SSD - main bay or ultrabay

so im thinking of buying a pretty standard T430. I will be buying a 128gb SSD to use as my boot drive and the 500gb as storage. my question is: it seems like a lot of people rip out the 500gb HDD, put it in the ultrabay and put the SSD in the main bay...is there a reason for this?
would it not be easier to keep the 500gb in the main bay, buy a caddy and stick the SSD into the ultrabay? To me, it seems like it would save installation time (no need to rip out a drive), and you also dont need to worry about the height of the SSD as the ultrabay caddy can take most drive sizes (or so ive heard)
are there performance issues here that im missing?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

That one, part number 43N3412, is about 9mm thick. It will work in the T430 but there will be a small gap at the top of the drive bay.
Ideally what you need is ThinkPad 12.7mm Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III. The link is to Lenovo Canada. It shows estimated ship date well into May. If you can't wait you can also buy clone adapters on eBay and Amazon for about $10. They generally fit and work well.
BTW if you decide to buy a T430s instead of a T430, note that it uses the thinner adapter, part number 43N3412.
Cheers... Dorian Hausman
X1C2, TPT2, T430s, SL500, X61s, T60p, A21p, 770, 760ED... 5160, 5150... S360/30

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Vertex 3 SSD. In main bay or Ultrabay?

Hey,
Just bought a new SSD and i wondered where i'll squeeze the best performance?
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I use Vertex 3 240 GB in main bay and 480 GB in Ultrabay, both working as designed and marketed by OCZ. Just take care to have firmware 2.15 installed, solves BSOD issues permanently. My OS is on Runcore T50 120 GB mSATA (uses the same SandForce 2881 controller). I have used the Acronis 2011 to restore the Lenovo factory image first on 240 GB Vertex 3 and later on mSATA, worked well in both cases, Acronis is obvious awared of SSD alignment.
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SSD upgrade running terrible in main bay but fine in external case enclosure

Hi,
I'm having major issues trying to upgrade my Macbook Pro (13" mid-2012. OS X 10.9.5) HD from standard apple installed Toshiba 750GB (which ran Maveriks) to a Samsung EVO 1TB SSD. First I installed the SSD into the HD main bay, formatted as per apple support instructions (mac extended journaled) and installed Yosemite from a bootable USB, transferred documents from my time machine and reinstalled a variety of applications. Seemed to work OK for a while but then many strange error messages began appearing. The main one was "unapproved caller error- security agent may only be invoked by apple software. I also had trouble coping files from my time machine (error message said the files couldn't be read or written), but when tested on another mac worked fine. Safari kept freezing and when I tried to download apps said there was not enough disk space - there was plenty! When trying to open the apple store app the icon appeared in the dock briefly and then closed again. Over the preceding hour more and more of these errors appeared and eventually the computer was unusable, the screen went black with only the unauthorised caller error. I decided to start again and this time install OS X from internet recovery. Reformatted the drive as usual and booted with CMD + R. First internet recovery didn't work- error apple couldn't create a recovery partition. I used disk utility to verify the disk, Got - "the partition map needs to be repaired because there is a problem with the EFI system partitions file system". Used "repair disk" to resolve this. Tried the install again, failed again, can't remember the error message but it was different then the first.
After searching the internet and not finding anything helpful I decided to try cloning my old HD onto the new SSD using carbon copier with SSD in external caddy. Now works totally fine in the external caddy but as soon as I put it in the internal bay it again is very slow, gives funny errors such as "This operation can not be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code 50)". Also keeps freezing, wont let me delete any apps/files and generally after about 10 mins becomes unusable and I have to restart. It boots fine to start with though.
I previously had problems with the old HD freezing and being very very slow. Apple replaced it about 8 months ago and it seems OK but is much slower then I would expect from an i7. The only thing I have seen on forums is possible the SATA cable may be the problem???
Anybody have a clue what is going on!?!??! Please help! I would take it into the apple store as its still under warranty but I'm assuming they wont support it as its not one of their HDs and also I installed it myself. Also macbook is still working fine with old HD.
Help!

>I decided to try cloning my old HD onto the new SSD....works totally fine in the external caddy but as soon as I put it in the internal bay it again is very slow, gives funny errors.......I previously had problems with the old HD freezing and being very very slow. ..... possible the SATA cable may be the problem???<
Almost certainly and what you did pretty much proves it. So you'd have to examine the SATA cable and connection to the logic board for damage. Then try replacing it. It's not exactly cheap so make sure before you buy:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Cab le+Replacement/10379
Wonder if the hardware test would find this problem.
Then there's this:
http://www.macworld.com/article/2030013/advice-from-an-apple-tech-three-common-m ac-fixes.html
"The 13-inch MacBook Pro notebook from mid-2011 is an outstanding computer, but some of these laptops apparently were made with a bad batch of hard drive cables that failed after about a year."
and:
http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/73956/macbook-pro-hard-drive-problems-c an-it-be-hard-drive-cable

Macbook Pro (2011 Model) suddenly does not boot from SSD in main bay

I have been using Macbook pro 2011 and Samsung SSD (256GB) for about a year.
All of sudden, the computer will not from SSD from the main bay, but it will boot from the optical bay.
I have tried an Intel SSD 120gb which came with the computer, but it does not work either.
However, it will boot from the regualr hard drive from the main bay.
I have read somewhere that it could be due to the hard drive flex cable.
Has anyone experienced a similar problem?

It may very well be a problem with the SATA cable... for some reason (and I don't know why, but...) SSDs seem more prone in 'detecting' a faulty SATA cable than a standard hard drive. Where a hard drive will boot, an SSD will not.
I would advise purchasing a new SATA cable - from ifixit.com or powerbookmedic.com - and replacing the cable. That (normally) clears up the problem.
Clinton

Windows will not boot (SSD in optibay with OSX/Window, HDD in main bay for Mac storage)

Main bay: HDD for storage (Mac-formatted)
Optibay: SSD for operating systems
Version: OSX Yosemite
Description of issue:
I removed power from internal HDD so Windows install would work properly on SSD. I didn't think/realize that once it was installed and I plugged internal HDD back in that I would not be able to boot into Windows.
This is where I am now:
Last login: Tue Apr 7 00:00:16 on ttys000
Austins-MacBook-Pro:~ austinmarti$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *480.1 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         319.2 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP                160.0 GB   disk0s4
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS 1TB Internal HDD        999.9 GB   disk1s2
/dev/disk2
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS Stealth SSD            *318.9 GB   disk2
                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2
                                 98832CC2-D844-438A-BBBC-2861CCB21B35
                                 Unencrypted
Austins-MacBook-Pro:~ austinmarti$ diskutil cs list
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 3F0B9078-5B88-473E-8BE0-AD1B401D1B5F
    =========================================================
    Name:         Stealth SSD
    Status:       Online
    Size:         319244222464 B (319.2 GB)
    Free Space:   18907136 B (18.9 MB)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume 8B88188C-3DB7-49CB-8335-24563D7B0C9B
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk0s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     319244222464 B (319.2 GB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family 53E2A31F-BA81-4969-9041-5A82D182C4F3
        Encryption Status:       Unlocked
        Encryption Type:         None
        Conversion Status:       NoConversion
        Conversion Direction:    -none-
        Has Encrypted Extents:   No
        Fully Secure:            No
        Passphrase Required:     No
        |
        +-> Logical Volume 98832CC2-D844-438A-BBBC-2861CCB21B35
            Disk:                  disk2
            Status:                Online
            Size (Total):          318872993792 B (318.9 GB)
            Conversion Progress:   -none-
            Revertible:            Yes (no decryption required)
            LV Name:               Stealth SSD
            Volume Name:           Stealth SSD
            Content Hint:          Apple_HFS
Austins-MacBook-Pro:~ austinmarti$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0
gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=480103981056; sectorsize=512; blocks=937703088
gpt show: /dev/disk0: Suspicious MBR at sector 0
gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1
gpt show: error: bogus map
gpt show: unable to open device '/dev/disk0': Undefined error: 0
Austins-MacBook-Pro:~ austinmarti$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1
gpt show: /dev/disk1: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168
gpt show: /dev/disk1: PMBR at sector 0
gpt show: /dev/disk1: Pri GPT at sector 1
gpt show: /dev/disk1: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167
       start        size index contents
           0           1         PMBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34           6
          40      409600             1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
      409640 1952853344     2 GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
1953262984      262151
1953525135          32         Sec GPT table
1953525167           1          Sec GPT header
Austins-MacBook-Pro:~ austinmarti$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0
Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 58369/255/63 [937703088 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [     start -       size]
1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [         1 -     409639] <Unknown ID>
2: AC 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [    409640 - 623523872] <Unknown ID>
3: AB 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 623933512 -    1269536] Darwin Boot
*4: 07 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 625203200 - 312496128] HPFS/QNX/AUX
Austins-MacBook-Pro:~ austinmarti$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

I had boot camp set up previously, but I think this may have been before I installed the SSD, and maybe I just had it running on the HDD.
I've seen what seems like this same issue posted many, many times, where it is an issue of Windows seeing a GPT partition/drive, so it won't boot. Is that not what's going on for me, too?
1. I have Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X v12.2.313
2. Yes.
3. I can only see the Mac partition (but when I hold option when booting, I can choose Windows from there. Will boot if HDD unplugged) :

2011 MBP won't boot from main bay

I have an early 2011 13" MBP. I removed the SuperDrive and replaced it with an SSD. I also placed another SSD in the main bay. Everything worked fine and suddenly the SSD in the main bay would not be recognized. I switched the main bay SSD with original HDD and everything worked fine for a week, then that stopped being recognized. Now my main bay will not recognize any drive. It is not the SSD or the HDD. I have tested them in the hard drive caddy I replaced the SuperDrive with and as external hard drives plugged into USB. Anyone ever had this issue?

That is what I hear about apple. The replacement part from iFixit is $50. I wonder what would be cheaper.
http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/MacBook-Pro-13-Inch-Unibody-Early-2011-Late- 2011-Hard-Drive-Cable/IF163-026

Where did 30GB of unused space on my SSD main drive go? I have a mid 2011 iMac that until yesterday had just 54GB of space occupied on the primary drive. I imported 45 minutes of video from an SD card. Could that have used up the space?

Where did 30GB of unused space on my SSD main drive go? I have a mid 2011 iMac that until yesterday had just 54GB of space occupied on the primary drive. I imported 45 minutes of video from an SD card. Could that have used up the space?

I added an SSD to my 27" 2011 iMac. Although Sahidus is absolutely correct, it is much easier to add an SSD replacing the optical drive, it wasn't that bad to add it using an entirely seperate cable using SATA-III. To me it is worth the extra hassle to install a SATA-III SSD. This is where you are going to get maximum performance.
Although it appears complicated, if you go slow, the procedure to install an SSD drive isn't too bad. It takes at most 3 hours, as long as you are prepared and have all the parts and tools.
http://www.btobey.com/learn/imac-ssd-install.php
This describes how I did it. Now I get awesome data performance from my iMac!
I think the 21.5" may be more difficult to find where to place the SSD. But im sure it is possible. Just be creative.

***Performance of SSD: Optical Bay vs. SATA

I was thinking about installing a second drive into my optical bay that I can use as my media/scratch drive.
System/Apps on main drive
Video on optical drive
Just wondering..is there any difference in performance/speed when editing based on if the drive is in the SATA bay or the optical bay. If there is, would it be better to just get a Firewire drive as the media/scratch?
Thank you.

Hi A,
The earlier MBPs have PATA optical drives, and there would definitely be a difference, so it depends which MBP you have.

SSD Firmware update - do I need to move boot SSD to Bay 1?

Hello there
I know you can specify which disk to use as your Startup in System Preferences - currently I am using a Crucial M4 SSD as my boot in the lower optical bay of my Mac Pro (Quad-Core xeon).
But if I want to update the firmware on the SSD do I need to move it? The updating process involves booting from a CD with the firmware update on, as you may know. But does that process override the system preference? Presumably Bay 1 is the default boot system drive, in this instance?
Thanks in advance.

msphoto wrote:
So there's potentially no need to remove the other drives, as Hatter has suggested?
I've actually got 2 M4s installed, only one as a boot. If anyone know the best way, thanks for the advice. I'll head to the M4 forum as well.
By coincidence I happend to do a firmware update of my mac pro 5,1 OWC ssd just this past weekend. It's true that is shouldn't matter which bay the drive is in nor whether you have hdd's in the other bays, but even I was paranoid enough to pull the other drives before booting the firmware updater (it was a Linux boot by the way). "Pulling the drives" really was no more than sliding them back about an inch and not totally removing them -- just enough to unplug them. You can run with the mac pro cover off with no problems.

2011 MBP 2nd HDD mod with SSD

I have been trying for days to successfully get Bootcamp 4 +win7 onto my 2011 MBP.
I have modded my MBP to have a second hard drive (ssd in main bay, original 750gb HDD in sled where optical drive used to be.)
SSD is in the main HDD slot, and was put there since the main sata bus is native 6gbs (sata3), where the optical drive bus is sata 2.
So since my ssd is sata3, and the original drive is sata2 it made sense, also it made sense since the main bus is where the computer is designed to boot from.
Ok, so heres what I have done.
I have used Bootcamp, with all combinations of the three boxes checked. (after editing files in my mac i was able to use the "create windows 7 USB installer" function)
I purchased a macbook air super drive (after editing files on my mac, i was able to view and use the drive normally in my OS, but unable to boot from it.) Ended up returning it because an $80 that you can ONLY use on very specific systems is outragous... $25 bucks for a super generic one that has an infinite amount more compatability, or $80 for a locked drive...and here I thought the days of doing stupid proprietary crap to hardware was over
Gparted, testdisk, pdisk, and other table editors have been no help... (cant even get gparted to boot past video drivers, even in vga mode it errors)
I can successfully install windows when i replace the original superdrive that shipped with the system, with the original HDD in the main bay. When I install using this method, as soon as I rebuild my system (ssd main bay, hdd in second bay) my mbp fails to see the windows install (blinking ? folder). I think has to do with the drivers for the 2 sata busses are different.
Holding "alt/option" sees a "Windows" partition that is bootable. when selected, my mbp fails to see the windows install (blinking ? folder)
Disconnected the drive from MBP, connected it to my desktop, viewed / edited in gparted. Same outcome...my mbp fails to see the windows install.
When I follow the main bootcamp instructions for a USB install, I can successfully create a bootable USB with windows 7 on it (works great on my PC) when my computer restarts to install... cant boot from usb, i get the blinking folder (in this config, the drives are in my preffered locations: ssd main bay, hdd in second bay)
Someone said certain USB sticks may not work to boot from... the same USB stick boots up to gparted fine on both my iMac, my PC and this MBP... and the Windows 7 on USB that bootcamp created boots my PC seamlessly. so I doubt its the USB being "unbootable" (just to check this, i erased, reconfigured gparted live USB, and plugged in... not only does it boot, it boots fast, same with a MSDOS recovery USB stick and Unbuntu Live USB)
I disassembled an External DVD drive, and tried about 8 different drives connected directly to the circut board of the external... Can see whatever disc i put in the drive, but only in the OS, Can not boot from any of them (windows dvd shows up as bootable when that disc is in, but selecting it gives me a blinking "_" on a black screen, a black screen, or the message "no bootable devices found, insert boot disc and press any key" depending on where I am at in my process
How on earth should I go about completing this bootcamp install... Im beginning to lose my mind about this.
I have been a computer tech for over 10 years and every logical solution seems to fail for reasons not apparent to me... maybe jobs was in a bad mood when they discussed how my MBP should function.
Why not let me boot from an $80 superdrive?
Why not let me boot Windows 7 installer from anything besides the original drive?
Seriously... Why?
$2000 dollars for a computer should be more than enough cheddar to get a system that isnt locked to Apples way...
I was always a PC loyalist, and my MBP started to change that a little. But then the simple things like... booting from a different source, cant use external drives.
My next best guess on what to do is:
reconfigure the mac to factory, install bootcamp and configure windows on the main HDD bus.
Take out that HDD configured the way i want it.
put in ANOTHER DIFFERENT spare drive.
rebuild
install bootcamp again, go through options, partition drive and when it restarts to install, shut it down
take spare drive
connect both bootcamp drives to my PC, use GParted to compare the partition tables. Edit one to reflect other
restart and see if bootcamp is bootable...
The number one reason i was told i would enjoy my apple...
"it just works"
lmao

SOLVED it for myself like this:
Moved back the HDD from optibay to main bay. Put back the optical drive in and booted off of a windows 7 DVD and installed it on the HDD. Moved the HDD back to optibay and SSD to the main bay. Booted up and holding option/alt showed both Windows and Lion.
Hint: I didn't wanted the win to be installed on my SSD, I am so afraid of imagining what win can do to it
Here is what I experienced:
SSD in main bay, HDD in optibay:
* no boot off of a bootable windows setup on a USB made with:
1- NTFS format (made on mac with Unetbootin)
2- FAT format (made on windows)
3- UDF format (made on mac with direction given here : help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick )
* no boot off of an external DVD with original windows setup DVD
* boots off mac os original DVD supplied
No SSD, No HDD, No Optical drive:
* no boot from flash/win cd
* boots off mac os original CD supplied
Optical drive in Optibay, SSD or HDD in main bay:
* boot off win DVD
* No USB booting!
* No extrnal DVD booting
Hope this help someone!

Dual intalled SSD recognition problem

hello,
i have upgraded my 2011 macbook pro 13" hard drive to ssd M500 and it recognized but couldnt write and did not show up finder but Disk Utility, so i googling it a lot and most of problems could fix by changing cable. so i found one cable from ebay ( ifixit doest have stock), but the seller said that is original cable, NEW HDD Hard Drive Cable 821-1226-A 922-9771 fits MacBook Pro 13" A1278 2011. my macbook works fine with my original HDD(little lagging after updating mavericks) only has problem with ssd and firmware is up to date, and ssd works fine with PC and ssd enclosure through usb. so the question is what cable should i buy, original?? or there is a cable specifically for sata 3 supporting 6G speed??
here is some info
ssd crucial M 500 240G
macbook pro early 2011 13" 2.7Ghz i7
mavericks 10.9.3
1 HDD works fine in main drive bay and optical bay
2 SSD works fine PC and usb enclosure
3 Inicialized through usb and using CCC, booting fine through usb but main drive bay
4 clean install and boot camp cloning was also fine through usb
5 while booting the computer (hdd optical bay, ssd main bay with both macericks intalled), MBP didnt recognize ssd
6 after booting, os recognize ssd and then cilcked "initialize"button then ssd was readable on Disk Utility
7 still didnt show up finder only disk utility
8 partition failed when ssd in main bay
9 it was grey out verification repair etc..
10 every time turning on MBP, Initialize pop up showed
i am so afraid of that the cable would be the exactly same one i have now

oh not boot camp time machine

SATA Controller on W530 SATA III?

Hi all,
Im thinking of replacing my main drive bay HDD to a 7200 rpm drive and installing an SSD on ultrabay as my OS/boot drive.
I have intel 7 series c216 sata ahci controller, I suppose both of my main bay and ultrabay are SATA III. I wanted to confirm this info.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Yes, both are SATA3.
But I would swap the main HD out for the SSD and put a 2nd HD in the ultrabay caddy, because you can hotswap it out for the CD/DVD drive should you require it.
ThinkPad W540 (20BG) - i7-4800MQ/24GB // ThinkPad T440s (20AQ) - i7-4600U/12GB
ThinkPad T440p (20AW) - i7-4800MQ/16GB // ThinkPad Helix (3698-6EU) - i5-3337U/4GB
ThinkPad W520 (4282-W4Q) - i7-2720QM/32GB // ThinkPad T400 (2767-W1C) - P9500/8GB
ThinkPad T61 (7665-CTO) - T7700/4GB // ThinkPad T60p (8741-C2G) - T7400/4GB

Time Machine not backing up system files on second hard drive

The system files are not being included in my time machine backups on my primary drive (an internal SSD) but they are for my secondary drive (an internal HDD). I want to revert the system back to a previous state because of a change I made to the Audio folder in Libraries that may have cause an issue. When I look at the backup on my backup disk, the folder isn't even included on the SSD (the drive I made changes to). Is it hidden or just left out? I checked the Time Machine preferences and there are no folders listed to be excluded.
1) Does this mean that I will not be able to do a full system restore from these Time Machine backups?
2) How can I include those files in future backups?
Thanks!
System information:
MacBook Pro Mid 2012
OS X 10.8.5 (12F45)
2.6 GHz Intel Core i7
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
240 GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD (Main Bay)
750 GB Apple HDD (Optical Bay)

I apologize, the title of this thread is misleading. I meant it to say "on primary hard drive", not "second hard drive". Sorry for any confusion.

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?

SOLUTION: DOES MY 2011 MACBOOK PRO HAVE 3G OR 6G IN OPTICAL BAY FOR SSD? *ANSWER*

Hey guys, I just wanted to share the love and tell you I've finally spoken with Apple tech support (had to go through a handful of them to find the answer).. I have a [b][u]Late 2011 MacBook Pro (8,2) (MacBookPro8,2)[/b][/u], which was [B]*PURCHASED ON APRIL 4, 2012*[/B] and wanted to upgrade both the main HD and the optical bay/SuperDrive with Dual SSD's.. but saw so much conflicting info. on the internet about how some 2011 MacBook Pros only have 3G capabilities for the optical drive, where others (released later on) had 6G drive capabilities in BOTH the main drive and optical drive bay..
so now I'm probably sure you're asking yourself...
WHICH CONNECTOR DOES MY MACBOOK PRO SUPPORT FOR A [B]2ND SSD IN THE OPTICAL DRIVE/SUPERDRIVE BAY?[/B]
3G (SATA-II) OR 6G (SATA-III)
I literally had to call Apple a half a dozen times, spoke to 2 different managers, and then eventually got them to spill the beans.. The thing with Apple is that they beat around the bush big time when it comes to things like you personally replacing/upgrading components.. As soon as you bring up the connector for the optical bay, they start asking questions.. It eventually took me to 5th call to end up speaking with some chill dude who was able to pull up my "About My Mac" and interpret if I were part of the 2011-MacBook Pro releases which had the (6G main + 3G optical) or the group that had the (6G main + 6G optical).. Literally tried everywhere on the internet, but SO HAPPY to finally have a solid answer from Apple themselves..
[b]My specific MacBook Pro Model:[/b]
[u]MacBook Pro (8,2) - Late 2011 (purchased April 4, 2012) - 2.4GHz Intel Core i7 - 15"[/u]
[B][U]*SOLUTION*[/B][/U]
If you pull open your "About this Mac", click "More Info", and then "System Report", click on "SATA" on the left column, and then if your stats in those windows match the stats from the 2 screenshots I posted, then your Optical Drive Bay/SuperDrive is equipped and handle a 6G/SATA-III drive or SSD! I'm pretty sure that it doesn't matter at all what your "MacBookProX,x" number is, as long as you have #'s that match mine in those screenshots, you're good to go!
ENJOY!

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?

SSD - main bay or ultrabay

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