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MCE Optibay Alternative CHEAP
- Thread starter MacModMachine
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sorry for the late reply Paul but I had the same problem when I installed my optibay. I just reset the PRAM (hold command, option, "P" and "R" on startup until you hear the second chime.) if you still have problems you may need to open it back up and physically switch the drive locations.
just double checking but my early 2008 non unibody 2.6ghz macbook pro 17" has a pata superdrive right?
so i should be getting http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_27&products_id=219
also are there any problems i should know about using a external dvd or even bd reader?
so i should be getting http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_27&products_id=219
also are there any problems i should know about using a external dvd or even bd reader?
Hey guys, I have a small issue.
This is my setup. I'll number the partitions to be easier to understand what I mean:
HDD bay: 160 GB
1) Mac OS X
2) Empty partition. Will put win 7 pro soon.
Optical Bay: 500GB
3) 75GB Empty partition. Here was the Mac OS before the mod. (Maybe I'll but linux on it).
4) 350GB Storage
5) Win 7 ultimate
So every partition is HFS+ except the win 7 ultimate partition. I have Macdrive 8 installed in windows. Before I made the mod everything was fine. But now... when I start my MBP in windows only partitions 1,2 and 5 are mounted... To mount the rest (3 and 4) I have to go to disk management and rescan the disks.
I think the problem is that Macdrive starts too early before windows can find the other partitions or Windows just ignores the partitions as if they were DVDs... thus preventing Macdrive to mount them correctly.
Anyone has an idea how to fix this?
This is my setup. I'll number the partitions to be easier to understand what I mean:
HDD bay: 160 GB
1) Mac OS X
2) Empty partition. Will put win 7 pro soon.
Optical Bay: 500GB
3) 75GB Empty partition. Here was the Mac OS before the mod. (Maybe I'll but linux on it).
4) 350GB Storage
5) Win 7 ultimate
So every partition is HFS+ except the win 7 ultimate partition. I have Macdrive 8 installed in windows. Before I made the mod everything was fine. But now... when I start my MBP in windows only partitions 1,2 and 5 are mounted... To mount the rest (3 and 4) I have to go to disk management and rescan the disks.
I think the problem is that Macdrive starts too early before windows can find the other partitions or Windows just ignores the partitions as if they were DVDs... thus preventing Macdrive to mount them correctly.
Anyone has an idea how to fix this?
i can't be the first person that's come across this...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...34630&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2338wt_1167
Uses all the mounting holes.
Probably the most "legitimate" one yet, since this one actually is specific for the Mac. All the other ones seem to be overpriced caddies that are $13 on eBay.
rice rocket, have you received and tested this out yet?
So far, the only issue all of these have is that the HDD is not accessible after you put in the caddy. You have to remove the caddy in order to get to the HD, at least that's what I think. Would be nice if the HD would be easily accessible...
BTW the newmodeus one has a similar price, works well, and you really don't need the two extra screwholes, this thing couldn't fit any tighter than it already does. At least in my 17" umbp.
sure, i have done several 5+ with external usb dvdrw drives, namely i use samsung externals.
locally i do the optibay installs, apple doesent like it, but they havent taken away my authorized service center agreement
.they all went without a hitch.
sure, i have done several 5+ with external usb dvdrw drives, namely i use samsung externals.
locally i do the optibay installs, apple doesent like it, but they havent taken away my authorized service center agreement
they all went without a hitch.
Cool - so you are able to start from an external USB drive with the Intel CD - that's good to know.
I wasn't sure it would boot from that. I researched alternatives to this, like creating a USB boot stick, or creating an internal boot partition and putting the Intel ISO on it, but it turns out there's lots of dark magic involved in the boot process, and the way that Intel boots into FreeDOS is another layer of trickery on top of that. The more you research it, the more surprising it is that Intel was able to pull this off.
My external LG drive is coming in the next few days, I'll post an update.
There is some discussion on the Intel performance tools on other forums - these only work on Windows machines and only on NTFS partitions so getting them to run on the Mac is a big pain. I think I'll just live with the degraded performance until Apple provides tools to optimize the SSD.
I installed a x25-m, of course, transfering the HDD to the optibay. Here is my problem, which i mentioned earlier in the thread:
Whenever I shutdown, restart or hibernate, I hear, right as the fans shutoff, a loud, almost sharp click. It is obviously the HDD. As many of us know,(that have this set up, or have read the optibay thread) this "hard shutdown" is probably due to the lack of sudden motion sensor for the HDD in the optibay setup. What to do, what to do...especially considering the fact that I boot frequently between Win 7 and OS X.
Well, after some research on the interwebs, I have come to the conclusion that ejecting the poor thing prior to shutdown, much like any external device, nets a happy HDD. Very good news.
In the process I came to the conclusion that there should be some automation to this, and sure enough, in terminal, you can augment the volume to not mount on boot. It is a beautifully simple process as noted in this post:
http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-69174.html
Whenever I shutdown, restart or hibernate, I hear, right as the fans shutoff, a loud, almost sharp click. It is obviously the HDD. As many of us know,(that have this set up, or have read the optibay thread) this "hard shutdown" is probably due to the lack of sudden motion sensor for the HDD in the optibay setup. What to do, what to do...especially considering the fact that I boot frequently between Win 7 and OS X.
Well, after some research on the interwebs, I have come to the conclusion that ejecting the poor thing prior to shutdown, much like any external device, nets a happy HDD. Very good news.
In the process I came to the conclusion that there should be some automation to this, and sure enough, in terminal, you can augment the volume to not mount on boot. It is a beautifully simple process as noted in this post:
http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-69174.html
I was expecting to find an even more elegant process in windows. Lo and behold, the process is evading me. If anyone out there is on a similar path , could they be so bold as to link their findings? Possibly we could collaborate to right this terrible wrong. Shame on windows indeed (I was raised to be believe that windows was more "customizable" and "more in touch with coding").
Updated the firmware using Intel's ISO image and an external LG DVD burner. Worked flawlessly, the only weirdness is that booting and then loading the firmware update software took about 10 - 15 minutes with constant DVD access. Maybe it's my drive or maybe it's the FreeDOS drivers, something makes access super slow. Anyway - it's done, and worked. Booting back into the SSD worked fine as well.
I never thought I'd see my beautiful MacBook Pro run DOS... a sight to behold for sure
I never thought I'd see my beautiful MacBook Pro run DOS... a sight to behold for sure
Need confirmation on which model caddy
I have a 15 incch 2.4Ghz Santa Rosa MBP and I would like to order one of these caddies, I just need confirmation that this: http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_27&products_id=219 , is the right model for my MBP, I have a spare 2.5 inch sata drive that I would like to use with it, any help with this is greatly appreciated
I have a 15 incch 2.4Ghz Santa Rosa MBP and I would like to order one of these caddies, I just need confirmation that this: http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_27&products_id=219 , is the right model for my MBP, I have a spare 2.5 inch sata drive that I would like to use with it, any help with this is greatly appreciated
Yep that's the one. I installed this in my 2007 2.4Ghz SR MBP yesterday.
I moved my user dir to my new larger disk and blogged the instructions at www.serberus.net
sure, i have done several 5+ with external usb dvdrw drives, namely i use samsung externals.
locally i do the optibay installs, apple doesent like it, but they havent taken away my authorized service center agreement
they all went without a hitch.
M3, What do you gain from the SSD firmware update? I have read the readme file and the release notes and cant seem to find anything that justifies the little time it takes to burn the ISO and run it. Any incite?
stability , speed those are the main things changed in the latest firmware.
its worth the hassle in most cases especially with apple products.
MMM, Well I installed the firmware today and everything was going great. Then it got real bad...
So before the firmware update I benchmarked 256.13. I installed the update and Benchmarked 276.86. Then I went on to install XP SP3 via bootcamp and it went all down hill from there. my boot time has ATLEAST doubled and my shut down time ATLEAST tripled if not quadrupled. Now im benchmarking 230.
Is it normal for you to get much longer boot and shutdown times with a bootcamp install??
FYI, I have a 160GB intel drive with 26GB set for XP.
So before the firmware update I benchmarked 256.13. I installed the update and Benchmarked 276.86. Then I went on to install XP SP3 via bootcamp and it went all down hill from there. my boot time has ATLEAST doubled and my shut down time ATLEAST tripled if not quadrupled. Now im benchmarking 230.
Is it normal for you to get much longer boot and shutdown times with a bootcamp install??
FYI, I have a 160GB intel drive with 26GB set for XP.
reset your smc.
after any firmware update on any ssd i highly recommend a smc reset.
Ill give it a shot but after the firmware update it was working awsome. It wasnt till after the XP install about 4 hours later that it got bad...
Thanks, I appreciate the reply.
Checked out your blog, and that is exactly what I intend to do. I also have an SSD, and was wanting to move my user directory and temp files over to the HDD to limit writes to the SSD as much as possible, your blog post will be a lot of help, thanks.
Can we go back to this question? What options are people using and what would you recommend?
I just finished installing the less expensive version, the newmodeus caddy on my 2007 MBP 17." In the pic jjk454ss posted you see three brackets that have to be dismantled from the dvd drive and installed onto the bay. On mine 2 of the brackets worked fine. The third bracket did not. The holes didn't line up. So I kludged it using some sticky material. I also had to remove the original strip of black plastic mounted on the cover, near the dvd drive. I also had to remove the black plastic strip on the bay itself.
Thanks to all who posted their experience. It was helpful. The new hard drive space is fantastic.
yep, sounds like you did a good job.
i only used 2 holes, it holds up fine, another GREAT mod to do is put some spongy 1 sided sticky tape on the bottom of the caddy, this will sandwich it when the bottom is put on, makes it super secure and does not put alot of pressure on the connector.
it will make your install much more secure and is completely reversible.
Yeah.
Holes don't line up, so you really can only use two of the 3 holes. I skipped the rear one (closest to LCD), because the caddy is wedged under the speaker anyways. Still not bad for $40 though.
I only kept it in long enough to clone the main HDD. When I go buy an SSD, I'll use it full time, but it worked well for my cloning.
Ok, folks, mid-install here of the newmodeus caddy. I cannot manage to remove the 2 screws by the slot that are holding the superdrive in place. The bigger one in the back was a piece of cake, but these two won't go. I've tried #00 and #000 philips, neither one gets them to budge. Any help?