MCE Optibay Alternative CHEAP

Austin00 said:
What options have the UK guys got with regards to a drive bay replacement?
I'm not all too keen on ordering from anywhere abroad.

Also, is anyone running two drives in their mac with applecare by the way?
The reason i ask is because I'm a little worried about whether having to put the optical drive back into my new MBP (if i ever need to get it serviced by apple) could be detected by apple, thus voiding my warranty.

I remember on my original XBOX that microsoft put seals over several of the biggest screw heads holding the case together, so that anyone who opens their XBOX would be obviously guilty of tampering with the insides due to these seals being broken.
Click to expand...

If you ever take it in for service, you would have to revert it back to its original specs. However, as long as you don't break anything when you open it up, apple has no "magical" stickers to let them know that you've opened it. Just use the ifixit guide, and take it nice and slow
 
paintballswimgu said:
If you ever take it in for service, you would have to revert it back to its original specs. However, as long as you don't break anything when you open it up, apple has no "magical" stickers to let them know that you've opened it. Just use the ifixit guide, and take it nice and slow
Click to expand...

Thats good to know.
I think il have a crack at this upgrade then, seems like a big upgrade for just over £100.
Anyone using the intel x-25 v? Not looking to break the bank here...

Also, do SSD's take any kind of maintenance? I wouldn't be writing to the drive very often as it would just be for loading applications and booting OSX.
 
Austin00 said:
Thats good to know.
I think il have a crack at this upgrade then, seems like a big upgrade for just over £100.
Anyone using the intel x-25 v? Not looking to break the bank here...

Also, do SSD's take any kind of maintenance? I wouldn't be writing to the drive very often as it would just be for loading applications and booting OSX.
Click to expand...

I run my ssd in the primary drive slot and a 500 gig platter drive in the optibay. I keep the os and application installs on the ssd and all "volitile" storage gos on the platter drive. The machine runs great, and no extra cables to lug around.

The only maintenance is time capsule backups and a weekly SuperDuper to an external firewire.

I was VERY nervous about doing this upgrade, but I watched a couple videos, and carefully executed it. There were no problems at all. Just keep all the leftover screws. (I put mine in a plastic bag and suck them in the back of the external drive case for the dvd/rom)
 
mac8867 said:
I run my ssd in the primary drive slot and a 500 gig platter drive in the optibay. I keep the os and application installs on the ssd and all "volitile" storage gos on the platter drive. The machine runs great, and no extra cables to lug around.

The only maintenance is time capsule backups and a weekly SuperDuper to an external firewire.

I was VERY nervous about doing this upgrade, but I watched a couple videos, and carefully executed it. There were no problems at all. Just keep all the leftover screws. (I put mine in a plastic bag and suck them in the back of the external drive case for the dvd/rom)
Click to expand...

Thats pretty much the set-up im looking to use.
Are you in the UK?
 
mac8867 said:
I live in the US, but work mostly in the UK. At the moment, I am stuck in US because of the volcano... (It is very strange to type that)
Click to expand...

I take it you bought your optical bay hdd adaptor from the US then...
I'm really strapped for a UK-based shop that sells anything close to an optibay for a decent price.
 
Hello again,

I've just bought a caddy for my 2010 13" MBP,
It was £10, shipped offeBay.

If i can get this bay working with a normal HDD i'l be putting a 40gb intel x25-v into the optical bay for booting and my commonly used apps. It is my understanding that SL takes 6-7gb so 40gb will be fine.

I'l take some pictures of everything as i go along because i definately wouldn't have even thought about trying this if i hadn't seen some pictures that this thread has.
 
Hi Austin00,

Quick question do you have an idea if this £9.99 caddy off ebay will work ? It seems to look spec and picture wise like the opti / mce ones.

Would be great to hear from you when you get it.

Cheers Alex
 
They work fine but you may have to trim the end a little to get the drivebay to fit under the slot load drives cover.

basically inside the area the drives sit they have a plastic cover that stops all the dust and crap from entering the macbook. Instead of cutting that and voiding your warranty its easier to cut the actual bay instead.

I ended up just chopping the bottom 5mm or so off (basically removed the lock mechanism that comes with it).

If you take your time you can just get an exacto knife and trim it down until its a snug fit but i couldnt be bothered.

Well worth the money. Strangely enough the system also seems to boot faster and in general is snappier.
 
alex22alex said:
Hi Austin00,

Quick question do you have an idea if this £9.99 caddy off ebay will work ? It seems to look spec and picture wise like the opti / mce ones.

Would be great to hear from you when you get it.

Cheers Alex
Click to expand...

Well, as i believe, the superdrive is a standard size used in many laptops, and it is internal so doesn't require a face-plate to make it sit flush with the external case of the macbook pro.

The one i ordered was not meant to fit a macbook pro, but because the superdrive size is standard between my MBP and the laptop it is meant for, i can imagine all i need to do is pry the face-plate off as everything else on the caddy fits the universal superdrive size.

As much as i realistically think it will work, even if it doesn't, i wont be too hung up as it only cost £10.

I'l keep everyone posted on the progress. But dont expect anything for around a week as im only a few days post-ordering and the delivery estimate is 2weeks.

If anyone is in the UK and is thinking of doing this mod, if this drive works, this would be your best option. Rather than pay for one from newmodeUS, or MCE; plus shipping and any taxes
 
When I unmount my HDD it does not seem to "spin down". I can still hear it spinning, seemingly as fast as always, even though it shows unmounted in diskutility (its 2 partitions do).

The HDD is in my optibay.
 
maximus06 said:
When I unmount my HDD it does not seem to "spin down". I can still hear it spinning, seemingly as fast as always, even though it shows unmounted in diskutility (its 2 partitions do).

The HDD is in my optibay.
Click to expand...

Apple makes a free developer tool called SpinDownHD which can tell you exactly what your hard drives are doing. Install that and check.... Google for it...
 
SpindownHD

orthorim said:
Apple makes a free developer tool called SpinDownHD which can tell you exactly what your hard drives are doing. Install that and check.... Google for it...
Click to expand...

This is a little bit off topic but - I downloaded and installed the developer tools with SpindownHD - and I can't find them in my applications anywhere. I'm a new mac user, and have googled for help but I have not been able to find a website.

Couldn't you just go to preferences and change the settings to spindown the hard drive after a certain amount of time of not being used?
 
eccentricglow said:
This is a little bit off topic but - I downloaded and installed the developer tools with SpindownHD - and I can't find them in my applications anywhere. I'm a new mac user, and have googled for help but I have not been able to find a website.

Couldn't you just go to preferences and change the settings to spindown the hard drive after a certain amount of time of not being used?
Click to expand...

You need to learn the single most important keyboard shortcut on the Mac:

CMD-Space

This invokes Spotlight, type "SpindownHD" in the spotlight search prompt at the upper right corner and it will find it for you in a second. Might be somewhere in Developer tools...
 
orthorim said:
You need to learn the single most important keyboard shortcut on the Mac:

CMD-Space

This invokes Spotlight, type "SpindownHD" in the spotlight search prompt at the upper right corner and it will find it for you in a second. Might be somewhere in Developer tools...
Click to expand...

Searched, couldn't find it. I have developer tools installed. Googled it, doesn't show. Can someone upload it (assuming its a small tool) please?
 
Has anyone spotted a Dvd drive enclosure that can be bought in the UK?
Ebay has a ton, but i'd rather avoid the 2week wait for anything from china.

Cheers,
Austin
 
I have a "Optibay-like" case for my 2nd drive.

My SSD (boot-drive) is on the old spot of the hdd.
I moved the HDD to the superdrive spot.

Now (I dont know if it is just imagination) I hear that HDD much louder then before. I guess it is because before that noise was well covered by the whole build of the Macbook.

Now i'm not sure if I should switch the drives and install the SDD to that superdrive spot.

Any troubles with that?
 
Just installed the early arriving x25-v in my 13" 2010 base MBP as it has turned up before the optibay has arrived.
This thing is absolutely amazing. Shame i have to go back to my HDD until the optibay turns up. I'l update with a load of pics when everything is up and running.

Austin
 
fotuwe said:
I have a "Optibay-like" case for my 2nd drive.
Now i'm not sure if I should switch the drives and install the SDD to that superdrive spot.

Any troubles with that?
Click to expand...


Yes. Hibernation doesn't work when the boot drive is in the superdrive spot. See above (I know this thread is absurdly long so just repeating it here).
 
I have a new base i5 15" coming and I've got this idea in my head about an optibay setup. Can anyone give me advice on this? First of all, is it wise to run dual HDDs on a brand new MBP? Now on to my setup idea...

I want to use 2 drives:

Intel X25 80gb (drive slot)
WD Scorpio Blue 640gb (optibay)

I plan on partitioning the Intel with 45gb for OS X and 30gb for Windows 7. For the OS X partition, I'll only include apps. The Windows partition will be OS only.

The WD 640gb will be split 500gb for OS X and 120gb for Windows 7. My home folder will go into the OS X side while programs/games go into the Windows partition.

Any comments/suggestions? Is this a realistic setup or will I have any trouble with it?
 
migsev said:
I have a new base i5 15" coming and I've got this idea in my head about an optibay setup. Can anyone give me advice on this? First of all, is it wise to run dual HDDs on a brand new MBP? Now on to my setup idea...

I want to use 2 drives:

Intel X25 80gb (drive slot)
WD Scorpio Blue 640gb (optibay)

I plan on partitioning the Intel with 45gb for OS X and 30gb for Windows 7. For the OS X partition, I'll only include apps. The Windows partition will be OS only.

The WD 640gb will be split 500gb for OS X and 120gb for Windows 7. My home folder will go into the OS X side while programs/games go into the Windows partition.

Any comments/suggestions? Is this a realistic setup or will I have any trouble with it?
Click to expand...

you'll want to install the operating system on the partition for osx as well on the sdd. Thats what will help with your boot times
 
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