Cheapest way to connect an internal SSD to a Mac Studio

[danqi]

I have an external Sabrent 4-bay enclosure with 2 HDDs and 2 SSDs in it.

One of those SSDs is causing weird behavior (like extremely long mount times, unwillingness to dismount) and kernel panics that crash my whole computer (happened multiple times now). The other drives seem to work fine.

The good news is that I really just need to copy the data from the problematic SSD. But I’m afraid to try with the way it is acting. The data and its integrity is super important to me.

So my thinking is: instead of spending a lot of time trying to fix this problem I’ll just get some super cheap interface (maybe just a cable without enclosure?) and use that to copy the data, hoping that the problems don’t occur when using that. The SSD used to work fine in my old Mac Pro.

Does this make sense? Can anyone recommend anything?

 

[Fishrrman]

Take the SSD OUT OF the 4-bay enclosure.

Get a cheap USB3 enclosure like this one:

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

www.amazon.com

Put the SSD into it.

Connect it to the Mac and see if it can be read.

If it still can't be read, you may be out of luck.

In my experience, when an SSD fails, that's pretty much it.
Whatever was on it is then... gone.

 

[danqi]

Take the SSD OUT OF the 4-bay enclosure.

Get a cheap USB3 enclosure like this one:

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

www.amazon.com

Put the SSD into it.

Connect it to the Mac and see if it can be read.

If it still can't be read, you may be out of luck.

In my experience, when an SSD fails, that's pretty much it.
Whatever was on it is then... gone.

Thanks!

It really doesn't "feel" like the SSD is gone. When it works, everything seems to be there. It just seems to have mounting errors so severe that they cause Kernel panics...

I had no idea that there are enclosures that are this cheap. That's why I mentioned cables. Since an SSD doesn't really need an enclosure I thought that that would be the cheapest option.

I will check out some enclosures. Are there any others you can recommend? Since my current 4-bay enclosure is from Sabrent I would prefer a different brand for this...

 

[davidlv]

Thanks!

It really doesn't "feel" like the SSD is gone. When it works, everything seems to be there. It just seems to have mounting errors so severe that they cause Kernel panics...

I had no idea that there are enclosures that are this cheap. That's why I mentioned cables. Since an SSD doesn't really need an enclosure I thought that that would be the cheapest option.

I will check out some enclosures. Are there any others you can recommend? Since my current 4-bay enclosure is from Sabrent I would prefer a different brand for this...

Amazon.com: ORICO USB 2.5 Enclosure SATA

Amazon.com: ORICO USB 2.5 Enclosure SATA

www.amazon.com

Orico enclosures are cheap but work well, usually include a good cable or two.

 

[danqi]

Thanks, I'll check those out!

 

[davidlv]

Thanks, I'll check those out!

Look carefully at the cables included with any case before you buy it. The USB-B (USB 3.0 gen 1) cables have a thin flat connecter on one end and almost always a USB-A connecter on the other end (like the case Fisherrman provided a link to). Those will work well if you have - for example - an iMac with USB-A ports.
I have a M2 MBA 2023 that only has USB-C ports so I got an Orico enclosure that came with 2 cables, both with USB-C connecters on one end and with USB-C and USB-A connecters, respectively, on the other end. So that enables using the case with my MBA and my iMac 15,1 (2014 with USB-A ports.
You didn't say what Mac you will be connecting that case to, or what ports are available.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I have three SATA SSDs attached with these type adapter cables:

JSAUX SATA to USB C Cable, USB-C 3.1 to 2.5” SATA III Hard Driver Adapter Aluminum Shell External Converter for SSD/HDD Data Transfer-Grey

JSAUX SATA to USB C Cable, USB-C 3.1 to 2.5” SATA III Hard Driver Adapter Aluminum Shell External Converter for SSD/HDD Data Transfer-Grey

www.amazon.com

 

[danqi]

Look carefully at the cables included with any case before you buy it. The USB-B (USB 3.0 gen 1) cables have a thin flat connecter on one end and almost always a USB-A connecter on the other end (like the case Fisherrman provided a link to). Those will work well if you have - for example - an iMac with USB-A ports.
I have a M2 MBA 2023 that only has USB-C ports so I got an Orico enclosure that came with 2 cables, both with USB-C connecters on one end and with USB-C and USB-A connecters, respectively, on the other end. So that enables using the case with my MBA and my iMac 15,1 (2014 with USB-A ports.
You didn't say what Mac you will be connecting that case to, or what ports are available.

Thanks for the tip. I'll be connecting it to an M1 MacStudio, so definitely USB-C.

 

[danqi]

I have three SATA SSDs attached with these type adapter cables:

JSAUX SATA to USB C Cable, USB-C 3.1 to 2.5” SATA III Hard Driver Adapter Aluminum Shell External Converter for SSD/HDD Data Transfer-Grey

JSAUX SATA to USB C Cable, USB-C 3.1 to 2.5” SATA III Hard Driver Adapter Aluminum Shell External Converter for SSD/HDD Data Transfer-Grey

www.amazon.com

Do you feel like you are missing out compared to a proper enclosure?

 

[BrianBaughn]

Do you feel like you are missing out compared to a proper enclosure?

I've had worse luck with the enclosures. These are out of sight so that's not a factor. No heat buildup that you'd get in an enclosure. They're exposed but there's not much connector showing. It's all temporary anyway with everything moving to faster SSD versions…though I'm in no hurry to spend money on that.

 

[danqi]

Makes sense. Thanks!

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"It really doesn't "feel" like the SSD is gone. When it works, everything seems to be there. It just seems to have mounting errors so severe that they cause Kernel panics..."

Get another drive and get your stuff OFF OF the flaky drive as soon as you can!

Once that's done, erase the old drive.
Then, run disk utility's "first aid" on it.
Does it give you "a good report"?
If so, repeat this process five more times.
A good report each time?
If so, then use the drive -- but keep an eye on it.

 

[danqi]

OP wrote:
"It really doesn't "feel" like the SSD is gone. When it works, everything seems to be there. It just seems to have mounting errors so severe that they cause Kernel panics..."

Get another drive and get your stuff OFF OF the flaky drive as soon as you can!

Once that's done, erase the old drive.
Then, run disk utility's "first aid" on it.
Does it give you "a good report"?
If so, repeat this process five more times.
A good report each time?
If so, then use the drive -- but keep an eye on it.

Will do!