up. WRONG IDEA!
I wasted already 5 hours trying to get bootcamp to install windows 7 onto the ssd using an external optical drive, a USB drive, an internal partition of my new hard drive. I used rEFIt to try and boot from these fine devices - nothing! Once the OS restarts to install Windows 7 it gets stuck either in blank screen or with a message that it requires a bootable device.
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Thanks,
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This is the same problem people have with their MacBook Pro. Some people have had success using rEFIT, but many didn't. The only solution that I found was just installing my opitcal drive back in and installing windows on what ever hardrive you need. Then taking the optical drive back out. I know that sounds like a lot of work, but once your done you will be relieved.

I have a Mac book pro with regular drive, I want to replace the drive with SSD, so can I do t for Mac book pro purchased in 2012 and which SSD is recommended. I am looking for 500 to 700GB SSD.

I have a Mac book pro(13 inch non-retina, i7) with regular drive, I want to replace the drive with SSD, so can I do it for Mac book pro purchased in 2012 and which SSD is recommended.
I am looking for 500 to 700GB SSD.
Thanks

Upgrading your MacBook Pro with a Solid State Drive...
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Swap optical drive with SSD for 4k video editing?

I've already swapped the original HD with an SSD 500gb and replaced the optical drive with the original HD as a secondary drive. That has worked nicely for a couple years. But now that I'm doing intense 4k video editing, I want to replace the HD in the optical bay with a 1tb SSD.
My question to you: Will the SSD perform at the same speed in the optical bay as it would in the main bay as a secondary drive? Or is there a speed limitation on the optical bay periphery and as such it's not worth putting a fast drive in there?
What alternative options would you suggest for video editing? My late 2011 Macbook Pro 2.5ghz core i7 with 16gb ram stalls when editing 4k footage off a firewire g-raid. I figured an internal SSD would perform faster and as a double benefit make my files portable without need for an external drive.

I've already swapped the original HD with an SSD 500gb and replaced the optical drive with the original HD as a secondary drive. That has worked nicely for a couple years. But now that I'm doing intense 4k video editing, I want to replace the HD in the optical bay with a 1tb SSD.
My question to you: Will the SSD perform at the same speed in the optical bay as it would in the main bay as a secondary drive? Or is there a speed limitation on the optical bay periphery and as such it's not worth putting a fast drive in there?
What alternative options would you suggest for video editing? My late 2011 Macbook Pro 2.5ghz core i7 with 16gb ram stalls when editing 4k footage off a firewire g-raid. I figured an internal SSD would perform faster and as a double benefit make my files portable without need for an external drive.

Replacing optical drive with SSD and HD with new HD

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