MBP early 2011 and thunderbolt external disk

[marcolin]

ciao,
i just bougth a Lacie Rugged external hard disk (1TB, Thuderbolt series).
when i connect the drive to my early 2011 MacBookPro it doesn't show up on the desktop -- looks like the drive doesn't receive power from thunderbolt cable (led remains off)

i am sure that the drive is ok because i tried the following:
1) connected Lacie Rugged to my 2013 iMac via thunderbolt cable and it works = drive is ok, original thunderbolt cable is ok, drive gets power from thuderbolt port
2) connected my MBP to another external thunderbolt drive and it works (this drive has external power) = thunderbolt port on MBP seems to work fine
3) connected Lacie Rugged to my MBP via USB and it works = drive is ok, it receives power supply from USB port
4) connected Lacie Rugged drive to my MBP with another thunderbolt cable that i am sure is fine and drive still doesn't get powered, disk won't mount = issue is not related to the cable

it looks like thunderbolt port isn't capable to power external drive... but earlier today at local apple store i have been told that this portable drive was the best choice for my 2011 MBP... so anyone knows why is it not working?
thanks in advance for your help

 

[durkkin]

When connected through Thunderbolt does it show up in Disk Utility? I'm assuming no based on your information, but figured it was worth a shot. Also, how is the drive formatted?

 

[Doward]

Try it via Thunderbolt on another computer - either your cable is bad, the port on the LaCie is bad, or the port on the Macbook Pro is bad.

Thunderbolt cables are 'active' cables - they can go bad

 

[Yahooligan]

Try it via Thunderbolt on another computer - either your cable is bad, the port on the LaCie is bad, or the port on the Macbook Pro is bad.

Thunderbolt cables are 'active' cables - they can go bad

Did you actually read all of the original post?

 

[Doward]

Did you actually read all of the original post?

Skimmed, but thanks to your post I've now re-read it.

To the OP, it sounds like the Thunderbolt port on your MBP is having issue - you should have no problem with Thunderbolt powering any single external drive - TB's spec is 10 watts.

Sounds like a power issue in your MBP, being unable to supply the necessary 10 watts of power.

 

[marcolin]

solved

Sounds like a power issue in your MBP, being unable to supply the necessary 10 watts of power.

thanks to everybody, solved.

simply my MBP needed thunderbolt firmware update.

i forgot to mention that my logic board has been just replaced by local apple store so i had to sort of "re-install" this update (my MBP was up to date before this replacement)

now everything works great

 

[Doward]

Great to hear!

 

[melaspaul]

Hi guys, I know this is a pretty old thread, but since I'm still on a Macbook pro early 2011 (performing great!), these are the questions:

Would it make sense to buy an external drive with Thunderbolt (my Mac has Thunderbolt 2 I trust, not 3)?
Are such drives still available?
Any recommendation?

Many thanks!

 

[marcolin]

Would it make sense to buy an external drive with Thunderbolt (my Mac has Thunderbolt 2 I trust, not 3)?
Are such drives still available?

Hi,

I know this not what you asked for but please consider upgrading you internal HDD with an SSD. my MBP 2011 is very fast and still going strong!

 

[melaspaul]

Hi,

I know this not what you asked for but please consider upgrading you internal HDD with an SSD. my MBP 2011 is very fast and still going strong!

Thank you. I have an SSD as well as additional memory (crucial, 16gb in total) installed . It does the job with those which is why I haven't changed the mac. Anyway today I bought a couple of Seagate drives 4tb each, which should do the job. I hope I haven't missed incredible transfer speeds by not buying a Lacie -thunderbolt or equivalent...

 

[ght56]

Thank you. I have an SSD as well as additional memory (crucial, 16gb in total) installed . It does the job with those which is why I haven't changed the mac. Anyway today I bought a couple of Seagate drives 4tb each, which should do the job. I hope I haven't missed incredible transfer speeds by not buying a Lacie -thunderbolt or equivalent...

Your Mac has Thunderbolt (1), 10 Gbps. In terms of speeds, as your Mac only has USB 2 (0.5 Gbps), you can get much faster transfer speeds when using Thunderbolt to either, A) go to a Thunderbolt disk or B) go to an adapter that enables USB 5 Gbps or eSATA 6 Gbps. This would be most pronounced with external SSDs, but even HDD transfer speeds would be about 2.5-5 times faster than they are with USB 2.

However, this would necessitate purchasing pretty expensive hardware to accomplish and I am not sure how many of these devices are still produced. In my personal opinion, unless you really need crazy transfer speeds, the economics of USB 2.0 is probably the way to go.

 

[melaspaul]

This is amazing ght56, thanks! As said, I already purchased the USB 3.0 drives, compatible USB 2.
Still, transferring up to five times faster, as you write, is very tempting!
If there is a machine that could possibly connect to mine via thunderbolt please share the name/type.
Million thanks for your time.

 

[ght56]

This is amazing ght56, thanks! As said, I already purchased the USB 3.0 drives, compatible USB 2.
Still, transferring up to five times faster, as you write, is very tempting!
If there is a machine that could possibly connect to mine via thunderbolt please share the name/type.
Million thanks for your time.

Transcend and G-Technology both made external Thunderbolt drives. The Transcend product is a SSD whereas G Tech products were mostly HDDs (they may have made some SSDs as well). I believe LaCie made TB2 products as well, but like G-tech, has discontinued them. You should be able to use Thunderbolt 2 products with your Thunderbolt 1 Mac (just at the reduced 10 Gbps link speed)...I am 95% sure of this but someone else can confirm.

This is the Transcend SSD. It's pricy.

Transcend 256GB Thunderbolt Solid State Drive StoreJet 500 for MAC (TS256GSJM500)

Exclusively for your Mac, Transcend's StoreJet for Mac SJM 500 Portable Solid State Drive provides immense storage space and offers superior data transfer speeds.

www.amazon.com

This was the eSATA/USB 3.0 adapter that a lot of people used and liked. Looks like it is no longer made though.

Kanex Thunderbolt to eSATA plus USB 3.0 Adapter

Easily connect your Thunderbolt-equipped Mac or PC to an eSATA device with the Kane Thunderbolt to eSATA + USB 3.0 Adapter. Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac or PC. Compatible with MacBook with MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011), MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011), MacB...

www.amazon.com

With consumer USB 3 drives, reasonable transfer speeds for large files might be 80 MB/s to perhaps 125 MB/s peak versus USB 2.0's 30-40-ish?

 

[panzer06]

Hi guys, I know this is a pretty old thread, but since I'm still on a Macbook pro early 2011 (performing great!), these are the questions:

Would it make sense to buy an external drive with Thunderbolt (my Mac has Thunderbolt 2 I trust, not 3)?
Are such drives still available?
Any recommendation?

Many thanks!

I have a Lacie dual port Thunderbolt enclosure that worked great with my old 2011 MBP 15 if you are still looking for one.

 

[justashooter]

This is amazing ght56, thanks! As said, I already purchased the USB 3.0 drives, compatible USB 2.
Still, transferring up to five times faster, as you write, is very tempting!
If there is a machine that could possibly connect to mine via thunderbolt please share the name/type.
Million thanks for your time.

There is this:

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual Thunderbolt 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1

The next generation Mercury Elite Pro Dual with Thunderbolt 2 technology is the perfect RAID solution for creative workflows and system backups.

eshop.macsales.com

and you may find a used one on ebay.
and this:

*THUNDERBOLT* OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual RAID (2TB) **W/FREE THUNDERBOLT CABLE**

*THUNDERBOLT* OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual RAID (2TB) **W/FREE THUNDERBOLT CABLE** in Computers/Tablets & Networking, Drives, Storage & Blank Media, Hard Drives (HDD, SSD & NAS), External Hard Disk Drives | eBay

www.ebay.com

Although I don't know where you live.

 

[melaspaul]

There is this:

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual Thunderbolt 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1

The next generation Mercury Elite Pro Dual with Thunderbolt 2 technology is the perfect RAID solution for creative workflows and system backups.

eshop.macsales.com

and you may find a used one on ebay.
and this:

*THUNDERBOLT* OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual RAID (2TB) **W/FREE THUNDERBOLT CABLE**

*THUNDERBOLT* OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual RAID (2TB) **W/FREE THUNDERBOLT CABLE** in Computers/Tablets & Networking, Drives, Storage & Blank Media, Hard Drives (HDD, SSD & NAS), External Hard Disk Drives | eBay

www.ebay.com

Although I don't know where you live.

Transcend and G-Technology both made external Thunderbolt drives. The Transcend product is a SSD whereas G Tech products were mostly HDDs (they may have made some SSDs as well). I believe LaCie made TB2 products as well, but like G-tech, has discontinued them. You should be able to use Thunderbolt 2 products with your Thunderbolt 1 Mac (just at the reduced 10 Gbps link speed)...I am 95% sure of this but someone else can confirm.

This is the Transcend SSD. It's pricy.

Transcend 256GB Thunderbolt Solid State Drive StoreJet 500 for MAC (TS256GSJM500)

Exclusively for your Mac, Transcend's StoreJet for Mac SJM 500 Portable Solid State Drive provides immense storage space and offers superior data transfer speeds.

www.amazon.com

This was the eSATA/USB 3.0 adapter that a lot of people used and liked. Looks like it is no longer made though.

Kanex Thunderbolt to eSATA plus USB 3.0 Adapter

Easily connect your Thunderbolt-equipped Mac or PC to an eSATA device with the Kane Thunderbolt to eSATA + USB 3.0 Adapter. Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac or PC. Compatible with MacBook with MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011), MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011), MacB...

www.amazon.com

With consumer USB 3 drives, reasonable transfer speeds for large files might be 80 MB/s to perhaps 125 MB/s peak versus USB 2.0's 30-40-ish?

Ght56 and Justashooter many thanks again! This is all very helpful.