Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Just bought a SSD

Southernboyj

Southernboyj

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 8, 2012
1,696
76
Mobile, AL
I just ordered a Crucial M4 256Gb SSD.

I've heard some people tell me it's a bad idea to clone your HDD to an SSD (OS and all)

Is this true? What is the best method for setting up your MBP with an SSD (I'm keeping my optical drive in)
 
Southernboyj said:
I just ordered a Crucial M4 256Gb SSD.

I've heard some people tell me it's a bad idea to clone your HDD to an SSD (OS and all)

Is this true? What is the best method for setting up your MBP with an SSD (I'm keeping my optical drive in)
Click to expand...

I'd do a Time Machine backup then install the drive and install OS X on the drive, then restore from the Time Machine. It works well for all of my previous Macs ;)
 
tbobmccoy said:
I'd do a Time Machine backup then install the drive and install OS X on the drive, then restore from the Time Machine. It works well for all of my previous Macs ;)
Click to expand...

I reinstall OS X, update it to the latest then do a migration assistant from the old drive to new drive. Works fine this way too.
 
Also check to see if you have the latest firmware before installing OS X.

The latest firmware should be on the drive label and check Crucial's site for the latest.

Since you have a 2011, just remove the old drive, plug in your Crucial and let your MBP download Lion (takes an hour or so on a fast connection).

Once you have OSX installed, you can plug in your old HD to an external enclosure and just copy the stuff you need.
 
Don't clone block by block with Disk Utility.

Copy everyone from your HDD to your new SSD with Carbon Copy Cloner; this literally copies everything over.

Then repair disk permissions and enable TRIM.
 
Southernboyj said:
I just ordered a Crucial M4 256Gb SSD.

I've heard some people tell me it's a bad idea to clone your HDD to an SSD (OS and all)

Is this true? What is the best method for setting up your MBP with an SSD (I'm keeping my optical drive in)
Click to expand...

Just to counter some stories, I cloned my drive to my new ssd using disk utility and it is working flawlessly at full speed.
 
The best method is to do a fresh install.
I own a 5 of these drives. and just finished installing one yesterday on my MBP 13 with Lion. (First time installing with lion)
I've also done a clone of another hard drive onto SSD using my MBP 15 running 10.6 and encountered problems a short while after, ended up doing a fresh install and all was and still is fine, that's why I wouldn't bother with that.
You're better off just moving the files you need and doing fresh installs of your apps. (My personal experience)

The correct way to install the drive is to first format it to
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using disk utility.
You would then install the drive into the machine.
(You will need a Torx 6 bit for the screws on the HDD along with a phillips bit for the plate on the bottom of your MBP and please don't forget about the bracket holding it down better yet watch an install video ;)

Once you have the SSD installed I believe you will hit Option-R after/during the chime to enter Lion Recovery , this will then allow you to download and install lion but I'm not 100 percent sure about that I used the Lion USB
2my2f50.jpg

(Can someone confirm that Option-R is correct.)

Once the setup is done if you're at all interested in the speed of the SSD
I ran some test using Blackmagic disk speed test
Here are my results on the 13 inch using the 256 Crucial M4
15s9fk7.jpg


Directed @ alphaod why would you advise enabling TRIM?
I've yet to see any concrete evidence that supports or opposes it's use.
The only thing I know is it works for some and not for others.

IMO the GC in the Crucial M4 is more then sufficient for an everyday user and I've yet to see any degrading performance on any of my drives almost a year after purchasing my first one.
You're also suggesting to someone who may not be as advanced as you in computer hardware/software to mess with system files that have the potential to ruin his OS if done incorrectly.
Lastly, Crucial themselves say it's a bad idea to enable it so...
 
Last edited:
I'm not new to working with computer hardware, it's just this is my first SSD and I've only been using OS X about 7 months. I created a Lion recovery on a usb drive.

So let me get this straight. The best method to go about setting up the SSD (I'm mostly asking about the software side, not hardware)

Is to

1. Put the SSD in an external enclosure
2. Launch Disk Utility
3. Format the SSD Mac OS Extended (journaled)
4. Install the SSD
5. Boot while holding down Option key and select the Lion Recovery
6. Move the old HDD into the external enclosure
7. Copy all my files from the old HDD over (working like a usb drive?)
8. Reinstall all my apps

Did I miss anything? I know I didn't mention TRIM enabler but I'm hearing so many mixed things about it.
 
Southernboyj said:
I'm not new to working with computer hardware, it's just this is my first SSD and I've only been using OS X about 7 months. I created a Lion recovery on a usb drive.

So let me get this straight. The best method to go about setting up the SSD (I'm mostly asking about the software side, not hardware)

Is to

1. Put the SSD in an external enclosure
2. Launch Disk Utility
3. Format the SSD Mac OS Extended (journaled)
4. Install the SSD
5. Boot while holding down Option key and select the Lion Recovery
6. Move the old HDD into the external enclosure
7. Copy all my files from the old HDD over (working like a usb drive?)
8. Reinstall all my apps

Did I miss anything? I know I didn't mention TRIM enabler but I'm hearing so many mixed things about it.
Click to expand...

No, read my comment above.

1.Remove the HD, install the SSD.
2.Hold down option during bootup.
3.It will ask you if you want to do Internet recovery. Choose yes and do it via WiFi or Ethernet. You will format/Install OSX through here. Mac OS Extended (journaled)
4.Put the HD in an external enclosure and move the files you need back into your SSD.
5.Format your HD and use it as an external drive/Time Machine/Whatever.
6.Don't enable Trim. Crucial is against it.
 
I have the exactly same SSD and this is how I did with my MacBook Pro Early 2011 15" a week ago:

-1) Backed up needed data to a networked PC.
0) SSD came with 0309 firmware. I connected it to a PC and updated the firmware to 000F via boot disc option.
1) Replaced stock HDD with SSD
2) Entered Recovery
3) Chose Disk Utility and formatted SSD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
4) Clean-installed Lion using Internet Recovery (took ~40 minutes to download the installer and ~5 to actually install the OS).
5) In Lion turned off hibernate and sudden motion sensor.

That's all. speed 250 write, 500 read. No problems.

I don't believe in cloning HD contents. I always go with clean install and never have any problems.

I didn't enable TRIM because I hear here and there that it's a bad idea with Crucial SSD's, and that while it might be beneficial, native GC in M4 is good enough to keep your SSD healthy. Just make sure to leave your MBP idle sometimes for a few hours for GC to kick in and do its things.
 
I don't know how Lion recovery on USB works, like I said I used the actually Lion install USB.
SDAVE's method should work as well using the online recovery, the only difference is he formats after SSD is installed, I do it before.
 
Last edited:
Jro82 said:
The best method is to do a fresh install.
I own a 5 of these drives. and just finished installing one yesterday on my MBP 13 with Lion. (First time installing with lion)
I've also done a clone of another hard drive onto SSD using my MBP 15 running 10.6 and encountered problems a short while after, ended up doing a fresh install and all was and still is fine, that's why I wouldn't bother with that.
You're better off just moving the files you need and doing fresh installs of your apps. (My personal experience)

The correct way to install the drive is to first format it to
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using disk utility.
You would then install the drive into the machine.
(You will need a Torx 6 bit for the screws on the HDD along with a phillips bit for the plate on the bottom of your MBP and please don't forget about the bracket holding it down better yet watch an install video ;)

Once you have the SSD installed I believe you will hit Option-R after/during the chime to enter Lion Recovery , this will then allow you to download and install lion but I'm not 100 percent sure about that I used the Lion USB
Image
(Can someone confirm that Option-R is correct.)

Once the setup is done if you're at all interested in the speed of the SSD
I ran some test using Blackmagic disk speed test
Here are my results on the 13 inch using the 256 Crucial M4
Image

Directed @ alphaod why would you advise enabling TRIM?
I've yet to see any concrete evidence that supports or opposes it's use.
The only thing I know is it works for some and not for others.

IMO the GC in the Crucial M4 is more then sufficient for an everyday user and I've yet to see any degrading performance on any of my drives almost a year after purchasing my first one.
You're also suggesting to someone who may not be as advanced as you in computer hardware/software to mess with system files that have the potential to ruin his OS if done incorrectly.
Lastly, Crucial themselves say it's a bad idea to enable it so...
Click to expand...

People advise TRIM because it clears old blocks and stabilizes performance over time of an SSD, especially one with a Marvell Controller.

Here's the conclusion from Anandtech's review "If you're running an OS without TRIM support, then the m4 is a definite pass. Even with TRIM enabled and a sufficiently random workload, you'll want to skip the m4 as well.

I suspect for most desktop workloads this worst case scenario won't be a problem and with TRIM the drive's behavior over the long run should be kept in check. Crucial still seems to put off garbage collection longer than most SSDs I've played with, and I'm not sure that's necessarily the best decision."

Corresponding data and hard facts in the page linked.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4253/the-crucial-m4-micron-c400-ssd-review/2
 
PeopleTheseDays said:
People advise TRIM because it clears old blocks and stabilizes performance over time of an SSD, especially one with a Marvell Controller.

Here's the conclusion from Anandtech's review "If you're running an OS without TRIM support, then the m4 is a definite pass. Even with TRIM enabled and a sufficiently random workload, you'll want to skip the m4 as well.

I suspect for most desktop workloads this worst case scenario won't be a problem and with TRIM the drive's behavior over the long run should be kept in check. Crucial still seems to put off garbage collection longer than most SSDs I've played with, and I'm not sure that's necessarily the best decision."

Corresponding data and hard facts in the page linked.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4253/the-crucial-m4-micron-c400-ssd-review/2
Click to expand...

I would hardly call anything from anandtech "Hard Facts" nothing more then an opinion.
The writer claims that if you don't have TRIM to pass on the drive yet hundreds and thousands of MBP owners use them WITHOUT TRIM and have very little problems.

Also the article you linked to is over a year old, and Crucial has updated the firmware on the drives a couple times since then making the M4's alot better,

If you want hard facts then how about this,
I hear users of the M4 say 99% of the time:
"I enabled TRIM and it messed up everything"
"I enabled TRIM and it's great whoa"
"I never enabled TRIM and it works great"

The point being i've never once heard, although I guess it's possible, someone say the M4's GC just totally busted/slowed my SSD....
And that to me says a lot.

I have a lot of first hand exp with these drives and my observation is that the GC is more then enough and I haven't seen any sacrifice in speed or other issues with the drive using it.

JRO
 
I used SuperDuper to clone my HDD to my SSD over 1.5 years ago, and to this day the SSD is as fast as it was on day 1. No problems whatsoever.
 
I used CCC to clone my mac to an external drive, swapped out the HDD for a an 256Gb M4 SSD, then cloned the contents of the external back to the SSD. A month in and I've had no issues.
 
Jro82 said:
I have a lot of first hand exp with these drives and my observation is that the GC is more then enough and I haven't seen any sacrifice in speed or other issues with the drive using it.

JRO
Click to expand...

Here is a more recent review of a Marvell controlled drive that dives a little deeper into what is going on with garbage collection and offer IMO a more balanced view of the issue that previous Ananatech articles. To summarize, the garbage collection in Marvell drives works just fine.
 
I just bought a 256gb M4 too over the weekend to put into my 2010 i7.

I plan to put the 500gb hdd into a caddy and the optical drive into a USB enclosure incase I need it 1 day.

I think I'll just install lion fresh and then backup my 500gb and format it clean and then put the stuff I want back onto it.
 
the main thing is the SSD is commonly smaller than your old drive so cloning isn't as easy as it sounds.

and people want to keep their settings and emails, etc, but don't want a new drive clunked up with the remains of old apps, etc.

That's what I don't want anyway.
 
Jro82 said:
I would hardly call anything from anandtech "Hard Facts" nothing more then an opinion.
The writer claims that if you don't have TRIM to pass on the drive yet hundreds and thousands of MBP owners use them WITHOUT TRIM and have very little problems.

Also the article you linked to is over a year old, and Crucial has updated the firmware on the drives a couple times since then making the M4's alot better,

If you want hard facts then how about this,
I hear users of the M4 say 99% of the time:
"I enabled TRIM and it messed up everything"
"I enabled TRIM and it's great whoa"
"I never enabled TRIM and it works great"

The point being i've never once heard, although I guess it's possible, someone say the M4's GC just totally busted/slowed my SSD....
And that to me says a lot.

I have a lot of first hand exp with these drives and my observation is that the GC is more then enough and I haven't seen any sacrifice in speed or other issues with the drive using it.

JRO
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have just linked the graphs instead of asking you to go look. The hard facts are not the anecdotal evidence you listed, but the charts with data points about what happens to the SSD and how TRIM was able to recover the drive back to it's original performance. His opinion's obviously his opinion but I think the actual data speaks for itself.

For the record, I'm not saying that you MUST have TRIM enabled for the drive to work, it was just evidence ass to why TRIM is suggested, or why someone would possibly want to have it since you asked earlier. You claimed to have not seen evidence for TRIM helping. Also the review Weasel linked also shows the effect of TRIM on a newer Marvell controller drive.

It would be nice to have a link to where your information to Crucial claiming TRIM is not necessary is from, I'd be interesting in reading the reasoning since the drive is TRIM capable.

I have no horse in this race since Im running a 1st generation apple SSD (toshiba) that isnt TRIM capable and has read/write speeds of only 100/120. Don't laugh, I'm still deciding what to upgrade to. I just tried to point out some facts for the OP.
 
SSD on early 2008 MacBook Pro

I have an early 2008 MacBook Pro, which does not have Lion Recovery. My hard drive crashed, so I am going to buy an SSD. I also do not have an external drive enclosure. How do I format the SSD into Mac OS Extended (Journaled) so that I can reinstall my OS? I have a Snow Leopard flash drive and a Lion CD.
 
unoplayer said:
I have an early 2008 MacBook Pro, which does not have Lion Recovery. My hard drive crashed, so I am going to buy an SSD. I also do not have an external drive enclosure. How do I format the SSD into Mac OS Extended (Journaled) so that I can reinstall my OS? I have a Snow Leopard flash drive and a Lion CD.
Click to expand...

Pop in your SSD (Remove the old HD) and boot off your Lion CD. Hold down Option before the Apple sound comes up and go into the utilities. Format your SSD with Disk Utility using Mac OS X Journaled and then install Lion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back