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New SSD install slow erase?
- Thread starter kdotv23
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Not normal at all. Watch in this video and you can see it takes well under a minute.
It could be a bad SSD or even a bad drive cable.
how would i go about seeing if its the SATA Cable? Btw, I also put back my old hard drive and it boots up fine.
Another question for you, Which am I supposed to do, go to disk utility and go to the erase tab and erase the ssd or do i click on partitions and set it up as 1 partition and set it at GUID?
There is no good way to test the cable itself other than by removing it from the equation by trying the same drive in an external enclosure.
Don't worry about GUID. Unless you manually go into options and change that, it is the default. You can format either of the two ways you mentioned with the same end result. I usually tell people to use the erase tab because I think it is easier to understand what to do there.
It is possible that it is a bad cable, however usually you would experience a lot of "beachballing" even on the regular hard drive.
I have seen some of these where is works okay with a HDD then won't with an SSD and a new cable fixes it. I don't know if the fault only manifests with the SSD because of the higher data rates maybe?
It is quite possible that it would occur like that however I would expect to see some issues when straining the cable even with the hard drive installed. I think that the OP got a lemon SSD.
I have a SATA to usb enclosure coming in the mail today and so Ill try that out later on tonight. I also have another m550 coming in just in case the problem is with the first m550.
Are you saying that if it does format the SSD when plugged in externally, that it mean the SATA cable inside the macbook pro is probably toast even though it boots up fine with the original hard drive?
And thank you for clearing that up about if i should do the "erase" method or the "partition" with the GUID.
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oh and although I said that it boots up fine with the original hard drive, I do get a lot of the "beachball" so i thought that it was just the hard drive going out. Hopefully its a bad SSD and not the cable itself. More money spent
If it formats at a faster rate then internally then I would suspect the cable. Otherwise, I would say it is safe to assume the SSD is a lemon. You did not declare what MacBook this is. Some older models needed a PRAM and SMC reset before SSDs would run at full speed.
I have a SATA to usb enclosure coming in the mail today and so Ill try that out later on tonight. I also have another m550 coming in just in case the problem is with the first m550.
Are you saying that if it does format the SSD when plugged in externally, that it mean the SATA cable inside the macbook pro is probably toast even though it boots up fine with the original hard drive?
And thank you for clearing that up about if i should do the "erase" method or the "partition" with the GUID.
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oh and although I said that it boots up fine with the original hard drive, I do get a lot of the "beachball" so i thought that it was just the hard drive going out. Hopefully its a bad SSD and not the cable itself. More money spent
Yes exactly.
Saw your edit. I'd bet Altemose's paycheck now that you have a bad cable.
The cable is only around $10 USD or so.
Yes exactly.
Saw your edit. I'd bet Altemose's paycheck now that you have a bad cable.
The cable is only around $10 USD or so.
That paycheck isn't very much but if you want a bet then go for it! Now with the edited post the cable is definitely shot!
Ill come in here tonight once i try it out.
2012 Macbook Pro 13"
When installed internally, everything seems to go until the blue bar hits half way and it just says "Partitioning. Estimated time: (goes up every minute) and looks like its just stuck.
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Yes exactly.
Saw your edit. I'd bet Altemose's paycheck now that you have a bad cable.
The cable is only around $10 USD or so.
$10?! Where would I get that? I looked on amazon and ebay and theyre all $30+ all the way through $50ish
Before I start panicking thinking i need to buy another part, First I should connect the SSD via external enclosure and try to erase and put yosemite on it correct?
I have not looked in a while. You are right... I just checked iFixit and it is $34. Yes, that would be the final test. But with the symptoms you are describing you had with the HDD, I am pretty sure you have a bad cable. Fairly common issue with these.
Yes, that would be the final test. But with the symptoms you are describing you had with the HDD, I am pretty sure you have a bad cable. Fairly common issue with these.
Gotcha! Ill let you know how it goes later tonight.
Thanks to you and Altemose for all the help!
Don't discount parts from eBay. You may be able to get a used cable for much cheaper if you cannot find an affordable new one.
Let me also ask...
If I am able to format the SSD when using the external enclosure, do you guys suggest I also do the clean install of yosemite while its connected through the USB or should I format, then remove the SSD and place it internally and go from there?
I dont know exactly how its done when installing yosemite while connected through USB and getting it to start up through the USB connected SSD.
Is it the same process with holding down the option key?
If I am able to format the SSD when using the external enclosure, do you guys suggest I also do the clean install of yosemite while its connected through the USB or should I format, then remove the SSD and place it internally and go from there?
I dont know exactly how its done when installing yosemite while connected through USB and getting it to start up through the USB connected SSD.
Is it the same process with holding down the option key?
Yeah... you could option key boot to the installer then point the installer to the external enclosure. But that will be dog slow installing and I suspect after you do it, it still won't work internally due to the bad cable. Won't hurt to try if you have the spare time.
You're right, if I do get it to format externally, theirs really no point of doing anything after until the cable is fixed.
thanks again!
So its definitely the cable. I formatted the SSD using data to usb. I did however try to install yosemite on the external enclosure SSD and an Installation Log popped up after awhile saying it couldn't complete. Is there something I'm doing wrong? For the time being, aren't I able to boot from the external SSD?
Sometimes those cables are not consistent enough for OS installation. I have one that will work fine and one that is touchy. I would think that just slapping a new SATA cable in the machine should make it golden.