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Anybody tried OWC Data Doubler with SSD drive?

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miata

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 22, 2010
499
0
Silicon Valley, Earth
Has anybody tried one of these with an SSD drive to replace the optical drive? Other World Computing even sells these with their SSD drives. I'm thinking that a combination of one of these in a MBP 13 would allow me to have both a high capacity HDD and high performance SSD.

I wonder if you would be able to shutdown the HDD to save battery life when not using?
 
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senorhappy

macrumors member
Jun 8, 2009
56
0
I'd love to know this too... after all the hoopla about the new MBA, I wanted to try to make my uniAl MB more Air-like. I was thinking about getting an SSD and removing my optical drive and using Dropbox or other cloud space, but I really like the idea of a hybrid system.

I'm just trying to buy time for the 15" MBA-style systems to come out.

I cant figure out how much SDD space i need to use mainly as a startup disk and app launcher. I dont wanna spend a ton on an SSD, but I want it to be sufficent.

Any help?
 
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crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
Just put one of these in my MBP with a 60GB OWC SSD; am currently cloning my HDD now with plans for using the SSD as a boot/programs drive and the 320GB HDD as a data drive.

It's definitely not flimsy; the bracket is metal (not sure of composition). The SSD is supported within by two screws in the side, so there should be no movement once installed. Total weight is approximately the same as the original optical drive, grossly estimated by each of my hands holding one of them.
 
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crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
senorhappy said:
I'm just trying to buy time for the 15" MBA-style systems to come out.
Click to expand...

Ditto. But I think I'll go 13" (why not get an MBA now? Want to be able to upgrade the RAM; want the inputs; and for $220 I got the SSD with data doubler...not sure I could replace the MBP with an MBA for that little!)
 
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andymodem

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2008
575
96
Baltimore, MD
crh3ff said:
Just put one of these in my MBP with a 60GB OWC SSD; am currently cloning my HDD now with plans for using the SSD as a boot/programs drive and the 320GB HDD as a data drive.

It's definitely not flimsy; the bracket is metal (not sure of composition). The SSD is supported within by two screws in the side, so there should be no movement once installed. Total weight is approximately the same as the original optical drive, grossly estimated by each of my hands holding one of them.
Click to expand...

Just did this very thing yesterday in my MBP with the same drive. :cool:
 
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crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
andymodem said:
Just did this very thing yesterday in my MBP with the same drive. :cool:
Click to expand...

Excellent! So how'd you get the SSD as your boot? I'm currently using Carbon Copy Cloner to clone everything EXCEPT my home folder over, and then plan on redirecting the Home folder once up and running.
 
C

crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
and...done! It seems to have worked perfectly. Steps:

1) install SSD
2) reboot, and using Disk Utility, reformat SSD to Mac OSX Extended (Journaled)
3) Use Carbon Copy Cloner, and DESELECT your user account's Home folder (the assumption is it's too large; my SSD is 60GB an my Home folder contains 150GB)
4) change the startup disk to the SSD
5) reboot into the admin account on the SSD
6) use http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-move-the-home-folder-in-os-x-and-why/ to change set your Home folder for that account to the folder on the HDD that you want to use (presumably the exact same folder)
7) restart and DONE
 
C

crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
senorhappy said:
I
I cant figure out how much SDD space i need to use mainly as a startup disk and app launcher. I dont wanna spend a ton on an SSD, but I want it to be sufficent.

Any help?
Click to expand...

I put in a 64GB SSD (60GB usable space), and after putting the OS and Applications on there, I've got 29GB available. Guess I could have gone with the 40GB, but this way I've got plenty of room to grow.
 
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andymodem

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2008
575
96
Baltimore, MD
crh3ff said:
and...done! It seems to have worked perfectly. Steps:

1) install SSD
2) reboot, and using Disk Utility, reformat SSD to Mac OSX Extended (Journaled)
3) Use Carbon Copy Cloner, and DESELECT your user account's Home folder (the assumption is it's too large; my SSD is 60GB an my Home folder contains 150GB)
4) change the startup disk to the SSD
5) reboot into the admin account on the SSD
6) use http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-move-the-home-folder-in-os-x-and-why/ to change set your Home folder for that account to the folder on the HDD that you want to use (presumably the exact same folder)
7) restart and DONE
Click to expand...

Thank you for this post. I forgot to move the home folder over to the HDD. :eek:
 
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wilycoder

macrumors 6502
Aug 4, 2008
337
0
I have the OWC data doubler and I have an Intel SSD inside it. For my original HDD slot I have a 1TB drive installed.

Works flawlessly.
 
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crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
so now I'm looking for an external enclosure for my optical drive. Anyone else who's doing this find one? I want it slim, so it's semi-portable....there's one on MCE (http://www.mcetech.com) which comes with their hard drive add-on kit, but I'm not sure if they sell it individually...
 
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tjb1

macrumors 68000
Aug 26, 2010
1,999
0
Pennsylvania, USA
C

crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
crh3ff said:
I put in a 64GB SSD (60GB usable space), and after putting the OS and Applications on there, I've got 29GB available. Guess I could have gone with the 40GB, but this way I've got plenty of room to grow.
Click to expand...

Scratch that: I'm down to 9gb available; I put my Parallels Windows 7 VM (20GB) on the SSD so it would get the speed boost.
 
maz-o

maz-o

macrumors member
Jul 16, 2010
60
0
Sorry to hijack an old thread but I have two questions.

I'm going to install the data doubler so that I'll have a 500G HDD and a 60G SSD, with the system naturally bootable on the SSD. Now the HDD is 7200rpm and quite noisy and it vibrates a bit too.

So my first question is, should I have the bootable SSD drive in the "standard HDD slot" and the HDD in the optical bay? Or the other way around? Are there any advantages/disadvantages with either setup? (late 2008 uni 15" MBP)

And also, how much does it affect battery life to have two disks installed? As opposed to the standard setup of one 7200rpm plus an optical drive (that never gets used)?

Thanks a lot!
 
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crh3ff

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2010
97
0
The way you reseated your HDD must have been off; make sure it's tight in there like it should be.

I've got the SSD in the optical bay and the HDD in it's original spot.

I don't know if there was a loss of battery life, but it's quite possible. I definitely don't get the "advertised" 8-10 hours, but other upgrades include 8GB RAM as well as the SSD, so it's possible I'm down some.
 
zub3qin

zub3qin

macrumors 65816
Apr 10, 2007
1,311
0
Does Time Machine support the Data Doubler?

Will it automatically back up both the SSD and HDD whenever you plug in your ext HDD for time machine?


Also, how are people dividing up the stuff between the drives?

I assume iPhoto and iTunes media on the HDD, apps on the SSD?
How about parallels or XP? Does it matter where they are located?

Thanks!
 
M

miata

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 22, 2010
499
0
Silicon Valley, Earth
zub3qin said:
Does Time Machine support the Data Doubler?

Will it automatically back up both the SSD and HDD whenever you plug in your ext HDD for time machine?


Also, how are people dividing up the stuff between the drives?

I assume iPhoto and iTunes media on the HDD, apps on the SSD?
How about parallels or XP? Does it matter where they are located?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You can specify in Time Machine which volumes to backup. By default I think it only selects your boot disk.
 
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axu539

macrumors 6502a
Dec 31, 2010
929
0
miata said:
You can specify in Time Machine which volumes to backup. By default I think it only selects your boot disk.
Click to expand...

I had an optibay and it just automatically backed up both. I believe it'll by default back up all OS X journaled partitions/drives connected.
 
T

tjb1

macrumors 68000
Aug 26, 2010
1,999
0
Pennsylvania, USA
Most apple apps that require a library allow you to choose the location by holding Option while starting the app. OS X allows you to move the home folder in the account preferences or you can create aliases for specific folders to move items to the HDD.
 
P

poleary2000

macrumors newbie
May 5, 2010
18
0
zub3qin said:
Does Time Machine support the Data Doubler?

Will it automatically back up both the SSD and HDD whenever you plug in your ext HDD for time machine?


Also, how are people dividing up the stuff between the drives?

I assume iPhoto and iTunes media on the HDD, apps on the SSD?
How about parallels or XP? Does it matter where they are located?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I am curious about this too. I want to get the 128 SSD, so I have room for growth and my parallels VM. And also enough space for documents, libraries, etc. via a secondary HD. If my apps are on the SSD and docs on the HD, will I lose speed?
 
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