Is that the apple external superdrive for the air or your old superdrive in a 3rd party enclosure? I thought there was some big commotion that these only worked with the air and no other macs.
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MCE Optibay Alternative CHEAP
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Is that the apple external superdrive for the air or your old superdrive in a 3rd party enclosure? I thought there was some big commotion that these only worked with the air and no other macs.
Thats the free enclosure that comes with the kit from MCE.
http://store.mcetech.com/Merchant2/...t_Code=OBSXGB-UNB&Category_Code=STORHDOPTIBAY
Its actually the enclosure that comes with the Maxupgrades kit, its like the Mac Air external but it works perfectly with the MBP .. not too sure what the issues were though, not used it much to be honest, only to install windows7 on Parallels..
well ,, im not too sure, personally i dont think the MCE one doesn't look as good as it doesn't have a front "slit" loading bezel .. the one I have looks exactly like a MBP "extra"
Sorry ... what bearing does this response have at all at all to my comment, which you quoted? Since your mini-bio gives your location as London, surely you knew what I meant? For those who aren't familiar with the term, by 'pipped' I meant that I too had written a reply to the previous comment in the thread, but by the time I posted it, Ksb-online had already said basically the same thing. So, I was 'pipped to the post' and I edited my message accordingly.Ksb-online said:
Not sure what that has to do with a front slit loading bezel.
cheers,
Henry
That's a really nice enclosure. I expected them to look really bulky and plasticy. As i didn't get the mce optibay, i got a cheap knockoff, do you know of anywhere on ebay or from a uk store i can get a similar looking enclosure?
I tried to email them 2-3 weeks ago about buying that individually from them and they never answered me...
So - after install can you replace the HDD in the optibay without removing the entire opti bay unit? Sure looks like it from the pictures, and that would be fantastic! It's the only thing I don't like about the newmodeus install - I have to take the entire thing out to replace the HD inside.
erm, I think so, im not too sure what you mean by "removing the entire optibay unit" .. You have to remove the whole cd drive and then put the hard drive in a "caddy" that replicates the shape/size of the cd drive. it then just screws back in as the Cd drive was. I used the ifixit guide to do the install so it might be worth checking that out for more clarification..Sorry i can't be of much use, Im a noob at all of this and just did what the instructions say ..
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/...Inch-Unibody-Optical-Drive-Replacement/3418/1
i got a cheap chinese bay called Fenvi, and yes, i don't need to pull out the whole caddy just to replace HD.
ahh sorry mate, I must have put this in after you edited your comment .. and yep .. I have no idea what "pipped" means
Last week I ended up ordering the optibay kit and optical drive enclosure from Maxupgrades.com, and to compare it to the popular option on this thread, I also ordered the optibay kit from newmodeUS, and the Sabrent optical drive enclosure from Amazon.com. Here's my summary of why I also ended up with the Maxupgrades.com optibay kit:
- the Maxupgrades optibay is 73 grams in weight, whereas the newmodeUS optibay is 83 grams (minor, but every bit helps)
- the newmodeUS optibay is only secured via one screw within the Mac, whereas the Maxupgrades optibay has three screws to secure it to the Mac, just like the original optical drive
- although minor, the newmodeUS optibay seems to facilitate a slightly louder noise of my hard drive when spinning, given it's hollow metal design
Furthermore, the frosting on the cake is the much nicer optical drive enclosure that comes exclusively from Maxupgrades. As the picture shows, it has a very Mac like design for a slot-loaded drive, and it is well constructed. It has ONE usb cable that supports BOTH reading and burning, unlike most USB enclosures which require two USB connections to facilitate burning. It even uses an Apple USB cable, which is obviously very compact. So NO need for a bezel given its slot loaded design just like on the Macbook Pro, no need for a second USB cable, and it's a perfect match to the Macbook Pro design. And it works with ALL Macs, unlike the MacBook Air model.
As folks have pointed out, the Maxupgrade optibay is the same one offered by OWC, but only for less $$$. But what was lacking from Maxupgrade was a nice video or written instructions for installation, so I just ended up watching the OWC video (sweet). Furthermore, they shipped my order the same day via US Priority Mail, from California to North Carolina for $6 bucks.
http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product.display&product_id=186
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I had no idea you had to screW the drive in to the max upgrades external enclosure, mine seemed to be fine in there and the bottom securely "snaps" on ????
If you're referring to how the hard drive is secured to the Maxupgrades optibay, it is secured via two screws on the side. See the OWC video for more info on how to properly install. But per what I posted, the Maxupgrades optibay itself is secured to the Mac via three screws (again, refer to the OWC video for proper installation).
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/
Good review, thanks!
Looks like MaxUpgrades will be the way to go next time - also thanks to the fact that once it's installed, you can swap HDs in the MaxUpgrades one.
The external DVD is a nice addition and very cheap _and_ better looking than the external LG unit I got.
If Apple doesn't release an all-Flash MacBook Pro next time... I think they will, actually. I think Apple is now finally phasing out DVD/CD drives - about 2 years too late for my taste but still.
PS: I know the cheap chinese ones are less expensive but as I've said before (20 pages back..lol) I don't really care if I spend $80 or $20 on this upgrade for my $3,000 laptop.
The Maxupgrade kit does look good, certainly makes future HD swapping easier. Pricey though, but anyway.
The adapter I posted earlier from ebay has arrived. Picking it up on first impressions it feels rather flimsy but it works well enough at $20. Haven't done much testing, but OSX picks up the drive so I think its fine. Nice having full-redundancy in the MB since it'll become my primary computer for the next 3 months as I have a long overseas work trip. I wonder what the hit on battery life will be.
The adapter I posted earlier from ebay has arrived. Picking it up on first impressions it feels rather flimsy but it works well enough at $20. Haven't done much testing, but OSX picks up the drive so I think its fine. Nice having full-redundancy in the MB since it'll become my primary computer for the next 3 months as I have a long overseas work trip. I wonder what the hit on battery life will be.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180552013566&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Will this one work for the late 2008 15' UMBP?
Do I have to chop anything off from this thing to fit in?
I have seen some other caddy that don't have the 2 screws near the connection side. However I can see from the picture, there are 2 holes?
Can anyone confirm it?
Thanks!
Will this one work for the late 2008 15' UMBP?
Do I have to chop anything off from this thing to fit in?
I have seen some other caddy that don't have the 2 screws near the connection side. However I can see from the picture, there are 2 holes?
Can anyone confirm it?
Thanks!
I ordered this same one from eBay a few days ago. From my understanding the black strip on the bottom has to be taken off to fit.
How about the bay that is sold by ifixit?
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/9-5-mm-SATA-Optical-Bay-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure/IF107-080
This one from ebay looks promising:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2nd-HDD-caddy-A...C_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item4154738198
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/9-5-mm-SATA-Optical-Bay-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure/IF107-080
This one from ebay looks promising:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2nd-HDD-caddy-A...C_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item4154738198
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i plan to buy a new hdd to put into the caddy.. is there any formatting or anything i have to do besides just placing it into the caddy? or will the mac recognize and read/write to the new drive by itself?
http://www.ayagroup.com/product.php?productid=17773
How does this need to be modified in order to work with 2010 MBP 17"?
Thank you. Is this all I need btw? I only have a phone (mbp is out of commission until I get optibay alternative) so browsing 45 pages is very difficult.
How does this need to be modified in order to work with 2010 MBP 17"?
Thank you. Is this all I need btw? I only have a phone (mbp is out of commission until I get optibay alternative) so browsing 45 pages is very difficult.
you mat beed to trim the black plastic with a blade along the edge where the white tab is in the picture but other than that it'll fit fine.