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MCE Optibay Alternative CHEAP
- Thread starter MacModMachine
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What do you think of this for 2009/2010 unibody Macbook pros?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400123285923
Thank you!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400123285923
Thank you!
Could you pl give me the userid of the eBay seller? I made an offer with digizon and he accepted it. Found zero feedback about these MBP caddies in his feedback. Not sure what to do. I prefer newmodeus after reading these posts. Trying to avoid eBay strike...
Again, another somewhat easy question, but I don't know the answer to.
I picked up my optibay today. I am going to put the stock/factory Apple SSD into it, and then the clean/fresh HDD into the drive bay. Will the macbook know to boot from the optibay where the OSX is installed on, or what do I need to do to make this work?
thanks.
-Don
I picked up my optibay today. I am going to put the stock/factory Apple SSD into it, and then the clean/fresh HDD into the drive bay. Will the macbook know to boot from the optibay where the OSX is installed on, or what do I need to do to make this work?
thanks.
-Don
ok don it's quite simple.
In your MacBook you have 2 drives. A hdd and a DVD.
Your system is designed to boot and run from the hdd and not the DVD.
If we call the hdd -1
and the DVD - 2
then the following is recommended.
In bay 1 you can put in either an SSD or hdd up to 1tb. These can be formatted as your primary boot device.
If you want speed then buy the ssd or if you want storage then buy the largest hdd you van afford.
In bay 2 you essentially have a storage bay NOT the boot drive bay. In here you can put a hdd up to 1tb or an ssd or even a better DVD drive.
You do not boot off of this drive.
So essentially if you have a new mbp and a neomodus caddy your best bang for buck would be to pull out both drives from the stock mbp and replace them.
In bay 1 put the fastest largest SSD you can afford.
In bay 2 add the biggest hdd you can afford (1tb is the current max size)
and so you don't bottleneck your mbp add as much genuine ram as you can afford and your mac can take. (third party ram works but better to be safe than sorry)
think that covers the basics.
careful when doing this the true modder way, as the OP did. I just did it with mine and apparently jacked something up with the ribbon cable connecting the camera. That cable must not just be for the camera as my bluetooth and backlit keyboard no longer function either.....
any advice? tried pram and smc resets, as well as numerous re-seating of the connector on logic board.
any advice? tried pram and smc resets, as well as numerous re-seating of the connector on logic board.take it apart again and retrace your steps slowly.
examine every plug and make sure nothing has wiggled loose when putting it back together last time.
You will probably find you have either pinched a cable by accident or pulled on one that has resulted in it coming unplugged.
examine every plug and make sure nothing has wiggled loose when putting it back together last time.
You will probably find you have either pinched a cable by accident or pulled on one that has resulted in it coming unplugged.
update: have since found out that the backlit keyboard does work. the reason it doesnt work with the f5 and f6 keys is beacause the cable that connects the camera, also connect the ambient light sensor. only way to control keyboard is by running a 3rd party app. I have narrowed it down to one connection, but to my eye it appears to be connected as it was before. The pic is my culprit.
Attachments
How does it work with slot-loading drives? Do you just not put on the faceplate?
Hows this one? (I have free amazon shipping)
http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Connectl...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1275753155&sr=1-2
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Installed 120 GB OWC Mercury Pro SSD
Thanks to this thread and other similar posts here on MR, I decided to buy the most recent version on 15" MBP, i7 with HiRes Matte. I just installed 8 GB RAM
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/8566DDR3S8GP/
and the 120 GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD using the elcheapo e-bay caddy: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...24095&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2150wt_1139
It works just fine, the machine is fast, I'm a happy camper. I would recommend buying the newmodeus caddy if that fits without any modifications, I had to chop quite a bit of plastic off the e-bay caddy in order to fit the optical drive slot. If you don't mind doing this, it fits snugly after trimming on both sides, no need for any screws. SSD is in the optical bay now, need to figure out how to disable hibernation and get an enclosure for the optical unit,
Any suggestions?
Thanks to this thread and other similar posts here on MR, I decided to buy the most recent version on 15" MBP, i7 with HiRes Matte. I just installed 8 GB RAM
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/8566DDR3S8GP/
and the 120 GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD using the elcheapo e-bay caddy: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...24095&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2150wt_1139
It works just fine, the machine is fast, I'm a happy camper. I would recommend buying the newmodeus caddy if that fits without any modifications, I had to chop quite a bit of plastic off the e-bay caddy in order to fit the optical drive slot. If you don't mind doing this, it fits snugly after trimming on both sides, no need for any screws. SSD is in the optical bay now, need to figure out how to disable hibernation and get an enclosure for the optical unit,
Any suggestions?
Macbook Pro 2010 (7,1) 2x OZC Vertex Turbo in Raid 0 - Optibay SDD hanging
Macbook Pro 2010 (7,1) w/ 2x Vertex Turbo in Raid 0 Configuration - Optibay SDD causing hanging
I have been trying to get a second 120GB Vertex Turbo drive installed into my 2010 Macbook Pro to run in a striped Raid configuration. However the second drive is consistently causing the system to hang/ freeze-up. Here are some bullet points about what I have and/or have been through to try and get this to work:
* Both drives are running on FW 1.5 and both function perfectly when they are installed in the main drive bay.
* Added second drive via Optibay and the computer sees it as an internal drive. If I'm booting off of the primary drive in the main HDD bay the second drive shows up but eventually causes the computer to lockup and I have to hard reset.
* When booted from a USB service drive that I have I can see both drives and manage them through disk utility. Eventually things get clunky and I have to hard reset. I can add them to a Raid configuration, see the single drive, but once I start trying to restore to the partition, they freeze up.
* I'm on my second Optibay caddy/ solution from two different vendors (have tried both MCE and another vendor) - same issues occurs.
Anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or things I should look at. Right after I get the drives into a Raid configuration I've run some hard drive tests on the setup and initially I'm seeing doubled write speeds (330MB) and my read speed is about the same...I would REALLLLLY like this to work out since I get a 250GB drive with lightening fast read/write. But like I said, that doesn't last. It's like the hardware forgets what the heck is going on and throws the towel in...
I'm wondering if I missed something or if there is firmware somewhere that I need to install...there are examples all over the place on the internet of successful installations, some of them right in this forum.
...appreciate everyone who takes the time to read.
Reading stuff about SSDs in AHCI and IDE disk controller modes...could this be an issue? Can you even change that on a MBP? I know you can on a Windows PC in the bios...
Additional symptoms - just tried to do yet another image back on to the Raid drive from m original drive's image using a booted USB OS X install. Carbon Copy hung at about 5.9 GB of the 107 GB drive. I canceled the task, started up AJA Tester and ran a test...still sitting at 0.0 10 minutes later.
Macbook Pro 2010 (7,1) w/ 2x Vertex Turbo in Raid 0 Configuration - Optibay SDD causing hanging
I have been trying to get a second 120GB Vertex Turbo drive installed into my 2010 Macbook Pro to run in a striped Raid configuration. However the second drive is consistently causing the system to hang/ freeze-up. Here are some bullet points about what I have and/or have been through to try and get this to work:
* Both drives are running on FW 1.5 and both function perfectly when they are installed in the main drive bay.
* Added second drive via Optibay and the computer sees it as an internal drive. If I'm booting off of the primary drive in the main HDD bay the second drive shows up but eventually causes the computer to lockup and I have to hard reset.
* When booted from a USB service drive that I have I can see both drives and manage them through disk utility. Eventually things get clunky and I have to hard reset. I can add them to a Raid configuration, see the single drive, but once I start trying to restore to the partition, they freeze up.
* I'm on my second Optibay caddy/ solution from two different vendors (have tried both MCE and another vendor) - same issues occurs.
Anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or things I should look at. Right after I get the drives into a Raid configuration I've run some hard drive tests on the setup and initially I'm seeing doubled write speeds (330MB) and my read speed is about the same...I would REALLLLLY like this to work out since I get a 250GB drive with lightening fast read/write. But like I said, that doesn't last. It's like the hardware forgets what the heck is going on and throws the towel in...
I'm wondering if I missed something or if there is firmware somewhere that I need to install...there are examples all over the place on the internet of successful installations, some of them right in this forum.
...appreciate everyone who takes the time to read.
Reading stuff about SSDs in AHCI and IDE disk controller modes...could this be an issue? Can you even change that on a MBP? I know you can on a Windows PC in the bios...
Additional symptoms - just tried to do yet another image back on to the Raid drive from m original drive's image using a booted USB OS X install. Carbon Copy hung at about 5.9 GB of the 107 GB drive. I canceled the task, started up AJA Tester and ran a test...still sitting at 0.0 10 minutes later.
Oh, dear.
Seems like I'll be waiting bit more before all SSD transition (320GB G3 X25 this fall)
Just got i7/AG15", but probably will get Momentus XT to tide me over until then.
Seems like I'll be waiting bit more before all SSD transition (320GB G3 X25 this fall
)Just got i7/AG15", but probably will get Momentus XT to tide me over until then.
Hibernation - get smartsleep and disable it. There's other ways but that's the most comfortable.
External enclosure - don't know, a whole external DVDR drive is about $50 from Samsung or LG. I got the LG one, works fine.
Looks like I'm a member of the club now. I have to thank all participants of this thread for a lot of useful information
I got a $20 Optibay alternative from an eBay vendor located in China. They delivered it to Germany in less than a week. The caddy actually feels very high quality to me for the price. It looks nice, feels very sturdy, and everything fits perfectly, with all the correct screw holes installed. The HD is held securely in place by a little holding bracket.
I put my old, WD Scorpio Blue 500 GB, hard drive into the optibay even though some recommend against that, but I'm willing to take the 'risk'. A new 80 GB Intel X25-M G2 SSD is now installed in the proper hard drive bay. Everything works as expected including sleep in all its forms. I couldn't be more satisifed.
Even though the SSD has to operate in SATA 1.5Gb/s mode, my trusty old first-generation Macbook feels like a completely new, super-speedy machine. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to breathe new life into his or her aging Macbook !
Before (from iFixit's guide):
After:
I have to thank all participants of this thread for a lot of useful information I got a $20 Optibay alternative from an eBay vendor located in China. They delivered it to Germany in less than a week. The caddy actually feels very high quality to me for the price. It looks nice, feels very sturdy, and everything fits perfectly, with all the correct screw holes installed. The HD is held securely in place by a little holding bracket.
I put my old, WD Scorpio Blue 500 GB, hard drive into the optibay even though some recommend against that, but I'm willing to take the 'risk'. A new 80 GB Intel X25-M G2 SSD is now installed in the proper hard drive bay. Everything works as expected including sleep in all its forms. I couldn't be more satisifed.
Even though the SSD has to operate in SATA 1.5Gb/s mode, my trusty old first-generation Macbook feels like a completely new, super-speedy machine. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to breathe new life into his or her aging Macbook !
Before (from iFixit's guide):
After:
I used a $20 2.5" caddy from ayagroup on my 2010 13" MBP, works great with my Intel X25-M.
Don't pay MCE prices or even $50 for a caddy. Ayagroup it and be done. Quality and cheap (a rarity).
Don't pay MCE prices or even $50 for a caddy. Ayagroup it and be done. Quality and cheap (a rarity).
It might look like it is connected, but it's not. Push it in farther. Try GENTLY pulling back the felt pad on top so you can see when it is in all the way. When I did the mod on mine, I didn't get it in the first time either. Except on my late 2008, that's also the AirPort cable. :O
Sabrent enclosure that was $13 from ayagroup (2 USBs - one for data, one for power). Slid the SuperDrive in there.
Just in case anyone has doubts about the alternatives in this thread. . . . I bought the MCE Optibay for a 2007 MBP that was just out of warrantee. Got the empty one so I could add my own HDD. I thought I was paying for quality and customer service and I wasn't.
The website says it comes with a user guide. The user guide DOES NOT include instructions for installation for my model (it does for unibody models). It's not that hard to figure out (I'm not that handy and I did it) but there you go.
More disturbing is that the optibay model for the 2007 MBP does not have any kind of front barrier. Which means that someone sliding a CD into the slot for where your CD drive used to be will hit your hard drive.
I was a bit floored that they didn't even include a simple cardboard barrier. It looks like there should be one. Also, two of the screwholes in the bottom were a little off center.
I called them to ask about these two things. The tech said "they are working on a manual" for the optibay for the 2007 MBP. Since they have manuals for all the others, all someone needs to do is snap some pictures and edit a little text. He also assured me that the optibay "had been tested and kept CDs out". This is also patently false as anyone who doesn't know there's no CD drive in there could jam something up against the hard drive. In classic tech support fashion, the tech treated me like an idiot for being concerned about this.
My solution? Electrical tape over the opening so it will block a CD or DVD before it hits the drive.
Does it work? Yes, 100% and it's great to have two drives in my laptop. The external enclosure is also just fine and even has a front now (earlier purchasers complained about the lack of a front).
But I do have a bad taste in my mouth. I thought I was paying $100 for kludge-free quality and a little customer support (like the instructions promised on their website or a non-rude phone tech). Apparently not.
So I would definitely recommend others investigate the cheaper solutions, especially for first-generation Macbook Pros, before giving this company your money.
The website says it comes with a user guide. The user guide DOES NOT include instructions for installation for my model (it does for unibody models). It's not that hard to figure out (I'm not that handy and I did it) but there you go.
More disturbing is that the optibay model for the 2007 MBP does not have any kind of front barrier. Which means that someone sliding a CD into the slot for where your CD drive used to be will hit your hard drive.
I was a bit floored that they didn't even include a simple cardboard barrier. It looks like there should be one. Also, two of the screwholes in the bottom were a little off center.
I called them to ask about these two things. The tech said "they are working on a manual" for the optibay for the 2007 MBP. Since they have manuals for all the others, all someone needs to do is snap some pictures and edit a little text. He also assured me that the optibay "had been tested and kept CDs out". This is also patently false as anyone who doesn't know there's no CD drive in there could jam something up against the hard drive. In classic tech support fashion, the tech treated me like an idiot for being concerned about this.
My solution? Electrical tape over the opening so it will block a CD or DVD before it hits the drive.
Does it work? Yes, 100% and it's great to have two drives in my laptop. The external enclosure is also just fine and even has a front now (earlier purchasers complained about the lack of a front).
But I do have a bad taste in my mouth. I thought I was paying $100 for kludge-free quality and a little customer support (like the instructions promised on their website or a non-rude phone tech). Apparently not.
So I would definitely recommend others investigate the cheaper solutions, especially for first-generation Macbook Pros, before giving this company your money.
The NewModeUS one has the plate, in fact it is fully enclosed except for the top where you drop in the drive. And that is up against the keyboard (Unibody) or baseplate (old style), so the drive is covered by aluminum sheeting on all sides.
All this for 40% of the price. Seriously, I can't think of why you'd want to buy the OptiBay.