SSD in optical bay - unable to write/format! Pls help!

About one year ago, I swapped my macbook pro 17" HD for an SSD, then formatted the original HD, and placed it into the optical bay to use as a secondary drive. Although this has worked well and my applications have been booting blazing fast, I was recently told that having the SSD as a secondary drive and applications on the standard HD (in other words, the opposite of what i have now) would help video editing speeds (given that the video files would be on the SSD drive).
So now I cloned the SSD back onto an HD, swapped the two so that the HD is now in the original slot and the SSD in the optical bay. The computer starts fine and all, but the SSD drive will not let me write anything to it. When I try to add a file to it, I get:
Then when I click authenticate and type my password, I get:
I then tried erasing the drive using disk utility but got this:
Finally, I removed the drive from the optical bay, mounted it externally with a firewire g-drive mobile, and formatted with disk utility. I then mounted it back into the optical bay and Im getting the same issue.
Everything works well and the SSD shows up on the desktop, etc, but I just can't write any files to it. How do I fix this?

I've researched this a bit and Ive read something along these lines in several places:
The optibay is limited to SATA II. The general consensus on this forum is to move the SSD to the primary bay and the HDD to the optibay.
Could that be the problem? If I swap the HD and SSD around, would it solve the problem?

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

Hi All,
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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.
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SSD in Optical Bay is not working in a Macbook Pro 15" 2012.

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Hello,
i recently bought a Samsung 840 EVO 500GB for my 27" iMac 2011. It worked great at first, installed OS X, then used Bootcamp for installing Windows 7. But when i used the Windows installation to format the BOOTCAMP partition, the SSD suddenly disappeared. Booting OS X didn`t work either after that.
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Right now i`m suspecting a defective drive, but i`m still hoping for a quick fix. Anyone experienced something like that?

Yes of course
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Can a MBP 9.1, OSX 10.8.5 boot Windows 8 from SSD in optical bay?

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Unable to install Yosemite using SSD in Optical Bay Caddy

Thanks for any help in advance. I recently purchased this item from Amazon:
HDD/SSD SATA III caddy for Apple MacBook (Pro) replaces SuperDrive + slot-in USB enclosure for SuperDrive - 9.5 mm (SATA - SATA) - TheNatural2020: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
I'm having big problems using it to install an SSD in my Macbook Pro Late 2011. When I put an SSD into the caddy (Samsung EVO 120GB SSD) I am unable to install OS X Yosemite onto the SSD. The installation fails instantly stating 'File system verify and repair failed'. I can format the hard drive using Disk Utility and that seems to work fine, but go back to installing Yosemite from USB and it fails again.
The SSD is fine as when I install it in the regular HDD bay I can install Yosemite just fine (that's how I'm typing just now). If I transfer the SSD back to the caddy, it won't boot from it again (showing a flashing folder with a question mark on it).
If I keep the SSD in the hard drive bay and put another HD in the caddy, the other HD is visible in OSX but almost unusably slow.
This leads me to think there's a problem with the caddy, so I ordered a second one from Amazon, but this gives the same problem! Now I'm stuck - neither caddy works properly with SSD or HD, corrupting the data on it somehow. Any suggestions would be very helpful!

SimonStokes wrote:
is it possible that it's the cable between the caddy and the motherboard that's the problem?
Yes. I have seen that SSDs in the 'normal' boot drive location have problems when the SATA cable is not shielded. Swapping back the original HDD makes the MBP functional.
I am guessing that you may be experiencing the same phenomenon. Wrap the cable in tin foil and see if that makes a difference.
Ciao.

SSD in Optical Bay 2011 MacBook Pro 13"

So I have a MacBook Pro 8.1, late 2011 13". I want to put an SSD in it using OptiBay or an equivalent. I don't want to put the HDD in the optibay because I want all the protection the original slot provides for the HDD. I have read a lot about incompatabilities about SATA III in the optibay slot. I have confirmed that I have SATA III for the optibay connection. So will my MacBook support a SATA III SSD in the optibay? If not, will it still support one just at SATA II speeds? Will it support a SATA II SSD?

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SSD Will Not Format in Optical Bay? (Early 2011 MBP, Lion, Samsung SSD)

Computer Specs:
Early 2011 17 Inch MBP
2.3 GHZ Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB
Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4 (11E53)
Serial-ATA Device Tree:
-Intel 6 Series Chipset
-- Product - 6 series chipset
-- link speed - 6 gigabit
-- negotiated link speed - 3 gbit
-Intel 6 Series Chipset
-- Product - 6 series chipset
-- link speed - 6 gigabit
-- negotiated link speed - 6 gigabit
Hard Drive Specs
Samsung SSD 830 (MZ-7PC512N)
512 GB
SATA 6 Gb/S
Optical Bay Drive Holder Specs
MCZ Tech OptiBay
http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/
Problem:
When I install my SSD in the Optical Bay, I'm unable to format and use the drive.
I have two of these SSD's and I plan to copy my existing MBP hard drive to one of the SSD's and then run two 512 GB SSD's in my MBP.
The SSD comes with a USB cable so I tested both drives with the cable. I can format both drives. Move files around. Restart and they still work.
I started by putting one of the SSD's in the Optical bay to test it out. When I restart it says the drive needs to be initialized, even though it already was. If I try to format the drive it gets half way and just sits there without doing anything. I've let it sit for quite some time and nothing happens. If I keep retrying eventually I can get the drive to format and work. I can move files too and from the drive but when I restart the computer, the drive is gone and needs to be initalized again.
I found Samsung has updated firmware so I had a coworker update the drives on his PC as that's the only way to do it.
I then installed the drive back in my MBP and I have the same issue with the drive not initializing properly. This is true for both drives I own and I have not tried moving the SSD to the primary HD bay. I checked the OS X Software update and I'm all up to date as far as I'm aware. I do not know how to check my MBP Firmware and I'm not sure if this is something I need to do.
Has anyone experienced this issue and have any solutions?

I have a similar scenario. While waiting for my optical bay to arrive I installed the SSD in the primary HDD bay, formatted it, installed OS X Lion, etc. It was working great. When the bay arrive I moved it over to that and I was no longer able to boot from the SSD. Just had the spining progress wheel under the Apple logo on boot. I booted to my previous HDD via a USB enclosure and I could see the SSD and read files from it but cannot format it or install OS X on it. I've had the following errors at various steps...
Can't download the additinoal components needed to install Mac OS X
... when booted into the Recovery HD to resinstall OS X on the SSD
Volume Erase failed with the error : File system formatter failed.
... when trying to format the SSD in the optical bay via Disk Utility
Partition failed with the error: Wiping volume data to prevent future accidental probing failed
... when trying to partition the SSD in the optical bay via Disk Utility
Some "-254" error
... when trying to partition the SSD in the optical bay via Disk Utility
Has anyone solved this with the SSD in the optical bay? I would prefer to keep the SSD (with the OS) there rather than trusting my data drive in it.

Trying to install/format an INTERNAL hard drive using Disk Utility gives me "Error: -69760: Unable to write to the last block of the device". Is that a hardware problem and what could be done about it?

*** PLEASE NOTE*** - This is a query about an INTERNAL HDD not an external one. Thanks.
My Mac is a late 2009 model and the current hard drive recently failed. So I bought a new one, exactly the same, albeit 750gb instead of 500gb. The HDD is a Seagate Momentus 7200. Before the my current drive failed I made a time machine back up to an external USB HDD. I've inserted the HDD into the bottom of my Mac, plugged in the USB and started my machine pressing the 'Option' ([ALT]) key. I go into Disk Utility to try and format the new HDD by creating a new partition but I keep getting the messages,
"Error: -69760: Unable to write to the last block of the device"
or
"POSIX: could not allocate memory"
This is actaully the third HDD I've tried. The first was another Seagate Momentus 7200 500gb, but this time it was a newer model (model number ended in 423AS instead of 420AS - the new one I am trying ends with 420AS, which is the same as the current HDD). I then tried a Western Digital drive but that one didn't even show up in DU. Forums and tech support are suggesting it's faults with the HDDs but surely not three in a row?
Could this be an issue with another part of my Mac?
Is there anything else I can do to format the HDD, have I missed a crucial step?

Did you ever get a resolution to this issue?
I am having that exact error with a new 512GB SSD from Crucial, in a 15" MBP mid-2010.
I really wonder now if the stupid SATA cable could be bad - causing the initial SSD fail. I am replacing it with the EXACT same drive, and getting that "last block" error when i partition in the GUI or from command-line.
thanks!

2x SSD as RAID-0 in 2nd optical bay, orig. must function... also RAM ?

Hey all I know this is kind of a long post but I think it would help a lot of people out to get all of this information together in one spot so please help me figure this out. Thanks in advance.
I am purchasing a 3.33GHz Hexcore MP, aside from processor stock from Apple. My plans are:
Add 2x 4GB RAM to 2 of the 3 orig. 1GB chips, for a theoretical 10GB (for now) Is this feasible/advantageous?
2x 50GB OWC Mercury Pro RE SSDs as RAID-0, boot volume, in 2nd optical bay. The catch is I'd really like to keep the std. optical drive functional in the first bay.
4x 1TB 7200 drives in HD bays, two RAID-0 arrays, second as mirror of first.
So here are my series of questions:
1 - How can I hook up the 2 SSDs in the second bay as far as SATA/power are concerned. I do not want to hook them up externally and want a good fast pipeline for them, yet I do not want to disconnect the stock optical drive. Do I need any additional hardware/cables for an internal connection? I've also heard of a sort of hardware RAID enclosure that houses the two SSDs in the optical drive, occupying only one SATA/power connection and sharing it between the two of them. Does anyone know any specific products, and is the performance as good as two dedicated SATA connections?
2 - using Disk Utility (or similar), can the second RAID-0 2TB HDD set mirror the first, like two RAID-0s nested in a fat RAID-1, or, in a pinch, is Time Machine or cloning the way to go for redundancy there? The idea here is to not buy the RAID card.
3 - Can I partition a RAID-0 stripe or is that just a bad idea? The idea is to partition off space on the two RAID-0 HDD sets to mirror the SSD set (thus cloning the boot drive), plus a small partition for a windows VM. Any better ideas how to accomplish redundancy for the boot volume and isolation for a Bootcamp/VM partition?
I know this is a lot and may seem rather amateurish, but I'd really appreciate some help here. I'd like to get this ball rolling! Thanks in advance for your replies!
Steve

What are some of the 'other things' you refer to in this area that would yield a greater payback?
• The biggest payback comes from having a separate System/Applications/Paging drive, by moving the Users folder off it completely.
When you are running a program, it will read a User file, execute a little, then move into an area of the program or System that is not currently resident in RAM memory. This requires an access to the System Drive, to get a part of the program, a part of the System, or a part of a Paging file. Each access to the System/Applications/Paging area or drive takes longer because the arm was positioned to read the User file, and has to seek a long way to get to the System etc. area.
Each time you access System stuff, this moves the arm away from your User input file, and the next User read will take longer because the drive arm has to be moved back to the User file.
Separating System/Applications/Paging onto a separate drive from all User files speeds up everything you do.
• If this drive is fast, that is better.
Access time on a spinning disk varies varies, but it is commonly 10 to 20 milliseconds. It consists of seek time (time to move the arm to the track desired and verify that it has arrived at the proper track) and rotational latency (average time for the platter to spin around so that the required block is under the read/write head).
At 7200 RPM, (120 spins/sec) one full spin takes 8.3 milliseconds, and half that amount is about 4.2 milliseconds. At 10,000 RPM, (166.6 spins/sec) one full spin takes only about 6 Milliseconds, and half that is only 3 milliseconds.
A drive with a faster seek time, a higher RPM rate (which indirectly gives a faster transfer time), and a larger cache (approximately in that order) will speed up your System/Applications/Paging drive and make your Mac seem faster. For example, using a small 10,000 RPM Velociraptor instead of a 1TB 7200 RPM WD Black is snappier overall. It seeks faster and is spinning faster so the arm is positioned faster, the data get into read position faster (on average) and once reading has begun, the data are presented to the drive cache faster.
Access time plus transfer time is usually dead time, in that little else can proceed until the data transfer is complete.
• If this drive is a \[no seek time, no rotational latency, fast transfer rate] SSD, that is Much better.
An SSD eliminate both seek time (positioning the arm to the track) and rotational latency (time waiting for the disc to spin around to the right block to be read) and substitutes a miniscule (by comparison) read time. Once reading has begun, a huge block of data is immediately available for transfer, so the effective data transfer rate is also much higher.
• If this drive is an SSD Striped RAID, that is marginally better still, because it increases the effective transfer time.
But the access time, the Big Boat-Anchor in this process, was almost eliminated by using the FIRST SSD. None of the typical seek-time and rotational latency gains of RAID-ing spinning disks are recovered by RAID-ing SSDs. The transfer rate is increased, often nearly doubled, but that is the smallest part of the delays caused by disk accessing.

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.

I installed an SSD in my optical bay, is it possible to install Windows 8 in that drive?

[15" late 2011 MBP with preinstalled 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD]
To the goddesses of this community:
Here's the deal. Although I love OS X, but let's be realistic, there are some softwares out there only run on Windows
Therefore, I am planning to buy an OCZ Vector 256GB SSD, transfer the OS X and all other files from the preinstalled 125GB SSD to the new OCZ Vector SSD.
Then, install the new OCZ SSD in the hard drive bay.
After that, wipe my old 128GB SSD, swap out my optical drive and install my old 128GB SSD in its place.
Here's the critical part: I plan to install Windows 8 on my 128GB SSD which is currently empty and sitting in the optical bay.
I have read some past posts saying it is not possible since 1. Boot Camp only allows Windows to be installed in the same SSD OS X is installed in. 2. You can not install Windows using Boot Camp Assistant without an internal optical drive.
I wish to know it the above infomation is still true. If not, how to install Windows 8 in my new SSD?
Thank you very much!

A couple of things to note - first, you can't use Boot Camp to install Win8 on any drive except yoru start-up drive. Second, you'd want the SSD to be in the main HD bay, not the optical bay, if you plan to use it as a bootable OS X device.
Clinton

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

SSD in optical bay - unable to write/format! Pls help!

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