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How to expand 13" storage by 32GB (Flush)
- Thread starter LeakedDave
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Wow this thread is awesome. I love learning this kind of stuff from you all on this forum. 
For now, I want to use my SD slot on my MacBook Pro 2010. I tried to find the Norcent adapter, no luck. Spent almost an hour with Google. The eBay auctions are gone. Geeks.com, Amazon, all out of stock. Except "DHGate" (http://www.dhgate.com/norcent-sdt2g...crosd/r-ff8080812d36cf93012d36ff80f953b5.html) which wants $23. Does anyone know where else I could find the Norcent adapter, or another adapter like it? I guess if need be I could buy from DHgate but the site is kind of sketchy anyway.
The problem with most adapters is you put the card in the very back. So you can not cut it down. The Norcent, part of it is that USB connector thing. So it's safe to cut that off. It results in a smaller adapter than every other adapter. All other adapters seem to have the same design, with the MicroSD at the back so you can not cut it down.
Long-term, to gain even more storage, I may also do the USB MicroSD/transflash keychain drive trick. I already have one of those (you put the MicroSD in it, then plug it in). But for now I'd rather use the SD card slot.
Thanks for any ideas all of you!
For now, I want to use my SD slot on my MacBook Pro 2010. I tried to find the Norcent adapter, no luck. Spent almost an hour with Google. The eBay auctions are gone. Geeks.com, Amazon, all out of stock. Except "DHGate" (http://www.dhgate.com/norcent-sdt2g...crosd/r-ff8080812d36cf93012d36ff80f953b5.html) which wants $23. Does anyone know where else I could find the Norcent adapter, or another adapter like it? I guess if need be I could buy from DHgate but the site is kind of sketchy anyway.
The problem with most adapters is you put the card in the very back. So you can not cut it down. The Norcent, part of it is that USB connector thing. So it's safe to cut that off. It results in a smaller adapter than every other adapter. All other adapters seem to have the same design, with the MicroSD at the back so you can not cut it down.
Long-term, to gain even more storage, I may also do the USB MicroSD/transflash keychain drive trick. I already have one of those (you put the MicroSD in it, then plug it in). But for now I'd rather use the SD card slot.
Thanks for any ideas all of you!
I just got a MBA a few days ago, and since I already had an extra 32GB class 4 SDHC card I popped it into the slot and copied 28GB of photos to it. Man, that took forever, about 6 hours!
So I just did a few unscientific benchmarks that might be of interest. I copied a folder containing 87MB of photos in 11 files. Using the 32GB SDHC card, it took 18 seconds to copy the folder from the internal SSD. Copying the files from the SDHC card to the SSD took only 6 seconds, not surprising since we know it's faster to read than write to the card.
But here's the surprise, copying from the SSD to an external 7200RPM 500GB USB drive only took 3 seconds - that's 6x faster than copying to the SDHC card. Copying from the external USB drive to the SSD took less than 2 seconds, also faster than the SDHC card. And Time Machine was also in the process of running a backup to this same external drive when I tried this.
Just duplicating these same files on the internal SSD took less than 2 seconds.
So this doesn't really inspire me as to the practical uses of an SDHC card in that slot. Maybe a faster card would help a bit... I have a class 10 somewhere, will see if I can archive the stuff on that card and give that a try.
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[EDIT]I found my 16GB class 10 SDHC card and formatted it for the Mac. Performance was definitely better this time - it took 11 seconds to copy the same folder from the SSD to the class 10 card, vs 18 seconds for the class 4 card. Still almost twice as long as it took to copy the same folder to the external USB drive though.
So I just did a few unscientific benchmarks that might be of interest. I copied a folder containing 87MB of photos in 11 files. Using the 32GB SDHC card, it took 18 seconds to copy the folder from the internal SSD. Copying the files from the SDHC card to the SSD took only 6 seconds, not surprising since we know it's faster to read than write to the card.
But here's the surprise, copying from the SSD to an external 7200RPM 500GB USB drive only took 3 seconds - that's 6x faster than copying to the SDHC card. Copying from the external USB drive to the SSD took less than 2 seconds, also faster than the SDHC card. And Time Machine was also in the process of running a backup to this same external drive when I tried this.
Just duplicating these same files on the internal SSD took less than 2 seconds.
So this doesn't really inspire me as to the practical uses of an SDHC card in that slot. Maybe a faster card would help a bit... I have a class 10 somewhere, will see if I can archive the stuff on that card and give that a try.
_________________
[EDIT]I found my 16GB class 10 SDHC card and formatted it for the Mac. Performance was definitely better this time - it took 11 seconds to copy the same folder from the SSD to the class 10 card, vs 18 seconds for the class 4 card. Still almost twice as long as it took to copy the same folder to the external USB drive though.
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I have searched for hours today for the Norcent adapter. Norcent went bankrupt years ago apparently, and their product hasn't been made for years. All eBay auctions are expired.
I can't believe, first of all, Apple's SD card slot is so stupidly designed, very un-Apple. Also I am surprised there are not more readers like the Norcent product, it was a really cool product. I would have bought 2 or 3, for one to keep with the USB end, as that was pretty neat. But I'm also surprised no one else jumped in to make a solution...I think a lot of people with recent Apple laptops as well as other PC owners (Dell Mini etc) would buy such a thing, a mini-SD adapter!
I found this other thread here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1040837/
Apparently OCZ had a clone of the Norcent product. Also discontinued long ago. DealExtreme, Amazon, eBay, etc. are all out of stock.
I may settle with having a USB Elago or other small reader permanently stuck to my MBP. It will just barely fit in my Pelican hard case.
But.. Just wanted to check one last time if anyone else has seen a product like the Norcent?
I want to avoid cutting and soldering. Hacking the reader in the MBP is a frightening prospect with my lack of skill. I may attempt to hack my SD Adapter that I get, as those can be bought for less than $0.50 on Amazon, etc., as someone else posted they might do. But my goal was to have an easy fix and the only two solutions so far that seem easy are the 1) Norcent and 2) a small USB reader like the Elago or TransFlash readers.
Thanks all, this is a great thread. And perhaps it will be fun to do some light hacking around with the SD Adapter if no one finds a Norcent. They are practically free...I'll report back on results.
I can't believe, first of all, Apple's SD card slot is so stupidly designed, very un-Apple. Also I am surprised there are not more readers like the Norcent product, it was a really cool product. I would have bought 2 or 3, for one to keep with the USB end, as that was pretty neat. But I'm also surprised no one else jumped in to make a solution...I think a lot of people with recent Apple laptops as well as other PC owners (Dell Mini etc) would buy such a thing, a mini-SD adapter!
I found this other thread here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1040837/
Apparently OCZ had a clone of the Norcent product. Also discontinued long ago. DealExtreme, Amazon, eBay, etc. are all out of stock.
I may settle with having a USB Elago or other small reader permanently stuck to my MBP. It will just barely fit in my Pelican hard case.
But.. Just wanted to check one last time if anyone else has seen a product like the Norcent?
I want to avoid cutting and soldering. Hacking the reader in the MBP is a frightening prospect with my lack of skill. I may attempt to hack my SD Adapter that I get, as those can be bought for less than $0.50 on Amazon, etc., as someone else posted they might do. But my goal was to have an easy fix and the only two solutions so far that seem easy are the 1) Norcent and 2) a small USB reader like the Elago or TransFlash readers.
Thanks all, this is a great thread. And perhaps it will be fun to do some light hacking around with the SD Adapter if no one finds a Norcent. They are practically free...I'll report back on results.
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Search ebay or dealextreme for "MicroSD/TF to SD USB"
I bought one for 2 bucks just now.
I bought one for 2 bucks just now.
OK folks, I found it. It was a few pages in to the results. Thank you for pointing us to DealExtreme mbamed.
Here it is. The real McCoy!!!!
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/usb-multifunctional-tf-card-to-sd-card-adapter-black-101441
This is the exact same thing as the Norcent. I'm going to cut off the USB end and use it just as the original poster did. $3. I got 3 for bulk rate of $2.69 each.
DealExtreme rocks. And I've gotten other stuff from them over the years, they are a good merchant.
I just ordered them. I will report back to everyone with results and the quality of the product.
Just got them. These work awesome as originally designed, although they don't quite get flush when cut. (see next post for details, one that I cut flush stopped working, but when cut almost flush still works)
(shipping with DealExtreme can sometimes be delayed a few weeks as it was this time)
(shipping with DealExtreme can sometimes be delayed a few weeks as it was this time)
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A CNC'd solution
Hey all,
Love what you guys have done here and I really needed this for my Macbook Air: 256GB SSD - only 27GB remaining!
Me and my friend have designed something along the lines of what has been done here, and launched it on Indiegogo (a crowd funding website):
http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Nifty-MiniDrive-More-Space-Pretty-Package
I know that our solution is a fair amount more expensive than some of the DIY solutions out there - especially the ones you guys have worked out here! But we wanted to make sure that what we produced was as well made, and as closely matched the finish and quality of the Macbook Air/Pro as possible. We wanted to create something that would last as long as your computer, looked good and was easy to use (/remove!).
If you guys like the idea, any support you can lend to the cause would be greatly appreciated - the working prototypes are being built as we speak and I would expect to ship at the end of the funding period, if not before
Of course ideas/feedback/suggestions are welcome too! You guys are the pros here!!
Hey all,
Love what you guys have done here and I really needed this for my Macbook Air: 256GB SSD - only 27GB remaining!
Me and my friend have designed something along the lines of what has been done here, and launched it on Indiegogo (a crowd funding website):
http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Nifty-MiniDrive-More-Space-Pretty-Package
I know that our solution is a fair amount more expensive than some of the DIY solutions out there - especially the ones you guys have worked out here! But we wanted to make sure that what we produced was as well made, and as closely matched the finish and quality of the Macbook Air/Pro as possible. We wanted to create something that would last as long as your computer, looked good and was easy to use (/remove!).
If you guys like the idea, any support you can lend to the cause would be greatly appreciated - the working prototypes are being built as we speak and I would expect to ship at the end of the funding period, if not before
Of course ideas/feedback/suggestions are welcome too! You guys are the pros here!!
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Wow that looks awesome, like how it matches the metal. Would've bought a few from you if I hadn't already ordered mine.
Pricing
Thanks Sikazzg35 - if you go ahead and support us on Indiegogo and place an order for the first batch, we are selling them for $55 (without a Micro SD card).
We hope to get that down in time, but as we are essentially custom machining and assembling by hand at low volume each MiniDrive costs a lot to make.
We want to personally make sure that it is of the right build quality and finish before we scale up production, so some of that cost is going towards helping a start up find it's feet and create something useful and cool in the realm of consumer electronics :-D
Thanks Sikazzg35 - if you go ahead and support us on Indiegogo and place an order for the first batch, we are selling them for $55 (without a Micro SD card).
We hope to get that down in time, but as we are essentially custom machining and assembling by hand at low volume each MiniDrive costs a lot to make.
We want to personally make sure that it is of the right build quality and finish before we scale up production, so some of that cost is going towards helping a start up find it's feet and create something useful and cool in the realm of consumer electronics :-D
THIS is what everyone is trying to accomplish. Great design, flush and very functional with paperclip removal. (if you could figure out an imbedded eject latch using iPhone pin/paperclip that would rock but not necessary at all).
I have an update...
I bought 3.
I had said the cards I found worked but that was before I cut it.
I cut one flush (removed the entire USB section). It killed the card. At least it appears to have.
I assume perhaps it forms some sort of circuit on the circuit board and part of this goes out onto the USB section, and if it's broken, it ruins the board inside.
I then cut only HALF of it off. It works. But it still hangs out a bit (a centimeter or two, enough to catch when inside my Pelican case). I'm nervous to cut more off. I only have one more try left, plus I wanted to keep one because the USB functionality does in fact work and it's pretty neat to be able to plug it into a USB port if I want to tote my music (what I'm going to store on it) to another computer like my work computer.
Did anyone else here buy one of these? Any thoughts? Has anyone found a way to cut it all the way down to flush and have the WinFos card (the DealExtreme one I got) work? I used scissors also. Maybe a Dremel would've been better? Thoughts?
I guess this supports spending more money on the custom-made solution by makemineadouble, at least we know his card works while flush and is high quality. (makemineadouble I wish you luck, cool idea)
I bought 3.
I had said the cards I found worked but that was before I cut it.
I cut one flush (removed the entire USB section). It killed the card. At least it appears to have.
I assume perhaps it forms some sort of circuit on the circuit board and part of this goes out onto the USB section, and if it's broken, it ruins the board inside.
I then cut only HALF of it off. It works. But it still hangs out a bit (a centimeter or two, enough to catch when inside my Pelican case). I'm nervous to cut more off. I only have one more try left, plus I wanted to keep one because the USB functionality does in fact work and it's pretty neat to be able to plug it into a USB port if I want to tote my music (what I'm going to store on it) to another computer like my work computer.
Did anyone else here buy one of these? Any thoughts? Has anyone found a way to cut it all the way down to flush and have the WinFos card (the DealExtreme one I got) work? I used scissors also. Maybe a Dremel would've been better? Thoughts?
I guess this supports spending more money on the custom-made solution by makemineadouble, at least we know his card works while flush and is high quality. (makemineadouble I wish you luck, cool idea)
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Actually, what you said was "These work awesome!"
I wonder how many other people bought because of your recommendation?!
I live and learn ...
I cut the card a little more, and it hangs out only a millimeter or two now, but I cut until I saw the circuit board.
Photos of the card are here, along with the original unmodified card, and the card cut all the way flush. I used some scotch tape as a tab to be able to pull it out. It's not too bad, but it still sticks out a bit. I may cut the casing away a bit more to see if areas of the board are blank so I can cut it down more. If I get it cut down all the way and working I will post back how it goes. I have photos of the original card, the card cut all the way flush, and the card cut half way or more.
photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/79108790@N04/6935617878/in/photostream/lightbox/
Hairsy I was deployed to the field the day after I got my cards and just got a chance to start messing with them. I just meant they work as originally intended. Since they are cheap Brand X cards from China I initially was worried one or even all of them might be dead on arrival so I wanted to relay that they worked. I should have specified I that I did not test cutting them, though, to be fair.
It's unfortunate this much modding is needed, though..I can't believe they've been shipping this SD Reader design for years now. I just used a Toughbook for work the other day and has a nice spring-loaded SD reader that takes the card in all the way. I seriously hope Apple gets smart with the next model revision.
In fact I just got the coolest idea. What if someone squeezed two or three MicroSD readers into the SD Reader slot, after ripping out Apple's SD reader? That would allow you to theoretically add two or three 64 gig SDXC cards as storage to your laptop. Plus they have 512 gig SSDs that will eventually come down in price. Siiiiick. I wonder if they make MicroSDXC readers, that would fit in there. That would be completely awesome eh?
Photos of the card are here, along with the original unmodified card, and the card cut all the way flush. I used some scotch tape as a tab to be able to pull it out. It's not too bad, but it still sticks out a bit. I may cut the casing away a bit more to see if areas of the board are blank so I can cut it down more. If I get it cut down all the way and working I will post back how it goes. I have photos of the original card, the card cut all the way flush, and the card cut half way or more.
photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/79108790@N04/6935617878/in/photostream/lightbox/
Hairsy I was deployed to the field the day after I got my cards and just got a chance to start messing with them. I just meant they work as originally intended. Since they are cheap Brand X cards from China I initially was worried one or even all of them might be dead on arrival so I wanted to relay that they worked. I should have specified I that I did not test cutting them, though, to be fair.
It's unfortunate this much modding is needed, though..I can't believe they've been shipping this SD Reader design for years now. I just used a Toughbook for work the other day and has a nice spring-loaded SD reader that takes the card in all the way. I seriously hope Apple gets smart with the next model revision.
In fact I just got the coolest idea. What if someone squeezed two or three MicroSD readers into the SD Reader slot, after ripping out Apple's SD reader? That would allow you to theoretically add two or three 64 gig SDXC cards as storage to your laptop. Plus they have 512 gig SSDs that will eventually come down in price. Siiiiick. I wonder if they make MicroSDXC readers, that would fit in there. That would be completely awesome eh?
Thats pretty cool. I may grab one of these after the next refresh if the form factor stays the same.
Mike
Mike
Hey makemineadouble - what's your ETA for the first batch or does it depend on getting all of the funding and you can't say?
JUst ordered two of the cheap things to try to cut them down like xaquaticx did - there's a seller on UK ebay sending them from Hong Kong for something like a quid fifty, so when they arrive I may be back for more advice...
JUst ordered two of the cheap things to try to cut them down like xaquaticx did - there's a seller on UK ebay sending them from Hong Kong for something like a quid fifty, so when they arrive I may be back for more advice...
makemineadouble - I also love the idea and will be all over this once the refresh comes out and I know what I'm buying. Kudo's to you!!
Hey JonLa - not sure on shipping ETA. We are cautious about giving an exact time frame, however at the moment we are aiming to ship by the end of the funding period at the latest for our early supporters.
Everything swings on the quality of the first batch and if there are any problems that need ironing out. If not, we would be able to start shipping even sooner if you fell within the first 45 MiniDrives claimed (we'll need to keep 5 or so back for demoing purposes).
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Thank you AppleSticker54, and everyone else who has been supportive about the idea, you guys are awesome