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Can I install OSX and on a ExpressCard/34 SSD

Very interesting, I think I may have to get one. I edit a lot of photos so I need storage, and that's what's been putting me off the 2.5" SSDs, unless I got the expansion bay setup for a 2nd hard drive but then it all starts to get rather expensive.
This seems like a good way to boost the performance of a small boot drive (and thus system overrall). I was thinking to use the SSD as boot drive, then create a 48GB partition on my 320GB HD to use as a mirrored & bootable backup, or if I need to use the machine without the expresscard for some reason.
My only remaining worries are heat (it's 40+ degrees C here) and battery life. What I am wondering is if the whole system is on the SSD, whether the hard drive *actually* spins down to a low-power mode when not being accessed.
How far does the card stick out of the MBP? Any possibility you could post a photo?
Thanks for posting those Xbench tests, they are quite illuminating. Out of interest is the 500GB HD the Seagate Momentus 7200.4, or a different model?
 
This is really interesting, I'd always thought my ExpressCard slot would remain empty forever! This is still a bit expensive for my taste but I'll definitely be taking a close look when you can get 48 or maybe 64 gigs for <$100...
 
It's been almost a month since the last update. Can you post usage benefits, how is it in daily use, heat, speed, reliability etc.

Is it something an average novice user should look into or is it too cutting edge for now ...

eV

No pics available yet? Lets have some feedback guys - this sounds like a nice hybrid SSD solution.

eV
 
i've had my filemate ssd for a couple of weeks now.
i just love it. much faster.

but, it does get warm
pic attached of how much it sticks out. sorry for crappy cell phone pic.

edit. i can't wait to install snow leopard on this thing!!
 

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Did you have any trouble getting it to boot?

Also, what's the effect on battery life?
 
SL on a 64GB Filemate

I have a filemate 64GB SSD which is slower than the 48GB version posted earlier. It runs slower at arond 30-35MB/s read/write. Not sure if is worth it to put snow leopard on it and boot from it since it might not be fast enough at least compared to my internal HD. I figure if I put SL on it at least I can see how the performance and OS is before upgrading my internal HD. Any thoughts?
 
So the main problems of this solution are:

- heat (how noticeble? How annoying?)

- I'm pretty sure that those express card SSDs are far slower than Intel x25-m 2.5" SSDs, especially in random read and random write; so a MCE Optibay hybrid (HDD+SSD) solution will always get better results (except you loose the optical drive)
 
A month'ish of results

Thanks for posting the photo someone - that's exactly what mine looks like. Almost totally unobtrusive.

I have once bumped it and the SSD popped out accidentally while it was asleep. That woke the computer while the lid was closed, but I let it sit for a while (after sticking it back in), hoping it wouldn't screw up the sleep. When I finally opened the lid - it was just a blue screen. But, no biggie - I powered it off and back on, and it booted fine.

I've installed snow leopard. No problems from the SSD. I was nervous about that, but absolutely no problem.

Still runs a bit slower when using anything off the main drive. I wish they had a 128gb card that ran as fast as the 48. Or more. But for the money - this is an unbeatable speed improvement if you can live without your express card slot.

The heat - I was just playing with my sisters MBP of the same model, and mine is definitely hotter around the express card/Filemate, but it's not like an MBP without the card runs cool. It's still warm in that area, so that makes me feel a little better. I guess the real test will be over a year or 3 - if the heat is something the machine and fans can't deal with - it'll wear out early. But I run iStat Menus, and haven't noticed a big fan speed change.

That's about all...
 
Express Card Problems

I am very glad to find this thread and Forum.

Three weeks ago I purchased a new (refurbished) MBP 2.93GHz/4GB/500GB @ 7200 RPM with express card slot and a Wintec 48GB Express Card.

When this works it is fantastic! Boots in 1/3 to 1/2 the time of the internal 7200 RPM drive (which is noticeably faster than the 5400 RPM drive). Applications load with 1 bounce rather than 6 to 8 bounces.

Problems:
1. Could not install the OS (10.6 - Snow Leopard) using Disk Utility/CCC/SuperDuper or Apple DVD while the 48GB Wintec drive was in the Express Card Slot. I could only install the OS while attache via USB. Once created I could boot from either the Express Card Slot or the USB cable. Again, performance is outstanding.
2. Instability: Drive would fail both when in Express Card Slot or attached via USB. When it was the boot drive the computer would lockup and require forced shutdown. Reboot showed the volume was corrupted. Repair was not possible most of the time and required reinstallation of the OS. Even when not used as the Boot Drive I would spontaneously get a message from the Finder of "Mac OS X can't repair the disk". This would occur even when nothing was being used on the disk. Finally the drive would not even be recognized by the OS. It did come back to life for a while, but started to fail again.
3. Repair: Disk Utility failed to repair the disk. Disk Warrior was sometimes able to repair the disk after upgrade to 4.2 version. Overall I had to reinstall the OS a dozen times before giving up and returning the drive to Wintec for replacement.

I am pleased to hear the others have had success with the 48GB drive and hope that the next one will perform better.

Do any of you have any suggestions or comments on my problems. Something I am doing wrong?? Better ways of handling the OS and drive?

I did notice that the drive did get quite warm, but I think it got warmer when connected via USB than it did when in the Express Card Slot.

Again, any help or comments would be appreciated. JR
 
John-R,

I just got a Wintec 48gb from newegg. I had a very similar experience as you. First card I got only mounted via expresscard a couple of times, and only mounted consistently with USB. This is on a 2.4 Santa Rosa MBP. I sent it back for a replacement, and the new card seems ok. SL installed no problem, and it mounts no problem. I just got the replacement yesterday, so it is a bit early to tell I won't run into problems later.

My only recommendation is to do a clean install from install DVD instead of cloning method.

I am sure your replacement card will fix your problems. Keep us posted.

mandoman
 
Anybody have any more updated info on if this is a good everyday use option. Also, what is the best card to do this with?
 
sorry for the bump but I am wondering about running windows on an expresscard drive. Has anyone done this? I was thinking about using disk utility to "restore" the boot camp partition onto the expresscard drive but I'm not sure if it will recognize upon boot. I'd like to get more info before making the purchase if anyone has some experience with this.
 
my card just failed.
i got this from support:
We are finding multiple reports of issues with PCIe ExpressCards and Mac OS version 10.6, of multiple devices including our card.
Did you have 10.6 installed previously to the reformat?
We are working with the labs at Apple to find a solution, please be patient.
Click to expand...
before i got the reply, i sent the card in for replacement.
we'll see what happens.
 
Failed card?

Bummer - I haven't had any problems with mine and have mentioned it to several friends who are thinking about going this route. I installed 10.6 as soon as it came out and didn't have any problems, and have used the laptop extensively including the last 2 weeks of almost continuous use while launching a new commerce website. And it's been hooked up to an external monitor, bluetooth mouse and wireless the entire time.
 
I had originally planned on buying an Optibay for my 17" and get an SSD for the OS. That would of course mean that I would lose the Superdrive (at least when away from home), and I would have to take the whole thing apart.
Would an ExpressCard SSD be a good replacement for this plan? What I mean to say is, will it be _almost_ as fast?
 
i RMA'd my card and just received my replacement.
so far it's good, seems to run cooler.
it's been less than 24 hours, i'll keep people posted
 
Unable to boot from 64GB Verbatim SSD Express Card

I'm unable to boot from a 64GB Verbatim SSD Express Card. I used CCC to copy my system over to the SSD. It shows up as bootable in the startup disk control panel, but it isn't visible in the boot menu.

I had to install a driver to make it visible in Mac OSX.

Has anyone else experienced the same thing?

I've got a Core 2 Duo 2.5 Ghz Macbook Pro with boot ROM MBP41.00C1.B03, running Snow Leopard.

EDIT: I just read a blog post about this, it looks like this is impossible with the Verbatim card.
 
MacBook Pros * ! NOT ! * compatible with ExpressCard Boot

Please could everyone who has got this solution working let us know what their Model identifier is?

should be located in system profiler

(Applications/Utilities/System Profiler) or Spotlight: Profiler

The Model Identifier will be in the Hardware Overview.

The reason this is worth knowing is because it seems some of the older Macbook Pros cannot boot from ExpressCard, so it would be useful to know which ones can..

Also, supplementary thread here

cApO
 
As far as I know, it is only the original Core Duo Macbook Pros (i.e. the first generation) that cannot boot from the expresscard SSD.

I can say it definitely boots in a Penryn 2.5 and definitely does NOT boot in a Core Duo 2.0.
 
wedi42 said:
i RMA'd my card and just received my replacement.
so far it's good, seems to run cooler.
it's been less than 24 hours, i'll keep people posted
Click to expand...

How is it holding up now? Did you need it replaced again? Is the warranty only for 1 year, via the manufacture? Thanks..
 
Has anyone got this to work on "Model Identifier: MacBookPro2,2"

I'm very interested in trying this!
 
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